Every mission we go on is rewarding, but each also has its own challenges. This trip has been no exception. We came in faith, not knowing exactly what we would be doing aside from daily open-air worship and prayer on Hippie Hill, releasing a sound at the birthplace of the counter culture revolution. We had to re-orient ourselves to a new city, new schedule, new home, and new people. In the midst of getting our sea legs here, we had to pray and wait to see exactly what God had in store for us.
As intercessors the most natural thing for us to do was to learn the geography and history of the city where would we would be spending the next three weeks. It is important to us to spiritually map the area so that we can understand how to pray in the ways that are most effective, particularly with regard to the counter culture revolution that flourished here. We read books and talked to the people we met. We began to visit museums and to put our feet on the streets where significant things happened. We have sought the high places, like Nob Hill, the clock tower at Berkeley, Mount Davidson, and the Twin Peaks. We went to the origins of the city, the Mission Dolores. We traversed the gate of the city and state, the Golden Gate Bridge. We prayed up and down Folsom and Haight Streets. We walked the Jack London Square in Oakland and prayed over ports. We prayed at the important sites for The Sound event: Hippie Hill, Nourse Theater, and Jerry Garcia Amphitheater. Long days, lots of miles, and lots of stops at playgrounds to appease the children, naturally in need of breaks between prayer sessions.
Why? To what end is all this prayer, this mapping, this puzzling together the pieces of a spiritual story for an area that is not even our own, three thousand miles away from our home?
In short, because Jesus is worthy, and he spoke to our hearts. If that is all, that is enough.
But if we need more convincing, something more quantitative, I can offer a few things. But first, a reference: “Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.”\” -Jonah 1:1-2
We are not told exactly how Nineveh\’s wickedness came up before The Lord, but I do know that one way to get God\’s attention is to talk to Him. Moses can attest. And Noah. Jesus too. And we know that the harvest is great, so we must pray to The Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers. We are all called to pray. Some are called to labor in the field.
Scripture tells us – history tells us – that the stories of a land and the stories of its people change the spiritual environment. It is the principle of sowing and reaping. It is the law of sin and death; words and blood. The ripples of our actions extend as far as they are able, until some interference stops the waves.
Worship releases God\’s truth and welcomes His presence in a place. Prayer dispatches angels, breaks curses, and opens the door to The Lord\’s intervention. Prophetic acts bridge the gap between spiritual and natural, serving eviction notice to forces of darkness. These things are not wishful thinking or cultic rituals; they are engaging the very real spiritual realm to affect the natural.
We know also that God is a god of redemption. He is in the business of seeking that which is lost and saving it. Jesus leaves the 99 for the one lost sheep. He invites himself to sinners\’ homes for dinner and offers them a drink of everlasting water. He heals the broken, body and soul. He wants that none would perish.
I have said before when discussing radical obedience that God would send you to the ends of the earth to preach the Gospel to one man on a plane halfway there because that one man is worth it. He does not calculate return on investment because The Kingdom is not measured with earthly scales. What is the worth of one soul to God?
His Son on a cross.
This is why when God says to go to Nineveh, we don\’t jump into the San Francisco Bay ferry (so to speak).
So what can I tell you practically about God\’s movement in the Bay Area? I can tell you that He is calling forth his troubadours and poets and storytellers and prophets to make a sound! And San Francisco, like Nashville, is a womb for that sound to grow and grow, to reach the spirits of men and women, to inspire hope. Movements begin with sound and idea. We are calling out those carriers of word and noise to rise up and reach out. Forget the record deals and publishing contracts. Find the searching broken ones whom Jesus loves and spread the hope of glory.
We must break the curse and announce the jubilee which will set the captives free. Join us in the rumble.