Lakes Church Prayer Room--a life-changing experience!

It was a joy and a blessing to introduce out two precious grandsons to our new Lakes Church Prayer Room. We are so pleased with the many ways our new Lakes Church Prayer Room is being utilized by our church members, as well as those in our community who come in to pray. Lakes Church Senior Pastor Dr. Aaron D. Burgner was inspired to create this prayer room after visiting the Jerusalem Prayer Center in Israel. 

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Imagine walking into the Garden of Gethsemane and experiencing an intense, focused time of prayer. There are interactive prayer stations for Praise, Confession, and Intercession. You are welcome to visit this special place!

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Lakes Church recently hosted the Florida Baptist Convention’s Annual Meeting for three days. It was amazing how many pastors and their wives, and children, came through and interacted with each of the prayer stations. Here are some of the many stories we have experienced in our new Prayer Room. 

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There is such an intimate atmosphere as individuals begin their prayer time praising the Lord by watching the Lakes Church video, “He Is” which proclaims over 300 Names of God from Genesis to Revelation. Tears flow as individuals sit quietly with the Lord, focusing on Who He Is and how grateful they are for all the Lord has done in their lives.

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A Spanish-speaking family came in to pray as a family. They spoke very little English. We have the Spanish translation of the Prayer Room guides available for them. As they were leaving the final time, the wife came up to me, and in very broken English, with tears running down her face, she lifted her hands to the ceiling, and said, “God….is….here!” I hugged her and said, “Yes, He Is!”

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We partner in ministry with a non-profit organization, Lighthouse Ministries, which provides housing and support for women and men coming off the street, out of prostitution, and drug addiction. Their leader who counsels the women in the residential treatment center brought 20 of the women to our prayer room right after it opened on a Thursday morning. They spent over an hour in the prayer room. She wrote Pastor Aaron a note afterwards and said, “The women went into the prayer room fussing, and fighting, bickering and angry. After an hour in the prayer room, they were hugging each other, arm-in-arm, weeping as they left. They asked, “Can we come here again?” and Pastor Aaron told her they could come as often as they would like. They are coming now on a monthly basis.

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Recently, I took my two  grandsons in our new prayer room for the first time. I was showing them around each of the stations. When we came to the Confession station where you write your sins on the paper that dissolves in the bowls of water, I began to explain how it worked, and I was about to give them some examples of sins they could write on the paper. Suddenly, my youngest grandson exclaimed, “You mean like DISOBEYING?” I said, “Yes, that’s a good example.” Then my oldest grandson chimed in and said, “You mean like LYING?” I agreed that was another good example. They quickly began to write the sins they have been convicted of on the little slip of paper. It was so heart-warming to see how the Holy Spirit had brought their personal sins to the surface so quickly, and they were anxious to confess them and see them forgiven, just like the paper dissolving in the water. They also enjoyed the Artistic Expression station, where they expressed their prayers through drawing with colored pencils.

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People really enjoy writing the names of their unsaved loved ones or unreached people groups on the rocks in the Intercession station of the prayer room. I noticed on one of the bags of rocks, it had stamped on the bag: “Dorado River Rock, Made in India.” I couldn’t help but wonder if the individuals gathering those rocks in India, to be used in our prayer room, could somehow, through the work of the Holy Spirit, know that they are being prayed for, as many of the unreached people groups we have on our Intercession for the Nations cards are from India.

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The interactive Praise, Confession, and Intercession hands-on activities:

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Cleansing From Sin

1 John 1:9 says that if we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

• Take a strip of paper from the basket. Write out the sin that the Holy Spirit has brought to your mind.

• Place the paper in the bowl of water and stir with the sticks provided.

Watch it disappear and reflect on how He washes our sins completely away and thank Him for being a God of forgiveness.

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Intercession for the Nations

Commit to Pray for a People Group—By the world map is a basket of Prayer Cards showing unreached people groups throughout the world.

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• Pray that the Holy Spirit would move through these unreached people groups, drawing more and more to salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ.

• As you look through these Prayer Cards, ask the Holy Spirit to lay one of these groups on your heart.

• Take the Prayer Card with you as a reminder to pray for those who have not heard that Jesus is their Savior. Worthy are You to take the scroll and to open its seals, for You were slain, and by Your blood You ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. (Revelation 5:9)

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Artistic Expression 

Our God is a God of incredible beauty and astounding creativity. Express your prayers, thoughts, and petitions to the Lord through drawings, poetry, or other works of art. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. (Psalm 19:1-2)

• Take a few minutes and allow God to inspire you as you express your prayer through art, using simple colored pencils and paper that are provided.

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Pray for Hearts to Soften 

A new heart born of love can only come from a relationship with Jesus Christ.

• Intercede for your unredeemed loved ones, and those of the world.

As you cry out to the Father on their behalf, write that person’s name or people group on one of the stones that are provided, and place the stone in the basket that is provided.

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I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. (Ezekiel 36:26-27)

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Testimony from Jan Hunter, one of our long-time church members and prayer warriors: "I love the prayer room at Lakes Church. I was recently struggling with anger. I would pray for forgiveness then take it back. Humanly, I kind of wanted to hang on to it. One Wednesday night, I went into the prayer room. It is so serene, peaceful, and filled with presence of Holy Spirit. As I prayed for forgiveness then take it back. Humanly, I kind of wanted to hang on to it. As I prayed for forgiveness once again, I thought, "I want my heart to be like this room--peaceful, filled with the Holy Spirit." As I pleaded with God once again it was like a burden was lifted from my shoulders. I knew I had found forgiveness and peace. All anger was gone! Is the prayer room magic? No, but what a joyful place to sit before our God. As an added blessing that evening, I went to Pastor Aaron’s Bible study class on the Sermon on the Mount after this, and Pastor Aaron spoke on letting anger go, and forgiving others. God’s timing is so perfect!"

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You are welcome to join us in our new Prayer Room—It’s truly a life-changing experience!