I am passionate about 24/7 worship and prayer.
I love helping people start or strengthen prayer ministries in their church or community, setting up watches of the Lord. For five years, I coordinated a 24/7 prayer tent outreach at our towns fall festival. We set up a prayer tent in stations and people took turns in one hour shifts praying for the schools, leaders, city, nation, etc. based on Isaiah 62:6 and Luke 18:7.
What is 24/7 Prayer?
As a Young Adult Pastor at Coweta Assembly of God church, I read the book “Red Moon Rising” by Pete Greig and caught the vision for 24/7 prayer based on Isaiah 62:6-7—I have posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest, 7 and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth…We decided to set up our own “watch of the Lord”, taking turns in one hour shifts to pray for our church, our city and our nation. We set up the room in prayer stations that included a creativity station where participants could express their worship and prayer through art. There was also a “wailing wall” with specific prayer requests gathered from people in the church and community.
In 2007, we decided to take it to the streets of our city at the annual fall festival. For five years, we partnered with the Coweta Ministerial Alliance to coordinate a 24/7 prayer tent outreach in the middle of our city’s annual fall festival. Setting up a prayer tent in the middle of the festival, we arranged the tent in stations where participants could pray for our city, state and national leaders, local schools, churches, military, etc. There was a wall where they could write the name of a loved one that needed healing, salvation or breakthrough, and another space to put up specific prayer requests gathered while connecting with people outside the tent. Prayer warriors from various churches signed up to pray in one hour shifts and to be available to pray with festival attendees. The first year, the City Manager remarked, “we did not have one incident at the festival this year, even though our football team was playing their rival. I believe it was because of this prayer tent!”
Another part of the evangelism and outreach was graffiti art panels. Graffiti artists painted images connecting to the theme throughout the festival. As people gathered to watch them paint, we would visit with them and ask how we could be praying for them and their family during the festival. They filled out prayer request cards that were posted inside the tent. If they wanted, we would pray with them right there in the street!
How do I start 24/7 prayer in my church or community?
These are the books that inspired me and will help you get started!
On a summers day in 1727 a community of Moravians started praying and didnt stop for more than 100 years. Throughout history God has mobilised such movements and moments of 24/7 prayer from the Upper Room of Pentecost to Azusa Street in Los Angeles, through ancient Celtic saints and extraordinary characters like Alexander the Sleepless.
Today's 24–7 prayer movement is an international, interdenominational network of prayer which has grown unexpectedly from one prayer-room in England to impact 60 nations in just six years. This phenomenal movement is putting Christ-centered, mission-minded prayer back at the heart of communities all over the world. Now you can be part of it.
How can I help with 24/7 prayer?
Your donations make it possible for us to fulfill the call to be "watchmen on the wall" (Isa. 62) and to keep "the fire on the altar" burning! (Lev. 6:13).
