A few weeks ago, I heard on my local radio station about an event coming up that would be featuring Hillsong United as the worship band. That fact alone was enough to make me get to my computer as fast as I could to plug in the website address (www.unitendop.com). Honestly, I had NO idea what the event was for (I NOW understand that NDOP stands for “National Day of Prayer” – who knew?) but if Hillsong United was going to be there – I was going to be there.
Once I got on the website, I quickly figured out that this was actually for a night of worship and prayer at Mariucci Arena at the University of Minnesota (Go Gophers!) (FUN FACT: I have LITERALLY touched EVERY stair in that place – it’s where the softball team did all of our stair-running workouts – and honestly, I still get a little nauseous walking in there). The website talked about uniting all of the youth and young adults from the Twin Cities, and praying for a revival among our generation – and I knew I needed to be there – and bring some youth with me.
Last Thursday (May 1st) was the big night – and I was fortunate enough to be able to bring along three young ladies from my church who I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know in our youth group! None of us really knew what all was in store for the evening – we were all pumped to be able to see Hillsong United perform – but by the end of the evening, we knew we had experienced something even more world-rocking than just a concert!
(Mikayla, Rachel, and Roz)
I could never do the entire experience justice, but I do want to share a few key take-aways:
- I had never before had the opportunity to worship and simultaneously pray with over 10,000 other believers -what a rush! I’ve never felt more carefree in my life! Ever since my trips to Haiti, I have become less self-conscious of what I look like or what I’m doing during worship – and it was a delight to completely let go for an evening and “let God”.
- Nick Hall (the leader of Pulse – who put this event together) spoke for 30 minutes about his vision for this event and the ripple-effect he hoped it would have around the Twin Cities and eventually our nation and the world. He spoke about “Reset”, “Unite” and “Revive”. We need to “reset” and get our hearts and minds and our relationship with God on track. We need to “unite” together as the Body of Christ and as the Church – we need to come together and not allow ourselves to become distracted by petty denominational differences that distract us from making Him known. And once those pieces are in place – we can start talking “revival”.
- We had the opportunity to pray in multiple forms and fashions: from crying out (inspired by Psalm 77, verse 1 – “My voice rises to God, and I will cry aloud; my voice rises to God, and He will hear me”), to individual, quiet prayer, to corporate prayer and praying in small groups. We had the opportunity to pray for the persecuted church around the world, pioneer missionaries, unreached people groups, the lost, the broken, the hurting, calling out sin in our own life so that we could “reset” and so much more. It was a powerful time to lift our hands and voices and cry aloud together.
Here is a short 3 minute recap video of the evening as a whole:
Unite National Day of Prayer Summary 2014 from PULSE Movement on Vimeo
Finally, there was Hillsong United – WHOA. If you had asked me a year ago who they were, I honestly probably could not have told you. But I slowly began to realize that we were singing a lot of their songs in church and I would hear them on the radio. My “Hillsong United” song collection has literally exploded over the last year – I just find their lyrics to be SO powerful and so “dead-on” for some of the emotions I feel on a daily basis regarding my faith. So I was very excited to be able to hear some of those songs played that night as well as new songs that I had never heard before.
One of those new songs really struck me – it’s called Stay and Wait.
I love the line in the first verse that talks about “the will to trust or run and hide”. The very SAME God who spoke the earth into life, who commands the sun and every star in the sky – He gave me free will. He doesn’t want a mindless follower, a robot who’s forced to bend to His will – no, He wants us to CHOOSE. And I found myself asking, “Will I follow Him no matter what? Will I always CHOOSE Him, the Creator of all things – or will I SETTLE for something lesser?”
I love that vision of Peter stepping out of the boat:
“Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’ And He said, ‘Come!’ And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’ (Matt 14:28-31)
Man – when we keep our eyes on Jesus – we are able to do the impossible. Not of our own power, but of His. It’s only when we take our eyes off of Him that we begin to sink. And so I sing to Him: “Heart on Your heart and my eyes on Yours!” It was just such a powerful song for me in that moment and has continued to be one throughout this week.
“The good news of the kingdom is not freedom from hardship, suffering, and loss. It is the news of a Redeemer who has come to rescue me from myself. His rescue produces change that fundamentally alters my response to these inescapable realities. The Redeemer turns rebels into disciples, fools into humble listeners. He makes cripples walk again. In Him, we can face life and respond with faith, love, and hope. And as He changes us, He allows us to be a part of what He is doing in the lives of others, As you respond to the Redeemer’s work in your life, you can learn to be an instrument in His hands.” – Paul David Tripp, Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands: People in Need of Change Helping People in Need of Change
Lord, thank You for the opportunity to come together with thousands of others to praise and worship You. Thank You for allowing us to be part of Your grand design and to be instruments in Your hands, Lord. You don’t HAVE to use us – but You CHOOSE to do so. Thank You for giving me free will – so that I may CHOOSE You – not only because I NEED You but because I WANT You. Thank You for giving me a purpose and a hope – for not allowing me to continue down my wayward and rebel path. You are a God who saves! The same God who spoke the earth into existence – breathed life into me! Lord, I will stay should the world by me fold and I will life Your name as the darkness falls. I will wait and hold fast to Your Word – heart on Your heart and my eyes on Yours.
