My church, Bay Area Community Church, is hosting 24 hours of consecutive prayer at the worship center in Annapolis, Maryland. The hope is that it will turn into a monthly engagement–maybe more. So far, it’s off to a pretty good start. I’m just outside the prayer room now and having just spent a good chunk of time in there, thought this would be a good time to share some thoughts.

I was in the prayer room for the first half hour of the night, which we spent praying for blessing over the next 24 hours of prayer. Then, I went home and spent some focused time in private prayer. After about an hour I headed back to the church to join back in. I got back just as prayers focusing in on the supremacy of Christ where emerging. I meditated on Psalm 103 for some time, repeating, “Bless the Lord, O my soul.”

After that, I spent some time around a prayer station for marriages. It’s intent, I’m pretty sure, is for members of struggling marriages to seek and offer prayer. I’m not married, so I used the station to attempt to pray for those married couples in my life, or on the outskirts of my life, with a specific eye to the supremacy of Christ. This was challenging, but I made it through.

After that, the prayer focus shifted to disciple making. By this time more people had joined the group and the hour’s 15 minutes of worship time began. I held the sheet meant to help with guided prayer and read it out loud to myself; specifically the scriptural references intended to help inspire those prayers.

I sang and worshipped for the initial 15 minutes. Then, as the music softened to allow for prayer to retake control, I sat exhausted. I simply couldn’t figure out how to pray with a specific eye toward the making of disciples. I spent some time meditating on the Gospel of Grace, to which I owe my own discipleship. Then, I spent some time praying for understanding and discernment in my own life on how to make disciples of those around me.

Then I stopped. Or, should I say, I was stopped. By what I am unsure. But there were simply no more prayers coming. So, I spent some time praying about that, then concluded that perhaps it was just time to leave, which has found me here, writing.

The point is, this type of prayer is notoriously difficult for me. Not prayers for discipleship. Prayers for things I haven’t given good thought to. Prayers for people I know nothing about. Prayers for the intangible or even, in my own mind, unreal. Yet, I serve a God who knows. I host a Spirit who fills in the gaps in my prayers. And, I have been commanded to pray.

I know that for these reasons there are many people who fear corporate prayer settings such as this one. But, I believe it’s challenges like these in prayer that make them indispensable. I plan to reface the challenge.

If you’re in the Annapolis area any time in the next 20 hours, you should come through and spend some time in the prayer room. Pray for the church, the city, the world and be challenged in prayer.