Cambridge Prayer

The Lord's Prayer: #1 One thing is needed

2011-09-24T03:07:00.000+01:00

I've been looking at the Lord's Prayer in Luke 11, to try and learn from Jesus how we can pray like him.

But before we start chapter 11 let's rewind a few verses, to the end of chapter 10.

38 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word.
40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”
41 And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
11:1 And it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”
(Luke 10:38-11:1)

Much could be said about this passage. But here let us just focus on Jesus' words to Martha and the effect that has on one anonymous disciple. Here we see Jesus tell Martha that only "one thing is needed" -- to sit at the feet of Jesus, to wait in the presence of God. And immediately following we see this disciple asking Jesus how to teach him how he can better do this "one thing". "Lord, teach us to pray".

It seems safe to assume that this inquisitive asker of questions had been with Jesus a little while. After all, he is called a disciple. So we can assume that he is one of those who at the start of Luke 10 was sent out by Jesus to declare the coming of the kingdom of God. Which is to say that this is surely not the first time this disciple has seen Jesus pray. Probably he was there in chapter 9, when we're told that "as Jesus was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, 'Who do people say that I am?'" (9:8).

But the point is this, that although he had doubtless seen Jesus pray, until then he hadn't been moved to ask how he might pray like Jesus. Until he heard Jesus' declaration that only "one thing is needed" it didn't occur to him to ask Jesus how to pray.

Perhaps he had assumed that as he had been sent out with authority to preach the kingdom, drive out demons and heal the sick, he didn't need to learn how better to pray. Or perhaps it was that the effort of doing such ministry had left him exhausted -- like Martha -- and thus he was ready to receive for himself Jesus' word to Martha that amidst all of the busy-ness, only one thing mattered.

We don't know.

But we can say that it is the same case with us, as it was with that disciple. We won't begin to come to Jesus asking him to teach us how to pray, until we begin to learn that prayer is the only thing that is necessary.

Do we believe that?

How do we get saved?
Prayer.
(Romans 10:13 -- Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved)

How do we go about preaching that message of salvation?
Prayer.
(Acts 1:4,14 -- Jesus commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem [to preach the gospel to the nations] but wait for the promise of the Father... [so they went to the upper room and] They all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication)

How do we wage war against the powers of darkness that hold this world?
Prayer.
(Ephesians 6:12-28...)

How do we -- well, you get the point. "One thing is needed". I didn't say that, Jesus did. And if we're to learn how to pray, that's the point at which we must start.

_________________

Join with us as we seek to with Christians across the world in doing that "one thing" by praying the Lord's Prayer daily at midday.

#7 Restore our Heritage... of Going in Mission

2011-05-11T18:02:00.003+01:00

We conclude our series by praying for a restoration of Cambridge's heritage of mission.

In November 1882, DL Moody the famous evangelist from Chicago, preached to university students at a mission in Cambridge. He had a very cool reception at first. Many of the students made fun of his American ‘twang’ when he preached on ‘Dan’l in the lions den’. However, D.L. Moody gathered a group of 150 praying mothers to pray on the Wednesday for the mission, and by the end of the week two thousand Cambridge university students gathered on the final night. At the end of the message, two hundred rose to give their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ. Moody looking up, murmured, ‘My God this is enough to live for’. C.T. Studd was at this time a Cambridge undergraduate, but he was playing cricket for England in Australia, while the Moody mission was taking place in Cambridge.

C.T. Studd’s father had been a wealthy plantation owner in India, returning to England, to raise his family in wealth and luxury in the magnificent Tedworth House, and he was converted to Christ in 1877. During the time C.T. studied at Cambridge and captained the cricket team he also had given his life to Christ. C.T. Studd became the greatest cricketer of his day, a household name, but as a Christian he was passionless and inactive. He said, ‘Instead of going and telling others of the love of Christ, I was selfish and kept the knowledge all to myself.’ Two old ladies who knew C.T. Studd’s father who had been a strong Christian, had set themselves to pray that C.T. be brought to re-dedication, but their prayers seemed unanswered. When C.T. Studd’s brother fell desperately ill C.T. sat night after night at his bedside, watching him hover between life and death. He felt the Lord showed him what the honour, the pleasure, and the riches of this world were worth. C.T. Studd’s heart was no longer in cricket after this; he wanted to win souls for the Lord. He felt God’s call to go to China and became one of the Cambridge Seven who left England in February 1885.

