Have you ever had one of those moments where God whispers one of the more odd verses in the Bible to you? Often from one of the more prophetic books in the Bible – Ezekiel perhaps – or maybe from one of the ancient historical books, when “giant Nephilim were walking the earth” (Genesis 6:4)?

I had one of those moments back in October. We were in the middle of our 24-7Prayer week for the term, and I was sitting in the corner, wrapped in swathes of bright and loud cushions. I was doorman for the day, and I was noticing something strange: people kept on coming to the prayer room with an instrument in hand, spontaneously wanting to lead worship. “Sure” I said, “come on in”. It was peculiar - just like someone had got organised and invited them to come or something.

So there I was thinking to myself (worship music just starting up again in the background), “what’s up with the musical theme God? Why so many people turning up at the door with guitars?” And then came an unexpected reply (because we don’t always hear immediately back from God...) “Sing O Barren Woman”.

It’s an odd verse at first sight. But I knew roughly where it was... Isaiah; that source of incredibly dramatic prophecy, detailing God’s amazingly patient relationship with his people. And after a bit of flicking through, there it was, at the top of Chapter 54:

“’Sing O Barren Woman, you who never bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labour; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband’, says the Lord” (Is 54:1)

Now, what was that about God?

I suppose I got the singing reference straight away. The guy who had just brought his guitar down was now going full pelt, worshipping God with all his might. That kinda linked quite well with ‘Sing’. But what about all the stuff about the woman, children and giving birth? Was this relevant?

Looking further on in the passage, the identity of the barren woman became clearer: verse 5 and 6 says “for your Maker is your husband...  the Lord will call you back as if you were a wife deserted”. This is not just one lady then. Rather, it is the nation of Israel, the people of God. Throughout their history they had constantly been straying from God. And here, in Isaiah 54, he is declaring that he will call them back again. In effect, he’s saying, ‘even though you as a nation are not fruitful (are bearing no children), shout for joy, sing aloud, because I will be making you fruitful – much more than you could imagine’.

And this, I thought, was a pretty wonderful inspiration for our worship. God says: ‘sing, even though you are barren, because I am going to make your lives fruitful again’, and so we do.

Within the week one of my close friends, a pillar of our church community here, had been killed in a bike accident in the centre of town. We were devastated. As we travelled through the months of grief the other side of that tragic day, we wondered how to respond as a community. And this verse hit home to me again: sing o barren woman. Was God speaking...?

Coming into the New Year, we looked forward to another 24-7Prayer week, this one fitting into the year of prayer “Kingdom Come” that is going on everywhere across the UK and Ireland. And a mad plan began to hatch. We felt like God was calling us to sing out of our loss and grief, to ‘shout for joy, and burst into song’, even though we weren’t necessarily feeling like it... so how about we try singing throughout the week of prayer?

The idea hatched into a plan: find around 70 worship leaders to lead an hour of prayer every other hour for the whole week, day and night. Our prayer rota was coloured in to reflect the fact that every even hour (2am, 4am, 6am...) would be devoted to worship, and every odd hour (1am, 3am, 5am...) would be devoted to prayer. And the response was overwhelming! Musicians came from everywhere to help lead the worship slots; bands camped out to cover the night slots; those who had never publically led worship before plucked up the courage to lead God’s people in worship. And over the week, an amazing rhythm of prayer and worship began to be built. People began spending more and more time in the prayer room, in prayer, in worship, giving themselves to God. God was calling us back to himself and his people were responding in ways I have not seen before during a 24-7Prayer week.

The week left many wanting more. Since then, new regular worship slots have started up here in the prayer room, and people can’t wait until the next 24-7Prayer comes round in the summer. And through it all, we had come to learn a lesson: God calls us to sing, to worship, to pray, to be with Him, whatever the season and whatever the circumstance. He’s always calling us to himself; he is just waiting for us to respond. 

Our annual prayer and justice conference is coming up at the end of the month - read on to find out more and book on! 

