Heather Bellamy spoke with the visionary, Richard Gamble, a former Leicester City F.C. chaplain.

Richard Gamble

If you were asked to name iconic landmarks, you might mention the 'Angel of the North' in Gateshead, or 'Christ the Redeemer in Brazil'. Now Richard Gamble, a former Leicester City F.C. chaplain, is looking to build a 'Wall of Answered Prayer' at the side of a motorway in the UK. Heather Bellamy spoke with him to find out more.

Heather: What is a 'Wall of Answered Prayer'?

Richard: We're looking to build an architectural structure, so it won't be a normal blank wall, it's gonna be a piece of public art. It will be of a million bricks and every single brick in this piece of art will represent a unique story where somebody has prayed to Jesus and Jesus has answered the prayer. The whole structure in itself will be colossal; it will be about the size of a hundred houses. We hope that when people drive past it on the motorway, that they'll realise that it is shouting out that Jesus is alive, that He listens and He answers prayer.

Heather: Is that the reason you're looking to build this wall, or are there other reasons as well?

Richard: The main reason is this. I believe it's something that God's told me to do. I've been thinking about it now for 13 or 14 years.

Richard at a parliamentary reception for The Wall of Answered Prayer

I felt I'd got the green light from God to really start working on the plan two years ago. I think that it's important for us as a nation that we have something that recognises the Christian heritage that we have in this country and recognises that there is a living, vibrant community of Christians in this generation. I don't think we've done anything like this since the cathedrals were built hundreds of years ago.

Heather: Obviously it's your vision. Is it just you pursuing this, or is there a group of you trying to establish it?

Richard: It's definitely something I can't do on my own. We have a team of volunteers and we're partnered with a number of organisations like CBN Europe, so there are a number that are coming behind us and working with us.

We've got the one side where we are collecting the testimonies and then we've got the other part, which is working hard at the more physical side of getting the wall built.

Heather: What's your background other than being a Chaplain for Leicester City that would lead you in to something like this?

Shortlisted entry for Wall of Answered Prayer

Richard: There's no connection at all really. We're moving into a world of architecture, of which I know very little. My background is that I went to Bible College for a couple of years, then I led a couple of churches and also ran a software business. Then I focused on chaplaincy and then this is what I believe God wants me to focus on now.

Heather: And who is going to be paying for it?

Richard: We are asking for donations, so it is crowdfunding in its purest form. What we're asking individuals to do is, if they've got an answered prayer, for them to share it with us and then if they want to make a donation as well, that's great. If they are not able to do that, that's fine and we'll find other people to fund it.

One of the things that I do want to communicate, is that we believe that there is a real power in sharing your answered prayer. That when somebody reads it, or hears about something that Jesus has already done, then it enables something in the 'Heavenlies' for that to happen again. We know that God has got no favourites. We know that He doesn't change, so we know that if He's done a miracle once for an individual and that might be a huge thing or a small thing, then we know that He can do it again.