Here in our little town near the base of Kilimanjaro, our small community of believers recently hosted a 24/1 prayer room. 

To be honest, it was Chase’s idea.  Chase is 15, the best friend of our third-born son.

As a little team, we believe in the incredible importance of prayer and we could list for you all the reasons we do so.   And yet, in the year since our family moved to Arusha, we had not hosted a prayer week.  As much as we have talked about how great it would be, we are fully aware of what a big effort it would be as well.

And I think that was just it.  We are a 2 family team in a city where driving at night can be dangerous and is generally discouraged.  Then there were the questions of where and how.  We don’t have a community building to invite people to or a central and safe location.  

I guess I just put the idea off in my mind.  “It will happen,” I thought.  “When the time is right we’ll have the right place and a little bit bigger community of people and it will come together.”

I guess youthfulness brings a healthy disdain for what I might call “good sense.”  

Chase has heard all about prayer rooms.  He’s heard us speak of the amazing times those weeks of prayer were that we hosted during our years in Europe and he has just finished reading Pete Greig’s book Red Moon Rising. The book, (which has just been released in audiobook), chronicles the God-stories of how 24-7 Prayer was born and how God grew it into something no one expected it to be—a global movement that champions Prayer, Mission and Justice.

The stories seeped into Chases’ imaginings and he wanted in.  

The time was now, he decided.  No more waiting around on the grown-ups to get themselves organized.  Who cares if we don’t have any kind of community space?  Wouldn’t a bedroom do?  

Next thing I knew, I was signing up for a slot in the one day, one bedroom prayer room.

When I asked Chase about what motivated him to give his room over to a constant stream of prayer for 24 hours, his answer was characteristically honest.  

“At first,” he said, “I thought it would be cool if my room was decorated by prayers and prophecies.  I thought that maybe instead of putting up paper on the walls for people to use, I could leave my white walls exposed and keep the prayers and poems as a way of getting something nice up on my walls.”

But things changed as Chase read Red Moon Rising.

“Suddenly it all became about the idea of a prayer room and not just decorating my room.
The main thing that stood out from the book, making me want to do a prayer room, was the idea of setting aside big chunks of time to seek God. I felt like I wanted to dedicate myself (my time, space, and energy) to God more fully. Honestly, I was just aching to see God move in power and creating a holy space seemed like a great way to see His hand move.”

Chase was expectant as he and his mom set his room up.

“One huge aspect that stuck out from the book is that whenever people set time and space aside to seek God, He shows up in love and power. I think it's amazing how consistent He is.”

Yes, God did show up.  As we worshipped together in the bedroom/prayer room during the final couple of hours, people shared how they had experienced God there.

Nadine (in her 20’s) said she was overwhelmed by Love as she walked in.  Colin (14) said he felt he was just sitting on God’s lap, not needing to do anything and that it felt SO good.  Heather (9) said she liked drawing on the wall and reading her Bible!

Being Colin’s mom, I couldn’t help but bury one of his prayers in my heart:

“Thank you God that you’re not, like, super serious—that when you want to comfort us you can make us laugh.”

Our 24/1 had run from a Friday evening to a Saturday evening and the Tanzanian staff that help Wild Hope had not been available to be involved.  On Monday morning, Chase’s mom showed them around the space, explaining the few prayer stations and the idea of expressing ourselves freely to God through several mediums.  Philemon was translating and getting more and more excited as he explained the concepts.  

We hadn’t really been sure how our Tanzanian friends would like the idea of painting or singing their prayers.  We didn’t know if they would find our prayer stations kind of weird and western.  But Philemon’s eyes were bright and eager.

“I want an hour in here!” he said.  So before tearing down, a handful of Tanzanian believers took hour slots in the dedicated space.  

Each of us who participated was touched by the presence of God.  Each one had a meaningful time in the company of their Creator.  God stirred us to pray for our city, our nation and our continent.

So maybe it’s not all about being maturely organized.  Maybe you only have to be 15 to change the world.