This evening (Sunday), following my Perpsectives class, I had the opportunity to join the 24-hour prayer experience that started at 8:00 pm in the church atrium. I found the time very meaningful and at the same time quite intriguing. When you enter the room you get a prayer booklet and are asked to remove your shoes. Once in the room you place your name on a prayer wall and then eventually move to a computer monitor where you are lead to meditate on passages from Exodus 33. From there you pray through an “alphabetic” list of names for God and then proceed to another wall where you write the name of God that represents how He is powerfully working in your life at this time. This experience is continued on in prayer stations focusing upon topics like confession, the Psalms, world missions, small group prayer, etc… There is even a crib in the room (as pictured above) where you pray about what it means to be a child of God. All throughout the time Greg Mazunik, our college ministry worship leader, was standing in a corner with his guitar leading those interested in singing prayers of praise, confession, and adoration.
Earlier in this post I described the time as intriguing. I used this word because, while I was orienting myself to the booklet’s directions, praying in various stations, and listening to the sound of praise and worship fill the room all around me, I remembered the prayer meetings I enjoyed as a college student. Though I am only 34 years old, I recall prayer meetings with carefully guided topics, timed themes, and prayers divided into large group, small group, and individual prayer segments. Some non-postmoderns will be tempted to leave this 24-hour prayer experience saying, “I just don’t get it.” I appeal to all of you that, before you rush to any hasty conclusions, you take a moment and look around you at the scores of tomorrow’s leaders crying out to God on behalf of their friends, praying for the gospel to go around the world, confessing their sins, and praising God with all their mind, soul, and strength. My point being that it is too easy for those of us beyond “young and single” to shy away from risky experiences that get us out of our comfort zone and position us to say to the Lord, “fill me, mold me, and use me!” God forbid when I allow myself to join the masses saying, “I prefer the way things used to be!” After all, where does the bible teach that being a Christ follower gives us the right to avoid the uncomfortable position of taking risks for the Lord?
I encourage those of you in the Iowa City area to join those praying in the Atrium at Parkview. I promise, you won’t regret it! The prayer experience will be going until 8:00 pm on Monday. Remember, an awakening within the people of our community, nation, and world depends upon the faithful prayers of the saints!
4 comments:
I love how right in the center of the pic is the old nasty couch that Dan and Shadley pulled off the side of a curb somewhere. Long live the eighties couch! That style is probably cool now.
S- Was I under a rock or did we not promote this much? Eric swung by Missio Dei and handed me some cards on Saturday night and I felt like it was the first I'd heard of it... I confess I might have just missed the announcements & promo, but I wasn't sure?
We now have a system for promoting events like this, but it requires advanced notice via the communications director (Van Oss). Usually when events like this aren't promoted, it is because the proper communication was never received (or was received too last minute) from the ministry leader in charge of the event.
S- Just so you know that wasn't a slam at anybody, just felt out of the loop on this one & would have liked to have been in the loop :) Thanks for the heads up on the new system for promoting events like this.
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