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the people
You can reserve the room to be alone
You can allow the room to be used by others alongside you. If others come, you could choose to pray together, move through the stations alone, or a bit of both.
You can reserve the room to use it as a couple, a family, as friends.
You can reserve the room for women’s, men’s or youth ministry.
You can take in young children and let them do art while the adults pray through the stations.
You can take older children and guide them to join you through the stations.
As the new shift arrives for their hour, the departing shift should pray over them as a way of passing the blessing of prayer from one shift to the next.
the time
You can reserve it for as little as 1 hour or for a longer time. One hour might sound like a lot, but many find that spending time in God’s presence feels a lot shorter than it is.
Consider going more than once. Going early in the week and then again later in the week is such a different experience as the room and walls are covered in prayer.
why a prayer room?
When people set aside a prayer room and fill it with prayer, it is filled with God's Spirit. This makes prayer easy, because it is like stepping into his presence and he is waiting for you. It is surprising how fast an hour can go.
A prayer room builds a sense of community. You can see that you are not alone but rather part of a church family, hungering and seeking after God together. You can see that God is meeting others there. See your church family’s best heart in what pours out when they are in God's presence. It's where our own unique intimacy with God and a strong sense of community intersect.
A prayer room provides accountability. It is a commitment that you will carry your share of the load. This is a team project. If you miss your shift at 2 a.m., you are letting down the person who started at 1. The prayer room is where we receive the baton of prayer and carry it forward to the one who follows us.
A prayer room takes us away from our regular life, and so it is a taste of Jesus' own prayer life. Jesus routinely got away from normal life to pray, leaving town before daybreak, going out into the wilderness, or climbing to the top of a mountain. Think of the prayer room as Hope's own bit of mountain top and wilderness.
considerations before you schedule
When are you most comfortable using the prayer room?
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Are you most comfortable using it when the church is open and there are staff working around the building?
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Are you comfortable when the church is empty and locked?
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Some might be comfortable in the middle of the night.
Do you have a cell phone?
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If you want to use the prayer room when the church is locked, you need a cell phone. When you arrive at the church, call the prayer room and the person already in the prayer room will come and open it for you.
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If you don’t have a cell phone, or cannot borrow one, it is best if you plan to come when the church is open.
Do you want to pray alone or with others?
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If you want to be alone, or with people of your own choosing control who is in the room with you, the person reserving the room should mark the reservation as exclusive.
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If you are okay with potential strangers sharing time in the prayer room, do not mark the reservation as exclusive. This lets people know they can choose to sign up for the time you are in there.