24–7 prayer shakes youth, adults

So, this family is sitting around the breakfast table reading their morning devotions. The thought for the day? The idea of spicing up personal devotions when they seem to get dull or lose vitality. Later that day, the grade 7 student sitting at that table shows up at our 24–7 prayer room. She prays for an hour with her best friend after school – then signs up for two more empty slots later in the week. She goes home, walks in the door, grabs her mom and exclaims, “Mom, they’ve created the garden of Eden in there!”

What is she talking about?

From March 30 to April 6, Coaldale MB Church’s youth ministry ran a 24–7 prayer room. The concept comes from Chichester, England, where a group of students, inspired by an ancient prayer movement in Moravia, decided to pray non-stop for one month. One month turned into three months, and then things mushroomed, as other youth groups and ministries wanted in on the amazing experience.

The idea is to create a room where individuals can come to experience prayer. Typically a room is designed to offer a variety of prayer experiences. In our room in Coaldale, we covered a large portion of the wall with newsprint and allowed students to paint their prayers to God. We hung bamboo mats and asked people to hang the names of their pre-Christian friends on this mat – well over 100 names were stuffed between the slats. Black tar paper offered a surface where Scripture and prayers could be written and drawn in sidewalk chalk. A laminated world map ended up covered in written prayers for our world (using dry erasable markers). Small clay figurines began to appear all over the room, as people sculpted images of prayer. A central feature of the room was a pond surrounded by a floral garden. A fountain in the middle of the pond helped to create an atmosphere of serenity and peace. A couch, a leather recliner, some beanbag chairs and a patio set allowed participants to experience the room in many different ways. People dragged in their guitars and sang their praises to God, or just sat and read Scripture or devotional material.

And we went 24–7, meaning 24 hours a day for 7 days. When we began this venture on Sunday, we had 40–45 one-hour slots still unfilled, but by the end of the week all but two-and-a-half hours of the 168 had been filled. I was skeptical, but I had experienced this concept before and knew that it could be a powerful dynamic in the life of the entire church. It blew me away to see how seriously the youth took their time in the room. Students that I thought would just goof off were hunkered down around a coffee table praying their hearts out for their friends. Adults – even seniors – came and marvelled at the experience this room provided. Many participants said their time was too short. People broken in tears or dancing to a worship tune shared a common experience in this room. We had people participating from Catholic, charismatic and fundamentalist backgrounds. The other Mennonite church in town spent their weekly ministerial prayer time in this prayer room.

The room has come to be known as the Prayer Oasis, and there is a move to establish a permanent room in the church that can be designated for prayer ministry. Well over 150 people participated in this week, many of whom would have readily signed up for another week. That chance will happen again in fall, when we are planning to hold another 24–7 prayer week.

The 24–7 prayer thing seems to be catching on with Mennonites. According to Dan King, the director of the Canadian chapter of the worldwide movement, more and more MBs are catching this fresh breeze of God’s work. The week was extremely easy to run, and tons of resources are available online.

So, later in the week, this girl’s mom shows up. She says she wants to see the “garden of Eden”. “This is much more than I ever imagined,” she says. “We have to do this at our church!”

—Dale Friesen, Associate Pastor for Youth Ministry, Coaldale MB Church