C.T. Studd gave up his cricketing career, along with a massive fortune of £29,000 ( equivalent today to about £2.3 million), and left everything to go to China. When his health had completely failed, and he had returned from China and a season as a missionary in India he received another call at the age of 50, to go and reach the unevangelised of the world. He started the Heart of Africa Mission, which became World Evangelisation Crusade (WEC), and he died in the Congo at the age of 70. He said:

'Some wish to live within the sound of Church or chapel bell,
I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.'

Pray with us for that heritage to be restored:

Lord Jesus,
Thank-you that you were prepared to pay the price of even dying on a cross so that your mission of reconciling the world to God could be accomplished. Thank-you for C.T. Studd and his willingness to give up much so as to be part of your mission of preaching the gospel to the nations. Would you restore that heritage in Cambridge today. Do it again! Revive your works in these days, we pray.
In Jesus' Name,
AMEN.

#6 Restore our Heritage... of Acting in Mercy

2011-05-11T17:22:00.003+01:00

We cannot think about justice without also thinking about mercy.

Helen Roseveare was born in 1925, and went to Cambridge to study medicine. In 1945 she received the call of God. She began as a missionary in the Congo in 1953, and throughout her years of preparation to be a medical missionary, and her 12 years in the Congo, she asked God for a mountain top experience of his glory. She came to the realization that God’s work is done in ditches. She endured a civil war and then later cared for her elderly mother.

In 1964 she was taken prisoner by rebel forces and was a prisoner for 5 months enduring beatings and rapings. God used this in her life to minister to other single women missionaries. Helen knew that her relationship with God had not been damaged. She had not failed God in any way because of what had happened to her. On December 31, 1964 she was rescued. Helen had a sense of joy and relief, but also a sense of deep sorrow as she heard of her many friends who had been martyred.

She left the Congo when she was released and went back to England. She returned to the Congo in 1966 to help with the rebuilding of the nation. She worked for 7 more years, but it was full of unrest and disappointment. The Congo had changed since the war, with a new spirit of independence and nationalism. They no longer respected the doctor who'd sacrificed so much for them. Helen left Africa in 1973 with a broken spirit, and her 20 years of service in Africa left her feeling defeated and discouraged.

She went through a very lonely period in her life on her return. She turned to God as He was all she had. Instead of bitterness she found a new spirit of humility and a new appreciation for what Jesus had done for her on the cross. The Lord was fashioning and forming her for her next ministry. She became an internationally renowned spokeswoman for the cause of missions. Her honesty was refreshing, and Helen mobilized people by showing them that God used imperfect people, with real struggles, to be his ambassadors to a lost world that needed rescuing. She was a plenary speaker at the large Urbana Missions conference in the USA for 3 years.

Helen Roseveare's medical service in Africa is a practical example of what acting in mercy looks like. Her willingness to continue in that service after being raped shows the supernatural power of God's mercy in our lives. Pray with us for that supernatural mercy to be evident in Cambridge again:

Father God,
Thank-you that your mercy endures forever. Thank-you for Helen Roseveare and the way you have used her to show people your mercy. Would you restore that heritage in Cambridge today. Do it again! Revive your works in these days, we pray.
In Jesus' Name,
AMEN.

#5 Restore our Heritage... of Speaking Out for Justice

2011-05-04T17:12:00.004+01:00

The next ancient well we pray God would restore, is that of speaking out for justice.

William Wilberforce came up to Cambridge in 1776 as a student at St John's college. During his time at Cambridge he had little interest in Christian things. He was wealthy and spent his time socialising, drinking, and playing cards. But it was at Cambridge that he became a friend of William Pitt, who was to become Prime Minister. And it was through Pitt that Wilberforce became interested in politics. In fact, he became an MP whilst still a student!

It was after graduating that Wilberforce became a Christian. In 1784, he and some members of his family went on a tour of Europe. An Evangelical friend joined him , and through reading the Bible together, Wilberforce was converted.

Wilberforce's conversion caused him to question whether he should remain in politics. He sought out the counsel of John Newton, who told him that it was Wilberforce's calling to remain in politics and fight the slave trade.

This he did in the face of great opposition for the remaining 50 years of his life, dying just days after hearing that the government had made concessions that guaranteed that the Bill for the Abolition of Slavery would at last be passed.

Wilberforce is an incredible example of someone whose Christian convictions caused him to speak tirelessly for justice. Pray with us for that heritage to be restored to us in Cambridge:

Father God,
Thank-you that you are a God of justice, who stands with the poor and the oppressed. Thank-you for Wilberforce and the way that he spent his life fighting the evil of slavery. Lord, give us that same burden for injustice to be stopped and instead for justice to flow like a river. Would you restore that heritage in Cambridge today. Do it again! Revive your works in these days, we pray.
In Jesus' Name,
AMEN.