What have you learned about God that could help others? What would our nation look like if the age-old truths about God’s Word, about praying and living justly were being safely handed down from one generation to the next? It might look very different from today’s increasingly secularised society.

The next generation needs to hear from God; to hear that His Word is true; to learn that prayer works; and to see that it is possible to live out lifestyles that speak of justice.

At the Next Generation conference, we'll be meeting, praying and worshipping with those younger and older than ourselves. We'll be meditating on God’s Word and hearing from guest speakers Pete Hughes (KCX, London) and Vaughan Roberts (St Ebbes, Oxford) who will help us to understand how it should impact our lives.

So we welcome you to join us on 24-25 February 2012 as the generations gather to discover and celebrate what God is doing in and around us.  

Join us to pass on what God has given you to those who are coming next. Join us to be part of the heartcry that God is raising for the revival of His ways in our nation.

“We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord” (Psalm 78:4)

Pete and Bee went on to join the leadership team of St Mary’s Bryanston Square, running a leadership development year for young leaders and overseeing all of the small groups in the life of the church.

As well as leading KXC, they currently oversee New Wine’s work amongst the 18–30s, organising their Retreat to Advance weekends. They have been married for 8 years and have two boys, Benj and Josh.

VAUGHAN ROBERTS studied law at Cambridge University before a brief spell in South Africa where he was involved in student ministry. He subsequently trained for ordained Anglican ministry at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, and since 1991 has been on the staff of St Ebbe’s Church, Oxford, where he is now Rector. It is an evangelical church with a large student congregation.

As part of his ministry at St Ebbe’s, Vaughan runs a ‘Simeons’ Course that aims to equip potential preachers with the skills to proclaim God’s Word faithfully and effectively. He is also Director of The Proclamation Trust, encouraging and equipping preachers to expound the Bible, and Chairman of 9:38, an initiative that encourages people to consider the possibility of gospel ministry.

Vaughan has written a number of books, including ‘God’s Big Picture’, ‘Battles Christians Face’ and most recently ‘True Spirituality’. In his spare time, he enjoys playing cricket, tennis and golf.

For more information: click here

As our 247Prayer week started last night, we started with a bang - 20 to 30 people in the room, worshipping passionately for the first hour of what promises to be an amazing week of non-stop worship and prayer. For the first time in this prayer room, we are setting the goal of having alternate hours of worship and prayer throughout the week, day and night. So far, so good, with nearly all of the worship slots covered by an amazing worship leader - thanks to all who are taking part. If you've not signed up, it's not too late - you can do so online here:  http://www.24-7prayer.com/signup/75a230, or you are welcome to just pop by the prayer room any time of night or day in the coming week.

For centuries the ‘woman’ of Isaiah 54:1 has been understood to represent, amongst other things, the church: so it could be thought of as, ‘Sing O Barren Church’. Because we are the ‘Bride of Christ’, and whilst we are waiting for our husband’s return, there is a sense in which we are desolate without him (even whilst, at the same time, we have his Spirit – it is a case of the now and ‘not yet’ of the Kingdom, “we see in part now, but one day we will see clearly...”).

And why is this ‘woman’, this church singing? Because of the hope of new birth, the hope of a fruitful life again. And this is the gospel really: the incredible hope of new, fruitful lives with Christ. 

We have much to sing about! New birth, new beginnings, new perspectives on ‘true life’.

So, we are gathering in the Prayer Room to worship God, to sing out of a place that is aware of barrenness – in our own lives, our churches and city. And we are gathering to sing into those places - those words of hope and blessing that God would have us sing over the barrenness that we see.

Hope this inspires you, as it has us, to focus some time this week on seeking God in the place of worship and prayer. You are welcome to join us at any time - our door is permanently open (or, at least, always has a welcoming person behind it to let you in...). Look forward to seeing you,

The Oxford Prayer Room team   

This terms 247 (Sun 22 Jan - Sat 28 Jan) is turning out to be quite different from all the rest. Read on to find out why...

