What is the Week of Prayer?

The week of prayer is where we as church have continual prayer, 24/7, happening in the sanctuary of the church. People sign up to pray for an hour and come and pray for that hour. While an hour can seem daunting at first, you'll quickly find out an hour isn’t enough. Throughout the week as well their will be times of congregational prayer and connection. This is a week dedicated to prayer.

What will this experience be like?

Imagine walking into a room. You haven’t prayed much before – you’ve always found it a bit of a struggle. The current person praying comes and prays for you as they leave – allowing you the space to be with God. Here you are in a room full of prayer stations, candles, and other items. There is a Godly presence here. Like you have walked into a holy space – which is exactly what you have done. You take off your shoes to be more comfortable and respect this holy space. Prayer isn’t quite your thing – but you wanted to be obedient to God. You don’t know quite what to do so you sit on one of the few couches. Quickly the stresses, pressures, hurts, and worries of the past few weeks rush in. You begin to think about them, and ask God to help. After a while you decide to put the pressing thoughts aside, and sit in the stillness ~ just you and God. For the first time in weeks you have the space and time to hear your own thoughts and God’s. You begin to pray for those things that come to your mind. After a while, a station in the corner grabs your attention. You walk over, putting on some soft music on the way, and there is a bowl of water and a card with instructions. It says, “Who may climb the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his Holy Place? Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies. They will receive the Lord’s blessing and have right standing with God their savior. They alone may enter Gods’ presence and worship the God of Israel (Psalm 24:3-6). Cleanse your hands and heart so that you might worship God in spirit and truth – so that you might receive his blessing in your life – so that you might serve – so you can boldly go into his presence. Wash your hands as a symbol of confession and purification”. You wash your hand slowly thinking of God, confessing to him your failings, asking for him to purify you in mind, body, soul, and spirit. You dry your hands and feel clean. The nagging feelings of guilt, sin, and inadequacy fall behind as you realize God is the one who cleanse, forgives, and cleans. You go and look at another station – one with a map and simple instructions “Pray for these Places”. You begin to do so, though you have never done this before. After praying for a location you put a little tack there so that others will know it has been covered in prayer. You go to the wall of prayer, and read some other people’s prayers. Heartfelt moving prayers and praises of what God is doing. You pray for those you read, and add your own by writing a prayer for the continued presence of God on a sticky note and placing it on the wall. Then you look up and realize the next person has come to pray and you’ve finished your hour of prayer. You pray for them giving them the space to meet with God. You look around and see the other stations, the labyrinth, and the time you could spend with God and decide next time you're booking two hours in row!

This is just one example of what it is like for some. Others simply come and sit and pray for an hour. Others put on the worship music and dance praises to God. Others paint. Others come in groups or pairs and pray together or as a small group. Each encounter with God is different and that’s what is truly exciting…

How Does the Sign Up Work?

We ask that people sign up so that we know that each hour is covered. Feel free to sign up for more than one slot. Often people take the same spot each day, or a block of time, finding that one hour isn’t long enough. So please sign up as soon as possible. Near the end of the week though the week is often full. This does not mean you cannot use the space. Feel free to drop in and continue to pray.

Will people talk with me?

No. This is a chance for you to pray individually with God. While at times there might be other people in the room, the space is a personal space for you and God.

Can I invite friends and neighbors?

Yes of course you can. Invite those you know to come with you. Or bring your family. Or maybe for your lunch break bring over a few of your co-workers. Make use of the space as much as possible.