Down the Narrow Path

What is a house of prayer?

A house of prayer is a group of Christian believers in a city/geographic region who as a group (not necessarily as individuals) spend a great amount of time worshipping God, thanking Him, enjoying His presence and praying to Him in partnership for the many things on His heart. The house of prayer movement is unusual in that its extravagance is expressed in the passion of prayer, the humility of the prayers, the continuous nature of prayer and worship, and the focus on the Word that under girds the worship and prayer.

What is "the T-hop Missions Base"?

The  Missions Base is a community of urban missionaries being raised up in Tauranga. The Missions Base exists to raise up radical missionaries in the midst of a global, day and night, worship and prayer movement whose hearts are fascinated in intimacy with Jesus Christ as they are empowered to go to the ends of the earth fulfilling the mandate of the Great Commission. We are called to live lives that reflect the first and second commandments.

The Prayer room is the core and heartbeat of the Missions Base. We do nothing apart from the value of day and night prayer and intimacy. We "behold Him and then reveal Him". We believe the greatest Harvesters will be those who passionately love Him in the place of prayer and intimacy.

What is an "intercessory missionary"?

Intercessory missionaries are, like action missionaries, called to take the Gospel, the testimony of Jesus, to the ends of the earth. But intercessory missionaries are connected to centers of prayer and keep intimacy, devotion, communion, and prayer as the core of all they do. They do nothing apart from the place of prayer.

Who will staff the House of Prayer ?

We envisage the House of Prayer being staff by a combination of full and part time “Intercessory Missionaries”. We see some of these individuals coming from with the city, some from throughout the nation and others from the nations. Some will give themselves to the House of Prayer in a full time way committing to serving 40-50 hours a week, other will serve as time and other commitments allow. We will require that each of the staff are functioning members of a local congregation.

Where is the concept of the house of prayer found in the Bible?

This is a pretty extensive topic! However, here's a quick overview. The phrase "house of prayer" is drawn from Isaiah 56:7, where it is used twice:  Even those (foreigners) I will bring to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.

Jesus refers to this verse when casting the money changers from the temple, as recorded in Matthew 21:13, Mark 11:17, and Luke 19:46:  And as he taught them, he said, "Is it not written: ?My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it ?a den of robbers.'"

The heart of the house of prayer is perhaps best captured by David's heart cry in Psalm 27: One thing I ask of the Lord this is what I seek:  that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in His temple.

 King David actually established one example of a house of prayer, called the "Tabernacle of David".

While referred to in many parts of the Bible, the best description of this biblical house of prayer is found in I Chronicles 16:

(1) And they brought in the ark of God and set inside the tent which David had pitched for it...(4) Moreover, David appointed certain of the Levites as ministers before the ark of the Lord, to invoke, to thank, and to praise the Lord, the God of Israel...(37) So David left Asaph and his brethren there before the ark of the covenant of the Lord to minister continually before the ark as each day required...

While The Tauranga House of Prayer is not seeking to exactly recreate the past Tabernacle of David, we believe God is restoring the spirit and type of this expression of worship and prayer in a physical location.

We believe this current expression helps us to "practice for" the future worship scene that is our destiny, as described in the book of Revelation. Indeed, the best picture of what the house of prayer strives for can be found in the book of Revelation, in the many descriptions of the redeemed gathered before the throne of God, such as:

...the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song:

"You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seal, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation..."  (REVELATION 5:8-9)

What are some examples of houses of prayer through history up to the present time? 

Contemplative and continuous prayer are relatively new concepts for many modern-day Protestants, but they have been fostered in the Catholic church for centuries. Most cities (including Chicago) have at least one Catholic church that practices "perpetual adoration", which involves 24/7/365 reverence and prayer before the Eucharistic host, usually in a set apart chapel/prayer room. Our house of prayer differs somewhat from Catholic perpetual adoration in that it is multi-denominational and involves a concept of team prayer and worship. Three fairly well-known examples of this type of house of prayer are the Moravians, Taize, and the Kansas City IHOP.

The reformed Moravian community, founded by Count Zinzendorf in Germany in 1727, is well known for two things: a prayer meeting that lasted over 100 years, and the creation of the modern missions movement through the sending of missionaries into nations all around the earth (for more info. see www.countzinzendorf.org/moravians/).

