An Unlikely House of Prayer

I walked into the cold and dimly lit Airbnb and was immediately surprised.

A small room and three tiny fluorescent lights. In the corner, a keyboard balanced on an ironing board. An acoustic guitar leaned against the table. An iPad propped up to monitor sound.

A little underwhelming. My team and I collectively paused, a few of us exchanging glances almost to say “This is it?”

Yet… this is where we'd be giving holy, sacrificial worship to the Lord and praying in intercession over the region of North Africa for the next fifty hours!!

We had arrived a few days prior, after a longgg 2 days of travel on taxis, planes, and trains, etc.) And had spent the past few days exploring a beautiful city meeting some of the most warm people I had ever encountered.

We rode camels on the beach where we were introduced by our guide to one of the camels, Sabrina, (you have to roll the R to really get the full effect of the name.) Sabrina walked directly in front of my camel, clearly she could care less and she let it rip over and over until after the ride was over hahaha!

We walked through the markets that were rich and overflowing, stacked with the freshest fruits, spices, meat, fragrances, and everything in between. I grabbed a coffee, said hello to the barista in their native language, walked six feet, and landed inside a leather goods store. The shopkeeper had picked up his English from years of tourists, and he was thrilled to show me around. Leather purses lined every wall, floor to ceiling, hanging from the ceiling clear across the room. The whole place smelled like it. I stood there taking it all in when he grabbed his lighter, sparked a flame to one of the bags and declared (with absolute certainty) "Real leather! Real leather!" Jumping back from the open flame, I smiled shyly.

However… both of us left content. Me with a new purse and him with a sale. Twenty minutes well spent.

Walking down the streets, everyone was on their own mission… a mother picking up fresh food for the evening, a shopkeeper trying to catch anyone's eye long enough to close his next deal.

I was abruptly brought out of my cultural shopping experience by a loud unfamiliar sound. It came from all directions, beckoning its listeners to engage. Suddenly people around me began to make their way to the nearest mosque. I kept walking with the crowd, still trying to catch up with what I was witnessing, when I passed a row of doorways.

I glanced to my right and my entire body went cold as I witnessed a room filled with women all bowed down praying to their god.

I was overwhelmed and shocked by the strong, immediate grief I felt by what I had seen. I felt what I could only comprehend as the grief Jesus may be feeling as he looked jealousy at these beautiful but misled people… bowing in devotion, not yet knowing the love of God, the love of El Roi… the God who sees them.

Then, Holy Spirit reminded me He was right there!!!

It was like I saw the man in white next to me with his nail scarred hands and the tears down his face, saddened but not hopeless.

He stood there waiting patiently, like a husband longing for his bride, filled with love.

The grief I had felt now replaced with his immense love for these people and nation that I had never met before.

That compassionate jealous love fueled my spirit as we made our way back to our unlikely altar. The tiny, dimly lit room.

This time it smelled of human waste from the barely working bathroom. (That’s what happens when you have 25 people rotating in and out of a prayer room for 50 consecutive hours!! The unspoken parts of ministry hahaha!)

I sat on a thin cushion on the floor, shifting uncomfortably alongside my team while the ironing board wobbled at the start of a song. With my Bible open, heart hungry, I looked up and said, "Abba, come and dwell here. We need you."

A few minutes later while praying, I saw what looked like oil completely covering the tiled floor of the room. What I had chose to offer to the Lord in faith in a Muslim majority country, in a tiny smelly Airbnb, it was most pleasing to Him. He loves our costly worship and wants to meet us in the most unlikely of places.

“Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the LORD is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!’” Genesis 28:16

One of my teammates painted this prophetic painting while in our prayer room of North African women pouring out her costly worship/oil onto Jesus!!

There were other incredible moments like a woman’s back being healed, the Gospel being shared, local missionaries being encouraged, prophetic paintings, and beautiful moments of inner healing within our team.

I am so expectant for the Lord to continue to receive the reward of his suffering and He’s inviting us all into the story!

Thank you immensely for those who have sowed into this trip with me, your generosity and faithfulness has moved the heart of God and enabled his house to be a house of prayer for all nations.

"These I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.” Isaiah 56:7

This is just the beginning!!!!