DESPERATE OBSESSION.

Whoever decided that a prayer room had to be normal? Zones. Requests. Lists. They all seem to look the same. Christmas Lights. Maps. Candles. Fabric. Paper. Paints. While I've only experienced a few within 24-7, I'm already bored with them. The creativity just seems to be lacking. We were determined to change that.

Many frustrations filled a few of us as this prayer week approached us. Like many things here, we didn't seem to found this week on prayer. Suddenly, it was a week before the launch and I wanted to have nothing to do with it. That changed last Monday. After a bit of (positive) complaining, our week got switched around a bit to give us more of a focus on this prayer room. Monday morning was the beginning of it as we found ourselves in an empty room praying for vision. A few of us came back with a similar desire we had already had for a prayer room...a completely white room. We spoke of painting the room white. But, that may upset a few people. We spoke of bringing in bunches of boards that were painted white. But, with a lack of budget, that would not be affordable. We spoke of white fabric. But, in my opinion, that just looks tacky. What to do?

As I've explained to a few people in the past, I am confident that the biggest task for an artist is learning to problem solve. It's at the root of all art. So, here I was again. Still not really wanting to have much to do with this room. Yet my mind was going wild. What about Post-It notes? Cover the room entirely. But, they don't stick to bricks too well. And, I'm not even sure if they make white ones. Although we do know someone here who works for 3M, which would be a plus. Why not just cut up 1/4 sheets of paper and stick them to the wall with sticky tack? By now the ball was rolling as me and Pinky (David) discussed the options.

Soon I realized that I really didn't like the idea of a purely white room. Throughout the week, the prayer 'graffiti' would make it more and more sloppy looking. It would unpurify the purity. Red. A red room. With only white paint and chalk allowed to be used. A single white light in the middle. Day after day, the room would be transformed from a red room to one of whiteness as the prayers splattered across the walls. Performance art. Call the Tate Modern, an art installation was about to step into an old rugged church.

A group of us found ourselves finishing the room last night and praying over the week that has now begun. During our prayer time, we found ourselves crying out to God to reveal his radical wild side during this week. As I gazed around at the nearly 6000 pieces of red paper, I could not get past their obsessive nature. The whole room evokes this quality. The words 'DESPERATE OBSESSION' kept scrolling through my mind again and again. I realized that these are not just words to label this room, although that is now it's name. They are more. They are words that I long to be a description for my life. I pray that I would be deserately obsessed with running after God. I'm sick of this 'happy Christian' mentality that we have. Tonight I found us singing 'sweet lullabies' to our Saviour. Is this really worship? Where is the heart? Where is the depth? Where is the honesty? Listen to our prayers. Where is the desperation?

I ask that you pray for this week of 24-7. Pray that God would show up in huge ways. Pray that we would see more of Him. Pray that our view would be massive...that it would extend beyond the walls that we've unintentionally built around Him. Pray that we would each learn what it means to have a desperate obsession for God.