Every once in a while God will do something crazy.
This month we had a routine. Every day we would do prayer walks from 10-12 over the Red Light District. Whatever God had put on our hearts, we would pray over each building and bar. I remember just praying relentlessly for a sobriety over that place. That the people selling themselves would find a way out and that they would realize that they won't be filled by what they are doing. That the men would see that their loneliness and desire to be satisfied was ruining them and everyone around them. In essence, I prayed for freedom. Freedom for both the oppressor and the oppressed.
At night, we would get together at 8. Sitting with the Father and praying for things to come. We prayed against temptation for our men and against lies for our women. We'd pray for light that cannot be mistaken and divine appointments that would change the course of someone's life. We'd pray scripture into life and life into dead bodies. And every single night God would show up. Every night was so full. So thick with presence of God.
But this night was different. For the first time i spoke outloud into the things that i wanted to see. I want to see every single one of them free. I want to see the alley that we were working in completely Shut Down. We prayed that God would redeem the bars. That not only would He take the bars down, but that He would resurrect them as a place of worship. A place that would glorify Him. And that night, we prayed with faith even though we may never see the fruits of God's hand. He hears the cry of his children, always. He is a good dad.
So after prayer, in our usual teams of two and three, we went out for our last night in Chiang Mai. We went out filled to the brim with a sense of peace. We had joy in knowing that God was in the bars before we got there and that He will continue to work when we leave.
Moe, Mitchi, and I got to our usual bar ("Shamrock Pub" in the top, right of the picture). We sat and bought our usual drinks. We talked to our usual people and sat in our usual seat. But within minutes, something very unusual happened. It started to rain.
Trust me, it's not exactly rainy season here in Thailand. It's like being in a toaster every day. I would think any rain might just evaporte when it hits the ground. But as it, rained I was once again overwhelmed with peace. And with every lady boy in town screaming at the top of his lungs at the clash of every burst of thunder, you couldn't help but to just laugh. And even moreso, you couldn't help but be pulled in by the sound of cleansing happening all around you.
So blessed and somewhat lost, we just started to pray. 3 slightly bowed heads in the middle of a Thai bar, thanking our God and asking Him what was next. And in the most real way ever, He answered.
With one last clash, the lights went out. Every single bar and restaurant in the Red Light District was turned off. Imagine, with the image above, the music stopping. The drunk setting down their glass and the men taking their arm out from around the women. The sobering thought of being in the dark. The girls standing in awe, and for just a moment, silence consuming one of the loudest place I've ever been. For a half an hour, the enemy's playground was Shut Down. Our voices were heard, and God took control.
We just sat there. We laughed at the bold and direct answering of our prayers. WE JUST PRAYED FOR THIS, like 20 minutes ago. We just sat in awe of the cleansing.
I need other people to know these stories, because my heart is screaming out, "God is real!" I really believe that even most Christians have a hard time believing in this God. A God that turns off the power and sets people free. A God that still heals and that still has the same authority that we read about. And the best part is that we're loved by that same, huge, amazing God. He actually cares about us. He listens to our small prayers that are done in great faith, and He carries them out.
The Red Light District's time is coming to a close. Bold people are praying for bold things and God is answering us. He is so ridiculously good.
"And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask anything in my name, and I will do it."- John 14:13-14
More than a sentence. It's a promise, and we are seeing it come to life before our eyes.
