The uxbridge Road was slick with rain.
My street prayer/Spiritual reconnaissance this morning feels cold, wet, but worth it.
We are zooming in now on God's positioning for the new project here in West London.
My work started at 8.30am today, with prayer, emails and coffee. Then it was my allotted time out on the streets of Ealing London. Dawn was at a pan-London meeting of SA emergency services at THQ today so it was just me.
My task this morning was to keep gathering information straight from the street while praying blessing on everything that I see. Spying out the land as it were.
The first thing I see is a small gang of guys standing on the street corner. The heady aroma of wacky baccy emanating from the middle of the group. I then see another gang, one I'm getting to know, especially after I spoke some sense into a very volatile situation with these guys outside our church last week. They gave me the thumbs up. Thats progress. I see the weary trudge through the rain of some who have a kind of lonely look about them carrying heavy plastic bags with provisions in them. I see a guy look right, then left, then behind him, before stepping into a seriously dodgy looking massage parlour. The busyness of this major London thoroughfare is almost overwhelming. There is hardly a space on the pavement to walk. This is the poorer end of Ealing broadway.
I saw much more.
So much to bless.
So much work to do.
So many lives that need touching, saving, loving. Transforming.
The Salvation Army was birthed on streets like these. In a different part of London.
Jesus was there already ahead of them on those streets.
I saw him this morning.
He is still there.
I saw him in the eyes of the people.
I saw him in the urban park lying on a bench while the rain soaked his skin.
And I know we have heard this preached and all that jazz, we hear people say it, a lot, but the Salvation Army really should get out more.
Joining God.
He will show us stuff.
Stuff that we would never see from the warmth of our buildings.
People ask me well whats the difference between praying outside or inside? I always answer with theres no difference because all prayer is valid, but, when we pray in our communities, our cities, our towns, our villages, we really do sense and see what God is sensing and seeing.
This morning as I take a break and down another cappuccino, I feel a passion, a sharpness, a desire, not just a want but a deep desire to help him in his transforming work in this world.
And.
I think thats the other thing about intentional work on the streets.
We stoke up our passion for the lost.
Its great to sing our songs that say stuff like, for our inheritance give us the lost, but there nothing like coming face to face with them.
And
We get real life information which we can use to pray. It makes our prayer even more effective.
So come on guys, get wrapped up and bless the streets.
Ask God to show you stuff.
It really will stoke up the fire in your heart.
