Autumn and I were sitting in the Purple Room of Causeway Coast Vineyard, aptly named for the deep plum paint covering one wall. A group of T Squad girls had just finished our morning ministry: writing letters to the women of the church and community who had attended the previous week’s women’s event. It was just a short, hand written note to let them know that they are loved and appreciated and more than welcome to come to other women’s ministry events in the future. The morning’s work had been a great time of relaxation for the ten of us girls writing the letters. As we copied one note after another, we chatted, ate chocolate, and listened to music. When we were finished with the notes, we were asked to spend time in prayer for each specific woman. We split off in groups of twos taking with us a list of names.
That is when Autumn and I found ourselves in the empty Purple Room. We sat in a couple of random chairs not even bothering to turn on the lights; the window provided enough light- that little bit of sun that was able to filter through the cloudy Irish day. As we settled down to the task at hand and began reading over the names, something stirred within me. Being daughters of the King, Autumn and I could trust that our prayers would not go unanswered. My usual mindset would have been to pray for generic blessings over these women i did not know, and then leave feeling like I did a nice thing by praying for them. But God had steadily been teaching me about the authority that lives inside of each of His children; this is the same authority that was given to His Son, Jesus Christ. So instead of merely praying nice things for these people, Autumn and I took time to listen to the Lord. We invited the Holy Spirit into the Purple Room and asked for His guidance. Each name became an actual person in our minds- a woman who was in need of her Heavenly Father’s blessings.
We held hands as the words flowed from the Spirit. Although we did not know their stories, we found ourselves praying for restoration of joy, healing of marriages, strength for a mother, and peace from financial worries. I have never prayed for a stranger before like the way we prayed for these women. With each sentence I could feel God’s peace filling my heart to overflow, and I knew deep within that the Heavenly Father was answering each and everyone of these prayers. These women would actually feel the blessings Autumn and I were praying.
When we rejoined the other girls from our squad, we found that many had experienced a similarly wonderful time of prayer. As requested by our women’s ministry contact, we recorded the specific women and prayers that the Holy Spirit had placed on our hearts. Later that day, while some of the girls from this group were working at a different ministry of the church, our contact came to find them. She joyfully ran over to the girls and began to explain that each and every prayer we had recorded matched exactly what was going on in these women’s lives. The words given us by the Holy Spirit brought her to tears. “Never doubt what the Lord speaks to you,” she said. “You as a group are truly hearing from God. I am going to call each of these women today and let them know that the World Race prayed for them specifically, and didn’t even know their stories.”
This easy morning of chocolate and writing turned into a major life lesson. As God’s child, I am called to pray with authority and faith, trusting that God is going to move. I am currently writing this blog while in India, and this is a lesson I have to keep reminding myself of on a daily basis. It’s harder here, to be praying over a poverty stricken family who has lost their father, and trust that somehow the Lord is going to completely turn their situation around. Things seems so helpless. Praise the Lamb, God’s authority does not falter or waiver from country to country. He is as strong and as real in the small cement home with a tin roof and dirt floor as He was in the Purple Room in Northern Ireland.
Live your life with this authority. Pray with the confidence that the Creator of the Universe is alive and active. Step out in faith each and every day knowing that you are a child of God and that you walk with the Spirit.
