“My friend, who is Parish Minister of Fenwick Parish Church, has struggled for years with getting people of the Parish to pray,” writes Colin Mutch from Southside Christian Fellowship in Ayr, Scotland. “He was almost ready for giving up even trying when he came to see our 24/7 prayer room… As a direct result, he decided the church should have its own prayer room and amazingly 38 people turned up for the 24/1.”

Here’s the feedback from their next venture which was a 24/3:

“3 days of non- stop prayer lasting not 72 hours but 73 hours.

52 people from aged 3 to 80+ (plus participants in 3 reflective services and Junior Church taking an hour)

32 folk returning from participating in 24-1

20 folk new the 24 hour prayer room format

19 the number of folk who committed to more than one 1 hour slot

7 hours the greatest number of hours committed by any one person over the course of the weekend

4 hours the longest slot committed to by two people.

100+ the total number of people hours committed to prayer over the weekend

WOW! And these are just the bare facts about 24-3 in June this year.  The numbers say nothing about the peace felt just walking into the room, the meetings with God in the early hours of the morning, or of the words of prayer and encouragement as folk gave themselves to pray. The words on the walls (yes there is a graffiti wall in the room which gradually filled up over the three days), the prayer cards on the tree, the prayers written in the “prayer pad” and the comments in the journal bear witness to those moments.

As I looked at the graffiti wall later one comment spoke volumes. Someone had written the following on a post-it note and added it to the wall, “I didn’t really think I wanted to come – but I did and I am glad. This is a very peaceful room and makes praying easy.”  That to me sums up what 24-3 was all about. It is easy to pray in a room that has been soaked in prayer and is saturated with the presence of God.  It is easy too to gain inspiration if only to add your amen to the prayers already written. I can’t help but wonder though how many people decided not to take part because it wasn’t for them!  At the end of the day words are insufficient to describe the experience of 24 hour prayer room prayer. Only the experience itself underlines that participants gain as much as, if not more, that they give.

What next? One suggestion is a 24-5 or perhaps we could wade right in with a 24-7!  We wouldn’t be the first Church of Scotland to do so but perhaps the first in the Kilmarnock area. 24-1 we dipped our toes in the water and got a bit of a soaking as breakers of God’s love caught us unawares.  24-3 we waded in up to our knees but swells of God’s grace ensured that we got more than our knees wet, perhaps its time simply to take the plunge.”

The Fenwick Parish Church Prayer room was part of ‘The Big If’ year of 24-7 Prayer currently sweeping Scotland, For more info check out their website here.