Center offers prayer around clock

In a dimly lit room with 12 posters on the wall, Nikolay Chubenko closes his eyes and prays.

He asks God to bring blessings upon Spokane, to unite the churches in the region and to heal those suffering from pain. He also prays for the people whose black-and-white photographs are glued to the posters – George Bush and Dick Cheney, Supreme Court justices, senators and representatives, local leaders including Mayor Dennis Hession, Mayor Diana Wilhite and members of the Spokane and Spokane Valley city councils.

“Lord, give them knowledge and wisdom,” Chubenko prays in Ukrainian, the language of his native country. “Bless them and help them lead.”

At various hours of the day, every day of the week, someone is in this room praying.

It is one of two prayer rooms at the WorldWide Prayer Center, a gathering place for Christians of all denominations to pray 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Located in a nondescript Spokane Valley storefront next to a hair salon and an appliance repair shop, the WorldWide Prayer Center was established by Chubenko and his wife, Tatyana, who both believe that prayer not only comforts and heals individuals, but can transform an entire community.

“God spoke to my heart,” said Nikolay Chubenko, describing the vision he first had three years ago. “It was like a bomb inside of me. He wants us to pray 24 hours a day. He wants us to love each other and to work together and pray.”

The Chubenkos – a family of five who moved to Spokane from Ukraine nine years ago – eventually shared this message with their relatives, friends and others in the Slavic-speaking community, many of whom attend one or more of the 18 Russian-speaking churches in the region. The couple felt so strongly about Nikolay’s vision that they used their savings and took out a second mortgage on their home to rent office space in a strip mall for the creation of the WorldWide Prayer Center.

“We try to stand together in prayer,” said Tatyana Bistrevsky, one of dozens of people who regularly pray at the center. “It doesn’t matter if you are Baptist, Pentecostal or whatever. This is a place for anyone who has accepted Jesus as their savior.”

Praying 24 hours a day, seven days a week has long been a common practice among many religious communities all over the world. Some Catholic churches and monasteries have a practice known as “Perpetual Adoration,” in which members of a parish and others take turns praying before the Blessed Sacrament, the sacred host displayed in a monstrance.

Locally, Jim Leuschen of Spokane and others are in the process of establishing House of Prayer Northwest, a place near downtown Spokane for people to pray 24 hours a day.

In order to make 24/7 prayer possible, the WorldWide Prayer Center needs 168 people willing to come to the center every week to pray for at least an hour. Since the place opened in late August, more than 40 people – the vast majority from the Slavic-speaking community – have become part of the prayer initiative. Recently, the Chubenkos have reached out to the non-Russian-speaking churches to join their efforts.

“We should always be giving God that praise and adoration,” said Cathy Donovan, who came to the prayer center’s open house Saturday. “There are things that God wants us to do – to touch those who are hurting, to bring those who are lost back to him, to pray for our nation, city, our churches. …”

Those who worship at the prayer center are encouraged to spend five minutes in front of each of the 12 posters on the walls. While some posters ask people to pray for specific leaders, others refer to churches and pastors in the area, as well as other intentions including peace in Israel and “for the well-being of our city, protection from terrorism and catastrophe.” Attached to one poster is a roll of index cards in which people can write down their personal need for prayers.

Those who come to the WorldWide Prayer Center don’t necessarily pray for just themselves and their families, said Tatyana Chubenko. Many are refugees from the former Soviet Union who simply want to give back and bless others, said Bistrevsky. Their prayers, she explained, are a way to express their gratitude for the opportunity to start all over again in the United States.

“These are people who have a bigger vision and who believe that God will make a difference in the world,” said Tatyana Chubenko. “Prayer is very powerful.”