Some key components for the house of prayer & global end-time prayer movement
This is not an exhaustive nor a comprehensive list of components and elements for churches and ministries devoted to the global end-time prayer movement, but it is a partial list. This is some of what the Lord has burned in my heart that is meant to compliment the greater global vision.
I’d encourage you, as well, to discover your personal, God-breathed DNA as it relates to the corporate call to prayer.
A primary rule for us as ministers and leaders is to avoid the trap of picking up the cookie cutter that was molded by another ministry and using it to form our own. In my book Six Enemies of Fulfilled Destiny I refer to this dilemma as Generic Dreams. The idea?
It would be foolish to construct a full scale model of the Eifel Tower in Little Rock, Arkansas and then pass it off as a great accomplishment. It would not be. In fact, it would not be a monument to greatness, but rather a monument to foolishness. The personal, creative call do dream and develop was put aside in favor of defaulting to what has already been done. 
Of course, there are some non-negotiable principles that we must always adhere to, and I’ll list some that I received from another house of prayer leader regarding the house of prayer movement below. But first, here are some of the key components that I feel we must embrace if we are to see this movement develop with greater efficiency:
- The house of prayer movement is actually a church movement: I doubt my father-in-law knew how prophetic and precise his words were when he said them. As we were launching into the infamous transition from Revolution Church to Revolution House of Prayer several years ago he said, “John, you aren’t transitioning from a church, but rather you are transitioning into a church.” Unwittingly, I feel we may have possibly alienated ourselves from the greater body by overemphasizing the house of prayer’s unique role. Do I feel that much of the house of prayer movement is to have a parachurch feel to it? Yes. Do I feel there is a unique function and a forerunner calling at this time in history for the house of prayer to fulfill? Yes. Do I feel the ultimate goal is to have a clear dividing line between church and house of prayer? No. The church is a house of prayer for all nations. This is scripturally clear. The primary ministry of all believers is to pray, intentionally, zealously, every day.
Isaiah 56:7 (New International Version) 7 these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations."
Mark 11:17 (New King James Version) 17 Then He taught, saying to them, "Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ "
The call will grow from that of the forerunner to that of the entire body. We will all find ourselves embracing prayer as our primary ministry.
- The prophetic: My heart breaks over the extreme restraint and misunderstanding regarding the prophetic in our nation’s churches. It’s vital that we discover the importance of the Rhema Word of God. God is continually communicating in a variety of powerful, and sometimes subtle, ways. The only way we will find ourselves energized, precise and continually effective is if we continually hear God’s voice. What I feel is Christianity 101 and a mandatory, first year class of the Holy Spirit for every believer has been delegated to an optional, underemphasized extra-curricular activity for a minority of believers.
Revelation 1:10 (New King James Version) 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet,
As we live our lives in the Spirit (which is a direct outcome of praying as a primary ministry) we will hear God. Period. All of us. Now, we all won’t hear the same thing all of the time. God will reserve certain messages for certain people. However, every one of us hears! As we see our small groups, Sunday services, prayer meetings and other ministries launching off of the platform of agreed, prophetic prayer, the lid will blow off the top!
A key point; the Bible will answer some questions directly and with great clarity, while it will give us a more involved process of discovery for other questions. The process of discovery that some questions demand must include a variety of inputs, including prophecy while other clearly addressed issues require no further counsel or a process of discove
ry at all.For example, if we have the question, “Should I get drunk tonight?”, the Bible gives a clear answer and no further process of discover is necessary.
Ephesians 5:18 (New King James Version) 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,
However, there are many, many daily questions that are not specifically addressed in scripture. For example, what if you wanted to travel to a certain city for a vacation or for ministry? How can you know whether it’s the time and season to do so? What steps of preparation should you take?
Acts 16:6 (New International Version) 6 Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.
That’s the key point here. Just like Paul, we must hear God’s voice and be led and kept by the Holy Spirit as we make our decisions and live our lives. The Bible gives us a clear process of discovery, and this process includes seeking wise counsel, surrender of our own will, repentance, at times laying out fleeces, etc. Add to this prophecy. What is God saying?
Now, consider this prophetic reality as we think about the development of the house of prayer. I regularly teach about the trap of being limited by the grocery list of prayer requests. I call it ‘addiction to petition’. We see with our eyes what’s seemingly obviously in need of prayer and we then pray according to our natural senses. This is not inherently bad. There is honor is petition, and at times it’s fully appropriate.