_________________

To hear more about William Wilberforce and other figures from Cambridge history who stood against injustice, please join us this afternoon at 2pm for the next of this week's 'Restore our Heritage' Guided Walks.

#4 Restore our Heritage... of Godly Creativity

2011-05-03T17:22:00.005+01:00

The fourth of the seven 'ancient wells' which we are praying God would unblock, is that of Godly creativity.

C.S. Lewis, best-known for the Chronicles of Narnia, was Professor of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Magdalene College, Cambridge.

His conversion to Christian faith, which he describes in his autobiography Surprised by Joy was not a sudden thing, but rather the eventual inevitable conclusion of two things. The first was his pursuit of Truth. For C.S. Lewis, a critical search for real answers to life's questions didn't draw him away from Christianity but rather towards it. He later wrote, "a young Atheist cannot guard his faith too carefully. Dangers lie in wait for him on every side".

The second thing which drew him to faith was his experience of Joy, which he defined as the experience "of an unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction". He saw joy as pointing beyond itself to God. He explains, "The books or the music in which we thought the beauty was located will betray us if we trust to them; it was not in them, it only came through them, and what came through them was longing. These things—the beauty, the memory of our own past—are good images of what we really desire; but if they are mistaken for the thing itself, they turn into dumb idols, breaking the hearts of their worshipers. For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of the tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited".

C.S. Lewis' life and work demonstrates clearly the creativity that results from pursuing truth and joy in God. Pray with us for that heritage of creativity to be restored in Cambridge:

Father God,
Thankyou that you are a Creator, and you make everything beautiful in its time. Thank-you that you have made us in your image as creative beings. Would you again captivate the imagination of people in Cambridge with the story of Jesus. Would you fill us to overflowing with songs and stories and works of art that resonate with ultimate reality. Would you restore that heritage of creativity in Cambridge today. Do it again! Revive your works in these days, we pray.
In Jesus' Name,
AMEN.

_________________

To hear more about C.S. Lewis and other creative Cambridge Christians, please join us this afternoon at 2pm for the next of this week's 'Restore our Heritage' Guided Walks.

The 24:7 Cambridge Prayer Week: Light the Fire!

2011-05-03T03:07:00.002+01:00

Beloved brothers and sisters,

Thank-you for letting me continue to share with you the burden God has put upon my heart.

The third of the verses which has captivated my imagination is Leviticus 24:7.

Ever since discovering that 1 Chronicles 24:7ff. seems to describe the Temple priests doing 24:7 Prayer, I have had a certain fondness for 'chapter 24 verse 7's. While I wouldn't recommend that you make this your usual way of reading the Bible, I have discovered another gem in Lev. 24:7. The chapter begins with God commanding Moses that in the tabernacle, the place of prayer, there should be "a flame burning continually". Then when we come to verse 7, it speaks of 'pure frankincense' (which represents prayer, Rev.5:8) being given as 'an offering by fire to the Lord' -- which when you think of it, is quite an apt verse for what a 24:7 Prayer Week is all about: fiery prayer offered continually to God.

And just because God is hilariously awesome, we have visiting the city and helping fill the hours of the Prayer Week a YWAM 'Fire and Fragrance' team (YouthWithAMission is the world's largest missions organisation; if you'd like to know what the 'Fire and Fragrance' bit means, I recommend the book of the same name by Sean Feucht and Andy Byrd -- we actually have a copy in the Prayer Room or you can buy it here).

But there's more: this week the Great St Mary's is reading through the whole of the King James Bible. And I signed up -- and have been allocated the reading of the beginning of Acts, starting at 9am. Getting to read the story of the first revival in the history of the multi-lingual church in the official University Church of one of the most multi-lingual cities in the world seems to good an opportunity for some symbolic demonstration of the word of God.

So I am now inviting whoever is willing, to join me in the Great St Mary's for another 'Prayer Flashmob'.

The plan is this, to gather as many people as we can into the Great St Mary's to listen to the reading of Acts 1-2. I will have a lighted candle at the front where I will sit reading. If everyone else also brings candles, then when we reach the beginning of chapter 2, someone can come to the front and light their candle from mine, and from theirs the flame can spread to everyone who has gathered with us to pray.

To pray what? you ask.

