My purpose reimagined
I’m sharing this space with some of my friends over the next few weeks. Friends I’m learning from. Friends I want you to meet. Help me honor and welcome Jennifer Holland. We are neighbors in San Francisco. We met this February at a local IF: Gathering. I was drawn to Jennifer’s heart for our city and the passion she has for Jesus and people. Since this pandemic, we get together to prayer walk. Pray with people. It increases and strengthens your own prayer life!
Many of you send me notes about the previous posts and want to learn. Listen up. Lean in. Link arms. Look through the lens of Christ.
Here’s Jennifer:
“First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be offered for everyone— for kings and all those in authority—so that we may lead tranquil and quiet lives in all godliness and dignity. This is good and pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:1)
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.” (Psalm 32:8)
I grew up in a military family. It was made clear early on by my parents that God would use Uncle Sam’s hand to send us where he wanted us to go. We were generally the only or one of a few African American families in our neighborhood and church, depending on where we lived.
Our home was a hub for neighborhood kids, curious parents, and military service members. Overtime we had gotten used to the routine of presenting our family’s culture to our new community and being changed by theirs.
“As we matured in our faith, we began to see how God constantly used us to ‘stand in the gap’ (cover areas of weakness) as intercessors for our churches and communities. ”
With every move we made, it seemed like God prepared us to serve this purpose in advance.
As a child, intercession for me usually meant using my voice to speak up for people who were overlooked or harmed by those in authority, persuading people to cease from harming themselves, communicating God's heart for the church, or rolling up my sleeves to do whatever needed to be done. My prayers usually included a long list of people that needed God’s touch or intervention. I gradually became comfortable asking adults (in the church or community) to listen to what I had to say, and my parents supported me. Every attempt was formative, challenging or confirming what I knew about God and what I thought about myself. I watched my parents labor in the same way. It was a blessing to experience partnering with God together.
Fast forward almost 20 years (2013) and I find myself in a new city. I moved to California on mission without my family, familiarized myself again with the culture and the church landscape, then made San Francisco home. In my mind I saw the Spirit of God hovering over California. I had just come from multi-ethnic, multi-gifted, missional church community that was passionate about discipling the nations. When I arrived, it became apparent that God was up to something because church plants were popping up everywhere. I believed I was sent to be an intercessor for a church planting movement!
Seven years later – I can tell you that intercession has not been easy, but rewarding and transformative. For me, it has meant volunteering (or being volun-told) to address chaos in high places at work, showing up at an SRO to spend time with a resident who relapsed the night before, encouraging the fearful to take bold steps of faith, being discriminated against for standing up for co-workers, or being asked to speak on behalf of all African American people. I’ve oscillated between intense frustration and faith. My church family has turned over every other year. I’ve often felt alone. My prayer lists seem endless, but I have witnessed many prayers answered. I’ve traveled around the world to uncover beauty and pray for cities, with God showing up to challenge and inspire me every time. The Spirit of God is still hovering over this city. I know God better than I did when I was a kid, and he is definitely the greatest intercessor of all.
Within the last nine months, I’ve met a host of people who came to San Francisco around the same time I did. They all have similar histories and imprints of God’s heart for the city. Coincidence? Nope.
“ It’s crazy how God shapes us over time to send us to a people to serve in a time like the present. ”
Today – I am convinced that God is strengthening me to continue to intercede, but in more strategic ways. My voice and perception are changing, because God is doing something new in the earth and in our city. I have found my new family, the intercessors of San Francisco, and my purpose will be lived out with them.
So then, my friend, how is your purpose getting reimagined?