Sleepover With God

     The last two weeks in Georgia have been very heavy for all of us. We’ve had sessions about the Holy Spirit, Grief, Healing, and so many others. One of our leaders suggested we do a prayer night to reset and renew ourselves for the week. We all signed up for different time slots (45mins each) to go to our squad meeting point and spend time with God however that looks like for us. Our leaders set up papers for us to share prayer requests so we could all be praying for one another and grow as a unit. We began our prayer night at 8pm Friday night and ended at 8am Saturday. 

     My time slot began at 1am so I took a cat nap around 12 and got out of my warm sleeping bag to begin my night. Going into this, I honestly thought I would need to force myself to stay awake and leave as soon as my time was over, but I was totally wrong! My friends Miranda, Morgan, and I decided we wanted to spend time connecting with the Lord by worshipping. We found a quiet room by ourselves, put our music on, and laid down on the floor. As we listened to the song “To My Knees” I knew God was telling me to go outside my comfort zone and challenge myself to be more vulnerable. Before joining the race I had never experienced worship like this so it’s really cool getting to connect to the Lord in new ways. I remember sitting on the ground in the corner on our first worship night wondering what was going on. I would mouth the words to songs I knew and sometimes sway back and forth if I was feeling really crazy (lol).  I spent weeks asking God why I wasn’t blessed with the musical talents or boldness as my squamates. After just a month here God has been teaching me that He has different relationships with us all and it’s unhealthy to compare. With that said, he really surprised me when I caught myself singing on the top of my lungs and walking around the room with my arms wide open.

     My favorite part of the night was seeing how God speaks to us all differently. It was also really cool to experience this for the first time with two of my best friends. Miranda, Morgan, and I continued worshipping without realizing how much time had passed. Next thing we know it’s 3am! I felt called to stay in our meeting point for awhile longer so I decided I could sacrifice a night of sleep. Little did I know I would be up until 8am… and then the whole rest of the day. Despite my lack of sleep, God has provided me with even rest than I would receive from being in my cozy tent. He comforted me and spoke to me so much in those 7 hours. I understand this may sound kind of extreme (I was thinking the same thing), but I encourage you to challenge yourself and step out in boldness whatever that looks like to you. Maybe you need to challenge yourself by starting to read the Bible or spend more time talking to God. Whatever it is that you’ve been struggling with, seek Him and you will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13)! 

I’m also going to list some of the songs we listened to incase you want some music suggestions. Thanks for reading!

“I Can Only Imagine” -MercyMe

“To My Knees” -Hillsong 

“Good Good Father” -Chris Tomlin

“I Still Believe” -Jeremy Camp

“Who You Say I Am” -Hillsong

“Prince of Peace” -Hillsong

“Even If” -MercyMe

“Burn the Ships” -for King & Country

“Good Grace” -Hillsong

“Graves into Gardens” -Elevation Worship

“Nothing I Hold Onto” -Will Reagan, United Pursuit

“Oceans” -Hillsong

“Seasons” -Hillsong

“King of my Heart” -Bethel Music

“Way Maker” -Leeland