Wouh...a different type of prayer experience

Prayer comes in all kinds! I went to this prayer meeting with an international church in Rome on Tuesday night. It was fascinating to enter the building and find people from the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Germany, Nigeria and Brazil. There were also missionaries there from Texas. The prayer time was different for me. It was a challenge especially in that I have been steeped in a completely different form of worship. Taize was contemplative and quiet which is so me and this was shouting, speaking in tongues (I think) and very charismatic--which is so not me. Well worship is "me" but I find it fascinating how style really makes a difference. Even more fasicinating is how theology backs each different style but that is another topic for another day. I became even more uncomfortable when a man said, "There are four people here who need prayer for healing, someone has a bad back, someone a bad knee, and so forth." People came forward to recieve prayer. They stood the whole time and I sat as my whole body was tired from walking all over Rome and the Vatican. They were kind enough to let me be different. Little did they know how different I was feeling. It was such a different style of worship yet the people were so sincere and I could tell they loved the Lord and they really sought Gods presence in their lives and the life of their church. It was really good for me to see that there are other international churches out there. This church seeks to reach out to the international community in the Rome area. There are people here for all types of reasons. What a ministry they can have in a melting pot of cultures.