The photographs here were taken on a prayer walk around Wells Park (SE London) in autumn 2012. What was so special about the prayer walk is that over three generations different people had had the same vision specific to this area and these wells laid on their hearts.
This vision has
been contested in many ways but there is a clear connection between the health
of the physical wells and the spiritual health of our community.
The vision though has been consistent; to see the spiritual wells
restored and the water sweet again to bring healing to our community. All three generations were part of the prayer
walk.
A child's heart
The prayer walk was gentle and uneventful. As we entered the play park area and tried to jump on the fountain triggers - nothing happened - we were praying again, and a child ran onto the pads and the fountains "burst forth".
Almost simultaneously
we collectively had an insight into the Father’s heart. We could hear the
heavenly chuckle at our surprise that all our adult ‘super spiritual’ attempts
were trumped by a child running with abandon to play in the spray. Somehow that
childlike faith had triggered the water spray – the exuberant simple fun filled
act of faith had opened the well.
Ten years later the memory is still vivid and perhaps more
so now than ever the word of Jesus as recorded in John 7 (37-38) are relevant. Jesus says, "If anyone is thirsty let him come to me and
drink - whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living
water will flow from them."
Background history of the wells in Sydenham
The history to the wells and the subterranean water beneath Sydenham
is fascinating and I’ve added some detail below for ease of reference.
Wells Park is named after medicinal springs were found in
Sydenham in the seventeenth century and became a popular spa whose numerous
visitors included King George III. Twelve wells were eventually opened – but all
form part of an underground network of streams. This attracted crowds of people
to the area. Some of the former wells in the area are within the park's grounds
and the springs are still active.
The Old and New London: Volume 6. Originally published by Cassell, Petter & Galpin, London, 1878, states “The waters, according to one authority, were of a mild cathartic quality, nearly resembling those of Epsom; another writes, that they formed a purging spring, which has performed great cures in scrofulous, scorbutic, paralytic, and other stubborn diseases; whilst a third asserts that the waters are a certain cure for every ill to which humanity is heir."
First shared and published in the autumn of 2013
http://deepuntodeep-joy.blogspot.com/2013/