Prayer Night with a Twist

Many of us decline attending prayer nights because the first thing that pops into our mind is: BORING!
There's probably going to be some old guy or woman standing up front, speaking from a piece of paper, quoting scriptures and then would probably split us into groups, get us to do prayer walks between the aisles or wait for it.....pick on us to pray out loud among the small crowd of attendees.
This entire event will probably go on for 2 or 3 hours.....how on earth does one last at something so boring yet so needed in our daily lives?
The first 5 minutes into a prayer night is just an opening prayer itself and already I am yawning and my mind has vacated the building.
I find myself thinking of the ocean, work, books, conversations, people, nations, countries, travels, my grocery shopping, and who's being persecuted right now in this very second of life and what am I doing about it?

Well, the prayer nights we attend are slightly different.  I lie.  It's actually a whole lot different.  Ever imagine yourself in the scenario you are praying for?  How about the persecuted church for example.  In our dialect it's called mission simulation.  It's all about touch, smell, taste, hear and sight.

The prayer night started with a bring and share meal, much laughter, joy and conversation.  We were then ushered into the prayer area, took our seats and got comfortable.  It was a cosy atmosphere.  The leader handed us some rope and taught us how to do hand-cuffs by making bunny ears and tying the ears together into a knot.  We were then instructed to tie our hands.
Each of us were then given a piece of paper of current events happening globally and in our current time, not 10 or 20 years ago but right now, 2012 and the very present.
Each paper had a different country on.  We were about 25 present.  Important prayer points were listed and as the room stilled, I could see that many sat shocked with the content just read.  I guess it opened a whole new door to the persecuted church among the young and old.
We were given one warning, to read what's on the paper and remember it.

All of a sudden the lights went out and the leader barged in dressed in police attire and held a torch light, shining it in individual faces, and his tone was rather harsh. "What are you doing?!!!!"  "This is illegal!"  "Get up!"  "Get out of here!"  "You will pay for this!"
We found ourselves captured, driven out of the prayer meeting we righteously attended and we were lead outside to a dark garage aka prison.  We were then told to keep quiet, but in a harsher way off-course.
It was cold, we definitely weren't dressed for this occasion either and the abusive commands weren't necessarily what we signed up for.
Well, that my dear is how it's done in the real world of suffering.  

My description doesn't sound as bad because I don't fully think that we will ever know what these people experience on our behalf.  The persecuted church is to be respected, admired and esteemed in prayer.

Can you imagine laying face down in a helicopter position and not being able to see what's in front of you apart from the filthy ground, with your legs angled in a certain way and you are handcuffed?
That's how it's done in North Korea.

Or how about being locked away in an overloaded shipping container, in the heat of the Sahara sun, who's temperatures are insanely above 45 degrees?  No food or water at your fingertips?  No toilets easily accessible?  You see the sun maybe once or twice a week, depending if the guards are "happy" with your behavior?
That's how it's done in Eritrea.

There are many more stories to share of just how much suffering our brothers and sisters go through.
How do they hold onto Jesus in these times?  Where does their strength come from?  How does one find Jesus in all this suffering?  Is it all worth it?

They say that they feel our prayers carry them through and their greatest prayer request, are you ready for it?
"Pray that we hold onto Jesus in our strife, pray that we never let go of Him or turn away from it but we brave this suffering for Him."

I hunger for prayer nights like these.  You will never leave the same.....

Proverbs 18:10
The Name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe."

Recommended site to update your knowledge of the persecuted:

www.opendoors.org