Gathered in His Name Intercessory Prayer and Outreach group prepare to engage the NW Washington, D.C. communities of Columbia Heights and Mount Pleasant on March 21, 2026. (From L-R: David, Andrea, Lina, Keyli, Adelaide–kneeling, Titi, and Nicole) Photo credit: Mary Gilkey

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” – Deuteronomy 31:8, NIV

Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. -Isaiah 58:12, NIV

It has long been on our hearts to pray with our immigrant community, many of whom are carrying deep trauma and ongoing disruption to their lives, their families, their daily routines, and their sense of peace amid the ICE raids. While we have many such communities in our greater Washington, D.C. area, I am familiar with the NW DC neighborhoods of Columbia Heights and Mount Pleasant. About a year after I moved to Washington, D.C. from Kansas some 20 years ago, Columbia Heights was my home for a few years. It is a diverse urban community though predominantly Hispanic, with street vendors, corporate box stores and restaurants, which makes it a heavily congested traffic area. I have since moved out of that neighborhood though I still have a heart for it. So, I suggested to our Gathered in His Name Intercessory Prayer and Outreach group that for our Saturday, March 21, 2026 outreach we should visit the communities of Columbia Heights and Mount Pleasant (Mount Pleasant is a few streets over from Columbia Heights).

That Saturday morning God graced us with mild weather. Given the commute time, we decided to meet in Columbia Heights where we would have our devotional reading and prayer. Joining that morning was Andrea, who prepared and led our devotional reading, Adelaide, David, Keyli, Lina, Titi and me. My sister in Christ, Mary, who lives in the area, joined us for a bit, along with her dog Richie. We were especially grateful for Keylie and Lina who speak Spanish for being available to pray in Spanish as needed.

Adelaide snagged us a table at a café where Andrea led us in an excellent devotional rooted in Luke 19:1-10. During the devotional, we took turns reading passages from Luke 19 and the verses highlighted in the book Eye to Eye, written by her spiritual mentor (who has since passed), Marilyn Anderes, on the many ways God precedes our efforts. Hearing the Word together was powerful, as faith comes from hearing the Word of the Lord, and it prepared our hearts before we went out to pray.

The excerpt on pages 40-41 reads as follows:

• We are known BEFORE we know; set apart and appointed BEFORE we are born—Jeremiah 1:5.
• We are ransomed while yet sinners; rescued BEFORE we know we’ve been kidnapped—Romans 5:8; 1 Peter 2:24; Colossians 1:13.
• We are heard BEFORE we call—Isaiah 65:24.
• We are loved BEFORE we love—1 John 4:19.
• We are chosen by Him BEFORE we choose Him—John 15:16.
• Our days are assigned BEFORE there are any—Psalm 139:16; Genesis 1.
• We are seen BEFORE we see—Genesis 16:13.
• God pioneers “the land” BEFORE we “take possession”—Deuteronomy 4:38; 31:3.

Such a transformational word of encouragement and assurance that God has already gone before us! This should remove the pressure to perform or to be perfect. We are still loved by God. We are still chosen by Him. We are still called.

(Photo credit: Mary Gilkey)

That reassurance was a blessing and a relief as we experienced some delays in setting out that morning, along with a few logistical challenges. Yet even in those moments, we sensed that God was already at work, ordering our steps and aligning the timing in ways we could not yet see. Given the size of our group and the congested area, it became a learning moment for us. We had not gone out before with a group this large, and it was a blessing to see how God was expanding us while also teaching us how to move more intentionally in these spaces. I was thankful to my dear sister in Christ, Titi, for suggesting that we split into two teams, “Team Joy” and “Team Peace.” Looking back, we could see how the Lord had already provided exactly what we needed. With both Keyli and Lina present as Spanish speakers, we were able to divide in a way that allowed each group to minister more effectively. This ministry continues to teach us what it means to be surrendered to the Spirit and to follow the Father’s lead. Even what we might have perceived as delays were part of His plan, and He faithfully redeemed every moment.

For “Team Joy,” their pivotal decision to retreat to a quieter spot within the busy marketplace allowed them to surrender their plans for the day and ask the simple question: “What would You have us do?” They prayed over the merchants and people passing by. They prayed for the church and upcoming Easter/Resurrection Sunday services, and then they prayed for each other and others the Lord had placed on their hearts. They were joined by Jaylen and Jasper from our church who Keyli, David and Andrea prayed over.

For “Team Peace,” I had the opportunity to pray for a friend of several years who I had not seen since before the pandemic/2020. He is a street vendor who at one time had a fire for the Lord and is now engaging in divination and tarot card readings. He allowed me to pray for him and later thanked me. I am praying for his return to the Lord and for his heart to be consumed by Him. We then made our way towards the Mount Pleasant neighborhood when on our way, God had already gone before us! While I saw the older woman, Adelaide truly saw her and approached her, asking if there was anything we could pray for her. The woman, perhaps in her late sixties, spoke only Spanish and so Lina stepped in to speak with her. What happened next was so beautiful as Adelaide, Titi and I watched their exchange.

Tears began streaming down the woman’s face as Lina spoke with and prayed for her. Something was happening. As Lina finished praying for her, we all felt it. The Holy Spirit led us to her at the exact time, not a minute late. We learned that she simply wanted prayer for her family. We also learned that she was waiting for a friend to pick her up and drive her to work. It was nearly 11 a.m. As we walked away, we sensed there was something more we could do for her. We turned around and headed towards her, Adelaide feeling it as well, and we placed a cash gift in her hands. The woman was grateful and cried more. We hugged her and knew that God had gone before us, and every delay was redeemed in that moment. God had already prepared the encounter. I am grateful that we sensed and obeyed the Holy Spirit’s prompting. Adelaide later shared that she normally would not have had that amount of cash on her but was led to bring it that morning. I had cash that I usually don’t carry and was able to give.

Realizing our time, we headed back to reconnect with “Team Joy” and along the way, we connected with a few more people who requested prayer. Actually, one woman said that “she was good” and didn’t need prayer, but another man, hungrily seized the opportunity to be prayed for, and was delighted that we had a Spanish speaker among us. So, Lina prayed for him. We then passed by a church with children playing in the backyard and Lina spoke to them in Spanish telling them that “you are the future” and she encouraged them in the Lord.  😊

We landed back at the corner of the vendors and prayed over that entire area. Nearby was a psychic reading business sign lying on its side. I’ve sensed dark spirits in that area previously and am certain that I encountered one there a couple of years ago. So, we prayed over that area, to reclaim that territory and the people for God’s Kingdom. Isaiah 58:12 says “Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.” (NIV) Isaiah 58:12 is a promise of restoration that those who care for the needy and practice true justice, will rebuild and be called “Repairers of the Breach”—the breach created by sin (a neighborhood also hit with crime, thefts, shootings)—to then repair, rebuild, restore broken lives, relationships and communities by removing unhealthy patterns. They will restore joy and rebuild on a firm, godly foundation, per this BibleHub Commentary on the passage. They will be agents of repair and restoration.

God absolutely blessed our time together that morning. I am confident that those we prayed for felt God’s presence and love. It is easy to view distractions or delays as obstacles, but through the lens of Eugene Peterson’s words (which Anderes cites), we saw them differently:

“Always we are dealing with what the risen Christ has already set in motion.” Every “delay” we experienced was simply God aligning the timing.

For He is the God who goes before us!

-Nicole