One of the themes that the Lord is pressing into my life since moving to Richmond is the importance of fasting and prayer. These are disciplines that all of us as Christ followers would say are crucial, and yet we often struggle to consistently and persistently seek God. One of our first decisions as a pastoral team (and probably are most important decision) was to devote Wednesdays to fasting and prayer - to pray for our church and pray for our city. Wednesday has honestly become my favorite day of the week here. I feel like I am learning to pray afresh, and I am seeing God answer prayers and reveal Himself through our times of prayer.
We have also met some brothers who have unknowingly impacted us with their intentionality and devotion to prayer.
First, we met a pastor who began volunteering at Richmond HS when his son was a student there (I believe 6 to 8 years ago). He started volunteering with the basketball team as an assistant coach. The Lord gave him a real burden for the students of Richmond HS. So he began to look for other opportunities to volunteer and to have a presence in the school. In addition to helping with the basketball team, he began substitute teaching, and then volunteering as the school health officer. He eventually was hired as the school health officer. This position probably pays next to nothing. However, that is not his aim. He is doing it so that he can maintain a presence within the high school. He takes prayer walks and prays for the school in the morning before the day begins. Sometimes during the day he walks the halls and prays for the students. He invited us to come and pray with him anytime. He is praying that God would move upon the hearts of students, faculty, and the administration. He believes in the power of prayer.
Second, we met a man who is the executive director of an inner city para church ministry in San Francisco. His ministry is located in the Tenderloin District, which we were told is probably the poorest area in San Francisco. He started this ministry 29 years ago. When he first began, he left his corporate job because he felt God calling him to respond to the needs of this particular neighborhood. He was able to initially rent a storefront, but he knew the ministry would need more space - if they were to provide housing, and be able to do wholistic ministry there. So he rented an office space in a very spacious four story building that was owned by a company. He chose this building because He had begun to pray that God would give the ministry the building. By renting an office space inside this building, he was given keys to the building. He would wait until all of the employees went home for the night, and then he would walk the halls and pray and ask God to give them the building. The building eventually went up for sale, and near that same time he received a call from a man who lived in Chinatown. The man asked him to come and meet with him. When he went to the man's house, the man told him the Lord had told him to give towards the ministry. Interestingly, the man gave him a large amount of gold coins. The gold coins were enough to put a down payment on the building, and the rehab project began. Today they have a homeless shelter, food pantry, thrift store, weekly worship service, offices, and Christian school within the building! More recently, a wealthy businessman bought the building next store to the ministry building and turned it into a strip club. The director of the ministry recognized the danger of this. Yet he knew that he needed the city to take legal action if the strip club was to be shut down. So he decided to fast and pray for 40 days. Not only that, but he decided to sit in front of city hall in a chair while he fasted and prayed these forty days. He invited others to pray with him that the city would move to shut the strip club down. On the 36th day, they invited him into city hall, and after speaking with him decided to answer his requests. The strip club was ordered to close its doors! His son also told us that once a year he walks around the perimeter of the city and prays for revival in San Francisco. He believes in the power of prayer.
I am thankful for what the Lord is challenging me with in the "school of prayer." Lord I believe, but help me in my unbelief.
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