Prayer Walk
I am amazed at how the Holy Spirit has led me on my prayer
walks. Last week He gave me the idea to
go to a different station each day on the Ring-Bahn (which is the train that does a circle around
Berlin) and pray for an hour while walking the streets. Today was the day for
Beussel Str. and after some amazing times of walking around beautiful parks on
my other prayer days I wondered if there could be any beauty at Beussel
Str. This station is where we normally
catch a bus for the airport. The road is busy with traffic and I was
thinking that I did not want to walk in the direction of the airport.
However, as I came out of the station, there was an unmistakable voice
that said, “Turn right” and so I did. I
wondered why I was led in this direction but decided that I was to pray for all
the commuters that possibly travel that route every day. I prayed that angels
would be in their cars and (or) that the people would realize that angels are
around protecting them. I prayed for an
awareness of their Father God and that they would be seized with the knowledge
that there is a God and that He loves them.
Then I saw a sign that said, “Gedenkstatte Plotzensee” and
although I didn’t know what Gedenkstatte meant, “See” means lake in German and
I thought the Holy Spirit was leading me another lake and so I followed the
signs. I was disappointed when I finally
got to the Gedenkstatte Plotzensee (means Memorial
Center) because it obviously was
NOT the See but looked like a huge factory!
There were no cars or people in sight and it was a little scary. Then I came to an entrance gate with a
Visitor Welcome sign with hours posted and so I walked in and found myself all
alone in a huge courtyard. In front of
me was a big wall with the words written on it, “Den Opfern Der Hitlerdiktatur
Der Jahre 1933-1945” – (The Victims of the Nazi Dictatorship – The years
1933-1945).
What a shock to see “Hitler” written on a wall in Berlin
as Germans have done their best to rid themselves of any remembrance of
him. I walked further on and entered
into a room that had pictures and information in German and English and I
learned that the place had been a prison built in 1868-1879. So, the Holy Spirit had led me to a former
prison! I was amazed and knew it was no
accident that I was there.
It was massive in it’s day with 62 acres and housed 1200
prisoners. When Hitler came to power,
conditions at the prison became much harsher and many were killed for
retribution or simply because they were “inferior elements.” The saddest case I read about was a young man
only about 22 years old who had said to his mother and her friend, “Hitler is a
mad man.” The mother’s friend turned him
in and he was murdered at this prison.
There is still a high wall that surrounds the acreage and I
read that while much of the prison was destroyed in the war, the property is now a
prison home for Juvenile Delinquents.
While I was walking around I could hear shouts and yells of many
boys. I longed to see them or visit
them. There was barbed wire on top of
the brick walls which gave an eerie feeling and down the road many signs saying
not to enter into those grounds.
I knew without doubt that the Holy Spirit had directed my
steps to this former prison to pray. I
sat on a bench and asked the Holy Spirit, “What should I pray?” and I felt that
He wanted me to walk around the complex and proclaim forgiveness. As I began my walk around praying out loud,
“Mercy & Forgiveness” I felt like I’d been slugged in the stomach – such an
oppression came over me. I almost felt
sick but I kept on and prayed out loud, “He who the Son sets free is free
indeed!”
After this I wanted to see if I could get a peek into the
Juvenile Grounds but found you couldn’t get near. I found myself walking alongside some Berlin
Garden houses that are prevalent
all over Germany. I felt led to walk into the complex where there
was a sign welcoming visitors to “our tiny garden”. After the harshness, starkness and coldness
of the prison this was a fresh breeze of joy for me. The gardens were all unique and beautiful in
their own way. I thought about the fact
that each garden was a picture of humans.
Some of the gardens were immaculate; some were stuffed with plants; some
were clean and some messy yet they all had a personal touch. They were all unique and that is how I think
the Father views us: beautiful as flowers yet unique and special. I had fun praying in the gardens and before I
knew it over an hour had passed and I still had to walk all the way back to the
train station. The day had been well
worth the time. Walking and praying with
Jesus is always an adventure!
 |
| Typical Garden plot with small structure |
More on Germany's
little garden plots. I found this info
at http://www.slowtravelberlin.com/2011/11/08/berlins-community-gardens/
These are Germany’s
allotment gardens, which are something like U.S.
community gardens, super-sized. Though we like to think of
urban
agriculture and local foods as some sort of newfangled revolutionary
things,
Kleingartenkolonies have been around for a long time. The
concept originated in the 19th Century, when the German government,
instead of handing out welfare, granted land to poor folks to garden so that
they could provide for themselves. The gardens were also intended to reconnect
kids with nature, which was certainly an idea before its time.
Over the decades, the number of allotment gardens grew; when the city ran
out of empty land, it bought more, with help from the federal government. After
World War II, people actually lived on their plots, which may explain why so
many of the current structures look more like little houses than potting sheds.
Today, there are more than 800
Gartenkolonies in Berlin,
alone.
