One thing I need to say about the Going There conversation is this: it’s a conversation I haven’t mastered. I don’t always get it. Like the rest of us, I’m learning as I go. The other day, I said I would try to answer this question I offered to you: “I see what’s happening in Ferguson. I don’t understand it, but I want to. Can someone help me understand it?” Then, after I said I’d give you my answer, I realized I may have been presumptuous. So, I started talking with God about that. Now, when I say I was talking to God, I want you to know it probably wasn’t as intentional as I’m making it sound. But, I had an uneasiness, and God is smart, and he picks up on stuff like that.
So I was ironing, in our hotel room, where we were staying for our family reunion. I was listening to the news and wishing I could actually be in Ferguson to see for myself and to hear and to feel, and it seemed as if God said, “Yes.”
So, I reached out to a couple of people whose names God set before me, to see if they’d go with me to Ferguson, and to invite the people of Ferguson to answer those questions for themselves. Jennifer Lee has a journalism background, and Preston Yancey wrote a powerful piece about Ferguson that moved me to tears. They both said yes without hesitation. Nish Weiseth will be joining us there, in Ferguson, and so will Lisha Epperson. The High Calling is on board (they just stepped up and said yes, before I could even form a question), and Marcus Goodyear and Lisa-Jo have been amazing sounding boards and wise counselors. My friend, Helen Fagan, a diversity expert will consult with our little group, via Skype, as we have need.
We desire, with all that is in us, to be good and faithful stewards on this trip. We covet your prayers.
Pray we don’t make this a big, splashy thing that points to us. Pray that God is lifted high and that, somehow, through our storytelling and because of the words of the good people of Ferguson, the Holy Spirit is able to do something new in Ferguson, in us, and in the Church. Pray for the people of Ferguson and for Mike Brown’s family, and for people who are called to vocations in law enforcement and in the press and in ministry. Pray for people who write. Pray for the Church to get her act together so we can lead in times such as these. Pray for people around the world and right next door, who are wounded and who have known oppression for far too long. Pray for people who want to help and don’t know how. Pray that we stay small.
We are going there…for real. I want to respect Mike Brown and his family and all the people who live in Ferguson, and all the people who know this story all too well. This very small group of us will be going to Ferguson on Friday and we’ll return home on Sunday. We want to go and listen. We want to go and write. We want to go and serve. We don’t want to put any attention on ourselves. We just want to go there.
We want to go with your blessing and with your prayers. We don’t know what will happen, except that we hope we can give the people in Ferguson a chance to tell you, in their own words, why Ferguson matters.
If you’re so inclined, please leave your prayers in the comments. I’d love to turn the comments on this post into a prayer wall for our world, for Ferguson, and for the Church. Will you add your voice here?
Mmmmm! (He hears the groanings) Blessings!
I often offer this verse as a prayer for those in hard places. It is my prayer for you, the team, and for Ferguson, Missouri. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13
Heavenly Father, I pray that this group would have a Matthew 13:16 encounter. That you would give them eyes to see and ears to hear, and that healing would come as a result. God lead them in their Spirits to the right places, the right people, and the right words. We trust you to use each of these sweet friends and to allow your light to shine through them!
Wow! Amazing.
May Jesus give you all peace, compassion, love and humility as you go. May Jesus give you ears to hear the truth and grace to bestow abundantly to all you meet.
So grateful for you all and certainly praying!
God, this is crazy! Crazy amazing. Cuz you’re an amazing God. Let your mantle fall on this team of storytellers, this team of reconciliation. Give them eyes to see, ears to hear, hearts to understand. Help them climb under the skin of all colors, and when the people of this community see them, let them see Jesus. Put a hedge of protection around them, Lord.
I am excited for your decision but also fearful, but God can remove all fear because HE is that big. When remembering please remember the police officer too. I also pray for a hedge of protection surrounding you and thousands of angels hovering like in the old testament. Backing you with a gentle powerful force.