During last terms 247, we kept on getting knocks on the door from people who had turned up to the prayer room with a guitar, wanting to worship for an hour, or wanting to know how to switch the keyboard on. It happened several times, sometimes several times a day, when nothing had been mentioned before about leading worship, for what was meant to be a prayer week! But we were happy they came - they sang songs that were on their hearts, they drew others in to worship, and prayer was bubbling out from the intimate times with God. 

What was God saying? We got thinking about what this all meant, when a verse was spoken at one of the prayer meetings that week: “Sing, barren woman, you who never bore a child, burst into song, shout for joy... because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband” Isaiah (54:1). Could this be what God was saying to us: 'sing'? 

With the death of a member of our community at that time, we became more aware than ever before of our barrenness. It seemed like hope, faith and love in us were being shaken. In many ways, we had simply hit rock-bottom.

Yet, in this crises moment, the community responded with tender grace, coming together through meals, hugs, phone calls and visits, checking up on one another. A beautiful thing to behold. 

But how were we to respond to God in this time of barrenness? 

Perhaps God was calling us, the 'barren woman', to 'sing'. 

With the start of a new term, and a new week of 247Prayer, we feel called by Him to "burst into song, to shout for joy". That is why we are seeking to fill and entire week with continuous worship and prayer. 

The goal is to have alternate hours of worship and prayer, day and night, for the whole week. That's around 72hrs of led worship! But, together, gathering worship leaders and teams from across Oxford, we believe that we can do this; we can sing over our barren church, over our barren city, believing that God will bring forth fruitfulness.

We hope that this is something that stirs you! If you want to be a part, come on down, any-time night or day that week (Sun 22 Jan - Sat 28 Jan). The worship hours will be on the even hours (10pm, 12pm, 2am...), and the prayer hours on the odd (11pm, 1am..).

If you'd like to sign up for a particular worship or prayer slot, we'd love you to! Please click on this link and fill a box: http://www.24-7prayer.com/signup/75a230 (if you leave your email and phone number, 247 will remind you of the slot you booked). 

For any budding worship leaders, you might like to know the following:

·         What you do in your hour of worship leading is completely up to you: it’s a creative blank canvas!

·         Feel free to invite other musicians, singers, punters, artists... whoever, along to your slot to make it more fun! Or how about inviting your cell group to come and support you as you lead worship during the night slots of one night?

·         Keyboard and guitar permanently set-up; but feel free to bring your own guitar to plug in if you want

·         Dozens of churches are being invited to join in – please feel free to spread the word

Whether you lead hundreds in worship, or just prefer to do so alone in the shower, we encourage you to be part of this week of worship and prayer, as we "burst into song" and "shout for joy", believing that God will bring fruit out of our barrenness.

In Him,

Oxford Prayer Room

Happy New Year from the Oxford Prayer Room! We hope you had a wonderful time at Christmas remembering the amazing birth of our saviour Jesus Christ and the eminence of his return. Our prayer this year is for the Church to be focused on Jesus and to live for him. To help steer us in the right direction we have been encouraged to spend more time this year in the Bible. There are numerous daily Bible reading plans online or you can pick one up at the foyer in church for £1.

Hope you have Blessed and Prosperous New Year!

In Him x

With nearly 200 people expected to gather in Oxford this Thursday evening (1 Dec) at 7:14pm, we're getting excited about this expression of public prayer and intercession! The location has been confirmed as outside the church of St Michael's of Northgate, Cornmarket. All the latest info on the FB: https://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=322232264470006. Come along, and bring candels or glowsticks!

We are continually looking for volunteers to help out at the prayer room. Main jobs include: leading prayer groups, acting as doorkeepers to keep room open for others, or helping out with our termly 24-7prayer weeks. Get in touch for more: info@oxfordprayeroom.org

From prayer for children to intercession for zimbabwe, new prayer meetings are springing up all the time here at the Oxford Prayer Room. Keep checking the online calendar for the latest meetings, and get in touch with us if you'd like to hold a prayer meeting here. Also, advanced notice of our next 24-7prayer week from 7th-13th March, and which will involve several churches from around Oxford for the first time ever! Get in touch if you'd like to be part of this!

