Teresopolis - Prayer is the beginning

God looks for hearts that are open to Him. Through such hearts and lives, He can do anything.


One such couple was James and Andrea. They are both very skilled medical doctors. In 2002 they came to Teresopolis. In his words, they were "normal" christians. But Andrea had a call of intercession on her life, and she began to feel the heart of God for her city. At one point, she was praying all night - while he was asleep - and God gave her a vision to establish a "net of prayer." He showed her a small fishing line, and God's hand was knitting a circle. Another hand came and they made a big net. (It is interesting how many people in different places have seen such similar visions) Well, they went to the churches and told them about the vision. Andrea set up a 4 pm meeting and set up all the chairs. James was watching their two children, and when he came by about 5pm, there was no one there. All the chairs were empty. When James mentioned that he thought it was a crazy idea, Andrea replied: "Don't you see the angels there in the chairs? One day the angels will leave and people will come." She continued to pray, birthing this network in her prayers. The Lord told her it was not for the churches, but for the city. "You need to go to the city." the Lord told her. People thought that such unity was impossible. Finally in 2003, they decided to hold four meetings in different churches.


At the first meeting 400 people showed up from 30 different denominations. They asked, "How did you hear about this?" "Who invited you?" They all replied, "The Holy Spirit invited us."


James took us to visit the Teresopolis "prayer tower" a narrow building that was several floors tall. They were also undergoing expansion because of the growth that God is giving them.


At the upper floors were small rooms, prayer rooms - with tables, and mat on the floor. This again, was one of those places where you could sense the Presence of God in the place. You knew that many hours of prayer had been spent in these rooms. I just wanted to sit and be in His presence there. Another lesson of the price of time and prayer it takes for His Presence.

Next week, I'll tell the story of how God used James and Andrea in the amazing transformation of a garbage dump community.

Prayer is where God begins to birth His dreams and destinies for our cities. Are we praying and listening and obeying?