Lord, let this group bring your love and light to Ferguson. Help them to be a salve on this difficult topic, during this terrible time. Lord, open their eyes to the message they are to bring back to their families, their homes, their neighborhoods, their blogs about resolution and peace and where we can all go from here. Thank you for this opportunity.
This news is fantastic…you know why? Because God put it on my heart to pray for some true Christians to travel there to tear down strongholds of racism and oppression. A week ago, I had a vision of the walls of Jericho tumbling down–everywhere where a sign or covenant existed in Ferguson that said “No Negroes” was going to be demolished by mighty prayer. God go with you all and be prayer warriors!
Praying for the team, Deidra. It’s mostly just silent in my head, but I want so bad for Christ’s love to be real in us.
Praying for your team, Diedra, and awaiting your posts when you reply. God is Great and Mighty, and didn’t intend for these conversations to end. G
Deidra, I’m just overcome with weeping at these words….what a mighty God we serve. What a mighty God. Please just promise me you’ll be wise and stay safe. Surrounding you in prayer…….
I’ll be praying for all of you Deidra – for safe travels, for His eyes, ears and heart to be yours and for wisdom and understanding . I love your heart. I am longing to listen and learn.
Lord, go before them. Give them listening ears and open hearts and oh God, let them love like you love. Let hurting people feel heard by you through this team. Let hurting people feel loved by this team. Bring them to our hearts and minds often so that we can partner in prayer unceasingly. Heal the broken systems and wounded people. In Jesus’ name.
God you know what we all need, you know how to heal us in ways we have never known before. Pour out your Holy Spirit in new and refreshing ways in Ferguson, and all over where people are suffering and hurting, wherever their is grief and anger and sorrow, Lord may we experience your presence in ways we haven’t even imagined. father God, carry this team of Christ-seekers safely, open their eyes and ears to hear your heart and be a witness for the glory of redemption and reconciliation which your demonstrated to us through the sacrificial blood of your own son Jesus who covers us with Himself. Lord open the hearts of the people this group will meet in Ferguson, God ignite a passion for forgiveness and mercy in this community and bring healing that until now has only been imagined or felt impossible. Tear down walls, Jesus and bind the broken hearted together in a renewed purpose for your Kingdom’s sake. Thank you Lord for the way you inspire us, the way you provide and the way you lead. Keep us humble and steady in your hands. In Jesus name, amen.
Sometimes “Jesus loves us this we know, for the Bible tells us so” is the best prayer I’ve got. The one that comes in the middle of the night and the middle of Sunday services and the middle of the worst misunderstandings and most beautiful endings. Jesus loves us and loves us. And us is Ferguson and South Bend and South Africa and Washington DC and Lincoln, Nebraska. Jesus loves us. And we love you Deidra. Going there with you.
Holy Spirit, You already know what’s going to happen with this team in Ferguson. So please, lead them in Your way, give them listening ears and a listening heart, whisper to them exactly how You want them to love. Protect them, pour your love into every fear and doubt in their heart, fill up their cracks and crevices with You. Amen.
Ever-lasting God, you go before and behind us in every corner of your world. In every creature on this earth, your fingerprints linger. We are here for such a time as this, Lord, and we desire to use it to be your voice, to be your hands and feet, to remind humanity what love is. In Ferguson, Lord, many of your children just need to be given space to grieve, a single event and a lifetime of hurt. And many, Lord, need someone to listen as they seek justice by being heart. And there are others, Lord, who need a safe place to repent, to say I do not understand. You, Lord, can be all things to all people. We cannot. But with your Holy Spirit at work, we can be the pray-ers and the listeners and the justice seekers and the mercy walkers. We can be the holders of sacred space in a mad world. We can be the whisperers in a world of raucous shouts. Pour that grace out on these brothers and sisters, on your Church, on all in Ferguson, and on this planet your children inhabit, Lord. May every step we take in faith, every action we undertake in love, make your Kingdom come and Your will be done a bit more here on earth as it is in Heaven. Amen.
