I remember the countless number of hours that were clocked in the early stages of our church here in Ann Arbor. We just knew that without God we would not be able to accomplish anything – that was 10+ years ago.
There is something about “success” or being “more established” that causes us to pray less and depend more on ourselves. This is a cycle that we need to try to break, especially here at HMCC. In some sense, this is the reason why it is refreshing to be in Chicago on Sundays. Since it is a new church plant, I am seeing that same desperate and dependent attitude that we had here in Ann Arbor some years ago.
As we turn another chapter of our church history here in Ann Arbor, we will have an opportunity to recapture the heart of prayer. This Friday we are going to have an all-night prayer gathering – I think the last one we had was about 3-4 years ago. Therefore, this experience of praying all night will be a new experience for many people in our church.
Some people have asked me:
2) Can we actually pray all throughout the wee-hours of the night? Well, we will probably integrate various things (i.e. worship, praying for one another, journaling, etc) so it is definitely possible.
3) Won’t we get tired? Yes. Read Mt 26:40-41.
4) Do we have to stay for the whole thing? Stay as long as you can. There is something about starting together and ending things together.
5) What if we fall asleep during our prayer time? As long as you are dreaming about God, it should be fine. Sometimes the most holy thing to do is to sleep… just make it look like you are praying 😉
I hope many of you will be able to join us. I am praying that God will meet us with a special visitation. In the past, God has used these all-night prayer gatherings in a powerful way. See you there!