To pray that the Holy Spirt would once again come like fire upon the Church.
To pray that God would restore in this city the fire and the fragrance of prayer and all that flows from the place of united Christ-centred prayer.
To pray that Jesus would once again seal us, His Bride, with the fire of His love, a love that is stronger than death, more jealous than the grave, and which cannot be quenched. Not by anything.

And should they say that we are foolish and drunk, I will declare that it's only nine in the morning!
Not for nothing is my name Peter.

Will you join me?

Your brother in Christ,
Peter

PS. Please pass on this invitation. If facebook helps, then here's the link

The 24:7 Cambridge Prayer Week: Restore the Heritage!

2011-05-03T03:03:00.003+01:00

Grace and peace!

Let me continue sharing what God has put on our hearts this Prayer Week, and may it be an encouragement to all of you.

The second of the three passages we have been particularly inspired by is Joel 2's instruction to call a solemn assembly of prayer. In particular we have been encouraged by the promise of Joel 2:16-17 that when all of the people respond to that call and pray "Lord, restore your heritage", *then* the Lord will be zealous and have mercy, restoring what the locusts have eaten and afterwards pouring out the Spirit in power.

We have identified seven 'ancient wells' of Christian virtue that are evident in Cambridge's history which we pray God would restore: persevering in Prayer, making known the Word of God, seeking Wisdom, expressing Creativity, speaking out for Justice, extending Mercy, and going in Mission. We are partnering with Christian Heritage to do a free Guided Walk each day (from the Round Church, 2-3pm) on the relevant theme, as well as daily putting up a video on Youtube and a post on Blogspot to try and inspire people to join us in praying for restoration and revival in every sphere of life.

Today we are praying for Wisdom.

Please join us at 2pm at the Round Church if you're around!

Your partner in prayer,
Peter

PS And if you're interested you can see what's already been posted on Prayer here, and on the Bible here.

________________________________________________________________
"praying and proclaiming the promises of God
till Cambridge is filled with night and day prayer
overflowing in mission to the ends of the earth"
www.cambridgeprayer.org
www.cambridgeprayer.blogspot.com
www.facebook.com/cambridgeprayer
www.twitter.com/cambridgeprayer

The 24:7 Cambridge Prayer Week: Let the Bride Come!

2011-05-03T03:01:00.002+01:00

Brothers and sisters in Christ!

We are two days into the 24:7 Cambridge Prayer Week, and there has been much happening. I thought I would share the news thus far and hopefully encourage you.

This Prayer Week we have been particularly inspired by three different Biblical passages.

The first is Song of Songs 2:10 and onwards, where the Bridegroom calls his Bride: "Arise my beloved, my beautiful one, and come away with me!"
Having begun the work of re-establishing 24:7 Prayer Weeks in Cambridge while Taryn my bride was on the other side of the globe due to the refusal of her visa, I have found myself beginning to understand better what it means that the Church is called 'the Bride of Christ'. And when I discovered that the Royal Wedding was happening the day before the Prayer Week was due to start, it seemed to make sense to capitalise on this piece of divine providence in some way.

So we celebrated the 'Royal Wedding' not of Prince William (now Duke of Cambridge -- just in case you needed proof that the timing of the wedding truly does have significance for our city!) but of Jesus the King of Glory with a 'Prayer Flashmob' at 2:10pm (in reference of Song of Songs 2:10) on Saturday afternoon. We were then able to go on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire on Sunday morning to talk about how twenty or so of us had gathered for this 'Prayer Flashmob'. We were also able to play one of Taryn's songs -- one of seven 'Songs of the Bride' which she recorded somewhat hastily (a mere sixteen hours spent in the studio) just this past week so that they would be ready to call the Bride of Christ in Cambridge to prayer this week.

You can listen to the radio interview here and to Taryn's song 'Face to Face' (based on Psalm 45 and Psalm 24:7) here

I'll try and write about the other two passages tomorrow.

Grace and peace,
Peter

________________________________________________________________
"praying and proclaiming the promises of God
till Cambridge is filled with night and day prayer
overflowing in mission to the ends of the earth"
www.cambridgeprayer.org
www.cambridgeprayer.blogspot.com
www.facebook.com/cambridgeprayer
www.twitter.com/cambridgeprayer

#3 Restore our Heritage... of Seeking Wisdom

2011-05-02T21:24:00.004+01:00

In our day it is common to find people who justify their unbelief with the claim that science has 'disproved' Christianity.