Father God, yes. Thank you for sending these out to see and touch and feel and make haste to the pain in Ferguson. Give them eyes to see and ears to hear. Let them be shining lights of truth and encouragement to those in ferguson and us online. Let them not be deceived. In Jesus name. Amen.
I pray that the stories of hurt, anguish and fear will find their way to the right words. That fear coming from anger and frustration with things as they stand will begin to ebb away as the team touches those given to them. I pray for the loosening of tight hearts and minds and the beginning of coming together speaking the language of reconciliation. That even if no one ever completely agrees or sees the other side of things, there will be enough space for peace to begin filtering in and common sense to return.
I pray especially for the safety of the team and that grace enters each encounter causing joy and hope where there is none. Laughter instead of tear gas. Smiles instead of screaming. Handshakes instead of bullets. God, please feel free to show off. In Jesus name. Thank you.
God, thank you that when we are content to be small you tend to show up big. Please prepare the hearts and minds of these brave hearts who are literally going there. Prepare the hearts of all those they will encounter. And God, please let all their conversations loose the floodgates of justice and righteousness. Bring understanding and healing. Provide and protect. Let your perfect will be done.
So thankful for your trip to Ferguson. The entire area is dear to my heart as we lived in the heart of STL for some time and truly believed in change. I wish you great peace and direction as you go and pray that God is glorified in this!
Father God, go before them. These men and women, Your children who go in love, in peace and with a desire to bring understanding. Pave their path with wisdom. Give them discernment, strength, open hearts and minds. Let the people of Ferguson not see them, but see Christ walking among them. In Jesus name, Amen.
‘Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven …’
Praying!!!!!!! So amazing to read this, because before I read your intent, I thought: Why not go there…….literally? And you are!!!!!!!! God will use you powerfully, I know.
Oh, Lord, you know I was praying about the people in Ferguson, asking what you want, and look how you answered. I can’t imagine a better team–both there and behind the scenes. Please honor their prayer to stay small unless that isn’t your will. Lord have mercy on them and on Mike Brown’s family and on all the people of Ferguson. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Praying,Deidra.
Heavenly Father, I ask You to place a hedge of protection around this group. I pray for their physical safety but, at the same time, ask You to do what You will with their hearts and minds. I ask You to work in and through them. I ask You to give them words. I ask that this be about You and nothing else. I pray that Your love will radiate from these and fall as a blanket over those they encounter, and I pray that You will empower this group to reflect You in new and surprising ways. We trust You, Father, and we trust Your callings. We love and thank You and give You all praise for being a God of miracles, still; a God of courage, still; a God of love, still. Change us all, Lord, and make us better and more for Your Kingdom. In Your Son’s name I pray, amen.
My prayers are with you on your journey as well as the people who will be traveling with you. I have been praying deeply over the turmoil that has been happening there, and I hope that they will get peace soon.
we are praying for you all. may GOD give you wisdom, discernment and heart to see what is happening there. may He open your eyes to truth and your hearts to those who are in pain…no matter where they are.
Praying for all of you.
May Jesus’ gentle and humble Spirit go with you to bridge gaps and to see, really see, not only in the spirit- for ferguson- but in the spirit of reconciliation, and in the spirit of healing. And also, may God go with you in power to break the chains that bind and give you insight for His Kingdom here on earth.
Honored to add my prayers. Go with God.
Yes, Deidra, I will be praying for your group. Interesting times we live in. A lot of media hype out there and real story is hidden at the beginning of shooting episodes. Wrong things happen.people point fingers.judgement abounds.prayers lifted.God hears. Safe travels, my friend.
Lord, I pray for these ambassadors of yours. I pray for their protection, wisdom, discernment, and empathy as they represent you in Ferguson. May they speak when needed and be quiet when that is needed. May they hear the hearts of the people there and be able to communicate what they learn to others through their writing, speaking, and just being the people they are. May they feel your presence and empowerment each minute. Teach them and then teach us through them.
