At the start of the year I gathered with some of the 24-7 UK Team and considered what we’re dreaming of, what we're ‘seeing’ for the future together. When I came across some of what we'd scribbled down, dreaming and scheming as friends I was amazed at how much God has already done just six months later:

We want to see MORE, MORE, MORE

• People getting saved through 24-7 Prayer Rooms
• Healing and miracles happening across our nation
• A rediscovering of the ‘army of young people…’ young people prophesied in Red Moon Rising
• Prayer rooms progressing into small communities practicing rhythms of mission and justice
• More non-Christians impacted by prayer rooms
  

The list goes on…

Since we penned those words just a few months ago, in what at the time seemed then like dreamy optimism, we have seen ALL of the above.  It feels like the pace has stepped up in prayer rooms in the UK over the last few months. There have been stories of miracles, salvation, and a surge of prayer rooms exploding amongst young people particularly in schools! Here are just some of highlights...

Just a month ago we received this report from a prayer room in Ayr, Scotland. ”The power of prayer has truly been shown in the Lord’s response to Paula’s illness. Ayr and Glasgow Royal hospitals gave confirmation of a cancerous tumor prior to her operation. But having been prayed for in the prayer room, the doctors could no longer find the cancer, and couldn’t explain why. Through the activation and constant chain of prayer, nearly 3 weeks later, following her 10-hour operation – there is NO CANCER OR TUMOUR the mass being fibrous scar tissue.  This has amazed the surgeon in charge of Paula’s case, an expert in his field." [The full story will be appearing here soon]

As I’m penning this an email pings into my inbox from a prayer room happening right now in Birmingham with news that a 60 year old guy who had never learned to read properly was given the ability to read the Bible in the prayer room!  This is amazing, mind-blowing and we can't wait to find out more.

In February this came in from a prayer room in Ashtead, Surrey ‘I know of at least one person who accepted Jesus for the first time there and it brought me completely back to God.’

The vision Pete Greig saw as he stood on Cape St Vincent that night was of an ‘army of young people’

‘My eyes were open, but I could ‘see’ with absolute clarity before me the different countries laid out like an atlas and from each one a faceless army of young people was rising out of the page, crowds of them in every nation awaiting orders.’

Phil Togwell (UK Team Leader) tells this story from a prayer room he set up in his local secondary school in Romford, Essex ‘One girl who stepped into the prayer room wrote this: ‘Before I came into the prayer room I didn’t know what I believed about God but feel an enlightenment.’

In a prayer room in Sunbury in February ‘One girl took advantage of the snow and all but moved in for the week. She wrote prophetic letters of encouragement to people that she left in envelopes by the door, this is a girl with a difficult home back ground who 18 months ago hadn't even been inside a church building. At the end of the week in a time of testimony on Sunday morning she shared how she'd been praying for a friend whose mum was bed ridden with cancer, she began praying for her on Monday and by Wednesday the mum was up and able to move around.’

This comes from a prayer room in Ireland in March. ‘I was so amazed by the prayer room last night – it was just an awesome space, and a total wake up call for me personally. There's so much injustice everywhere! what am I, ……doing to help ? The answer was nothing. I got so annoyed that I went straight home, thought, what the flip can I do right this second that could help others in need? So I packed up a load of clothes I don’t need and brought them to barnardo’s this morning, this sounds nuts I know.’

A few weeks ago I received an email from a young person in Winchester. He writes ‘I read the ‘The Vision and the Vow’ and it has really challenged me! I’ve lent it to a couple of friends in my youth group and they've also been really challenged by it. It is amazing and really has inspired me and my friends to get together and challenge our youth group to full hearted discipleship!'

Since then he and his friends have started praying together regularly. Today, this dropped into my inbox.
‘Well we did it! We started at 12pm Monday and meant to finish at12pm today but we got so excited we continued it and we're still going.... probably going to stop it Wednesday 2pm. God has really moved us all and we really feel like our lights are coming together and getting stronger for Jesus. Gods broken my heart and remade it several times.... for other people they've really felt a desire to shine for him. Its been amazing that the prayer has changed us.’

Reflecting back over these last weeks and months it seems God has answered our prayers. As we thanked him together. I heard him say just 3 words ‘I’m colouring in.’ I feel like this is what he’s up to right now he’s colouring in the pictures of our lives with His colours.  It’s like the Sony advert with the bouncing balls, have you seen it?

God is colouring in and His colours are bouncing through our lives. Through school corridors and into classrooms…bouncing from mirrors into hearts, creating ‘enlightenments’. It’s in hospital theatres, it touches surgeon’s hands and dare I say, it is transforming the very composition and make-up of cancerous cells. It’s jumping from the pages of the Bible, gracing people with abilities they literally did not have before. This is truly phenomenal. God’s colour is turning lives to not only pray it but also become living embodiments of justice. It is breaking and remaking hearts to live a life that’s Christ Centered. 

We can't wait to see what He does with the rest of the year!