"Prayer in the Square Day"
In witness whereof I have hereunto
Set my hand and caused the seal of
The City of New York to be affixed.
Michael Bloomberg
Mayor
Adapted from http://www.nycprayer.org
To learn more about "Prayer in the Square", please visit the above website.
To see the promo video for the event, please visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh6tlQ5KZ-4
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It's eleven-ish at night now in NYC, and I'm sitting down at my desk beginning to blog about the wonders of God I witnessed today. It was such an awesome and magnificent sight. And the intimate and powerful worship today had me yearning for more, so much that I now experience a sadness at the thought of school tomorrow and for 5 more days! It'll be a week before I return to church to join with other believers in worshipping our most-high God. Sigh... And before this I was always looking forward to school, but I guess being at church wins hands-down.
I'm sure by now you would have guessed what I am going to blog about. Yes, "Prayer in the Square"! This morning, we went back to Times Square Church (TSC) for service. The praise and worship was equally excellent as per the previous week's, but today it was even more hyped up by the fact that thousands of people in NYC were going to take to the streets and pray in the center of one of the world's most famous locations and tourist spots, Times Square. One could just sense the excitement and zeal for God just permeate the entire sanctuary--from the main hall downstairs to the gallery upstairs.
What I love about the praise and worship here is that everyone (at least most people) in the congregation just sings, claps, dances, and praises so loudly, spontaneously, and passionately. I mean, we all probably know what Americans are like--how they have huge and loud personalities. And the Blacks are so groovy man... their voices are so rich and their rolls (as in the singing technique, not buns) are so effortless and smooth. They are so creative and vibrant in their music. I love gospel! Each time I worship the Lord, I can't help but sway and groove to the rhythm. It's just fantastic.
Today's sermon matched last week's in its scale of depth and revelation. It was a simple illustration from the book of 2 Chronicles about King Uzziah's downfall. Pastor Conlon likened Uzziah to many people in the Christian realm today who were selling their own formulae for success, when the most basic and fundamental way was to listen to Jesus. I can't convey the message across as convincingly as Pastor Conlon does, so I won't try to do so and I wouldn't want to do it here anyway. I'm just noting this down for my own future reference.
After service, we rushed to MacDonald's (which was next door and swamped by TSC members by then) to grab lunch before we headed back to the sanctuary for a short praise and worship session prior to the walk to Times Square. Needless-to-say, it was another awesome time of singing and prayer. And all this was led simply by one worship-leader playing his guitar, with accompaniment by 2 other musicians (the choir was probably gearing up for the event). One could sense the enthusiasm and eager anticipation in the air during the prayer intercession we had for the event.
Omigosh! It's ten past twelve and I haven't got to the meat of the event! Anyway, just to give you an idea of what we did, the whole congregation marched down to Times Square holding onto little red fans (as you'll see below) under the bright sunshine, which was a contrast to yesterday's rainy evening--God cleared the skies for the event...Hallelujah! It was such a chirpy sight because many were clad in red t-shirts that were produced for the occasion. We got there at ten past two, and waited till 3 p.m. for the prayer to start. Although everyone was squeezing within the barricaded area like carrots and peas in a can, the mood was high and later on old nostalgic hymns were broadcasted through the speakers--it was so lovely and nostalgic.
At 3 p.m., a video clip appeared on the big screen at Times Square, and shortly after, the band and choir got the crowd singing and praising the Lord. Then we went into prayer. Different people stood in the gap to pray for different needs in the USA: pastors from different denominations, an officer from the police department, a judge from the judiciary system, a military person, a freshman from Columbia, etc. And everyone was just praying along in affirmation, and singing at intervals when different singers would just lead us in song. In just that one hour, we had made a difference in the world and to the Kingdom of God.
As I stood there, I was deeply moved by the sights, the sounds, and most of all the sincerity in the prayers. Though they blocked off the sidewalks, vehicles were allowed to drive through the area. And every time a bus (especially if it were one of those open upper deck tourist buses) drove by I just couldn't help but check whether people took heed to what was happening there. Questions rang in my mind. Would outsiders just sit up and wonder why we were participating in such an activity? And consider why we were spending one hour (technically longer than that though) standing in the hot sun (it was sunny but kinda hot) praying for others? There were also churches from different countries around the world participating with us in this prayer intercession. Why do we even bother?
Prayer is an often-neglected aspect in our lives as Christians. Corporate prayer especially. Sometimes, it can become mundane and cold. But the prayer I witnessed today will be imprinted in my mind at least for a very long time. Because I saw a true longing that came with it. Believers were joining in unison to proclaim the name of Jesus, and lifting up a banner of praise in the streets of NYC! Everyone adopted the same conviction and mentality to pray for the nation. And I was proud to be part of this prayer community. The prayer was expressive and the vision was clear.
One of the pastors said this before we left for the event venue: "We can bring people back by spending time with You". I found this very true. Many times we rack our human brains to figure out evangelistic events or ways to persuade people to join a church or a ministry, but we often forget to seek God first. I hope that God will make me a prayer warrior, and that I'll always maintain this form of communication with Him in the good and the bad.
Wow, it's super late--1 a.m. already!!! Okay gotta stop here cos' tomorrow got classes and I have to be up early to do stuff... Oh no... Shall leave you with this song by Chris Tomlin... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onGbkeWkA64
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