Jesus, I pray for this group of faithful servents that you’ve called to share you words. I pray for open hearts as they travel to this ravaged area of our nation. Give them hearts that are cracked wide open for truth and for you. Let them feel your arms around them and project that love to the people of Missouri. Jesus I pray that through their testimony you shine bright on this land and in the broken hearts of this city. Bless their travels and bless the journey of their hearts. Amen
Lord, have mercy. Hear our prayer for our friends – the ones we know and the ones we will know because of this learning/growing trip. Bring great gobs of wisdom, grace, patience. Help each one of these dear ones to listen, really, REALLY listen. And only then to ask questions beyond, “What can I do to help?” “What would you like to say?” May they be bathed in grace, open to all that they’ll see/hear/do/learn. And may we be faithful to hold them before you each day they’re gone and as they return to sift, sort, learn, and teach. Thank you for your clear guidance and direction We are trusting you to provide exactly what is needed. — Oh, go with God, dear friend.
“Pray for the Church to get her act together so we can lead in times such as these.” Yes, this has been my burden to pray for in these days as this crisis has unfolded. Praying for you all and excited to hear what God does.
Dear God,
Thank you for putting on Deidra’s heart to go and listen and for the team you’ve put together to go with her…I pray that they can listen, be small and love big on each person they meet…provide divine appointments….let them be agents of change and love…let your church be agents of reconciliation…let their be willingness in the hearts of people to do the long hard work of reconciliation….praying for comfort for Mike Brown’s family and for all who have suffered loss and oppression….thank you for how Christ’s example of overcoming sin and hatred with sacrificial love…so beyond my comprehension…pray for your peace for each person going and for each person they meet…In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Dear Heavenly Father, we come to you on behalf of these mighty team of warriors you are sending to Ferguson, MO. We know this wrestle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers and wickedness in high places. Let your presence go before them. Holy Spirit, we ask for open doors and changed hearts and minds. We pray for spiritual ears to hear what your spirit would say to them as they travel. We pray they will have favor with the people who are hurting and lost. We pray for favor with city officials. We pray for this to only be the beginning of something greater that you are doing in this nation and in this church. Lord, let it not end with this trip and let it not end with them. We pray for a unified body. We pray for the courage for families to stand up and together for your love and wisdom to be shed abroad in our hearts. Have your way Lord in this season in this hour. Today! You said if my people which are called by my name would humble themselves and pray, seek your face and turn from their wicked ways, you would hear from heaven and heal our land. We need you, Lord. We need your healing power! Come now! In the mighty matchless name of your son, Jesus, we pray! Amen!
Yes! And Amen!
I agree! In Jesus name!
Father, Thank you for Deidra’s heart for unity in your Body. Thank you Jesus, that you always live to intercede for us at the Father’s right hand. That in your final hours before the cross your prayer was that we would be one as you and the Father are one. Lord, only you can accomplish such a task, and you empower your people to serve your mission. Please fall fresh on this team Lord, Thank you that you go before them as they go there. Thank you that your people bear your Spirit, and it is by your Spirit that we are empowered to do the work that you send us to do. Grant grace for each step, each word. Thank you that you perfect that which concerns us. Thank you that you go before them. Lead them to divine appointments and be magnified through their offered up lives. Lord, you are the Prince of Peace. May your peace descend upon Ferguson. Thank you that you call the things that are not as though they are, that you bring life to things that are dead. That nothing is impossible for you. Make yourself known Lord, be a wall of fire around your people and all who need protection. Bring your light into the darkness, and release us from our prisons of pride, unbelief, fear and oppression. Thank you for your love and your power at work and your promises for us who believe. Be glorified Jesus, You are worthy to be praised! All for you, Amen!
Amen, and Amen!
Father, oh how we love and adore you. As Deidra, Jennifer, Lisha, Preston and Nish hold onto you as they step out and into Ferguson, please give them an extra measure of your love and grace and Holy Spirit power – for each other and for all whose lives they intersect….in airports, hotels, and on the streets of Ferguson. Please give them Jesus-eyes to see, Jesus-hearts to love, the mind of Christ for wisdom and discernment, and the Holy Spirit covering for safety and protection. May they be conduits of your love and grace, that Christ alone be glorified. In the powerful and precious name of Jesus. Amen.
