A truly amazing year for the 24/7 prayer team in Antrim

writes Ben Connelly.

As the prayer movement builds in Antrim, we decided to wind down and relax at Christmas.

On December 23 24|7Antrim hosted �CHRISTmas WITH US�. A night of praise, prayer and vision. A place where people can come chat, enjoy Christmas for it’s true meaning and for it’s true purpose. But also to think about 2012, and what is next for Ireland and how our beloved town fits into it all.

Simply, the hope was that we’d reflect on the inspiring night at Lisburn Cathedral, sharing the Kingdom Come vision and how we can engage in it. Again, a great gathering at Antrim YMCA filled with love between brothers and sisters.

As we closed a fantastic year, we look to 2012, boldly expectant of more of God�’s movement within Antrim and Ireland. We have many plans, based on how we believe God wants us to move. But, we’re more excited about what God will do without us knowing; by experience, the best stories. 

April is the month with Antrim in mind in the year of prayer. So we look to this month in excitement.

Last year, High Street Presbyterian Church and Antrim Methodist hosted their own prayer rooms over the Easter week. This year we hope to add to that. We’d love to see the Easter week filled with prayer from Church to Church, passing the baton over the week. We love that local Churches in our town are getting to grips with what 24/7 prayer is all about, and are running with it in different ways based on their congregations and their Church life. It also gives so much more opportunities to see older folk engage in something different to what they may be used to.

As well as this exciting week, we are hoping to go on our own ‘Revival Run’ to Wicklow. That night in Lisburn Cathedral we, as a representative of our towns, were asked to take a stake and pray for another location in Ireland. The one I picked up was Wicklow. The challenge was to pray for that place, but to go further and pilgrimage to that place praying prayers for Wicklow as if it were prayers for Antrim. So this is a second exciting thing we look forward to doing.

On a personal level, Wicklow is the place where my great-great-great (and so on) grandfather is from. My name ‘Connolly’ comes from there. I love that out of so many different places to choose from random, God led me to lift this place. I look forward to the significance this may be when we go!

Lastly, with February being the schools focus, we are encouraging/facilitating/supporting Antrim Grammar School students as they push towards hosting a prayer space in their school. With their Scripture Union growing into the hundred there is so much potential within the school as more and more students question, grow and search after Jesus.

I’d like to take this opportunity to ask you to pray for us: - Thank God for an amazing year with so many encouraging moments and stories. Thank you to the people who support, help, pray, provide, give up and engage in all the different things we try to do. - Ask God that he would continue to encourage us and His Church in Antrim. That the local Church would continue to engage in 24/7, and continue to be more united in it’s purpose in Antrim. Pray that those Churches we are targeting in April would get on board with what we are hoping to do. - Thank God for loving us enough to allow Kattie and I, and many others, to be a part of what he is doing through 24/7 in Antrim and Ireland.”

Pray that he would continue to encourage, challenge and inspire us; and most importantly that we give him glory, aiming to make him famous in a town we love so passionately.”