The community dedicated to reconciliation and prayer that is currently located in Taize, France was founded by some Swiss Reformed Protestants in 1940. It currently has over 100 brothers from both the Protestant and Catholic church who live together and meet for prayer three times every day. Every year, millions of youth from all over Europe and the world who are seeking God visit Taize to participate in the prayer and observe the rule of silence and contemplation (for more info. see www.taize.fr/).

The International House of Prayer (IHOP) in Kansas City began praying 18 hours a day in May 1999, and has been 24/7/365 since September 1999. It is well known for its teachings on the "bridal paradigm" of prayer (that prayer and worship arises most effectively from a solid grounding in the favored position that individual believers and the church hold before God as the Bride of Christ) and for the "Harp and Bowl" prayer model, which blends contemporary worship songs with sung and spoken prayers and spontaneous songs (for more info. see www.ihop.org.)

Is a certain format important?

It's important for the house of prayer to be organized enough that there is not confusion for leaders and participants (ie. What are we supposed to be doing this right now?) We believe God works through anointed leadership and that this actually allows "freedom in the Spirit". While He is the Head, He looks to partner with us while we are here on the earth.

Every house of prayer in every city functions somewhat differently from the others and usually takes on the "flavor" of the region for which they are contending. The format envisioned at the Tauranga House of Prayer is 84 two-hour weekly prayer and worship sessions. Most of our sessions will use the "Harp and Bowl" model (the combination of worship and prayer), but some will have their own expressions apart from this. In all of our sessions, we are committed to praying the Word as our basis.

Is a building or single location important for a house of prayer?

It would be difficult for a retreat center or outreach to the poor to exist without a building to facilitate its ministry. Similarly, we believe it's necessary to have a "command central", a common location in which to pray.

We believe it actually helps facilitate unity because of the cross-church relationships of the prayer teams coming and going. There is a comfort for both believers and non-believers to know a place is always open where they can always go to and participate in and receive prayer. A single location is also a powerful statement of multi-church unity in a city.

Could there be more than one location for a house of prayer in the city?

Of course! There are a number of houses of prayer scattered throughout Tauranga We envision houses of prayer throughout this entire region. A house of prayer within reasonable driving distance for every family is our goal.

Is 24/7/365 day and night prayer important?

Absolutely! We believe that day and night prayer is non-negotiable. It is near and dear to the Lord's heart.

The only promise in the New Testament of revival in our cities is intricately linked with day and night prayer. In Luke 18, Jesus promises to "speedily send justice (revival)" upon us when there is day and night crying out to Him.

In Isaiah 62, God speaks that He has posted watchmen (intercessors) on the wall (of prayer) who will not cease praying day and night until He makes their city a place of praise in the earth. We believe the spirit of prayer will cover the globe before the Lord's return. We also know that God is raising up a "counter" to the day and night accusation of the enemy against God and His people. The Lord is raising up those who (instead of cursing and accusing ) choose loving and blessing God day and night. It is so necessary. We believe that at least in the USA there is a spiritual dynamic released when a house of prayer reaches 24/7/365, because one of the primary idols in Western culture is time, and involvement in continuous prayer directly confronts and challenges this idol.

Why are the concepts of "beauty” and "enjoyable prayer" important for the house of prayer?

The emotion probably most commonly associated with prayer is shame. Most people feel ashamed at their own feeling of "spiritual bankruptcy" when they stand before the Father at His throne. The throne of grace looks more to them like a throne of condemnation. This was never the design of the Creator God of Heaven. Shame is a wrong motivation for people to pray more, and a house of prayer built on this foundation will result in quick burnout.

Beauty and shame are opposites. The highest expressions of beauty are the beauty of God (Psalm 27:4) and the beauty he imparts to the Bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:27, Psalm 149:4). These two realms of beauty provide a  solid foundation and fuel to practice day and night prayer.

Fascination: The heart of man was designed to be fascinated with who God is and what He looks like, never to be dull and lifeless. Part of our journey is rediscovering how amazingly beautiful and fascinating He is.                 

