What's going on here?
…as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”
1 Corinthians 14:25
I was in the throes of planning the next Prophetic Prayer and Communion (PPC) for early in December. As I poked around, sending emails, buying breath mints, and soliciting volunteers and musicians to pull the evening off, I started thinking back.
Most of it is carried out by a cast of unsung saints from various churches around the area. I’m amazed that we’ve hosted 60-65 events over the last 10 years; that’s roughly 15,000 people in attendance from all over the region. It hardly seems possible in an auditorium our size, but repeatedly putting Jesus on display has an attractive quality to it.
In short, it’s a musical prayer meeting centered on Jesus, a simple format of listening for God’s thoughts and blessing the ones who are standing before us. The worship (musical prayer) continues all evening, crafting an atmosphere of encounter. There are painters creating visual prayer, stations to linger long with communion elements, prayerful questions looping on the screen, and many connect with God deeply in these ways. Many come to receive prophetic prayer. Dozens of teams line the auditorium walls, spilling out into the café. Here God speaks in simple and sometimes remarkable ways. In so doing, the fame of His name grows. No prayer requests are taken, only encouragement is given. A picture of what 1 Corinthians 14:1 can look like.
My only goal is that people would uniquely engage with the Father, and walk away reflecting on what He says as true. We hope that Jesus is the clearest memory, and the ones who prayed for them are quickly forgotten.
Several years ago in late spring, our parking lot was overflowing at a PPC event. The word had spread and we were shoulder-to-shoulder. As the evening began, the natural rhythm of worship and prayer flowing seamlessly together, a bearded man in motorcycle leathers came cautiously through the auditorium’s rear doors.
He stood against the wall, trying to make sense of what was going on. He looked really into the music. I watched him watching everything for a while before I made my way over. “Hey man, how ya doing?” He looked at me, bewildered, saying, “I’m good, what’s going on in here?” I said, “It’s a musical prayer meeting, and the people around the edges of the room are listening for God and praying for people.” “Huh, interesting” he said. The music is really cool, I’ve not heard anything like it. “That’s because it’s a spontaneous song, one that God is inspiring the singers with right now.” “Crazy cool,” he said.
Curious how people find us, since its mostly a word-of-mouth kind of thing, I asked, “How did you find yourself here tonight?” He said that he’d been riding his motorcycle down the road and saw cars parked everywhere and wondered what was going on. “I don’t know man, but I just felt pulled to come check it out.”
“Well, I’m glad you came in.” I said. “Why don’t you have some of these people pray for you. Who knows, maybe God will surprise you?”
In the next 30 minutes, he was with two different groups, which seemed to go very well. He even hung around until the evening closed. “How’d it go” I asked. “This is so trippy, man, there’s no way those guys could have known the things they prayed for me.” He turn away, shaking his head. One of the men who had prayed whispered in my ear, “Hey Rus, I don’t think that guy knows Jesus, yet.” “Well, now that Jesus has his attention, go introduce him,” I said. Seemed like a 1 Corinthians 14:25 moment to me.
I didn’t hear what was said, but ten minutes later, I saw them praying again. I was told later that Jesus had become more than just a name to him. “Man, I’m glad I happened in here tonight,” he said, as he geared up to drive his motorcycle home.
There have been so many remarkable stories over the years, most of which go untold. I wish I had written more of them all down. But now, as I’m in the details of organizing yet another, it’s easy to say that it’s all worth it. People are coming for Jesus, and people are leaving with Jesus, and in the end, His is the face I want people to remember.
“A long obedience in the same direction” as Eugene Peterson says, really does prove out. What direction is your long obedience in?
Prophetic Prayer & Communion
Some artwork made during a Prophetic Prayer & Communion night