For the past few summers, the 24-7 team in the Czech Republic have travelled around their nation with a prayer caravan, inviting people to stop and pray. And this year, even in the midst of Covid-19 restrictions, was no exception… 

Read this in Czech! // Přečtěte si tento článek v češtině na blogu Modliteb 24-7: http://www.modlitby24-7.cz/blog/modlitba-za-kazdeho-pocasi

At the very beginning of 2020, as a team we were so excited to plan where we’d be taking the 24-7 Czech Prayer Caravan – in fact we had so many invitations that we weren’t sure whether we could go to all of them!

But then, as Covid-19 hit the world, we didn’t know if we could visit anywhere at all…

In the end, we were so thankful that we didn’t have to cancel the whole 2020 Prayer Caravan season. We visited 8 cities across the country and were given the opportunity to explore new corners of the Czech Republic, with some incredible, unique experiences.

This year, we were really thankful for our new gazebo that faithfully served us in all kinds of weather to protect us from both hot sun and unceasing rain.

Our aim with the Prayer Caravan is to go out of our comfort zones  – our church buildings – and be present, instead, on the streets. We pray that when people meet us on their journey of life, they experience God’s love and have the opportunity to hear of His truth. Every Prayer Caravan encounter is special. It is beautiful to see when someone’s face lights up after even a short prayer.

“This year, we experienced that God is faithful and that He is able to do immeasurably more than we can even imagine…”

However, it is not only about the people on the streets.  God is also working in us, the volunteers. I was reminded of how our human perspective and God’s perspective are sometimes totally different.

When we were disappointed by bad weather, God rejoiced in our faithfulness for being ready to serve. When we served coffee and chatted with homeless people who are often ignored in society, it might have seemed like a waste of time; or not the people we were ‘supposed’ to be reaching. Yet, God loves them dearly and cares about them even more.

We learned that even those who are well respected and known in the society are as broken as anyone else and need God’s love and help. And even when we found ourselves in conversations where the person was talking so much that we had no chance to speak, we learned that God is able to find His way for His love to flow through us.

This year, we experienced that God is faithful and that He is able to do immeasurably more than we can even imagine.

With Him, our journey is always adventurous, and we never stop learning. He provided everything that we needed. Most of all, in every place, He brought us many people who were ready to pray and meet God.

Jesus came to be around people. We want to join Him and be around them too – in all weather!

Photo credit: Mike Kovarik, Modlitby 24-7