What is the International House of Prayer?
My heart burns as I invite you to partner in the vision the Lord gave us: to equip people from all over the world to live overflowing lives of passion for Jesus and compassion for people. John the Baptist described himself as a “Friend of the Bridegroom” as he prepared the people for the first coming of the Lord. Today, in the same way John functioned in a forerunner spirit, the Holy Spirit is raising up ministries which are preparing Jesus’ Bride for His second coming. At the International House of Prayer (IHOP) in Kansas City we embrace fervent intercessory prayer and worship with daily fasting as a foundation for effective outreach to the lost and poor. I deeply believe that unceasing intercession and fasting make outreach more effective.The IHOP Missions Base is committed to Prayer (intercession, worship, healing, prophesying), fasting (covering 365 days a year), the Great Commission (proclaiming Jesus to all nations), and the Forerunner Spirit (preparing the Church as a Bride for the unique dynamics of the End Times). Our work includes equipping and sending thousands of missionaries as dedicated intercessors and evangelists working to see revival within the Church and a harvest among the lost. We are consumed with the mandate to train believers to love Jesus and others wholeheartedly as they go forth preaching the Word, healing the sick, serving the poor, and planting houses of prayer across the earth.At the heart of our Missions Base is a prayer furnace engaging in continuous 24/7 prayer with worship. Anna was the first evangelist and forerunner in the New Testament who prayed and fasted for over sixty years before Jesus’ first coming (Luke 2:37). King David organized 4,000 musicians and 288 singers to worship God twenty-four hours a day (1 Chronicles 23–25). On September 19, 1999, a group began to pray and worship twenty-four hours a day with zeal to more effectively win the lost. Currently, we have over 400 full-time staff committed to do what Anna and David did. Our vision is an intercessory missions base that mobilizes 5,000 full time “intercessory missionaries” to be sent out to evangelize, serve the poor, and plant houses of prayer.The Lord is sending thousands of young people to us. We best train them by providing a place for them to experience 24/7 prayer, fasting and worship that flows from enjoying intimacy with Jesus as their bridegroom God, and then to give them practical hands-on training in outreach.
In 1727, an intercessory missions base was established in Germany by Count Zinzendorf. They began prayer meetings that continued twenty-four hours a day for over one hundred years, resulting in the first Protestant missions movement in history, known as the Moravians. They discovered that night and day prayer releases evangelism and missions. To this we say, “Yes, Lord. Do this all over the earth, even in our day!”
What is an “Intercessory Missionary”?
As a full-time intercessory missionary, I work a minimum of 50 hours a week. My primary job is prayer. Isaiah 62 speaks of “setting watchmen on the wall”- those who would pray night and day never ceasing to remind the Lord of His promises. It is amazing that God has given us an audience with Himself. He actually does more when we ask Him. We can change history by our prayers. I am not undermining God’s sovereignty, I’m actually emphasizing it. To say that God chooses to allow us to partner with Him to fulfill His plans is extraordinary. God will fulfill everything He has promised even in spite of our weakness and failures. This is so opposite of how I think! If I know I’m the best person available for the job, then my tendency is to take it over. In God’s mercy, He said He will help us and teach us how to do His purposes. While God’s plans cannot be thwarted, He does leave room for us to change things. Abraham contended with God to save anyone righteous in Sodom and Gomorrah from destruction. Abraham’s prayers saved Lot’s life! After Jacob tricked Esau out of his blessing and fled from him, Jacob once again had to confront his brother. Jacob feared death when he passed through Esau’s land. He cried out to the Lord, reminding God of the exact words God said to him, “You will surely do me good, and make my offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted because of their number” (Genesis 32.12). God not only spared Jacob’s life, but abundantly blessed him through reconciliation with Esau as well. Prayer is so simple, which is what makes it difficult. We simply pray back to God what He has already said, called intercession. Jacob reminded God of His promise to him. Abraham reminded God of His character and nature, not because God forgot it, but as God’s divine strategy to cause the human heart to agree with and believe God. When we pray God’s words, it becomes written on our hearts. Faith comes by hearing (speaking, repeating, meditating on, asking for more understanding of) the Word of God. In the tabernacle of David, worshipers where charged with ministering to God night and day through worship. Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for studying the Word, doing all the disciplines, but thinking they were enough to produce righteousness; yet they would not go to Jesus to find life. One way we encounter the Lord is by turning the reading of the Word into dialogue with God. In short, prayer is intimacy with Jesus. A friend told me about a vision she had and it changed my idea of prayer forever. She saw Jesus weeping in the garden and He looked over at her and said, “Will you come and comfort me? Will you come and share my burden, will you listen to me and weep with me?” When I first heard this, I was so offended! “Me, comfort Jesus!? Impossible! What could I possibly give to God!” This is just what a friend does. They sit with you, they listen, they comfort, they laugh, they cry, they share in your burdens. This is what prayer is all about, becoming a friend of God.
Prayer is primary, but not all…
In addition to prayer, I teach at the Forerunner School of Ministry (FSM). I love praying for the students, encouraging them and learning with them. This is the only school I know of that has prayer as the center of their curriculum. In addition to a full load of classes, they are required to be in the prayer room for 24 hours each week. I love that! They take what they’ve learned in class and talk to the Lord about it. They sing it in worship and pray the truths on behalf of others. Henry Nowen said the original definition of theology was “Communing with God.” Just as Jesus said, knowledge and the disciplines will get us no where without meeting Jesus in the midst of our study.
