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WELCOME TO THE PARISH OF SKETTY

WHO’S WHO ? PAGE 2 AND 3

HOLY TRINITY’S NEWS

24 - 7 PRAYER

At this very moment someone, somewhere is praying; maybe through word, thought, flowing

Through a pen or painted on a wall, they’re speaking totheir creator. In 24-7 Prayer Rooms in any

number of countries and within many different expressions of Christianity, people young and old

are learning to pray by praying.

The first night and day, 24-7 Prayer Room started by accident in a small English city in September 1999. A

bunch of young people who needed an extreme challenge to kick start their prayer lives got the crazy idea

of trying to pray non-stop for a month. They broke the time into hour slots, filled a

room with creative activities and inspiration to help them focus and expected to fail after a week... but God

had another plan. He turned up and they couldn't stop hanging out with Him til Christmas!

A passion for God's presence, a rise in faith and tangible answers to prayer brought new life to the

Church. From that one scruffy, holy room, the idea and hunger for prayer has spread. Space has been

made in schools, police stations, prisons, shops, festivals, naval academies, caravans, homes and often in

churches themselves and Christian communities have pledged to pray 24 hours a day for a week or

more. (We are only attempting a day at this stage!)

Last time it was August and slightly hastily arranged (I think we gave you two weeks' notice!)

which meant that not a lot of people could make it. The next one is 30th April - 1st May so we

hope you will put it in your diaries now and that fewer of you will be away on Summer holidays,

and feel excitedby the challenge and able to be part of the chain.

Why 24-7 prayer?

Because bold, persistent prayer is effective. First it changes us. Then it changes the world.

Jesus told

stories to encourage us to "cry out day and night" (Luke 18) and to persist in prayer.

· Pentecost came to a prayer room.

· Paul urged the Thessalonians to "pray constantly."

· The early church "joined together constantly in prayer." (Acts 1-14)

· Celtic Monks at Bangor Abbey in Ireland prayed continually for 200 years. And in Clonmacnoise (near Dublin) God led a young guy by the name of Ciaran to start a monastery that prayed for the best part of 1000 years and sent missionaries all over the world!

· In the 18th century, a small community of Moravians began a 24-7 prayer meeting that lasted for over a hundred years, mobilised 3000 missionaries and converted John Wesley!

Because for most of us, prayer is a struggle. This model has proven unusually successful at encouraging

people – especially young people and those for whom “normal church” is inaccessible – to want to pray. To

learn to pray, by praying. To express themselves in paint or play dough or movement – God still hears and

responds, even without the “proper” words.

Because its different. 24-7 captures imagination. Young people today are more likely to turn up for a prayer

meeting at 3 am than at 7 pm. Why? Because it's extreme. The dare is to be alone with God for whole hour,

even in the middle of the night.

Because a living church needs constant prayer. “A prayer room is to church what the heart is to the body”

(The Church Source Book)