The 89th Minute

At the Bohlender house, we watch a lot of soccer, and we’ve noticed something. Be it at the recreational level of our third grade daughter or the English Premier League, we see a common occurrence.

Soccer games - except for the youngest teams - are 90 minutes long, plus a few minutes added by the ref to make up for time wasted or injuries. No matter how hard players have worked for most of the game - especially if they’re trailing - they find new energy and fervor as the clock winds down.

Teams play differently in the 89th minute.

They press a little harder. They push themselves. They chase down every opportunity and they give it their all. Close games are won or lost in the 89th minute.

It feels a little like the 89th minute for our nation. The drama of a pandemic, an election, and a society deeply divided over race and civil unrest like we have not seen in decades has added a level of pressure that is different and more intense than most of us anticipated this season of life would be.

We’re praying seven nights straight because teams play differently in the 89th minute. We love all the activity surrounding the local church, but a potluck or book study will not shape the nation in the next week. Intercession will.

Churches pray differently in the 89th minute.

Join us this week at 7PM - October 27th through November 1 - for worship and prayer at 13162 State Line in Leawood. We will continue Monday, November 2 at a different location. If you can’t make it live, join us via Zoom, password prayer.

It’s the 89th minute. Let’s press hard.