Goal:

To equip people to learn about prayer by allowing them to pray.

Introduction to the practical stuff:

The Abbey is for groups who know God is calling them to pray… but are bad at it! This will take normal, disorganized people and teach them to pray – by praying.

Keep it simple!

God asks us to PRAY, and he asks us to OBEY. We get so complicated with our conferences, books, and theories. Jesus comes along and says,” Come ” and “ Go ”. ‘Come’ and hang out, come and pray.

Then ‘Go’ and make a difference.

Step 1: First key – Continuous prayer

(a) How long do we go for:

24-7-365. This is meant to be a challenge.

You may see The Abbey as a part of the bigger picture of your church/community

(b) Why do we need a place of prayer:

The Holy Spirit can fill a place as well as a person (Acts 2:2)

The sense of God’s presence after many hours of prayer makes prayer easier, and the time passes much quicker. (One hour feels like ten minutes, whereas at home, ten minutes often feels like an hour.) The ancient Celts called it “thin places” where the veil between heaven and earth becomes so fine that prayer is easier.

Our culture is looking for holy places – locations of sanctuary and spirituality.

Evangelistically, The Abbey is excellent. People who don’t want to be preached at may still like to be prayed for.

Creative and unusual environments can be highly conducive to prayer. They pray non-verbally, posting artwork, poetry, and graffiti on the wall.

It provides accountability. If you don’t turn up, people will notice.

A shared location provides a strong sense of being part of a community carrying each other’s burdens and celebrating breakthroughs together.

(c) Where are we located:

Accessibility: we are located at?

Size: It’s big enough for groups yet small enough to get in a prayer closet and be alone with God.

Security: is provided 24-7-365; there will always be at least two people in the building

Facilities: We have restrooms and water fountains accessible to The Abbey

Noise/Disturbance: No need to worry about being too loud.

(d) What should it look like:

There are no rules – Use your imagination to create a prayer that glorifies God and helps people meet Him.

Atmosphere:

Lighting. We use different lights that create the right atmosphere, such as fairy lights, disco lights, colored bulbs, candles, dark room lights, and UV lights.

Flooring. We use different materials on the floor: cloth, sand, polystyrene, packaging material, matting, carpet tiles, or straw, as this can totally change the whole dynamic of The Abbey.

Materials. We leave lots of materials that people can use to make things like cloth, clay, paints, paper, wallpaper paste, staple guns, staplers, scissors, string, ribbons, egg boxes, used bottles, pieces of driftwood, buckets with sand, seeds, water, stones.

Video. We have a video of Tampa Bay so people can pray as they see the images.

It’s up to you to discover and explore what is possible.

Places of Prayer and Theme Walls:

Repentance and forgiveness – Our approach to God’s throne should always start with repentance and forgiveness. God’s word says that only those with clean hands and pure hearts may come into His presence (Ps. 24:4.) Repentance is not to say you are sorry; it is to admit that you were wrong. We need to forgive, for Jesus himself said He could only forgive us as we forgive others. (Matt 6:14-15).

We have created a place for the purification of personal sin.

Use the cross and sit down – “at the feet of Jesus.”

You can use the “sin bin,” a paper shredder for shredding sins written on paper at the foot of the cross.

Also, use the water bowl to wash your hands, which symbolizes clean hands.

Bread and wine are provided for holy communion.

Holy spaces – Just being in His presence, the awe of God. Only sit and listen to what God wants to say (make notes). Pray the Word.

Use the “commitment box” in this area. ( No one will open this box; the commitment is to God.)

There are areas where people can wash each other’s feet and break bread.

Praise and worship – A place for creative music, song, and dance to express praise to God.

The Walls:

1) A “Welcome Wall” – Put the themes, aims, vision, and values near the door, with a visual introduction.

A 30-second audio or video recording welcoming people will help them focus.

A sign-up sheet to reserve one-hour shifts and the phone number of the responsible person.

2) A “Wailing Wall” to post personal prayer requests, a bit like the Jews do, wedging their heart cries on scraps of paper between the bricks of the old temple in Jerusalem.

Clothes peg prayer: Write names of non-Christian friends, family, and work/school colleagues on squares of colored paper; use the clothes pins to put them on the wall or hang them on the wire or string. As you put yours up, pray for one already hanging.

3) A “Worship Wall”. This is for prayers of wonder and praise. Using three different focal points:

(a)Thank you Wall – use shapes of colored paper, write thank you notes, and stick them to the wall.

(b)God is……Wall – Use the names of God to exalt Him and praise him. Think about the character of God and what that means to us. Use sheets of paper to express what you experience. Consider what God has done in your life, and match that to a Name.

(c)Promises Wall – use scripture of the promises of God, write them on pebbles, pray them, and stack them in a basket or a glass bowl. Thank God for his faithfulness.

4) A “Reality Wall” – Pray for your school/campus, community, church, city, province, and country. Also, pray for leaders. Put up all the information you can find. Newspaper clippings work very well. Cut them out, stick them on the wall where they fit the focus, and pray.

5) Creativity Wall – If you are going to pray with all your energy, words alone aren’t gonna be enough. We need to see a release of poetry, symbolism, dance, song, sculpture, paintings, graffiti, sounds, lighting effects, and smells to express our worship and intercession to God truly.

This should be where we want everybody to feel safe to release what God has downloaded to help us and others draw closer to God. Paper, pencils, markers, paint, etc. are available. Stick artwork to the wall; others will be inspired.

6) Nations Wall – Pray for the nations, featuring a world map, newspaper clippings, and political and social details of specific nations. Pray for missionaries known to you.

The Share book:

A book for questions – Answers must be scripture-based and must be given promptly

A book for prayer requests – If this is used, pray through the requests.

A book for testimonies – Answers to prayer and life-changing events.

Step 2 – Preparing people.

“The two essential conditions for revival are prayer and unity.”

Unity breaks down barriers faster than any other; it carries authority across a region. If we want to be spiritually effective, unity with a common heart is vital. Satan uses division and disunity as a major strategy for defending the stolen territory he has gained.

In many ways, preparing people to pray is the most important job. The point is that this is a space for people to hang out with their heavenly Father, a place of intimacy and transformation.

You are encouraged to share stories of answered prayer to build faith.

A season of fasting is also encouraged. (It could only be from chocolate, TV, or certain foods).

Let people pray how they want to. Some kneel quietly, and some shout and yell.

This is something historic you are doing here.

The best context for launching into prayer is worship.