Prayer night on Knobby Rock

Part of the routine for COAP trips is daily prayer as a group at the end of each day. Last night we had prayer at Holy Trinity church (we're staying in their school during the trip), but today we got out and took a mile-or-so hike to our prayer spot. A hike through ancient Appalachian forest, up and around the mountains, to a place called Knobby Rock. It's at the top of one of the mountains, with a spectacular view.


The picture is a little deceiving - just out of the frame to the right is a sheer drop-off of a hundred feet or so. I can't say for sure because I didn't want to lean over too long to find out - but someone else did so here's their picture. The view is more majestic than a camera can capture.


We had our prayer service right up there on the rock. We reflected on a psalm 104 in silence, and then in a few small groups we wrote about those reflections. Here's a picture of our gathering, with the prayer quilt Beth Roesling made for us:


The reflections our COAP teens had were also very nice - here are a few:

There seems to be no point
To climbing this steep hill
I don't think this makes much sense
I'm sure it never will

We have to climb higher and higher
It's getting much harder to breathe
The hill gets steeper and steeper
My mind's beginning to seethe

And the we see an opening
Higher than any pine
Breathtaking beauty surrounds us
And all this beauty is mine



Knobby Rock -
Stark
Overwhelming
Boundless
High
Exhilarating danger
Incredible
Perfection due to imperfection
Layers of paint on canvas
Life and death



A place where you feel release is
a place where you find peace

As the sun starts to set down
We'll all gather around
As we stare into color green
There is nothing more beautiful than this scene

As we sit on Knobby Rock
We call to God and he starts to knock

As a place where there is no sound, not even from cars
We wish we could wait here, till we see the stars