Spectrum Magazine Article - The Prayer Room Experience by Nicola Carleton

I accidentally stumbled into this ministry of building prayer rooms. I felt like a musician discovering that perfect instrument or an artist finding a new medium that perfectly expresses the profound inspirations of the heart. Finding ones niche, ones sound, ones passion, ones ministry is like a dream come true. It is like finally finding out the specific way you were uniquely designed to worship God. So I worship God through my God given gifts for creating these sacred spaces, places where people can experience a relationship with God and learn to enjoy prayer. I seem to be a cross between an installation artist and a minister of the Gospel. An alternative worship curator.

The Levites were the first example of artists creating beautiful things for the glory of God. In fact it is recorded in Exodus 31 that the first people filled with the Spirit of God were artists, given the wisdom, understanding, knowledge and skill, to make designs and engage in all kinds of crafts. The Prayer Rooms are really modern day contemporary Sanctuaries. They also needed symbols and used the senses to illustrate the profound concepts of the love of God and created an environment where God could interact with his people.

Now for over five years I have been sharing this ministry full time, travelling all over the world creating Houses of Prayer and Healing in hospitals, Weeks of Prayer at academies, building permanent Prayer Rooms in churches and worship art projects. It is one of the most incredible ministries I have ever been part of. I have seen people healed physically, emotionally and spiritually and most importantly I have seen people fall in love with Jesus.

So what is so special about these Prayer Rooms? How can a room help people have a profound experience with God?

A Prayer Room is simply a space that is set apart for God. It is designed to feel comfortable and at home in. It has relaxing couches and prayer stations to help people pray in new ways. Often you will find a map of the world where you can pray for different countries. Maybe there will be an Addiction Wall where you consider the things interfering with your relationship with God. Sometimes you can draw your prayers on the walls or turn your prayers into art. Each Prayer Room will be unique and different. Each Prayer Room has the intention, that as you go from station to station you will be discipled in your walk with Jesus. The room has peaceful music and is designed to help you be quiet long enough to hear God speak.

Hearing God's voice seems to be a lost art in this fast paced world. Yet listening makes up 50% of each conversation we have with a person we are interested in fostering a relationship with. When it comes to our relationship with God, how are we to pray powerfully and effectively if we do not know his will? To know his heart we must first listen, then God will be the one that inspires us with what to pray for. Then miracles will start happening! How many of our prayer times are just one sided?

I find it difficult to pray as do most people. A Prayer Room inspires me to pray when I run out of things to pray about. I remember one little boy coming up to me and asking how on earth he was going to pray for an hour but being surprised when he stayed in there for four hours! Listening to God is a difficult discipline to learn too but the Prayer Room creates an environment where we can expect God to share his heart as we share ours.

Catering to Different Learning Styles.

Jesus loved to teach through the senses and in three dimensions using the world around him as symbols to illustrate deep spiritual concepts. I can relate to this method of teaching as I am a highly kinesthetic learner. Visiting many churches I realized that they are mostly made up of, and therefore cater mainly to, the auditory learner who is actually only around 20% of the population. I wondered how many kinesthetic and visual people had left (80%?) because they could not relate with the style of teaching so I encourage churches to create a Prayer Room or different worship experiences so people can connect with God in different ways.

Scientists have discovered that environmental stimulation is essential for healthy brain development in children and adults. Studies also show that learning effectiveness improves 90% with the use of environmental stimulation in workplace training. Simply changing from fluorescent lighting, hanging paintings, playing Mozart, using fresh flowers, regular 'brain' breaks and providing toys to play with can save money for employers on training and produce innovative employees.* If the business world is finding out how important our environment is to brain health then we need to pay attention too and bring art and beauty back into church! When we walk into a creative space our right brain switches on and our left brain with its to-do lists switches off allowing us to relax. I like to think the Prayer Rooms are like Spiritual Spas for our Souls! Imagine if office buildings, hotels, schools and homes all had interactive creative Prayer Rooms?

Healing Environments.

Each Prayer Room is like a room full of art therapy. The room is such a safe place to express anger, frustration, sadness, and joy. The more time we allow God to work on us the more we will be changed by his Holy Spirit. The most amazing prayer room I created was at Florida Hospital open 24-7, all day and all night. People who would never set foot in a church found themselves safe in the Prayer Room praying, crying and sharing their heart with God. Watch a short video here.

A Prayer Room Ministry is incredibly rewarding but also incredibly hard in so many ways. The enemy tries everything possible to stop people praying. Unfortunately funding is also extremely limited for prayer ministries but with a little creativity a room can be transformed into an oasis of God's presence. When creating a Prayer Corner in your house or classroom or a Prayer Room at your church the senses are an important aspect to think about. Allow the Holy Spirit to inspire you! There are resources available on the internet to help or you can buy the 24-7 Prayer Manual.

The aim of Prayer Rooms are simply to get more people, praying more. The more people pray the more miracles we will see. We can help inspire more people to pray powerfully for their families, their community and the world and see transformation take place.

I have many stories from people who have experienced God in the Prayer Room. One teen boy came up to me this week and said, "The Prayer Room is amazing, I really like going in there!" One Theology student shared with me he had the most spiritual experience of his life in a Prayer Room...

Why? Because if someone seeks an experience with God, He will reveal Himself, He will speak, He will be found. Jer 29.13, Romans 10.20, Proverbs 8.17, John 10.22-30.

'God has done all this, so that we will look for him and reach out and find him. He isn't far from any of us, and he gives us the power to live, to move, and to be who we are. "We are his children," just as some of your poets have said.' Acts 17.27,28

Nicola Carleton

Bio: Nicki is a sojourner who travels the world creating interactive prayer rooms and experiences to help people fall in love with Jesus, hear his voice and learn to love prayer. She lives by faith as a disciple living simply, depending purely on God's provisions through donations. She loves to experience new cultures, doing things she has never done before and being in a state of wonder.

www.BlissfulMinistries.com
Contact: BlissfulMinistries@yahoo.com
Part of www.24-7Prayer.com which is now the largest prayer movement in history.
*(How to Think like Leonardo da Vinci – Seven Steps to Genius Every Day By Michael J. Gelb)