Such a thing seems especially ridiculous when you hear it in Cambridge, for the University of Cambridge's place at the forefront of scientific wisdom is the result of a history of scientists who worked within a Christian understanding of the cosmos and often were motivated by Christian convictions.

James Clerk Maxwell, for example, is one of the great scientists of all time, and the electrodynamic equations which he discovered are named after him. He was a convinced Christian -- as well as being Cambridge's first Professor of Experimental Physics and in charge of the at the time newly-founded Cavendish Laboratory.

And his influence remains with the motto inscribed on the Cavendish door, a quotation from Psalm 111:2 declaring that "Great are the works of the LORD".

Pray with us for that heritage of seeking wisdom to be restored in Cambridge:
Father God,
Thank-you that you are faithful and true. Thank-you that we need fear no contradiction between the truth of your Word and the reality of the world. Thank-you for the example of James Clerk Maxwell, and his conviction that when we study the science of the physical world we study the great works of God's creation. Would you restore that conviction in Cambridge today. Do it again! Revive your works in these days, we pray.
In Jesus' Name,
AMEN.

_________________

To hear more about James Clerk Maxwell and other significant figures from Cambridge who saw no contradiction between their faith in God and their pursuit of wisdom and understanding in every sphere of learning, please join us this afternoon at 2pm for the third of this week's 'Restore our Heritage' Guided Walks. It will be led by Martin Lown, Director of Christian Heritage. Don't miss it!

#2 Restore our Heritage... of making known the Word

2011-05-02T11:32:00.005+01:00

Yesterday we prayed that God would restore the Cambridge heritage of persevering prayer demonstrated by the life of Charles Simeon. Today our theme is that of making known the Word of God, exemplified in the life of one-time Cambridge student William Tyndale.

Tyndale was at Cambridge from 1517-1521. And perhaps it was while at Cambridge that he determined to translate the Bible -- certainly it was not long after, for in 1523 he was approaching a bishop in London to get permission from the church to do so.

Until then the Bible was available only in the Latin Vulgate, so that only those with a theological education could understand it. But Tyndale was convinced that the Bible needed to be available to all Christians -- not just those ordained.

The story is told of an argument between Tyndale and a clergyman, in which the clergyman was saying that it would be better for people to be without God's laws than those of the church. Swelling with emotion, Tyndale declared to the clergyman that he defied the human authorities of the church:
"and if God spares my life, ere many years, I will cause the boy that driveth the plow to know more of the Scriptures than thou dost!"

His life was not spared long enough to complete translating the whole Bible -- he was betrayed in 1536 and put to death for the 'crime' of making the Word of God known. But his final words were "Lord! Open the King of England's eyes!" and within four years, four translations of the Bible into English had been published at the behest of that same King.

Pray with us for that heritage of making the Word of God known to be restored in Cambridge:

Father God,
Thank-you for the privilege of being able to know your Word. Thank-you for the example of William Tyndale, and his willingness even to die to make your Word known. Would you restore that heritage in Cambridge today. Would you raise up students in this city who would trust and obey your Word even in the face of misunderstanding and opposition. Would you send missionaries out from Cambridge to those places which do not yet have the Bible in their own language. Do it again! Revive your works in these days, we pray.
In Jesus' Name,
AMEN.

_________________

To hear more about William Tyndale and his faithfulness in making known the Word of God, as well as other significant people of the Word in Cambridge's Heritage, please join us this afternoon at 2pm for the second of this week's 'Restore our Heritage' Guided Walks.

#1 Restore our Heritage... of Persevering Prayer

2011-05-01T09:49:00.004+01:00

Of the seven 'ancient wells' of Cambridge that we are praying God would unblock, the first is prayer.

Charles Simeon was a student at Cambridge and then the vicar of Holy Trinity Church for half a century. He represents very clearly the heritage of prayer that we pray God would restore to our city in these days.

Every morning he would rise at 4am, so that he could spend the first four hours of his day in prayer and the Word, undistracted by the busyness of the day. The story goes that when he failed to get up on time, he would give half a crown to his bedder -- until he found himself rationalising that it was okay not to get up to pray because that meant money would be given to charity. After this he resolved to throw the coin into the river!

Pray with us for that heritage of faithful prayer to be restored in Cambridge:

Father God,
Thank-you for the privilege of prayer. Thank-you for the example of Charles Simeon. Would you restore that heritage of committed prayer to Cambridge today. Would you raise up students in this city who would make it their first priority to spend time with Jesus. Do it again! Revive your works in these days, we pray.
In Jesus' Name,
AMEN.

