A Life of Prayer Is Full…
Yes, I sit still for hours on end.
But then the weekend comes, and we do all kinds of cool stuff to keep our prayer life vibrant before the Lord. Here are a few pictures of the last weeks’ activities…
1. Tour of Atlanta’s Spiritual History
Understanding the spiritual history of a city is very important to orient you in the place of prayer. Without knowing where the city has been, you can labor under the weight of wrong thinking that maybe got passed down through that area generationally. Also, if you are not a native of the city (like myself) it can be difficult to connect your emotions to your spiritual investment in intercession. Touring some historical sites and learning about where the city came from can definitely help you discern the Lord’s plans for restoration in the future.
Sweetwater Creek Mill: slavery
This cotton mill was constructed by slaves during the 1800s. The governor of GA himself invested in the project, and by the forced labor, this mill became the largest building in Atlanta at the time. Its five stories were filled with hired labor from the surrounding rural area, and its cotton products served the Atlanta area. Human slavery was responsible for digging out the millrace; lining it with heavy stones; making bricks; building a support wall for the millrace; and constructing the mill itself. The burden of Atlanta’s history of human subjugation and indignity is far heavier than any of the stones its victims unearthed and carried.
Cyclorama
Next, we stopped at the Cyclorama. It is the world’s largest oil painting on canvas, and one of only three cycloramas remaining in the United States. The Battle for Atlanta is depicted in a 360-degree perspective, complete with three-dimensional figures displayed before it so that you can’t tell where space stops and canvas begins. I marveled at the weight of defeat carried by the South. From the under-funded presentation of the painting to the story behind its acquisition to the events which it depicts, the whole experience made me feel how confused and consequently listless the South really is. Of course the Civil War is over, but think of how many brothers fought brothers! How many young men lost the chance to be a hero. How many women shed tears that were never comforted. How many men were deceived into giving their life on the battlefield to defend the right to take another’s life in slavery. I conclude that many of the ‘good ol’ Southern boys’ here in Georgia are so susceptible to religiosity because they carry tremendous guilt and frustrated longings that they don’t even understand. Georgia was founded as a colony in which debtors could attempt to work themselves free, and we still haven’t learned to trust to mercy…
I AM A MAN: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Museum
We closed the day with a tour of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s museum and memorial. Wow. Even after the Civil War…such hatred and unrest. I could hardly believe the newsreels I watched, the speeches I listened to, the letters and placards and signs and protests and arrests I read. I felt so proud of the Civil Rights movement and so disappointed that so much more was to be done. I was thrilled to learn about the thriving community of Sweet Auburn…and then sorrowful to discover that the highway system had sawed it in half. Spike Lee’s film Bamboozled came to mind as I considered the current state of affairs. The anger, the treachery, the twisted relationships…by the end of this long day I could only say one thing: Lord Jesus come back and be our King! Nothing will ever be right until He comes. No injustice will be satisfied. No freedom will be secured. No fellowship truly achieved until the Lamb that was slain for the world’s sake comes back to reign for the world’s sake. It is His absolute glory to rescue humanity from itself, to call us into the greatness for which He always intended us.
2. Wellspring for Girls Workday
Atlanta is the number one hub of human trafficking in the United States, and possibly the world.
When I heard that fact, and realized that it was true, my heart almost fell out through my toes. I could hardly believe that this center of commerce, this great cultural hub of the South, this gem of the Bible Belt housed the most heinous scourge of our world.
Wellspring for Girls: one of the beautiful cottages
IHOP-ATL was given a strong heartbeat of compassion for this issue and a great responsibility toward seeing its destruction accomplished through a release of the light of Christ Jesus. One of the remarkable women previously on staff here at the House of Prayer now orchestrates the development of the only faith-based program for rehabilitating victims of human trafficking in the United States. This program takes girls that our social system rejects and builds them into vibrant, free young women. Often when rescued, the victims have so many issues that they get put in the psyche ward–although they are not crazy; or, since they were caught in prostitution, they get put in the jail for lack of a better way to process drug-induced sexual slavery. Wellspring Living takes these girls to a home in a safe place far from the city; they get their own bedroom, in-home education and life skills classes, and professional counseling from people that know eternal life is only found in the knowledge of the Father’s heart and the Bridegroom’s love. And so far, they are the only rehabilitation program to have any success. Its not surprising but it’s still discouraging to think about how many girls have missed this opportunity…
We can do it!
We want to help make restoration a real option for these girls, so we volunteered some work hours to help prepare another house for them. We girls did gardening, and the guys did some interior work, like caulking and hauling and carpet-prep. I can hardly express how privileged I felt even to paint flower pots for these girls! I could really touch their lives and help pull them into beauty and light again. =)
3. Sukkot Shake
Did you know that God has a calendar? Like, for real. He has appointed times, certain moments that He has set aside to do stuff with people. Most of these times can be found on the Jewish calendar; His people have been keeping His feasts for…well, a really long time, haha.
The idea of knowing when God Himself is celebrating, remembering, or toasting is new to me. I just figured that He fit Himself into our schedules, I guess 😛 I am really excited to discover what He put in place though. The past week or so was the Feast of Tabernacles, my first real experience with keeping a feast; and it was awesome!
the Sukkah: yes, there are fifteen people and a feast in there!
This Feast is amazing! I had no idea that it looks behind you, in front of you, and in your face at the same time:
- We remember that we were taken out of bondage. The Israelites lived in tents for forty years during their Exodus from 400 years of slavery in Egypt.
- We look forward to the Wedding Supper of the Lamb at the End of the Age. During a Jewish wedding, there are so many friends and family celebrating together, that they often have to build a huge tent addition to the side of the father’s (and bridegroom’s) house!
- We marvel at the fact that God tabernacles with men: the Holy Spirit dwells inside us! And Jesus left His heaven to take on human flesh. And we are just traveling through this earth, waiting for the establishment of a better country and city than this…
The Feast Inside
So, we build a sukkah, or a big tent in the back yard. The guys from IHOP did a fabulous job; this thing fit fifteen people, two tables, and a truck-load of food and drink in it 😉 The top is made of branches so we can see the stars and moon and sky while we celebrate and look up to the heavens, awaiting the meeting of heaven and earth again…
We toasted to the Age to Come:
…what we most look forward in the Millennial Kingdom
…what we are grateful for deliverance from
…and we started dancing ^_^
It is so fitting to live our lives out of this place of joy. Even with all the heaviness of the exploration of the history of this city and the burden of wickedness and darkness in our generation, there is a light yoke: Jesus Christ. He saved us, purchased us for God the Father, and He fellowships with us. He invites us into intimacy. It is knowing the love of Christ that passes all understanding, all knowledge: this is the stuff of eternal life. This is what sustains us for the rest of time–knowing that the Father is delighting and the Son is rejoicing.
Rejoice! (jump up and spin around) And again, I say, Rejoice!
My Soul’s Love
My Soul's Love (photo courtesy of Lumendipity Photography Blog)
This Is A Me 