Come hell or high water - God is wooing his people to pray
By about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday evening, (July 11th) I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. The weather had turned pretty menancing and the skies looked like they were ready to unleash a real storm.
I thought to myself - “is God crazy?” Doesn’t He know we are trying to have a prayer meeting. I mean, here we are meeting in Newark (a town many NJ folks are pretty scared of), in of all places, a Rescue Mission. On top of all this the rain is torrential, the roads are flooding, the highway is backed up. By 7:25 p.m. (five minutes before we are supposed to start) the place is nearly empty.
Then literally a few minutes before we are to begin, Jim Benton (the director of Good Will Rescue, and the host of tonight’s prayer meeting) gets a call - “your son has been in a car accident, he rolled the car over with 3 other kids in the car.” It seemed like everything that could go wrong, was going wrong.
And yet, God showed up. And all be it late, a great turnout showed up for the prayer meeting, with lots of new people. God confounded me, and I am so grateful and over-joyed that He wooed so many to come together last night. The Lord brought out special new friends as well. Lloyd and Joanne Turner, from New Providence Presbyterian (He is the author of “Highways of Holiness” and they are behind a new initiative to bring pastors together in Newark) as well as Michael & Maria Westbrook, of Greater Life, Inc. in Newark.
Rain, traffic, flooded roads didn’t stop the gathering. May God be praised!
July 25th, 2007 at 9:07 am
I was SO close to not coming–a rainy night; 1/2 hour before my kids bedtime, so 2 tired little ones; I was tired from my day and all I wanted to do was lay on the couch–but I came and I’m so glad I did. Scott, I don’t know if you agree, but that place feels downright Brazilian–the way it looks and the way it feels.
Very powerful…still it feels like something needs to give…
July 25th, 2007 at 9:57 am
Vesper, you are so right… I thought exactly the same thing. That meeting had that humility and lowliness that is so common here in Brazil. And you are also right that we are still waiting for the tipping point.
It is coming. I’m sure of it.