However, it would make no sense to pray, for example, for God to bring revival to our church, or to heal a relative’s bum knee on the very night that God revealed prophetically that we are to pray against an impending terrorist attack in Washington D.C. It would be horribly irresponsible to not drop everything and intercede for Washington D.C. and our nation.
That’s a dramatic example, but you can adjust the circumstances any way you’d like and you’ll always come up with the same answer. Pray what’s on God’s heart for that moment. We might be tempted to pray for financial breakthrough in our own life when God’s heart is desiring us to contend for an orphan in Thailand- or vice versa.
- Dynamic development: I won’t spend much time here, but it’s worth considering. Though we must never violate the original core vision for t
he ministry you’ve been called to, it will be stretched and developed. God will emphasize and deemphasize certain aspects in certain seasons. Others will bring elements to the table, some of which should be entertained, some of which should not. I know this is a simple point, but I’ve seen visionless leaders either sticking to the same thing for decades, or hopelessly diving into the latest church fad in the hopes of finding traction. We must dynamically develop in direct response to the prophetic voice of God. As we pray, we must expect to hear God as leaders about next steps. We must expect change, and put our sacred cows at risk of extinction.
- Distinctive leadership: Contrary to what many are crying out for, God is not done with distinctive leadership. In fact, I believe God is raising up prophetic, dynamic leaders who are broken, humble, bold and ferocious. As we hear God well, we must also respond well. We can’t form our ministries around the demands and desires of any group or person other than God. As we are willing to take the risk, to fail, to struggle, to face the pressure of ridicule, all while keeping a healthy, happy heart, God will, in time, shine through us. Amos 3:3 is important for all of us. We must be unified as we walk together. We find how this is possible in Amos 3:7. God will reveal his secrets to his servants the prophets. What does this mean? God will reveal his plans to his leaders, and the rest of us undergird him or her and follow them with zeal. As this happens, we will see houses of prayer that don’t only provide an outlet to pray, but that change the culture of cities.
- SPIM, The Strategic Prophecy & Intercession Management System: I won’t take the time to explain the ‘system’ right now, but suffice it to say that it’s a ‘God idea’ that will help facilitate the increase of prophecy in the global church. As we release people into their prophetic gifting (I like to call it their prophetic responsibility), this system will kick into action to measure, facilitate, steward and communicate the prophecies. Prophecies that are timely and accurate will then be compared with similar prophecies in other cities of the earth. This is an important invention that has some strong confirmation behind it. We must, must, must steward the hearts of the prophets! If we shut them down, as leaders, we will be held responsible.
- Blueprint Prophecy: You can see a drawing of the vision here. This is one of the most significant visions I’ve received regarding the establishment of the city church and the house of prayer. Simply, the call must be for every believer to primarily be in the place of prayer. The actual, practical involvement will vary as we each have specific DNA, but everything that we do must be bi
rthed out of the fire. It’s a call to personal and corporate revival. We pray always, we burn always. We cannot allow leaders in our churches or ministries to lead if they don’t pray hours and hours a week in the house of prayer. We cannot! One of my favorite Leonard Ravenhill quotes is, “Pastors who don’t pray two hours a day aren’t worth a dime a dozen.”
- City-church focus: This is a big topic, and it’s addressed well in my book 20 Elements of Revival. The core idea is this- we must understand the big picture. Imagine the roof of your local church expanded to cover the entire city. Under that roof, everybody is unified and organized. The house of prayer is central. The other functions flow out of that. Independent local church pastors of yesteryear are now on the staff or the city church and are responsible for leading their city church department well. We will find believers continually together in a variety of ministries through the week, and in the place of prayer every day. You can see an example of this here.
- 24/7 church: Every believer in the place of prayer every day corporately, and then involved in a variety of key ministries throughout the week. This is outlined in my book 20 Elements of Revival as well.
Acts 2:46-47 (New King James Version) 46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
Now, with all of this in mind, here are some possible (up for discussion?) non-negotiables of the house of prayer/global end-time prayer movement that I received from another house of prayer leader:
- Intimacy- Song of Songs, lengthy and daily times of being intimate with God
- Holiness & Repentance- Joel 2:15-16 (NKJV) 15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly; 16 Gather the people, Sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and nursing babes; Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber, And the bride from her dressing room.
- Revival- Called to be a model of revival for the nations. For us to not respond could have tragic international results.
- Prophecy- Huge! Clearly hearing God and responding and stewarding.
- Justice- Abortion, sanctity of marriage, etc.
- Forerunner Ministry
- Israel- GBF 100 million intercessors provoking Israel to jealousy
- End Times
