prayerstrategists.net · Prayer Room Description — Rebecca, Chengdu

Prayer Presence

Prayer Room Description — Rebecca, Chengdu

Interview with Rebecca, 1-20-12 Prayer Room in Chengdu, China

We used to have 24 hour two-day events where we would have an unbroken chain of prayer. Set aside place for prayer, in the room maps, charts, inspiring quotes about prayer, Operation China book, guitar, songbook, station for communion, prayer cards, people signed up for 1 hour, they would open the door for the next person, unbroken chain. Opening kind of worship and closing worship time, sharing what we had heard or seen or thought. But in those days I felt like those were teeth-gritting exercise, ticked off list, worthwhile, making sacrifice before the Lord, but kind of dry exercise, discipline. We all knew it was good and believed in prayer. But received teaching, talking about prayer in a different way. We would look at situations that intimidated us. We would come in prayer, but feeling we were underneath them, trying to push through to God. The problem was we would look at requests, things that intimidated us, we would try to push against them in the way but feeling underneath them. Whereas when we start with Worship, we are seated with Christ in heavenly realms, with Him, in Him. As He is exalted at the right hand of God, we are there with and in Him, His enemies under our feet too. In worship, we are reminded and brought back to that place of being before His Throne, before His Face, exalting Him, and seeing Him for who He is, and as we magnify Him and see Him as He is, then we look back at our little problems, they seem small and we’re full of faith and hope that He’s going to do something about that. Ask God what He thinks about them and what is He going to do about that from that place of worship. Worship and intercession go together. When we draw close to the Father’s heart, then we just have to agree with what the Father shows us. He tells us what is in His heart and we agree with Him on it. Agreement: we agree with who God is, in intercession we listen to His will and proclaim that back over the earth. Just a drawing near in worship and intimacy, we hear with joy and agree, that’s great, God. Do it! If we spend 90% of our prayer time in worship and 10% on requests, now that 10% is radically different. We remember He is awesome and good and able to do vastly more than we can think or imagine. That became incorporated into the prayer room.

Inspired by creativity from other people. We lined all the walls with Butcher paper all around all the walls— before we lost the power of agreement because we didn’t know what the one in front or behind prayed. Let’s declare it on the walls. As people hear things, they can draw or write it, what God is saying, what we’re hearing. Then, others can add their yes and amen to what was said. Usually we do it 3 days, 72 hours of unbroken prayer. At the end of the weekend, you can walk around the room and see these recurring themes as people were in prayer, and be encouraged, when 5 or 7 are hearing the same things, we know God is saying this. He is saying it and he will do it. All we have to do is believe and agree and proclaim it with Him. So much more joy and faith and excitement and hope when we pray that way.

Stations: 24/7 Pete Grieg’s people, they actually pray and ask God what are you saying, what are the themes you’re highlighting for a particular situation/place/time/event. What are you saying to our community.

Six stations:

1.Remembering Station Remembering our calling and how we came to the Lord in the first place and how we came to the people we’re serving. Who we are in Him.

2. Verses about gauzy beautiful cloth cascading down, verses about rivers, refreshing, voice of the Lord being like waters, taking time to sit and believe these things. Streams in the desert.

3. Stepping into our identity as co-rulers and priests, great White Throne, white cloth, illuminated by light, kingdoms of this world are become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, declaring over the nations His kingdom come.

4. Railroad, China Tibet Railway, pictures between rungs, pictures of nations coming to the Lord, declaring His promises, end of railway giant drum, papers wrote strongholds, hindrances to Tibetans coming to faith, put them under drum and whacked the drum. Breaking strongholds.

5. Table with strings attached to the wall, brought to corner of the table so it made a staggered cluster of different strings spread out in cone shape but more sporadic, came together in point in the corner. Dark blue and light blue papers with gold & silver stars stuck all over, promises about descendants of Abraham — all the nations will come to Him, place to pray for unsaved friends and hang them on the rack of strings with paperclips to proclaim they would also be among descendants of Abraham.

6. In center, couches in a circle to pray for unity of churches in Chengdu.

7. Theme of garden weeding station, come to the Lord and ask revelation about weeds that might have grown up in our life, unhealed wounds, examine us and weed out things that entangle us, that hinder.

8. Fountain station, light in center, blue gauzy cloth held out so you could stand inside and pinned on inside different scripture verses, promises of God that we are in Him, if we confess our sins, He’s faithful, His promises who He’s making us into. Stand inside circle and read the promises and be refreshed again.

9. Station for 4 soils: things we believed and got stolen (birds), stony ground, weeds choking fruitfulness, good soil—intercessory thing to pray for friends in each category.

10. Lined one whole wall with garden scene. All kinds of paper, scissors, pastels, glue, Declaring His promises over the people, giant tree in the corner. Declaring promises.

11. Nature declares His glory: creation station, pictures of mushrooms, rocks, animals, cactus, etc. testimony from nature about who God is. Revealing His glory, sit and meditate before them and see what God might reveal to us.

12. Mirror, and big white paper, markers, who we are in Christ is something the enemy attacks a lot, write the lies on toilet paper and throw them away—lies. Truths, write them around the mirror on the white paper—everyone can claim the truths about us.

Sacred Pathways, everyone has a different love language with God. Some encounter best with simplicity and silence. Others like the visual. If we can make as many different pathways as possible, there would be something for their pathway. Aesetic, speakers with cords so you could plug in mp3 and dance, space to dance, prostrate, etc. Best prayers come out of connection, hearing and then praying.

It’s so fun, it’s fun to pray. 2 hours isn’t enough! To go from a place where 1 hour is an eternity to where 2 hours isn’t enough. Providing a place for people to encounter the Lord and hear what He is saying, and people to individually and together come to declare what He is saying over the nations.

What are ages of people participating? We had all kinds of different ages, not so much kids, but might be easy to do that, but would need to make instructions easier. But teenagers up to older folks. Everybody found it meaningful. Did it in Chinese as well. Chinese aren’t used to having someone in front leading and everyone else saying Amen. But having the room set up for encounter was new. Many loved it and wanted to know if it was open all the time and if they could come back. You had people come that had never done anything like that. Stations were instructive—no body was there, they would just wander around and follow the instructions. Trying not to say too much but just to have people hear.

What was the greatest thing you took away? Joy of it. Biggest change? Not just that…because we are now seeing themes, etc. we are starting to keep records of our conclusions, we look to see common themes, this is what God is saying, right now or in the next season, we have a record of that. We can see. In intercession, in a prophet place, before things come into being I tell you. As we agree and proclaim those things, they come into being. Now we’re encouraged because now we see and heard right and God did it. It encourages the whole process of prayer—to think what else is He going to say or do? We are all the more eager to do more, to experience His presence, to hear Him speak. Non threatening way to hear God and confirmations to hear from others. Creativity sparks creativity. To a lot of people it never occurred to them to pray in other ways. People have freedom to ignore the stations or take up the guitar and play or whatever.

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