Lord, thank you for being smart. Thank you for communicating with the likes of us. Thank you that we can be completely honest with you, even when we don’t have the awareness to be completely honest. Thank you for Jennifer, Preston, Nish, Lisha and Deidra; and thank you that you’ve brought them thus far. Now as you send them to Ferguson, give them the energy and patience to listen well. Give them wisdom. Give them the ability to love and be loved. Protect them from their own failings, and give them abundant grace for one another. And give them eyes to see you and words to tell the rest of us about it.
Praying, Deidra. Much good will come from this, of that I am certain. So thankful for you, for heeding the call. Bless you for your bravery and desire to “go there”. He walks with you. May he guide and protect and use you for just such a time as this. Amen.
Let us be known by our love.
Prayers for the journey of body, mind, and soul of those who go, those who read, and those who grow through all of this.
For you.
Go.
Be.
Chase hope.
Love strong.
Thank you. Thank you for going and for representing a whole world of people who want to go but can’t, people who are there in spirit, standing alongside you.
God of justice, bringer of peace, Reconciler and Woo-er, please hover over the streets of Ferguson and gather your precious people under your wings. Peace. Protection. Honesty. Justice. Let your Holy Spirit guide and direct their steps, their words and their actions. Let this be a testimony to the Body and to the nation about Your heart.
May God be heard, seen and felt. May change happen in hearts and minds. May unity crash the party of division. May love unfold, interpret and embrace. May God have His way. Love you Deidra, Jennifer & Lisha. ♡
God, I thank you that your servants have heard and heeded the call to go…to go wherever you choose to send them and today it is Ferguson. God you know the needs and you know every heart there. May this team go as an extension of your hand and heart. May you create opportunities and ordained conversations revealing what we haven’t had eyes to see or ears to hear. Cover them with your grace but also your protection. May the words of their mouths and the meditations of their hearts be acceptable in your sight. Thank you that You are their Rock and their Redeemer. In Jesus’ name, Amen. So let it be.
Oh sister. Yes, what LJ said so well… we are going with you. May those walls come tumbling down. May your prayers TRANSFIGURE Christ’s presence in this city so crippled by fear.
Thank you for going there and for the enlightenment that will come as a result. Praying for you on this journey.
Jesus lived segregation and the sorrow it brings. The one who knows has gone before you. He knows the way, he knows what needs to be said. This might have been a quick decision for you, but God has been planing this time for you and the team long ago. Go forward in the tenderness you always show to everyone, in confidence that your agenda had been planned by the Father, and the strength from the one who said, ” forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing.”
The hate and fear needs to end!
I’m praying for you sweet friends.
My mind can not even comprehend so many tragedies & injustices in the world. I don’t have TV and have only caught glimpses of what is going on. It’s enough to make me cry. And pray. Enough to realize that I have been blessed to live in diverse community for so long. Enough to make me say an extra prayer of thanks for the beauty I have felt in raising a diverse family, even though it was only for a time. At the same time I am prone to forget how real the issues are. I see hearts full of pride, contempt, hatred. I know the Lord is grieved.
I don’t understand. I don’t have answers. But God. I love seeing your voice and the voice of others being used to bring God glory in the tragedy that comes from sinful hearts clothed in darkness. Oh my own heart hurts for the hate and the evil in this world.
My prayer is that you will be used to bring and to share light ,the light of Christ. I will watch for your updates and pray for the spiritual encounters; for the attacks and the victories. May the Lord guide you well, guard your hearts and minds and lead the way. May you listen. May you speak. By Him. For Him.
Father, in the name of Jesus. Thank you for giving this group of people a
heart to do something beyond just commenting on what is happening in
Ferguson. Please lead and guide them. Remind them of your presence. You promised never to leave us nor forsake
us. Thank you for giving them
wisdom. And thank you for giving them
words of grace. (Colossians 4:6). Protect them, speak peace over the
atmosphere. Let the people of Ferguson
know that you love them and that you have not forgotten them. In Jesus name, amen.
