Dirty Glory

by Pete Greig

Cerian Smit | Wed, 28th Jun 2017

It was wonderful to hear Raj encourage us on a recent Sunday to become a house of prayer. There is such a surge of the Holy Spirit inspiring and calling people to pray in the world today. One such group is the 24/7 prayer room movement which has grown amazingly over the last 18 years.

A few years ago someone in the church recommended to me ‘Red Moon Rising’ by Pete Greig.  It’s a very exciting story about the birth of the 24/7 movement in 1999 and how it grew by the Holy Spirit’s leading.  Simply by turning rooms into 24-hour prayer rooms, 7 days a week, while encouraging creativity and freedom in worship and prayer, lives were being changed, communities challenged and miracles happened.

So when I was told that the sequel had been published it went on my ‘to read’ list!

The book is called Dirty Glory and that may seem an unusual title but that is what it imparts. Although it starts in a cathedral in England and finishes up in a cathedral in Austria, the entire book is about reaching a generation who have no need for religion but need to know the love of Jesus who sat with prostitutes and drunkards while opening heaven and calling down God’s glory at every opportunity.

Beautifully written with sentences that are healing something deep within while you chuckle at the words, Pete Greig uses the journey of 24/7 to challenge us in our own journey with the Lord.

Divided in half, the first section deals with enjoying the presence of God. Grieg writes, “Your power in prayer flows from an inner certainty that the One who made you likes you. He is not scowling at you. He is on your side” and, “a prayer room is not a classroom, a boardroom or a war room. It’s a living room for intimate interaction with the Father.” (p74)

Using the amazing stories of his life and the lives of those involved with or touched by 24/7, Grieg draws us into longing for that deeper relationship with our Heavenly Father who says, ‘I love you.’

Each chapter ends with a ‘Selah’ moment – a pause to stop and think.  Because there is so much to think about as the book weaves inspired theology with mindblowing miracles, it is, in a sense a relief to stop and quietly focus on Jesus. With each chapter, it’s as though He becomes clearer and our vision less cluttered.

The second half of the book is about mission.  If you are in any way tempted to settle where you are and give up on a long-held dream then this is for you.  The Lord moved people on all through the Bible and He’s still calling us out of our comfort zones today. Glorious stories about the grace and glory of God in so-called dirty places inspired me and had tears running down my cheeks. It left me asking – as we should do each day – send me Lord, where can I go?

24/7 prayer has spread throughout the world. It’s about connecting people with their King Jesus who drew in the dirt and sends them out to bring compassion and justice to a hurting world. It breaks through religion and unites denominations. I challenge you to buy or borrow a copy of Dirty Glory and be inspired to bring the very real love and glory of our Heavenly King Jesus into your spaces and places this year.

As the subtitle of the book says, ‘Go where your best prayers take you.’