Confidence: As we begin to understand how amazingly beautiful He is, we also begin to understand that He has passed on to us His own beauty. We stand confident in His love and grace, sustained in affection, not shame or fleshly motivations.

Pleasure and joy are indispensable to the house of prayer. He assured us through the prophet Isaiah that He would give us joy in the place of prayer (Is. 56:7). The psalmist said that "at His right hand are pleasures forevermore".

In the house of prayer, we are operating under a paradigm of a God who is beautiful, fascinating and full of delightful pleasures. These qualities are inexhaustible on this side of eternity and are a worthy and wise pursuit for the human heart.

How does music and singing fit into a house of prayer?

We are in the midst of a global worship movement. This movement has everything to do with prayer and intimacy.

We believe that part of prayer becoming enjoyable has everything to do with a spirit of devotion being mixed with worship and prayer. Many of us have tried "rock-pile" prayer meetings, where we just feel like we're chipping away little by little at the resistance around us with very little anointing and power. Suddenly, when worship and song becomes a part of our prayers, life erupts corporately in those meetings. This is by God's sovereign design. Music awakens the heart to beauty, and since God is a musical Being and we have been created in His very image, we've been made with a musical spirit. Almost every person finds solace, comfort or expression in music. Again, this is God's design. In Heaven, music and verbal expression (prayer) are never separated from one another. We base most of our prayer meetings in the house of prayer upon this concept and value. King David upon instituting the Tabernacle knew that worship and devotion were major components of day and night intimacy and prayer. Deep revelation must have come to him of "how heaven hosts a prayer meeting." We are seeking this heavenly model, found in Rev. 5:8. We call this particular model: Harp and Bowl.

HARP AND BOWL

Revelation 5:8 "...the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one having a harp and a golden bowl full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song..."

The harp stands for the worship or music of God and the bowls are the intercession of the saints. In heaven, there is a marriage between prayer and worship. Our cry is, "So let it be on earth."

The apostle Paul spoke to the early church in Colossae to "let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." (Colossians 4:16) Worship was never a separate, compartmentalized, pre-teaching, warm-up time. It was intricate in their walks with the Lord. How do we encourage one another today with "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs"? We believe that the singing of psalms is the singing of the literal word of God, and that the singing of hymns stand for our modern day worship songs, and spiritual songs are spontaneous new songs that arise from our hearts of worship. We seek to apply these three elements into our prayer meetings: the singing of worship songs, singing spontaneously, and singing and ministering the Word of God.

How can I learn more about the house of prayer?

There is really no substitute for experiencing a house of prayer. It is best "caught" by going and checking it out.

We encourage you to come and sit at the feet of Jesus and see what life in the house of prayer is like.

We do offer training times throughout the year for those interested in learning in greater detail about the values of The Tauranga House of Prayer.  We also offer a young adult internship for 18-30 year olds that run from February to July every year

Tauranga and houses of prayer

Does Tauranga need houses of prayer?

A house of prayer is not "required" in Tauranga...but it is highly to be desired. We believe it is the wisdom of God to raise up locations where the Body of Christ can in a focused manner come together as one voice to cry out to Him.

Having set-aside places devoted centrally to prayer and worship where at any time, anyone who worships Jesus may come and pray and seek His face, is a winning strategy for our city. Most churches are closed throughout the week and are open only 1-2 times throughout the week. A house of prayer allows the many intercessors to have a place to gather throughout the week as "watchmen" for the city, yet does not take away from their commitment to their local church.

 Wouldn't a house of prayer essentially be a local church?

No. We in no way want to take the place of the local church or try to be like one; we require that all participants be involved in a local church and giving of themselves there regularly. We are seeking to be a service arm to the local churches of our city and to be a partnership of churches committed to prayer, worship and fasting until Jesus returns.

Local churches seek to meet the spiritual and community needs of those who attend, while the house of prayer is set up to primarily minister directly to God.

 Do all houses of prayer function or look the same?

No. There is no franchise on this movement. Each city and geographic region has a different "flavor" and needs that to affect the expression of the house of prayer. The house of prayer in each region will be different, according to the will of God, the character of the church in that region, and the "personality" of the city itself. The key is to find out what God has for your particular region, while adapting the many models out there that make sense and make life in the house of prayer more enjoyable.