Breaking Bondage: What Happened Because We Prayed for 5 Days Straight...Literally.

For my part, it started two years ago.

The change in my soul where I agreed to let my circumstances define God's character and the weeping of God because of it.

Bitterness became my king as I shut out my friends who spoke truth to me and basically gave God the birdie whenever I thought to.

And that's the extent of my part. The rest is much better to look at.

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I don't like saying that it took Jesus two years to heal me and get me back on track with who He is and who I am, because that sounds lame, and Jesus isn't lame. I'm lame and my heart wouldn't let Him work in me for two years.

But I'm glad it took that long because I got to blossom into new life alongside so many others dear to me.

Sitting in Liberty University's Convocation on Good Friday, I finally let the truth of God's intense love and sacrifice wash over me again.

I wrote in my journal, "I just need to spend my life making manifest the redemption of Christ anyway I can." Because that's what He's done for me.

Sitting down to lunch with two friends of 9 years I shared with them the newfound freedom that Jesus infused into my heart: Freedom from seeking intimacy in anything other than Him.

Shocked, I broke down as my friends told me they'd been praying I would find that rest for two years. Meanwhile I had shut them out because I felt they misunderstood my pain.

Turns out I misunderstood my pain. Turns out my friend's faithfulness to me echoed Jesus' faithfulness to me. Turns out I was blind to such a gift.

And as we joined hands and I confessed my hardheartedness, Jesus restored both our friendship and my trust in Him.

Hiding hinders healing. And I had been hiding for far too long.

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Back on Miami's campus, I dived headlong into Resurrection Week. Some Christians on campus and in town had been planning to have a 24 hour prayer tent Monday-Friday with an epic worship session Friday night. I was blessed to have little to no homework that week and to be assigned two graveyard shifts to be with people to pray in the tent (4am-6am).

This is where we cried out to the Lord for our campus, our lives, our friends, and for the glory of God to be lifted high. We were a gathering place--a hospital--for the believer and nonbeliever. We were called to soak in His presence and hear His voice and see His visions more powerfully than ever before.

RezWeek was the answer to months, probably even years, of prayer for a spiritual revival on Miami's campus. It was the end of our anticipation, and the beginning of a new hope for what our God would do.

Throughout the week, the Lord put on my heart, and the hearts of countless others, the themes of freedom, breaking bondage, living water, banishing oppression, and joy.

It was beautiful to see how God had been making me new for years and had now called me to pray into the lives of others boldly and constantly.

Jesus broke my bondage of bitterness, depression, anxiety, fear, and hopelessness that I would never be a bride someday.

Jesus broke secrets of my friends and gave them victories to share about in front of hundreds.

Jesus broke bondages of childhood fears that had been kept silent far too long.

Jesus renewed friendships and comforted hearts with His presence.

We received visions, words, and most importantly an experience of God's unrelenting love for us.

One story I'll share gives a good glimpse into the power we experienced this week. It began again at 4am.

I hadn't experienced loneliness for many weeks so I was surprised to wake up to that battle as I prepared for my graveyard shift at 3am.

I settled into the tent then decided to take a walk and see the morning stars. And I cried as I accepted that I was feeling lonely again.

I prayed for a relationship, I thanked God for His love for me, asked for a renewed experience of His intimacy, then headed back into the tent to fall asleep for awhile on the air mattress.

When I woke up an hour later (7am now) I had to do a pretty intense reality check.

I woke up feeling like a bride.

In the middle of a packed tent, running on a few hours of sleep, hair flopped to one side and sticking up in front, I felt more chosen and wanted than ever before.

I remember asking myself, "Wait, am I dating someone?" Like seriously. The feeling wasn't subtle. It was the Spirit welling up in me reminding me who I am to Him. It was awesome.

At worship that morning, I didn't even care that I had morning voice. I was a bride and that's all I've ever wanted.

Later in the day, still in the tent, a group of us prayed over our epic worship session that night and for specific individuals who we wanted to see healed and to experience freedom from spiritual bondage.

Walking helps me pray so I stood up and the Lord said, "Go to Sess Chapel and pray. Be apart of the warfare." (Sess was where the worship night would happen)

So I went. I walked in and a friend of mine was already in there praying over the space. He told me, "Taylor! The Lord gave Jordan and I the word oppression to pray against..." I cut him off and told him that God had also told me to come here and cast out any evil.

My friend and I proceeded to walk around the chapel speaking out loud against the devil in Jesus' name. Jesus brought to mind the spirits apathy, depression, and doubt and so we cast them out.

Depression looked huge. But stupid and not strong. He looked sleepy.

Apathy was small. He looked afraid.

Doubt was cocky and became angry when we cast him out.

We ushered in love. That Jesus would stand at the door and envelop people as they walked in.

We ushered in peace. That the spirit would sit before us and fill the air.

We ushered in joy. That the spirit would run through the aisle and the pews like a child and make people dance and skip in worship.

We asked the Lord for angels to surround our building so that depression, apathy, and doubt couldn't even peak through the windows.

Right about this time is when another of our friends came up from Sess's basement and said he had just been praying that people would be free from oppression tonight.

We all lost it and prayed again for tonight to be so, so powerful.

My belief and joy in God had never been so steadfast, sure, and expressed.

I'm still very lost for words as I try to describe the events of that night. A cynical friend reported no cynicism, an anxious girl said it fell right off when she started singing, a man remembered his identity as warrior, a girl felt wanted by God for the first time, we remembered Jesus wasn't weak, a girl played a song that the Lord had given her, we prayed for physical healing, we shared stories of transformation, we took communion, we danced in the aisle for joy...we were free that night.

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Before it all began I sat in the back to get myself focused back on the Lord and a friend of mine sat down next to me and put his hand on my shoulder while he prayed silently.

He told me a few minutes later, "Taylor, when I sat down next to you, the Lord gave me a word that it would be your voice tonight and your set of songs that would be a huge part of people's freedom tonight."

Beaming, I took it to heart and ran, danced, walked, knelt, and jumped all around that room with my voice feeling stronger and more worshipful than ever before. I loved making harmonies, and basically freestyling the whole night.

Turns out, when I actually was on stage with a friend doing our set, the guy who had prayed over me and given me the word was the one who experienced freedom and healing over a difficult relationship during my set. God is faithful. His promises are sure. His love endures forever.

For many, that night was the first time they had dared to believe that healings still occurred, that prophesies are valid, and that the Lord speaks clearly and powerfully.

Miami's campus is waking up. The Spirit is moving, and the Lord is recapturing dead hearts daily and making them alive once more.

From dawn to dusk You are near.

Your hand holds our sky,

the kindness in your eyes reminds us we are alive.

Your voice is in the rain

that swells and dives like a song.

The sound that cuts through the pain.

Your eyes are in the light

that's warm and constant and true.

Every present, never ceasing, kind and bright.

Your arms are the ground

where I tread

and how you never let me down.

Your love is in the air,

pure, life-giving to me.

To stop breathing is more than I would dare.

Your heartbeat is on my back

as You hold me and surround me.

Your heart urges mine into motion

and beats loudly so I can hear.

~ Taylor Tinnin -- April 10, 2016.