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Prayer

 

A Story of Personal PrayerYMCA Mission Prayer - London Bridge

In 1841, George  Wil­liams arrived in Lon­don to work as a fabric manufacturer at the firm of Hitchcock and Rog­ers.

Having recently begun to grow in his relationship with God, he  was concerned about the spiritual condi­tion of the 140 workers at his company.  What he saw did not look good according to this journal entry.

 “I found no means of spiritual interest of any kind,” 

He then quickly thought to himself

‘“What can I do for these young men? And he began to pray.

Shortly thereafter, he dis­covered that a fellow worker was an active Christian.  They began to discuss something that God had put on George’s heart to help introduce the other staff to a relationship with God in Jesus Christ.

  

The George Williams Prayer Initiative

Praying for Each Staff Person & Board Member by name, starting the first Monday of every Month

Praying for co-workers by nameYMCA Mission Prayer - George Williams

Their plan was simple.

They prayed by name for each of their fellow em­ployees and confidently expected them to become Christians. Williams soon made this matter-of-fact en­try in his diary:

 “We met, our numbers grew, and the room was soon crammed. In answer to prayer, the Spirit of God was present, and we had conversion after conversion.  Scores of employees and even the firm’s president, George Hitchcock, professed faith in Christ.An observer of the spiritual activity at Hitchcock and Rogers commented that  when Williams came to the firm in 1841, it was almost impos­sible for a young man there to be a Christian.

By contrast, three years later, it was almost impossible to be anything else!
 A spiritual movement is born

YMCA Mission Prayer - Top of GlobeOthers became aware of the spiritual fervor at the fabric company and wondered why something like this should not be tried in other firms.

In 1844, 12 men met in a small room and an organization was formed that would impact the world.  The YMCA.The YMCA as it initially grew, was a workplace prayer and outreach ministry that lovingly shared the message of Christ.

It spread to several countries around the world and did not even have a building until 15 years after it’s initial founding-  and this was to house a library and allow for Christian education.