Wed 14 Jan 2009, 7.30pm

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Today was hot. I mean nearly 40 degrees C or just over 100 F hot. I neglected to mention that last Wednesday was nearly as hot, which made the intensity of last week's meeting even more amazing as that much heat can so often completely zap enthusiasm - and our church doesn't have air conditioning in the main hall. Praise God is has fans though :-)

All day I'd been feeling that tonight's meeting was going to be a bit different to last week, and during the day this was confirmed (though not in the way I was expecting) as a lot of worship team members let me know they weren't going to be able to make it for various reasons. No drama, we still had a full team ready to flow.

We got to church to find people enjoying the air conditioning in the cafe (our church building is a 1920s theatre/dance hall), with no-one keen on going into the main hall to experience the heat.

But we did - and to our complete surprise, it was comparatively comfortable in there. That never happens on a hot day. How does God work that kind of thing?? It was hardly cool, but it was bearable.

Not for long though, as tonight's meeting made last week's look like we were sitting around in a silence. One of the most amazing things for me last night was listening to 250 people free-worshipping in tongues. It was one of the sweetest things I've ever experienced. And wow! 250 people to a prayer meeting on a hot night - that's over half the church!

All of which has left me wondering just how much more God has in store for this year that's only just begun.

After 90 minutes of prayer and song, PsG closed the meeting, and no-one left. They didn't even go out to the cool of the air-conditioned cafe. Eventually, there were about 30 of us left fellowshipping on the footpath out the front of our church, and we were the last to leave - 2 hours after the meeting ended. This is SO good, and we all know it's preparation for a new season. Bring it on Lord - we (think we) are ready ;-)

On a practical note, in answer to some comments (thanks for these guys!), the meeting is pretty free in terms of structure - it's all about seeing what the Holy Spirit does through the people. PsG opens the night and shares what God has put on his heart for the prayer needs, and just generally directs the night (favourite line "stick to the theme - if we're praying for the Love In Action team, don't come up and pray for Israel at that moment"). There's no message or specific devotional, just prayer and song. The music and singing moves from very meditative right through to warfare style - usually all within the one song...it's just a matter of flowing in the how the Holy Spirit directs us in that moment, and completely unrehearsable. It's where team unity really comes to the fore - so all that time you spend with your team getting to know them inside out really pays off ! And if you'd like to know a little more about our church in general, click on the link on the left of the page up there for Harbourside (note the correct Australian spelling, btw :-)

Anyway, this post is way too long! The songs which formed the basis of the night...
Lead Me To The Cross (Brooke Fraser/Hillsong) - we opened with this as a preparatory, "get us into the right frame of mind for prayer" song led by my wonderful wife, and followed by a short prayer from...actually, I can't remember who was actually talking, it hardly mattered.
Fire Fall Down (Marty Sampson/Hillsong) - this went for 45 minutes, with several prayers during quieter moments, which usually brought us back to a louder moment, with lots of free/prophetic worship
The Anthem (Henry Seeley/Planetshakers) - this song is SO high. Most men can sing it comfortably down an octave (and I usually go between the 2 as I have a big range), and women can easily sing in the original octave. It's a really well-named song if you don't know it, with just 6 lines. The 11 minute version in the link is about half the length of what 'happened' last night. And happened is the right word - you could not orchestrate this yourself.

Finally, I just want to thank the amazing team I've been blessed to lead. What blows me away is that most of them are still in high-school. God has amazing things in store for these guys!

Don't forget to see what else is on my mind as I share how I'm going with Shaping The Space.

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Wed 14 Jan 2009, 7.30pm