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Global Day of Prayer 2009: Amazing Spiritual Refreshment June 1, 2009 By Kent d
Curry About 2,500
believers gathered at 4 p.m. on Pentecost Sunday, May 31, 2009 at
St. Louis University's Chaifetz Arena to participate in the Global
Day of Prayer activities. For two hours, believers of all ages and
ethnicities sang, prayed, watched related video clips, worshipped
with the drama team, and listened to a testimony. I'd used the
possibility of Albert
Pujols sharing his testimony again
as bait for my 11 year-old to look forward to this time, but here's
what's cool about this event--even if Pujols had shared his testimony,
we wouldn't have known it in advance because no one (not the pastor-emcees,
not the worship leader, not the prayer leaders, not the dramatists),
were introduced by name because the point of the event was to focus
on Jesus. And that's what we did. And the Shofar
Blew Sure there were
some jagged moments--a nun's robotic prayer, the inevitable sound
problems, uneven musical talent from the volunteer choir--but those
were sparse compared to the highlights. As when the
music leaders ceased singing “Hallelujah” and the congregation kept
singing, timidly at first, and then with more confidence until everyone
was worshipping without music. (No mean feat in an arena.) Or when the
three minutes of silent prayer lasted three committed minutes. Or
when the entire offering was promised to Habitat for Humanity and
St. Patrick's Center. Or when we were guided into small groups at
our rows to pray--and the power of God fell, and then lingered long
afterwards the assigned 10 minutes. The best two
prayer leaders were passionate females who busted their prayers
out with heavenly power. The most candid moment came when the testimony
about the growing unity of churches in the St. Louis Region featured
an African American who told us that, as an African American, it
was easy to doubt when he heard the word “reconciliation.” Then
he proclaimed the reality of that reconciliation. Continuing Through Eternity The gray arena
floor featured a simple wooden cross grounded in purple cloth, so
it was appropriate that the service ended with everyone singing
the contemporary version of “At
the Cross” before spending some time
in reflection on His sacrifice before a final song and charge to
take our prayers home. So what's it
like to share an arena with multiple hundreds of believers of different
Christian stripes who are meeting to pray change into the world,
of hearing a Pentecostal buddy talk exuberantly about praying with
a Japanese pastor of 20-30 Japanese believers in a nearby city community,
of watching my crying wife hug a total stranger as the small group
prayer ended? A refreshing
taste of heaven come early. Take the time
next year to see how God's moving in your region by attending this
event. It's likely to help turn our world upside down. © 2009, Kent
d Curry ----- Kent d Curry is an executive editor of ninetyandnine.com.
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