We met at Harvest as their prayer breakfast was wrapping up
and began setting up. It was hard to get things going simply
because we had all been looking forward to meeting each
other and it was impossible not to talk and find out how each
person was while we did our set-up of food, tables,
instruments and paperwork.

A number of people stayed through the meal and the first
session but after that it narrowed down to 16. We began with
a wonderful lunch provided by members of Harvest and at
around 12:30 pm we opened up with an introduction, an
explanation of how the conference would flow and some basic
instructions.
There were six sessions with ten minute breaks between each
one, but once the conference began, the goal was to keep the
flow of prayer steady until the end. To achieve this two
people would continue to pray during the break. People were
free to get up and grab some coffee or a snack or take a
break at any time. We only asked that they be discreet and
maintain an attitude of prayer in the room.

At the front of the room on a small table was a bowl with
three candles around it where the written prayer requests and
papers used during each session would be placed. This was a
reminder of the bowl in heaven mentioned in Revelation 5:8,
8:3, "…golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of
the saints."

The first session began with half an hour of music and
worship, then continued with instrumental music as the
names and descriptions of God were read. People were
encouraged to remain quiet and let the Lord relieve the
burdens of their hearts. There were blank cards they could
write prayer requests on to place in the bowl in front; and if
they had a need that they wanted to commit to the Lord
without anyone else reading it, they could place a blank card
in the bowl. God would know what it was about.






This was a very solemn and beautiful time that served to quiet
our hearts and increase our sense of the presence and the
power of God.


The second session focused on relationships and the speaker
talked about how the Lord had used prayer to build up his
relationship with God and how it impacted the FDNY. It
increased our confidence that what we were doing was
valuable and effective.

We had scriptures about the various relationships that
firefighters can have in their lives that gave us understanding
of what God's will is and how to pray. The most important is
with God and we covered a number of obstacles to a good
relationship with God praying over each one: unbelief,
apostasy (losing faith or falling away), not knowing the word,
uncleansed sin, a divided heart, and brokenness. The Lord
has a different way of working with each problem and we
covered each one.

There were four tables and four people seated at each one.
While one table prayed over unbelief in the firehouses,
another table prayed about a lack of the knowledge of God's
word and another prayed about those who had divided hearts.
After a few minutes - which always seemed too short - we
traded cards and each table prayed for something different.
We prayed about relationships with parents and children,
spouses, co-workers and friends using the same pattern of
trading cards every few minutes.
Time flows very quickly when you pray this way.
The third session covered the current needs of the fire
department. These were the suggestions the speaker gave
that always need prayer:


o They represent the city, are an authority, and are held to a
higher standard, in the spotlight.
o They need to be a well ordered machine, have good
organization and good communication.
o They should maintain effective training, especially for this
new era of terrorism.
o They need good protocols for extreme situations, and to
work well with other departments.
o Their equipment needs to be up-to-date and functioning
well.
o Racism and hostility to women are controversial issues.
They need to be handled God's way.
o Younger ones need to respect the older ones and the
traditions of the fire department.
o Stress and the toll it takes.
o Pray for health, protection from injury and death, as well as
mental and emotional stability.
o They need prayer for working out contracts, their work
relations with the city and the upper management, and
unions.
o Media coverage should be fair and not overdone.

There were cards representing each firehouse and they were
divided up between the people there. Borough by borough,
we each picked up and held a card and silently waited before
God to see if something specific came to mind, then we each
prayed for that house. We only had a few moments for each
one and were surprised at how quickly the time was up.
When the fourth session started, we had cards at our tables
with the names and faces of all the line of duty deaths in the
FDNY in the last twenty years. We also had the names of
many who had suffered major injuries.

At each table we took turns picking up a card, reading the
name, looking at the face and sometimes saying an added
prayer. This was the most moving session of the entire
conference. As we read, "Firefighter…" or another title and the
name, soft echoes followed around the room as others read
the titles and names on their cards. Many were names we
recognized, brothers, friends and family of people we knew.
Many stories of heroism and honor crossed our minds and we
knew it was a privilege to be there sharing this moment of
reverence. There were tears and full hearts.

And we honored God who gave us these examples of what it
means to lay down your lives for the good of others, pictures
of the heart of Jesus.

The fifth session looked forward. Satan meant for 9-11 to be
a devastating, paradigm-altering event that would drastically
change and demoralize our country. But God wanted to turn
the tables on it and bring good out of it. On that day people
around the world saw a human example of what Christ looks
like. They saw what ordinary people look like when they
decide to be heroic. In a time when kids are being raised with
comic book super heroes and sports stars as their images of
heroism, God gave them a human connection. People were
convicted and challenged by this example. And the enemy
wanted to tear it down.

God wants to raise up workers for His purposes from the
ranks of the FDNY, men who will go out into the world and
make an impact for His kingdom, men who will be recognized
as having something to say that is worth listening to because
they have demonstrated to the world what kind of men they
are. Satan wants to destroy this work before it starts and tear
down the image of the firefighters but we are resisting him in
prayer.
We stood together in a circle and prayed for the work God
wanted to do within the department to raise up firefighters.
We prayed for the impact they would make on their brothers.
Then we prayed for the impact they would make on the city
and other departments. After that we prayed for their impact
on the nation, and finally, their purposes in the world. Each
one of us prayed for a specific country and asked the Lord to
send FDNY firefighters there to accomplish His work.

The last session brought the focus back to us, the participants
in the prayer conference. Whoever wanted spoke up and
shared about concerns they needed prayer for and ministry
they wanted to be a part of. We prayed together for each one.
When we finished we could hardly believe seven hours had
passed. We felt so refreshed, encouraged and excited to step
out in what the Lord was calling us to do. We felt as close as
if we had been on a two week mission's trip together. There is
no question that we are all looking forward to having this
conference again next year, but this time we will get the work
of preparation done sooner and spread the word more
effectively so more will be able to come.

Suzanne Hagelin
FDNY Prayer Team Leader