Well, it looks like we’re a go for our next 24-7 prayer week in Reading, in the first week of February.
I so missed not being able to be in the prayer room as much as I would have liked last time, that this time around I’m going to organise my diary around the prayer week rather than visa versa!
If you’re in the neighbourhood, please do pop in and have an amazing encounter with God. Details are on our prayer community webpage.
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it here before, but I’ve recently felt God calling me to start praying again down at the Abbey ruins here in Reading. So, right near the spot where we opened the Reading Boiler Room back in 2001, I’ve been lifting the people of my town to God, in prayer.
At first sight yesterday was not the day to be out in the open praying. Rain was pouring out of the sky as rapidly as it could, but as Shirley and I stood praying, we were party to a magnificent rainbow.
I’d been reading Noah’s story in Genesis that morning, and as we prayed, it was wonderful to be reminded of God’s covenant with all living things. We thanked Him, and prayed He would look on the people of Reading with a merciful heart.
And here’s the second prayer from my time looking back at our time with the Reading Boiler Room. God had been teaching me about being thankful in all circumstances. I’d known what that mean in my head for a long time, but this prayer was written just after the head knowledge migrated down to my heart…
As I mentioned in my previous post, the Reading Boiler Room closing service was for me a valuable time of looking back at some of the prayers I had written during our time on the boil.
This one is from back in June 2001…
Almost 6 years ago here in Reading, we were running around getting excited about opening a 24hr house of prayer, with dreams of exploring the old monastic values and engaging with our town in new and powerful ways. God answered our prayers miraculously, and brought from them more than we could ever have hoped or imagined. After these six long, hard, happy years, last Friday night we saw the end of this stage of our journey with the closure of the Reading Boiler Room.
I’m finding myself really thankful at the moment. There’s loads of fairly major things going on in my life, but I have a fantastic sense of peace. God is with me in all things. Thanks to those of you who pray for me 🙂
One of the great encouragements to me after a week of 24-7 prayer is to see all of the creative outpourings of prayer all over the walls of the prayer room. A few pictures of some of the prayers after our last week of 24-7, and some of the paintings and murals by our ‘resident artist’ Josh Jackson, can be seen by clicking on this link.
We gathered on Saturday evening at Cav Baptist rather tired from a frantic couple of weeks trying to get the new Reading Boiler Room fit for people to come and pray in. Through the tiredness though, there was a distinct sense of expectation. We were relaunching, celebrating the new place God had given us to be, and expectant that he was going to speak.
It’s been a while since I’ve been writing this kind of thing through the achy eyes of a 24-7 Prayer rota duty manager. There really isn’t anything quite like a week of 24-7 Prayer to exhaust and electrify all at the same time! The new Reading Boiler Room has been open almost a week now, and the walls are crying out with praises and petitions to Jesus. Pieces on identity, God’s faithfulness, and heart felt cries for friends, families, and whole towns, where we desperately need to see Him move in power.
There’s not much left of our week of prayer now, and we’ve got the fatigue and elation to show for it! If you’d like to join us, the rota will run until 21:00 Saturday evening, and you can check out the remaining available slots here.
Lord, continue to reveal yourself to your people…
The good – no the fantastic – news, is that we have finally concluded our negotiations over the contract for the new Boiler Room here in Reading. I’m really looking forward to being able to live out our six Boiler Room values (Prayer, Creativity, Mission, Justice, Community, Pilgrimage) with the focus of a permanent place of prayer at its centre.