The Vine

Community Prayer Watch

January 23, 2011
Take a Sunday hanging out in the places people hang out in on Sunday morning.
pray, observe and then debrief

the objective - to develop a heart for our community by hearing (seeing) people's stories

the rationale - Something powerful happens when we pray. Prayer helps us tune our hearts to God’s
heart and as such, prayer must be at the heart of our move in Abingdon and Emmorton. How do we
develop love for the people God loves? We pray.

The call to a prayer watch takes the abstract idea of loving the people of Abingdon from theory to
reality. The people we pray for are not just people “out there” as some sort of nebulous mass. They will
have faces – moms, dads children, you and old, red and yellow, black and white. And as we pray for
these encountered faces, we open our hearts to be transformed by the love of God.

Remember - “We love because he first loved us.” – 1 John 4:19

morning schedule 9:20 - children drop off

9:40 - final prayer debrief
10:00 - travel to site
flex - at least one hour in prayer and observation
11:30 - travel to church
12:00 – FREE lunch debrief in room 202 after the prayer watch

childcare – you can chose to keep your children with you (although they might be a distraction) or we
have made special arrangements for child care at the main campus so you can leave your children with
trusted caregivers while you participate in the prayer watch.

location – we’ve primarily focused on the 24-924 corridor and the retail and restaurant spaces that folk
living in Abingdon and Emmorton would visit or you could brave the weather and walk a neighborhood

Bob Evans Klein’s Shoprite Starbucks (Constant Friendship)

Panera Bread Factory
Double T Diner
YMCA
walk/run your neighborhood
Gabriel Brothers
Walmart
Weis (Constant Friendship)
Giant (Old Emmorton Road)
Kohl’s (Festival)
Target (Constant Friendship)
BJ's
McDonalds (Constant Friendship)
McDonalds (Plumtree)
Chipotle (Festival)
Coffee Coffee (Festival)
Dunkin Donuts (Old Emmorton Road)
Instructions
Begin praying NOW. Pray all week for the eyes of God - the heart, and for the mind of God - to get into
the heart

Pray with your eyes wide open – pray without ceasing – 1 Thessalonians 5:17

Plan to go two by two (two families or two friends)

Go shopping, workout, grab a cup of coffee or breakfast

 Some thoughts on prayerful observation - active listening with our eyes

 
 BE in prayer the whole time - pray as you casually watch and observe - "Abba, show me how to
love this person."
 
This is asking the Holy Spirit to make up for our blindness and biases.
 
This is NOT about surveying (not a realistic sample)

This is NOT about demographics (though you will notice ethnicity, gender, age, etc.)

casually take notes – more as a reminder for our debrief

Observe -  this is more anecdotal than objective data - what story do I learn from observing this
person and their interactions?
 
how are they dressed?
alone? with family? friends?
a mother with children? ages?
what are they purchasing (if applicable)?
do they seem happy, intent, sad, frazzled, angry?
age? health?
anything catch your attention? unusual? out of place?
what are their shopping carts filled with? necessities? luxuries? party supplies (are the
Ravens still in the playoffs?)
hairstyle? body art?
 
 
 Ask - how could I or the Vine meet the needs of this (these) person(s)?, what do I have in
common with this person?
 
Listen - God may be prompting you to action even in the moment.
  
Our Mark - Compassion – Like Jesus, we enter His mission - Jesus with the woman in the crowd,
the man at the pool, the woman at the well, looking over Jerusalem – the heart of Jesus – the
MISSION of Jesus.