_________________

To hear more about Charles Simeon and his faithfulness in prayer, as well as other significant people of prayer in Cambridge's Heritage, please join us this afternoon at 2pm for the first of this week's 'Restore our Heritage' Guided Walks.

A Sacred Assembly

2011-05-01T09:44:00.004+01:00

in joel chapter 2 God commands us to "blow the trumpet, consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly".

and that's what we're doing -- and calling you to join us in doing -- this week in the Prayer Room this week, gathering as 'a sacred assembly' to pray.

why?

because God *promises* that when all of His people --
"the people, ...the congregation, ...the elders,
...the children and nursing babes,
...the bridegroom...and the bride...,
...[and] the priests..."
(joel 2:15-16)

-- gather together and say:

"spare you people O LORD,
and let not Your heritage be given to reproach",

then God *promises* that

"then the LORD will be zealous for the land and show mercy to His people." (2:17)

we want to hang on to this promise until we see it fulfilled, so are partnering with Christian Heritage to do daily walks around cambridge showing how our city's heritage demonstrates the impact of christian values.

these walks will be free (Christian Heritage usually charge £6 per person), running from 2-3pm each day of the Prayer Week, with each day focussing on a different value which we pray would be restored to the christians of cambridge in our days:

Sunday -- Prayer
Monday -- the Bible
Tuesday -- Wisdom
Wednesday -- Creativity
Thursday -- Justice
Friday -- Mercy
Saturday -- Mission

Why 24:7?

2011-05-01T09:40:00.002+01:00

Wondering why we do this crazy 24:7 thing?

Here are 7 reasons:
#1 It's a heavenly reality,
#2 It's a biblical practice,
#3 It's prophetically foretold,
#4 It's apostolically encouraged,
#5 It's historically proven,
#6 It's personally transformative,
#7 It's happening now!

Persuaded? Sign up now

For a fuller written version, click here

Fast approaching..!

2011-04-28T19:44:00.001+01:00

Just two days until the start of the 24:7 Prayer Week.

If you haven't already, then please get word out to the praying people you know in your CU -- and sign up for an yourself at http://www.cambridgeprayer.org/pages/signup.asp

This Prayer Week we are focussing particularly on two themes:
1. that of Jesus the Bridegroom calling to his Bride to come into his presence (see Song of Songs 2:10), and
2. that Cambridge's Christian heritage would not be given to reproach but rather that those 'ancient wells' would be unblocked (cf. the promise of Joel 2:16-17).
(And if you're looking for a connection, in Biblical times it was common for a man to find his bride at a well! cf. Gen. 24; Gen.29; Ex. 2:16-22; Jn 4:1-26)

And so we've organised something at 2:10pm each day to help us pray into these things:
On Saturday 30th April, at 2:10pm, there'll be a Royal Wedding Prayer Flashmob at the Great St Mary's -- see www.royalweddinginvitation.co.uk for more details.
And daily 1-7 May from 2-3pm we'll be going on a Christian Heritage guided walk to help us understand the incredible heritage of faith in this city, with each day focussing on a different Christian value that we pray would be restored:
Sunday--Prayer//Monday -- Bible//Tuesday -- Wisdom//Wednesday -- Creativity//Thursday -- Justice//Friday -- Mercy//Saturday -- Mission.
Watch out for our daily video-casts on these themes!

We also invite you to join us in St Clements (at the intersection of Bridge Street and Portugal Place) on Saturday 30th April at 7.30pm as we launch the Prayer Week.

Grace and peace,
Peter Prescott

An Encouragement

2011-02-02T12:42:00.000Z

As I was reading this morning, I came to Psalm 65:2, where the psalmist says to God, .

Encouraging as we try to pray that God is named as the One Who Hears Prayer :)

Encouraging as we try to gather people together to pray that "all flesh will come" :D

23 hours/168 currently signed up for... Let's do this!

new facebook page

2010-11-22T10:21:00.000Z

because the old group is only accessible to members of the cambridge university network (and we want to be open more widely than that!), we will be transitioning to a new facebook page:

please join (by clicking 'like') at this link: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cambridge-Prayer/164175126955951

conclusion

2010-11-22T10:11:00.001Z

so the prayer week finally wound to an end on saturday evening, with three of us meeting for the final hour to ask that God would continue to raise up night and day prayer in cambridge.

thankyou so much to all of you who were involved -- i was hugely encouraged by the way 25 portugal place constantly seemed to be overflowing with people from a huge range of places (representing over a dozen churches, both universities, several generations, and at least four continents...) and i hope it blessed all you who were involved as well.

an especial thankyou to the eight people who helped with doorkeeping duty -- welcoming in all-comers to the house of prayer. it couldn't have happened without them. (and if anyone else is interested in helping next term then please let me know).

grace and peace,
peter

well done prayer warriors!

