I have recently returned from a four-day visit with friends in Liverpool. It was a time of long walks (some on the beach), delicious food, open vulnerability in conversations, much laughter within the group and the highlight for me was my first prayer walk around an amazing, vibrant city with a checked history that stems from the slave trade right through to the phenomenon of the Beatles and more!
In March there was a National Women's Day of Prayer that was being shown live on Facebook. Out of curiosity I decided to tune in. As I was sitting watching NWDP, I found myself weeping. I realised how I'd not prayed as I should, and how I had allowed the prayer meetings of the past to put me off. How as a Pastor I didn't prioritise prayer in my church - we had an intercession team but I didn't give it the honour it deserved, mainly because of what I had previously experienced. Watching two ladies in particular share their stories and passion for prayer, my heart was stirred to feel the heart of God anew! I began to weep as the Holy Spirit moved on my heart in repentance and forgiveness. Watching NWDP healed a part of my heart that I didn't realise needed healing. It was this encounter with the Holy Spirit that motivated me to want to experience and participate in this prayer walk.
Talk about feeling like a newbie, which I was! I said to the Holy Spirit, ‘Over to you!’
Here I was part of an amazing group of men and women gathered at St Nicholas Parish Church when the title of Beni Johnson’s book ‘The Happy Intercessor’ came to mind. There was such an atmosphere of joy and expectation. As an outsider, a non-scouser, my heart was impacted by the way this prayer walk was going. I can’t say that I had any preconceived ideas as to what a prayer walk might look like as this was my first! Well, maybe I was expecting it to be a little solemn and silent. Here were a diverse group of men and women earnestly and enthusiastically praying for their city to be impacted by God and it wasn’t silent or solemn! I had to ask myself the question, ‘How do I feel about my city?’ I’m still working on that one!
I have always loved history, so as we moved to the Baltic Triangle and Pier Head I was fascinated to hear the history surrounding those places. Eventually we ended the prayer walk and headed off to have lunch together at a Chinese restaurant. Yummy! We were sitting on a round table and the Holy Spirit began to speak and show me things as we happily and naturally interacted with each other throughout the meal.
He was talking to me about the power of unity, about family unity. We often think that unity is when we gather at a meeting, that if there is a crowd of us at the same event then we must be in unity. How many times have you felt on the outside or invisible at a gathering or a church because no one spoke to you? I know I have! The Holy Spirit was showing me that unity is forged out of the power of family, family in covenant with each other!
‘How wonderful, how beautiful, when brothers and sisters get along!
It’s like costly anointing oil flowing down head and beard, flowing down Aaron’s beard, flowing down the collar of his priestly robes. It’s like the dew on Mount Hermon flowing down the slopes of Zion. Yes, that’s where God commands the blessing, ordains eternal life’. Psalm 133 MSG
For too long the church has chased after signs and wonders; chased after leaders who carried certain anointings. Each move eventually came to an end, often because churches didn’t value family as much as they valued a movement!
Jesus had zeal for His house, “Passion for God’s house will consume me.” Jn 2:17 NLT
He was talking about you and I - our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are God’s resting place, not a building but the place of fellowship and rest, the home that originated in Eden, which is meant to be heaven on earth through the family of God on earth today. Man has a very shallow understanding of unity, we remain in ‘unity’ until the challenge of preferring one another rears its ugly head! Unity without covenant isn’t unity. Being ‘right’ and demanding our way or the highway is a covenant breaker. God has made covenant with you and I and we are in Christ, one body, in covenant with Him and each other!
As we sat around that table, everyone could see each other - different streams, styles, experiences were represented; no one was front and centre. I saw a picture of family life, not perfect, messy at times, joy and laughter, struggles with vulnerability and insecurities but a deep connection to be part of a family, showing true unity, a family of covenant that is protective of one another even through disagreements because it’s being fostered to pour love and grace into each other. A family working together in covenant for the good of the family business.
The Holy Spirit showed me that the church I started was birthed out of the example of the unity of a school department that valued every child and looked for the gold that could be drawn out of them that would be foundational in their adult lives to give them a healthy sense of worth that came from family. As a department we had a sense of family, we ate together, cried together and at times fought together because our head of department knew how to get the best out of us, and in turn we could pull out the best in those we taught. We were all different, a variety of gifting; some more temperamental than others but we operated in a spirit of unity of love and mutual respect which was filtered into the kids in our care.
Holy Spirit went on to show me that when Moses was born and his mother saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him to protect him. (Hebrews 11:22-26) The Holy Spirit was saying ‘My church is full of beautiful children with great gifting and potential. They must be protected and nurtured but, when the children are neglected and used only to serve the ministry, we are left with orphans that have no sense of family and even less understanding of covenant!’
What I saw around that table with those people was a picture of family coming together, to enjoy one another, to eat together, to receive revelation together. A listening family whose roots were going deep with each other in a spirit of covenant unity that could only lead to commanded blessings as they go about their Father’s business.
Stop chasing the wind; stop and realise the wind lives on the inside of you, and wants to be a whirlwind through you!
1.Chase after intimacy with the Holy Spirit.
2. let Him heal your heart.
3. Develope intimacy with your family and friends.(The safe ones)
4. Find your tribe, church family.
5. Get connected and put down some deep roots.
“You are a son or daughter of God. You are a child of the King. You are written into God's will, and you are an heir of everything God has. You are a beneficiary of the lavish love of God, which has changed you from failure to family.”
Louie Giglio
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