So Thankful!

When Kelly announced that she wanted to hold a BHOP Thanksgiving dinner before students went home for break, I was excited, but I had no idea what God was doing.

We spent that day getting the house ready and making food for the people who would be coming over. The house looked great, and I have to admit that the cleaning wasn’t really a burden. It was actually pretty fun. We prepared and cleaned with an attitude of worship, and even the cleaning of toilets and the fixing of fireplaces was somehow enjoyable. As Kelly continued answering texts and making errands to get the house ready, I was struck by the incredible Presence of God in the house already. I thanked God for Kelly and looked forward to what would happen that night praying that God would have total freedom to do whatever He wanted to do.

When the time came for people to start showing up, the house was looking great, there were some Christmas lights hanging inside and outside, and we were having a good time hanging out together. We continued to talk together and hang out well after the official starting time had come and gone. I’m not sure anybody really noticed, we were too busy talking. Eventually all the food arrived and the cooks contented themselves that they had “done enough” to prepare their particular dishes. We said a short prayer with hands held together and then the women began to gather their food.

Over the course of the next three hours, in between incredibly blessed conversations with new friends, I looked around the room and saw that the Boulder House of Prayer has truly been a success. I saw people laughing together, playing games on their phones, discussing their faith and passions and praying together. Something beautiful has happened here in Boulder, and I found myself almost moved to tears to think about how pleased Our Father is to look on His kids. They truly love Him and it’s so evident in the way that they love one another.

I had the blessing to have a great conversation with a young man who has recently started hanging out with us. He told me about how he came from a broken home, how his father’s hypocrisy had turned him away from faith and his resulting fall into alcohol addiction. He told me about how, in a time of desperation he decided to give God a chance and His life was transformed by Alcoholics Anonymous. During the process, he came to terms with the reality that Jesus is the only Higher Power that offers hope and he placed his faith in Jesus.

As this young man told me his story, he looked around the room and told me, “This is really uncomfortable, but it’s a good uncomfortable.” He proceeded to talk about how he wasn’t comfortable being so honest and open with people, yet, at the same time this family was something he was glad to finally see.

I looked around the prayer house living room and I couldn’t help but share some of the same emotions. I remember wishing so desperately that there was a group of people who really loved Jesus and who were sincere. I remember how calloused I had become to the entire Body of Christ simply because some of them were so fake. I remembered my own moments of desperation when I realized, “I don’t care if Christians are there, I have to get back to church.” I remembered several moments over the past several years when this family chose vulnerability before one another and God healed our hearts. I looked around the room and I saw people from many different spiritual backgrounds and with such different experiences and couldn’t help but laugh. Only the Holy Spirit could bring together such a diverse group into such authentic love and respect for one another.

I was interrupted from my reverie as Robin walked in the door and the entire room erupted into shouts of, “Robin! Ey!! Robinio! Hey!” I was glad to see her and so happy for her. After all, how many people have the blessing of being so important to such a wonderful group of people? The truth of it all is that each person in this group is important. In their own special ways and with their own special personalities, we look forward to seeing one another because we are joined together by the Holy Spirit and we genuinely love each other. For some of us this family is a full-time calling and a joy. For some of us it changes our schedules. For some of us it’s a family that we miss when circumstances keep us apart. For some of us it’s the family we never had. For all of us, though, it’s a blessing and a testament to the power of prayer and the incredible love of Jesus.

My prayer for you as you read this is that you would be loved by a group of people who see the incredible value that you have in Jesus. I hope and pray daily that if you are on your own that you would find hope and love in the arms of Jesus. I pray that Christians in your area would find you, pray for you, and love you. I pray that the Spirit of God would find a willingness in your heart to not only benefit from the Church, but to be a blessing to those who so long to bless you. Most of all, I pray that You would see, no matter where you are, that you are never alone and that, though we may be separated by geography, the children of God are always together with Him. I pray that if you are in Boulder you would be encouraged and that you would become a part of our family or several of the other awesome groups of Christians here in this city. I pray that if you are not in Boulder you would be encouraged to know that these things are happening and that God is not a respecter of persons. In other words, I pray that you would see that if He is doing this here, He wants to do the same thing where you are and He will give you everything you need. Receive His blessing as you place your trust in Him. 

Thanks Dad! <><