2010-11-19T09:00:00.000Z

1. thankyou thankyou thankyou to all who have been involved in making the prayer week thus far an astonishing success. .

2. if you're free today around lunchtime, i would highly recommend that you try and join us at 1pm for food and at 2pm for prayer (we meet every week at someone's house, and this week are meeting in the prayer room) -- it'll be a great chance to get to know someone of the *real people* who have been 'consumed with zeal' for God's house of prayer (cf. psalm 69:9, john 2:17) in cambridge.

3. tomorrow evening from 7-8pm we will be bringing this week of prayer to a conclusion. please please join us if you can for the finale :) and if people are up for it, we could then head out for dinner somewhere together.

grace and peace,
peter

prayer week update: #2

2010-11-17T14:37:00.000Z

a few typical moments in a week of non-stop prayer...

-- waking up on monday morning,

having spent the night sleeping in a sleeping bag in the upper room of 25 portugal place (for "i would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of the LORD" Ps.84), i wandered down to the prayer room -- and was astonished and delighted to find that the walls, which had been covered in blank white paper, had whilst i slept been covered in painted prayers and bible verses -- in at least three sets of different handwriting.

-- monday evening ~10pm, and according to the website there is one person signed up to be praying in 25 portugal place.

but in reality?

downstairs in the prayer room there are four students (involved with SPEAK) interceding about international issues of injustice and praying that righteousness would roll down like a never-ending stream; upstairs in the upper room there are about a dozen more (connected through Manna) studying the Bible to see what it has to say about study, and then joining together in worship; meanwhile in the kitchen, two Holy Trinity students prepare to lead their 'Risky Living' small group the next day.

a couple of hours later, and every member of each one of this eclectic mix of groups Christians has disappeared, and although the website claims that two people are signed up to be praying in the prayer room, no-one has showed up. and so i, in the house on door-keeping duty, take the chance to spend a most refreshing hour in the presence of the living God. and the next morning someone apologises to me for accidentally signing up on the wrong night.

-- tuesday 7pm,

at the prayer room with my daily supper of a few bread rolls and some (tinned!) fish, and two strangers come knocking on the door. their names are lucy and chinan, and they turn out to be from rugby, where they are involved with the Rugby House of Prayer, and being in cambridge on a matlab course for a few days they had googled 'cambridge house of prayer' and found our website. and oh, the encouragement of people you've never met coming alongside you to lift up to God in prayer the same burden that you are carrying.

-- tuesday midnight,

and the prayer room is filled with the excited rumblings of eighteen people gathered, eagerly about to go out into the streets of cambridge and bless any thirsty cambridge clubbers by giving them a free bottle of water as they came out of cindies. a quick briefing and time of prayer, and the first two teams head out onto the streets, while the other stays back to cover them in prayer. twenty minutes later and the teams cycle round, the pray-ers heading out, and half a dozen returning with stories of the variety of responses to their attempt to share the freely given love that God has given to us. and so it continues, until 3am, cindies having closed up shop, when we re-congregate to close in prayer and finally head to bed -- anticipating various interesting conversations the next morning as people in lectures say 'hang on, weren't you one of those people handing out water last night?'

prayer week update: #1

2010-11-14T14:31:00.000Z

beloved pray-ers,

just to let you know what has been happening in the prayer room so far...

we started things off by eating together: as promised i had come with five (plus one actually, sainsbury's selling such things in packets of six) small rolls and two tins of sardines, and fortunately Christina had also brought some more substantial fare -- lamb kebabs and pita bread and some home-made cookies -- which fed the gathered multitudes (/handful) most enjoyably. i shall be in the prayer room every evening with such food and would warmly welcome company (if the same strategy is good enough for Jesus on multiple occasions, it's could enough for me ~ mark 6:31-34; 8:1-9).

the prayer room was then open for eleven hours last night, and by my count eleven people came, from an impressive total of nine different churches (including two who aren't even currently living in cambridge! such is the irresistible urge to come and be in the presence of God...), some who had signed up, some who had not. and there was the whole range of modes of biblical prayer: at one point a group singing hymns (cf. ephesians 5:19), at another point two were gathered in the name of Jesus to pray (cf. matthew 18:20); sometimes the prayer was like Jesus groaning in fervent supplication (cf. hebrews 5:7), sometimes -- i have to admit -- it was more like disciples in Gethsemane trying to stay awake to pray but not quite succeeding.

