“I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth” (Isaiah 62:6-7)

The 24-7prayer room is a simple idea - to make time, 'away' from the usual distractions of life, to speak with and listen to God. Even Jesus took time away from the demands of the crowds to be with his Father (Matthew 14v23). How much must we need this space and time 'away', so that we can be more effectively 'with'?

Q: Why Pray in a Room?
“Why can’t I pray in my own home? It’s safer, it’s warmer, and it’s more convenient.”
 
You can if you like! You can pray anywhere, anytime - we could probably all do with more of that. Paul encourages the Thessalonian church, and us to "pray continually" (1 Thessalonians 5v16-17). When John Wesley was once asked how long he prayed, his answer, "Never more than half-an-hour", might have been a relief, a pleasant surprise for us feeble-pray-ers. However, his added-comment, "but never do I go longer than half-an-hour without prayer", is the extraordinary challenge. To pray continually!

You can pray anywhere because God is everywhere, and God hears every word we pray - we cannot escape God's presence. And yet, as both scripture and our experience testifies, there are times when our everywhere-God is somewhere... it's as if God is more here, somehow.

“There’s no room for me in here, it’s all you, you, YOU – FANTASTIC! Can it be like this all the time? It’s like my heart is coming out of a deep sleep. I feel stirring, groans building, passion, compassion growing!” Emma


As many other groups and churches have found, there seem to be some exciting benefits to praying in a prayer room. Here are a few:

[1] Continuity
The sense of build-up, of momentum and flow that occurs as people pray one-after-another. It is relatively easy to start praying in a room becoming full of other's poetry, pictures and prayers.

[2] Discipline
The accountability of having your name on a rota, of being commited to praying - "if I don't show up, I'll be letting others down"

[3] Unity
Without being led-from-the-front , the prayer room allows different people to express their praying in different ways... but in one common space. This requires us to extend grace to one another... and to maybe learn from one another too. Previous prayer rooms have proved to be places where young and older can easily be 'united' in common praying, irrespective of styles.