A group of postgrads has begun meeting every other wednesday evening and are looking for others (including non-students) to join them as together they seek God and pray

Fourteen hours gone, around 130hrs to go...! The prayer room looks great, with interactive prayer stations, information for prayer and a creative zone, and people have been worshipping and praying in there for hours already. There's been a fantastic response to our online sign-up, with only 6 slots later on in the week yet to fill - check it out and see if you could help fill the remaining slots. Alternatively, join in with what is already going on, perhaps one of the simple, worshipful 'devotional' slots, or some of the intercession meetings, for Europe, Germany, Israel, Oxford or Students... there's something for everyone, and we're still very expectant of all God will do in this coming week of prayer. So, sign-up, or simply drop by when you are in town (see here for location) - we look forward to welcoming you to pray.

Join us for our annual prayer and justice conference, on Fri 26-Sat 27th Feb, with Pete Greig (24-7prayer and Director of Prayer, HTB) and Andrea Minichiello Williams (Christian Legal Centre). Many may remember Andrea speaking powerfully last year on the statoe of justice in our nation, so we are delighted that she has agreed to return to update us on the situation. Throughout 2009, increasing numbers of legal cases involving Christians persecuted for their faith, made the headlines, and so we believe that this continues to be an important subject - one that is worthy of much though and prayer.

Andrea joins already confirmed guest speaker Pete Greig, director of Prayer at Holy Trinity Brompton and founder of 24-7prayer, who will be sharing his heart and experiences of how he’s seen justice break-out from the place of prayer throughout 24-7prayers many justice initiatives across the world. So, if your passsion is prayer and justice - or you would like to get passionate about these things and find out what you can do to make a difference - join us on the 26-27 February. With practical seminars on prayer and justice from a range of experienced speakers, a student and young people focused gathering to bless and encourage the ‘next generation’, two evening meals to meet new friends over and plenty of space throughout the days to worship and hear from God, it promises to be an insightful and impacting time together.

 

For more information about the conference, and to book your place now, please click here.

Hi all, whilst Oxford in August is often a quiet period, with many students and families away, things are stirring for the start of next term in mid-September. We'll have the re-start of our fortnightly Monday Worship and Intercession meetings, along with a brand new set of lunch time devotionals, being led by our worship team. Early morning prayer meetings will take place on every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday at 7am, with prayer for schools, global mission and Oxford respectively. And with our termly city-wide 24-7prayer week will happen in October, plus many more prayer gatherings happening spontaneously throughout the term, there are many great opportunities to get stuck into prayer in this coming season. For now, happy August, and look forward to seeing you shortly in the new-term! Blessings, the Oxford Prayer Room.

It is with great sadness that I write to tell you of the death of Joanna Braithwaite in a road traffic accident on Friday morning, 28 October.

Joanna will be known to many of you as a dear friend and fellow Pastorate member. She has been a member of St Aldates for some years, serving with the youth team and the Late Service team. Since 2008, Joanna has been my PA and the whole staff team has so valued the dedication, organisation, wisdom and prayerfulness that she brought to that role.

As Anita and I try to come to terms with this sudden and terribly sad news, we are holding onto the truth and hope of the resurrection. It really is true that in Christ we have the promise of everlasting life – and life in all its fullness. So it is our firm belief that Jo is now with the Lord in Paradise.

We are praying for the comfort of the Holy Spirit at this time and we are glad to be part of a church where we can find loving, real community in hard times as well as good times. Please pray for Joanna’s parents, Paul and Charlotte, and her brother Andy at this time. We look forward to being together in community during our services today and we would also like to invite any who are especially affected by this news to let us know so that we can offer further prayer and support.

With love to you all in Christ
Charlie Cleverly

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.

2 Corinthians 1:3-5, ESV

A brand new group has started to pray for the troubled nation of Zimbabwe, and will meet for the first time on Thurs 11 Feb at 7.30pm.