David’s Tent USA
By Michelle Harris
There is a sound I love to hear, it’s the sound of the Savior’s robe as He walks into the room where people pray. Where we hear praises, He hears faith.
Awake my soul and sing; Sing His praise aloud; Sing His praise aloud!
(Hillsong, Awake My Soul, 2019)
Amanda Cook and Stephanie Gretzinger had all of us at David’s Tent sing this chorus over and over the last night of the event. The song had come out just the day before, and it perfectly exemplified what David’s Tent was about and what we were all experiencing. We gathered together to praise God -- simply because He is worthy of our praise. And we declared with our voices blessings over our city, state, and nation as we entered into worship and praise.
David’s Tent (DT) encompassed 72 hours straight of worship music, from over 40 bands, that began on Thursday evening and continued through Sunday evening. The premise of DT was simple, “He is worthy of our praise”.
For 8 years, DT UK has been an annual event. The people in attendance, the grounds, and the surrounding countryside all experienced a renewal and a deepening in their relationships, with each other and the Lord. The estate where it is held each year has been blessed by its presence. It has been the proverbial pebble dropped into the pond, whose rippling effects are far reaching -- farther than anyone thought imaginable. The next question was, “Where next, Lord?”. What a blessing, the answer was Del Mar, California!
I was looking forward to attending. I had previously booked a rented trailer with friends to have at the event so I would not miss anything. There are local RV owners who will park and set up your RV for you (mandatory for me as I can’t imagine hauling one of those!). I had also signed up with the volunteer team to lend support. There are opportunities to be on many teams: Registration, Prophetic, Hospitality, Usher, and Prayer Team, to name a few.
Working DT opened doors for meeting many new friends, as well as seeing old ones. There were so many Lifestreams members in attendance! The culture of the event was one of friendship, support, and love. I have always loved worship, but what would 72 hours straight be like? Heavenly! DT brought worship to another level. I found myself totally absorbed in praise. I unabashedly worshipped my Father and was unaware of those around me. The event allowed you to completely slip into oneness with the Lord.
Miracles happened as people signed up for healing prayer, prayer to accept Christ, or times to receive a prophetic word. During some of the worship sessions, we were led to lay hands on those around us who needed healing or a touch from the Lord. Several times throughout the event, others around me would smile at me and simply say, “This is what heaven is going to be like!”. That summed it up perfectly.
The worship teams often shared heart-felt and impactful stories of what the Lord had done in their lives. One great example was Jason Upton’s story of his upbringing. His biological (and very young) mother had given him up for adoption after she had become pregnant while trying to lead another young man to Christ. He was raised in a loving Christian home that fostered the love of music and Jesus that he had from a young age. Soon after he turned 40, his desire to meet his biological mother was so strong he contacted the adoption agency that allows the biological mother and the adopted child to contact each other if they both consent after the child is 18. The person who answered the phone was so happy to hear from Jason. “Your biological mother has been calling every week since you turned 18!”. She told Jason she would send out a package with the contact information so he would call his biological mother.
The next day, he received a package containing his bio-mom’s phone number and a letter she had written when she gave him away. Jason relayed she wrote she would be praying every day for him to grow up loving the Lord, loving music, and proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. Just as he had! Jason called his mother but when he told her it was her biological son, Jason Upton, she dropped the phone and wailed. Her husband picked up the phone and told Jason she was overcome with joy but unable to speak. “Could you call back tomorrow?” he asked.
When Jason called back, his bio-mother relayed that she had been having a hard time not knowing what happened to him. She had started going to a healing room years before. They would pray for her and play Christian music and the depression would leave. It always came back within a week and she would have to return. On one visit, the staff told her they had received a prophetic word that it wasn’t their prayers but the music that had allayed her depression. They sent her home with the CD they played while they prayed for her. She discovered that the word was correct. The music on the CD kept her from falling into depression. She kept it and played it every day. It was then that she relayed to Jason why she had been so undone. The CD she had been playing all those years was a CD by the Christian singer, Jason Upton! How good is our Father! It was the perfect testimony to relay to us all that God is working in our lives, even when we don’t see it or feel it.
I now am anticipating the fruit of DT in our city, state, and country. I look forward to praying each day for God to sweep through our land. I am dancing through my house listening to Awake by Hillsong. I cannot wait to do it all again next year!