Lord I prayer that you will endow Deidra and her traveling companions with wisdom that can only come from you. I ask that you supply all of the resources they will need to carry out this mission. I ask for favor in abundance. Lord let them remember the “why” of what they are doing. Your kingdom come and your will in their lives be done…in Jesus’ name. AMEN
Lord I prayer that you will endow Deidra and her traveling companions with wisdom that can only come from you. I ask that you supply all of the resources they will need to carry out this mission. I ask for favor in abundance. Lord let them remember the “why” of what they are doing. Your kingdom come and your will in their lives be done…in Jesus’ name. AMEN
Lord I prayer that you will endow Deidra and her traveling companions with wisdom that can only come from you. I ask that you supply all of the resources they will need to carry out this mission. I ask for favor in abundance. Lord let them remember the “why” of what they are doing. Your kingdom come and your will in their lives be done…in Jesus’ name. AMEN
Father, you lead and we follow. We thank you for your love–and how you gather us, and how these children go forth, with you, trusting you, depending on your strength. I pray you continue to clear the path–for justice, for kindness, for understanding, for wisdom, for love. I pray for your protection for this beautiful group. I pray that your light, in them, overwhelms them and spills out to everyone they meet, each person they see. Let them listen with your ears, respond with your heart. Let them go forward boldly, with gentleness. Let them go forward fiercely, with love. Let them go forward with wisdom. Shatter barriers, Father. Jesus, give them your words and your mind and your heart for your Father. Help them follow you with everything they are, with full hearts, completely known, completely yours.
Every time I hear Ferguson mentioned, I feel a pull to GO. To stand with a candle and be peace in the madness. So my prayer for your team is that you would each be LIGHT, that God will shine in the darkness, and that you would be PEACE to everyone who is hurting, the neighborhoods that are full of fear, the police who fear for their families, that lines will be smudged or even erased as we all move forward TOGETHER. Thank you for going for all of us, and I pray safety and victory for each of you !
Praying that God surrounds you with his angels and that His mercy and love is shown through your team. May the Holy Spirit guide your speech and actions and draw many to Himself through your acts of service. Honored to pray for you and anxious to see the amazing things He will do!
praying for you as you go to Ferguson. I think that is so important to just be there and listen to the people’s stories. I hope some of them you will be able to share with us when you can.
Gracious Heavenly Father, I lift up this team that You have assembled through Deidra. As they go to the troubled city of Ferguson, I ask for Your protection, Your guidance, and Your enabling for all You ask them to do there. I pray that you would prepare the hearts of the people they will meet, and please pour Your love into their community. I pray especially that You would bring to light the complete truth and all the important facts of the case so any solutions and/or legal proceedings can be based on an accurate understanding of what happened no matter where that leads or what that turns out to be. Let the only agenda be true reconciliation, deep healing, and justice based in truth, and may the only language be Your love that covers a multitude of sins. In Jesus’ holy and matchless Name I ask all these things. Amen.
I agree .Amen
Praying.
Praying…
Thank you Lord for the blood of Jesus over my friends in Christ as they seek you and what you are doing in Ferguson. Thank you for being with them and giving them eyes to see and ears to hear and hearts to share. Amen!
Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha olam… Blessed are You, Lord, Our God, King of the Universe… King of the Universe… King of the Universe.
Dina (causerie.typepad.com)
Dearest Lord, thank you for calling Deidre, Jennifer, Preston, Nish, and Lisha to Ferguson, MO. Thank you for their obedience and their witness to the Your Body, to Your world. Use them for your glory and the healing of so many broken hearts. Amen.
Drusilla Barron (http://lovedasif.com)
i am like SO PROUD of ya’ll! To God Be the Glory!! Praise Em! 😉
http://www.kellyanngreer.blogspot.com/2014/08/she-wept.html