So I found this 23-year old photo...
This Moment In God's Presence Is Still Affecting Me Today
This is me on the floor of a youth camp 23 years ago. This photo is special for multiple reasons. That’s my wife, Shepard, praying for me. She continues to be an intercessor, supporter, and partner with me in life and ministry.
This photo also shows the moment I described in the first chapter of my David’s Tabernacle book, where I began to believe that God’s presence changes everything. This was my call to ministry. Here’s how I describe it in the book:
On one of the last nights of camp, there was an extended time of musical worship after the message. Counselors made their way around the room to lay hands on the students and pray for them. When my fellow campers began experiencing God’s power again, I decided to lie on the floor. I didn’t know what else to do. I was not feeling God, so I just gave up.
What started in frustration ended in glory. God met me on that pungent floor. I lay there for hours with my eyes closed. God began to speak to me, reveal His love to me, and describe His purposes for my life. I had a vision of Jesus inviting me into His lap to experience His love. His perfect love set me free from the fear and insecurity that had dominated my teenage years...
I also saw visions of myself leading worship. God told me that my gifts and music were to be used for His glory, not my own. He said I was to be like King David, who carried God’s presence into his city. He said I was to be an “undignified” worshiper who was free from fear and passionate for God. Even in these supernatural encounters, God was teaching me what was important to Him and inviting me into His purposes for my life.
At that moment, I said yes. Yes to receiving His love. Yes to being a worshiper. And yes to being like King David.
I later reflected on that summer camp encounter as a moment of offering myself to God as a “living sacrifice,” which the Bible calls our “spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1). This encounter was a major step along the journey of God, bringing me into an understanding of David’s tabernacle. At that time, I did not realize the significance of the seeds God was planting in my heart. Yet I came home with the realization of the power of God’s presence in extended times of worship and prayer…”
The Last 23 Years
I came home from camp convinced that I had to help other people encounter the manifest presence of God and discover the intimacy of prayer like I had experienced at camp. I knew God’s presence would transform a generation!
This truth has driven the last 23 years of our ministry, whether leading worship, teaching the Bible, planting houses of prayer, hosting events, connecting leaders, writing books, or producing media. It’s all been about the life-changing power of the presence of Jesus.
The Next 23 Years
As I look forward to the next 23+ years, I’m so excited about what God is going to do in and through the praying Church, both globally and locally. We are locked into connecting, equipping, and planting praying communities globally with Presence Pioneers and locally at The Greenhouse. However, we need your help!
"The man who mobilizes the Christian church to pray will make the greatest contribution to world evangelization in history." - Andrew Murray
As we mobilize prayer and worship to fuel revival and the Great Commission, we are in need of an additional $3000/month in partnership to keep our ministry strong and growing in its impact. Will you partner with us today? Our biggest need is monthly financial support.
Sincerely,
Matthew Lilley
