Lenten 24-7 prayer comes full circle

By Wendy Porterfield
Collaboration Project Executive Assistant

Seventeen years ago, Fred Grossenbach, an advocate of the transforming power of the gospel, got a vision for 24-7 prayer on campus at the UW. He approached Peter Horton, on staff with InterVarsity and a member of Faith Community Bible Church, inviting him to consider spearheading a 24-7 prayer room. Peter asked the Lord about it, and he heard God clearly say, “This is for you.” He felt led to aim for 40 days of 24-7 prayer during Lent.

I was asked to help coordinate that prayer experience, and having just read Red Moon Rising: How 24-7 Prayer is Awakening a Generation, I was eager to do so. Faith Community Bible Church offered their sanctuary as the prayer room. We enlisted an artistic team to design this creative prayer space, and we invited student ministries and churches across the city to join in.

It was the first time that most of us had set foot in such a space. Every hour in those 40 days was filled with someone praying in that room, and prayer became a catalyst of individual transformation and of nearly unprecedented collaboration. 

For Peter Horton, the experience transformed his ministry with InterVarsity. During my middle-of-the-night prayer slots, I was impacted by God’s nearness and heart of hospitality for the foreigner and stranger. Katie Schiefelbein, a mom of 3 who lives in Oregon, WI, recalls her time in that 2005 prayer room:

“I remember noticing the thoughtful prompts, guides, images, and pieces of art, the details that someone had prayed about... Places to kneel, sit, stand, look, things to contemplate, all prayerfully. I remember longing for that space again once I left it. It was a hiding place that you could enter into, out of your busyness and the chaos of the city.”

Throughout the 40 days, individuals from 30 different churches and ministries participated. 

This year, we are planning another 24-7 prayer experience for the Madison area, called a Holy Week of Prayer. From Sunday, April 10th till Easter Sunday, April 17th, we will gather together in common places (physical prayer rooms and a virtual prayer space) for the common purpose of standing watch with Jesus, welcoming God’s will and presence in the deep places of need we see in Dane County. As we anticipate Easter Sunday, we will pray for the reality of Jesus’ resurrection to fill our lives, churches, and community with hope and life. 

There will be 3 physical prayer rooms located at Faith Community Bible Church, City Church, and on the Northside. We invite you and your church to participate! Also, if your church would like to partner with one of the host locations to set up the prayer room and/or to fill the days and nights with prayer, please let us know.

Sign up for hour-long prayer slots in these prayer rooms now, and access the virtual prayer space anytime during Holy Week, between April 10th and April 17th.

We invite you to partner with us in telling stories that highlight how God is working in and through the local church by supporting Collaboration Project today.