Thy Kingdom Come Prayer For Youth At Thurrock Pentecost 2017

The sight of many small shiny metal looking canisters intrigued me.

Car parks in Stanford are littered with hundreds of them. I found out they are actually used in the catering trade to put air into cream for chefs to make whipped cream. People have found that if the gas is inhaled they can have a 5 minute high.

The Nitrous Oxide gas canisters can be ordered on line for about 30p each. Inhaling the gas affects coordination, so accidents and most fatalities occur when people risk crossing roads, fall or faint. It is not the most dangerous activity, but it can’t be described as safe, even though it’s listed as a legal high.

Walking through the town, what bothered me is that young people find that sitting in a grubby car park, taking tasteless gas for a 5 minute high, is the best they could find or we could offer.

Car parks are not cool places in anyone’s book. We don’t have so many places to hang out here – not even coffee shops or youth clubs. Hardy Park (in Stanford-le-Hope) has been reclaimed, but the options are very limited.

But let’s not get all condemning of our youth, as they are in fact ‘His workmanship created for good works’ and ‘They are fearfully and wonderfully made’.

To date, some have not discovered that God promises so much for them. They just want a moment of escape from where they are.

Consider the start of their story, in fact the start of our story too.

Genesis 2 says, ‘God formed Man out of dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life.’ The man came alive – a living soul!

That’s the breath they – our young people – are made for, their Maker’s breath.

Eden is the place of acceptance and love – I think that’s their longing. Just like we do sometimes, these young people are longing for Adam’s divine breath.

The Bible uses the evocative imagery of breath often…

Ezekiel 37:9-10
He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath.
Prophesy, son of man.
Tell the breath, ‘God, the Master, says, Come from the four winds.
Come, breath. Breathe on these slain bodies. Breathe life!’”
So I prophesied, just as he commanded me.
The breath entered them and they came alive!
They stood up on their feet, a huge army.

Here we have life-giving breath that takes ‘slain bodies’ and breathes life into the corpses – and raises up an army with energy and purpose.

Deep down, the ‘gas canister’ young people are seeking out is the life-giving, purpose-giving breath – not this mini-temporary high.

Activity

• Ask eveyone to take one of the silver little gas bottles and wrap around them our prayers.
• We ask that the truth that these young people are beautifully and wonderfully made finds root in their hearts.
• We pray that the young people of our borough seek the fresh breath of the Holy Spirit.
• We speak of the life-giving prophetic breath that can make a man from dust – for the breath of life to replace this fake gas.
• Everyone was designed to be a temple of His.
• Our prayer is that young people of Thurrock find security in that truth.

For the rest of this month, please…

• If you see any gas canisters – pick one up
• Pray the breath of God moves over the young people of our borough.

Amen.

Pictures show…

• Sally with her husband Robb at Thurrock Pentecost 2017
• Some of the gas cannisters
• Some more of the gas cannisters
• A selection of gas cannisters with the prophetic prayers of delegates at Thurrock Pentecost 2017 wrapped around and stuck to them
• More of gas cannisters with the prophetic prayers on them

Afterwards, as an act of replanting these words back into the community and the youht culture of the borough, the cannisters were placed back where they were found.