24-7 Prayer: Prayer, Mission, and Justice

Last Saturday, February 6, I again travelled down to Edinburgh to join
750 other Christians at an Alpha Scotland Vision Day. The theme for
the day was 'Let's Make Jesus the Talk of Scotland.' It was a long and
busy day, but one that both refreshed me and excited me. A growing
number of churches here in Scotland have been using the Alpha course
to introduce the claims of Jesus Christ in a friendly manner. I have wit-
nessed how meeting Jesus in the course has changed lives, families, and
churches.

There were seminar tracks for those who lead Alpha courses, for those
who wanted a basic understanding of Alpha, and for people who wanted
to know about Alpha courses on family life. But I signed up for the track
on 24-7 Prayer. There are churches and ministries that have someone
praying every hour of a day, everyday for some period of time. Some
churches do this over a weekend or for three or four days, and others
do this for a week, a month, or some longer period of time. Several cen-
turies ago the Moravians practiced 24-7 prayer for 100 years! It seems
to be bringing new life to people, and revival to God's people here in Scot-
land.

I am increasingly aware of a mighty move of God coming upon the
Church in Scotland. There are more and more churches joining the
24-7 prayer movement. I have also come across Pray for Scotland
that is calling Christians to pray for the nation every day at 12 noon.
There are other ministries arising that are calling God's people to
prayer. I like the key words of the 24-7 prayer movement: Prayer,
Mission, and Justice. Prayer is not an end in itself, nor is it a private
affair. Rather it propels God's people out in mission and action for jus-
tice in the Name of Jesus.

Back in the mid-1990s I experienced mighty things happening at the
daily early morning prayers at New Covenant Christian Center in Bos-
ton. Over 100 believers from different churches in the city gathered
at New Covenant for 5 am and 6 am prayer sessions. The main topic
of prayer was racial reconciliation. And now I hear exciting things are
happening at Northlake Baptist Church in my hometown of Longview,
WA, where a large number of believers from different churches have
been meeting early in the morning every day for the past three years.
Now that is exciting! Many of us here in Scotland are starting to sense
that the Spirit has been doing amazing things here, too. I feel privileged
to be here to experience it.

There should be material on 24-7 Prayer in your nation on the web. The
same is true regarding Alpha. I also recommend Pete Grieg's Red Moon
Rising and Punk Monk.

Blessings to you and yours,