Every Sunday night our church meets in the party room upstairs in the Belmont Picturehouse, Aberdeen. There are usually about twenty five people, sitting on makeshift rows of those swivelling office chairs, with the fan blasting because it is too hot even in winter (just painting the scene for you!)! Like lots of the churches in Aberdeen are doing, we are praying for our city and the people of Aberdeen.
Ever since we arrived in Aberdeen we have heard the word 'revival' used again and again all over our church. To my ears at first it sounded like a bit of an' 80s charismaniac phenomenon word' (if that makes any sense!), but the more I pick up on the heart for seeing our city transformed, the more revival sounds exciting. After all, in the Bible what we call 'revival' simply seems to happen where the people who love Jesus go and just live out their lives, worshipping together, giving freely, loving one another, preaching the truth of salvation through Jesus. Then lots of people get saved. Sometimes lots of people turn against them, and there might be persecution, but they certainly leave the impact of Jesus in a place.
As we meet together and ask God to use us and save people in Aberdeen, not just a few but thousands, I have noticed that we start to change. We are united in our desperate love for all the lost people here who God wants to belong to Him. Our hearts are being changed, so we feel the compassionate heart of Jesus for people we might normally ignore - homeless people begging on the streets, shop assistants, bus drivers, students, cleaners. As well as this our eyes are being opened to see the people around us every day with God's heart - work colleagues, mums at toddler group or the school gates, lecturers, bosses.
When I walked to Sainsburys on Monday morning I was thinking about all the people I know who love Jesus in Aberdeen, and I was excited thinking about them going out into our city like bright lights. I thought of them like those rabbits in the duracell advert, running with energy packs on their backs (weird I know, but just go with it!). There were doctors, nurses, midwives, psychiatrists. There were cooks, cleaners, receptionists, builders. There were so many business men and women working in the oil industry here. There were mums in coffee shops and toddler groups, older ladies doing their shopping, teenagers starting the week at school. All of them praying for and loving Aberdeen. How long can it be before things start to happen to this city?
p.s Do you pray for your town or city? I mean really pray, until your eyes are opened to what God wants to do and your heart is breaking with love for the people. Love, x
