seventy two

For seventy two hours, Baylor University students, faculty, and Waco community members gathered on Fountain Mall- the heart of campus- to encounter the Lord as one collective body of Christ. 

Sunday, March 19th to Wednesday, March 22nd was met with seventy two hours of continuous prayer, worship, and nightly sermons. Each person bowing in reverence- and in utter awe- of the Lord. 

The only way that I have been able to describe His presence within that seventy two hour time span was in comparing it to honey. The presence of the Lord was thick. It was sweet. It was tangible. It was heavy. It was potent. It was undeniable. It fell upon us. Each person was completely captivated by His presence and intently listening for His voice. It was such a genuine presence. So much so, that when the rain poured down, not one person moved. No one could. No one wanted to. It was a presence that every one of the hundreds of people in those gatherings didn’t want to leave. The more of Him we sought, the more that we desired. 

The atmosphere was electric. We danced with Jesus. We jumped with Him. We prayed with Him. We sang to Him. He submitted ourselves to hear His voice… and we did. 

I am able to come from those seventy two hours with a deeper faith than what I went in with. I was able to witness real physical healings. From a shoulder injury to a torn meniscus. I was able to witness the chains of anxiety and depression fall from the hearts of my peers. I was able to see the Lord actively stir in the hearts of non-believers. I was able to see non-believers become believers. I was able to witness the public declaration of faith (through baptism) of some of my friends. And I sobbed. Multiple times. My faith was strengthened, challenged, and affirmed.

What blows my mind is the fact that people just kept coming back. People didn’t just come one night and think “that’s enough”. They kept. Coming. Back. For. More. The entire campus was buzzing. Yes, everyone was talking about the sermons, the worship, the miracles we’d witnessed. But the main topic of conversation was how everyone felt sitting in the prominent presence of the Lord. It was sweet. 

The most impactful experience from FM72 was not within the production heavy services at 8 pm. It was what happened after. It was what happened in the Prayer Tent. 

The Prayer Tent was set up on Fountain Mall for 72 continuous hours. A completely full tent. It was stripped back. It was simple. It was genuine. People walked in seeking the face of the Lord, in all of His beauty and splendor. A they got what they asked for. They met with Him and His kindness, tenderness, love, grace, mercy… They saw the truth of His character. The purpose of the tent was to create an environment where people would be able to come together (or sit alone) and enter into the battle of prayer. The environment fostered a posture of not only worship, but reverence, repentance, and gratitude. The Lord fell on the people in that tent. The crazy thing, I don't remember even asking the Holy Spirit to fill the tent. He just did. You could walk by, have no intention of coming in, feel the Lord, be captivated, and walk right in. The Lord is near to His people, always. But the tangibility of it those nights made that statement all the more true. 

War was waged in that tent. Battling spiritual attacks with the enemy, people joined one another in prayer. People were convicted and focused on repentance. People simply prayed. It was beautiful watching people bow in reverence and utter awe of the Lord. Hearts were stirred in a way that they had never been before. People were able to enter into a time of genuine worship. 

A link to a clip of the Worship that took place: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CqGa8JpOMYr/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY%3D&__coig_restricted=1 

It was more than just a feeling to every person in that tent. It was looking towards the Lord, seeking His face, and pouring out in gratitude for the Lord. Thanking Him. Crying out to Him. Sitting with Him. Listening to Him. With those somber moments, there were also times of complete joy. Hearts were opened to jumping up and down at the work that the Lord is doing on Baylor Campus. The joy of the Lord was suffused to every person within that tent. I truly have never seen anything like it. It was joyful, grateful, and genuine. Heaven was rejoicing. People were meeting the Lord for the first- or hundredth- time, and they were doing so together. 

It has been over a month since the conclusion of FM72, and the aftershocks of the gatherings are still fluttering around campus. Conversations are still happening about what happened on Fountain Mall. People are on fire for the Lord. They are thirsting for His presence. They are hungry for Truth. You know what… That is what people were met with on Fountain Mall. They were met with Truth. THE Truth. 

On Fountain Mall, the Lord told me that He loved me. Which I had always had a hard time believing. He told me that saw me. Which I had always had a hard time believing. But since then, I haven’t questioned it. If He said it, I believe it. I begged the Lord to use me. To break down what I have always thought ministry was, and build it from the ground up. To tune my heart in accordance with His character. To tune my heart in accordance with His word. And He has. And He will. The Lord doesn’t just move within the Prayer Tent. He doesn’t just move on Fountain Mall. He has always been moving, we just have to humble ourselves and enter into a posture to see it. And we did. 

Oh how wonderful! We can look into His eyes like fire. He is our purifier. 

Song List:

How Great Thou Art 

New Wine - Hillsong 

Hosanna (Make Way) - Antioch Worship

Eyes Like Fire - Antioch Worship

Completely Abandoned - Gateway Worship

More Than A Feeling - Antioch Worship

Monday Morning Faith - SEU Worship

Rest On Us - Harvest

Lord Send Revival - Hillsong Young and Free

Take Me Back - Maverick City Music