my personal highlight was perhaps the moment when there happened to be seven of us in the prayer room simultaneously, all from different churches, and so in an unplanned moment of profound symbolism, we identified with the 'seven churches' (revelation 1:4,20) which represent the one people of God (1 corinthians 12:12) and each person prayed a blessing for the church of someone else, and then together we asked that God would unite us for the glory of His name.

then, this morning, myself and my good friend andy henman (who has for many years fought the good fight in derby with YWAM, but has recently been called by God to come and help us here in cambridge to pray) had the chance to speak briefly on bbc radio cambridgeshire about the Prayer Week (we appear about an hour and twenty-five minutes into the show).

meanwhile, the prayer week was paused from 7 am to let people sabbath with their various congregations -- but we shall be carrying on from 11pm this evening until 8pm on saturday, hopefully with no gaps.

grace and peace,
peter

news

2010-10-28T14:40:00.000+01:00

hello people, a few things to say...
0. ihop in london, nov 6/7
1. get word out+posters
2. security team needed
3. singers
4. st clements event
5. inge has cancer

0. ihop in london
the International House of Prayer, IHOP for short, is sort of the
american version of 24-7 Prayer. which is to say that although IHOP started in the US of A and 24-7 in chichester, and they each have slightly different styles, they both are doing the non-stop prayer thing and, fascinatingly, they both kick-started the non-stop prayer adventure in 1999. the main centre of IHOP in kansas city has recently been experiencing a powerful move of God, and they are visiting the London IHOP on the weekend of november 6/7. i have registered myself
to go (it's free!) and if anyone else wants to join me then we can start thinking about what might be the best mode of transport...

1. get word out!
the prayer week is coming up soon, in less than three weeks. this means we need to get word out, in order to help you do this we have posters to help advertise. i have posted them on the group, so feel free to print them off and stick them up in various places. i am also working on getting some printed in large quantities.

2. watchmen (security team)
we need responsible people to be in the house the whole week, to welcome in all the visitors to the prayer room, to run up and open the door when someone bangs on it, and to be the one in charge of the key. each day is split into four shifts, and we're going for seven days non-stop, so using the skills of the mathmo i once was i reckon we need 28 volunteers.

3. 'sing to the Lord a new song'
we want to gather as many singers/musicians/worship-leaders/choirmasters from as many different churches as we can, drawing together as many different styles of worship as possible to play in the prayer room over the course of the
week. if you would be interested in leading an hour of praise, or you know someone who would be, then get in touch. also, if you are a secret songwriter, or you know someone who is, now is the time to bring your songs into the open for the world to hear.

4. handily arranged in the middle of our prayer week -- the dates were chosen independently, honest -- there is an event going on in st. clements which all are invited to AND which we have been invited to lead part of the evening. the details:

Join us in Rebuilding the Walls of Prayer in Cambridge
A night of prayer for a raising up of a fresh movement of prayer to break out in Cambridge.
Thursday 18th November 7pm
St Clements, Bridge Street Opposite St Johns>

and if anyone wants to help me in leading our bit, then get in touch and we can think about what to do.

5. inge ruddock, who has for many years supported 24-7 prayer both by participating but perhaps more importantly by letting us regularly use the basement of 25 portugal place as a prayer-room, has recently discovered that she has cancer. please pray for her. if you want to send cards and things then you can send them to 26 chatsworth avenue, cambridge, cb4 3lt -- or give them to me and i will pass them on.

grace and peace,
peter

the return of the blogspot

2010-10-27T15:09:00.000+01:00

hiding in the dusty corners of the internet, this blogspot page has for years lain disused and unappreciated. but if we rub the dust off it could still shine...

Newsletter #2 - May 2006

2006-06-27T13:48:00.000+01:00

Click for full view:

Newsletter #1 - March 2006

2006-06-27T13:29:00.000+01:00

Click for full view:

Welcome to Cambridge 24/7 Prayer!

2006-06-17T16:05:00.000+01:00

Hi!

..and welcome!

God has been bringing a few of us from different churches in cambridge (uk) to come together and start praying. We've linked ourselves with the cool guys at the 24/7 prayer movement (http://uk.24-7prayer.com/).

God seems to have some agenda here and we have started weekends of prayer (24/2) (see www.cambridgeprayer.org).

Cheers

The 24/7 Prayer team!