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# Pray for Us All
- URL: https://www.belonging.house/pray-for-us-all/
- Published: 2026-10-16T09:54:48.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-16T09:54:48.000Z
- Description: How the New York Story is unfolding.
- Author: Christ John Otto

Thank you for your prayers.

For a little over a year,  
I have been making trips to New York City.  
At first I thought it was just a prayer project  
before I returned to London.  
Last October the Lord made it clear  
I was not returning to London.  
At least for this season.

In many ways it's been a difficult transition,  
but I had a sense God wanted me in New York.  
A lot of times you do not understand  
why the Lord takes you through various chapters,  
and then you discover that He is preparing you  
for another season.

Thirty years ago,  
God spoke to me about starting a church  
in New York City.  
About six months ago it became clear  
that the call to New York never went away,  
I just needed preparation.

Our prayer team has gotten many words,  
especially about building an altar in New York,  
about the Holy Spirit birthing a new movement in the arts,  
and about Greenwich Village.  
One of our overseas prayer team members  
was even given a street to focus on: Morton Street.

Last month I decided that the Christian guest house  
I have been going to had become a dead-end,  
and these trips were becoming prayerful tourism.  
I cancelled my booked stays,  
and stepped back.  
God isn't calling me to nice church-goers.  
So I started getting places on Airbnb,  
in order to really engage with the city.  
It is a lot more expensive,  
but I am meeting real people again.

Last week I felt stuck and prayed,  
"Lord, I need a friend like the ones I had in London,  
and you told me I need to be in Greenwich Village."

I opened up Airbnb,  
and there was an apartment.  
It was a last minute cancellation,  
and it was one block from Morton Street.

This week I stayed,  
and prayed,  
in the real heart of Greenwich Village.  
Streets I first walked when I was in my early twenties.

There were a few intense moments.  
I saw the most demonized person I have ever encountered.  
I ran into Seth Godin on the street.  
And I listened to God,  
looking for that open door into the city.

Yesterday morning,  
as I was packing up to leave,  
I received a text from my host.  
She wanted to let me know I could check out late,  
and asked me if I was very religious.  
Hmm.

I told her what I do.

"I will be down in a minute."

The woman who owned the house  
was a Jewish woman who described herself as a convert.  
God had healed her of breast cancer,  
and she once owned a restaurant on Morton Street.  
And she said she would help me find a place in Greenwich Village.  
She attends a local Catholic parish,  
and she gave me a little cross she had made.

For non-New Yorkers,  
that was a class-A miracle.

As I left the house to catch my bus,  
a group of students had formed an *ad hoc*  
jazz combo in the park.  
They were playing  
"When the Saints Go Marching In."  
There was that vibe and energy in the air  
I remembered from my youth.  
And as I walked to the subway station  
the marquee on the IFC Center read  
"Pray For Us All."

I took that as permission.

He Never Fails,

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/ed/59/ed590bfa-368b-4bcf-b1f2-6ba9ca9abcdb/content/images/2026/09/Untitled---March-24--2026-at-07.09.24-3.png)

![CTA Image](https://storage.ghost.io/c/ed/59/ed590bfa-368b-4bcf-b1f2-6ba9ca9abcdb/content/images/2026/09/Untitled---April-15--2026-at-18.25.30---1--8.png) 

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