Great Joy

Prayer Night last Thursday was an amazing experience. For the first half of the evening, we heard about and prayed for a mission in Kosovo from a British couple who worked there for several years before recently moving to Lifehope. Then we heard presentations by some of the GA trainees on different missionaries from history and used them to inspire us to pray for different countries and issues today.

After the break, we did something a bit different and completely awesome. We had a small worship band that played all night and many different stations set up. Everyone was free to move about as they wished and interact with God in their own way. There was an art station with paints, space for dancing and worship, and an area with cushions and pillows to just curl up and pray. One corner of the room had papers spread out on the floor with information on the top 10 countries where Christians are persecuted. On the opposite side, there were slips of paper for each department and ministry of Lifehope for people to pray over. People were available if you wanted personal prayer, or you could grab tea and a biscuit and sit together to talk and pray.

I felt the Holy Spirit there that night. It was so amazing to look around the room and see the Spirit in every face, to see people crying, singing, dancing, and praying, each being affected in their own way.

I spent most of the time laying on a cushion on the floor, working through things that God has been bringing up in my life over the last few weeks. There were pens and paper, so I wrote a letter to God. There is something solid and binding about a prayer that is written.

I have been so happy here, and I realized that it is because I am where God has placed me, doing the work He has given me. That fills me with great joy. He has given me gifts of organizational and administrative skills and a place to use them. When I focus on Him, he pours out blessings of peace and contentment on my life. Joy is not something I can choose to have; it comes from following Jesus.