I am a part of one of our Night-watch family groups, made up of 10-15 people that meet weekly for encouragement, prayer, fellowship and study as well as a Bible study that meets weekly to study. As far as leadership in the prayer room itself, I serve the room as a prayer leader. We serve the nations through prayer and encouragement by broadcasting the prayer meetings on TV and through the Webstream. This is one of my favorite functions at IHOP. Whether serving the room through intercession or scripture meditation, my heart increases in love for Jesus. Musically, I am a member of the community orchestra as a clarinetist. I am looking forward to further developing my skills as a musician, singer and song writer.
Why do I support raise?
As a missionary, I am seeking full support in order to fully give myself to the prayer movement and our generation knowing Jesus. I support raise so that others can partner with me in fueling the house of prayer, that we may keep prayer and worship unbroken until Jesus returns.
Through raising support, others fulfill their calling. God has blessed some to give and others to go. Joseph was prosperous and given wisdom to save an entire nation from famine. Once again we are in a time of famine. The word of God is rare in our land and God is calling for those who will stand together, both those who will give and those who will go to answer the hunger in our generation.
Purpose of the NightWatch: To Reclaim the Night For the Lord Picture: Bombay, India The night is particularly filled with all sorts of unfruitful deeds of darkness; our cities are filled with murder, sorcery, theft and immorality (Revelation 9:21). We want the night to belong to the Lord. Fragrance is released as we give Him our love and our devotion in the night. This changes the spiritual atmosphere over our cities.
“Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil” (John 12:3). Mary is a picture of extravagant devotion. While extravagant devotion is costly, the very mention of the cost is utterly despised (Song 8:7). The call to the NightWatch is a call to extravagant devotion. That is what is meant by, “Behold, bless the Lord” (Psalm 134).
Devotion in the night can be costly because of the dynamics of the NightWatch lifestyle. It’s the Lord’s desire to raise up a people who will love Him in the night. He longs for a company of people who will adore Him and tarry with Him through the watches of the night. On the night of His betrayal, the hour of judgment and salvation, He found none; but in these final hours of history, in the final hours of the escalation of judgment and the release of salvation, who will tarry with Him through the night?The NightWatch is a wilderness for forerunners (Matthew 25:6; Isaiah 40:3). The Holy Spirit is raising up a generation of forerunners all across the earth to prepare the globe for an unprecedented and historic release of divine activity. Just as the Lord led John the Baptist into the wilderness, we believe He will be leading a large company of people into the wilderness of intercession throughout the night. The NightWatch is not the only context in which forerunners will be raised up, but it will be a key component to raising up a voice. The Holy Spirit allures His people into the wilderness to encounter the Bridegroom and be transformed (Hosea 2:14–16). There are various types of circumstances in which the wilderness reality can exist. Some wilderness experiences take place in literal deserts. We see this in the lives of the saints of old like Moses, David and John the Baptist. Some wilderness experiences don’t take place in the literal desert but they are considered wilderness experiences nonetheless. We can see examples of this in the life of Joseph, Job and others. In these cases the wilderness experience is a season of intense pressure.The wilderness experience does not have to be any of the previously mentioned. The wilderness can be entered into by embracing the principles of voluntary weakness, like fasting, giving, prayer and solitude. Many people are allured into the wilderness and they enter in voluntarily, while others enter involuntarily (King David).The basic principle of the wilderness life is the embracing of weakness in exchange for divine strength. Divine strength is that which sustains the yearning and the longings of the heart. Divine strength also means the grace or the anointing to accomplish more in the Kingdom with greater effectiveness and impact (authority in preaching, healing the sick, casting out demons, grace to lead God’s people). The Spirit of revelation on the life of a believer is also a form of divine strength.The NightWatch calls for a lifestyle change that can make life uncomfortable; it is a social and physical fast. Many social dynamics and physical tiredness are hallmarks of doing the NightWatch. If we pay close attention to our bodies, we will notice that some of the same dynamics experienced during a food fast can be experienced during the NightWatch. We want to be people who embrace the NightWatch as a fast.“Behold, bless the LORD…” is a call to the contemplative reality of spending our lives before the Lord (Psalm 134:1; Luke 10:42). By the contemplative reality, we mean deep communion with God. Just like everything else in the Kingdom, our first call in the NightWatch is to love the Lord. He is calling us to the “one thing”. The one thing needed means the primary thing; deep communion with God is to be our preoccupation in the night, whether in worship, intercession or service. There are three “one thing” passages in Scripture:• Psalm 27:4 — desire defined: The one thing humanity desires is to see beauty, and the only beauty that will satisfy is the beauty of the Lord. We are created with a thirst for the eternal. One thing I desire…
• Luke 10:42 — desire satisfied: Desire is satisfied as we sit at His feet and let Him kiss us with the kisses of His Word and unfold the pleasure of His divine love to us (Song 1:2). One thing I need…
• Philippians 3:13 — the journey of desire: The journey of desire calls for the setting of a marathon pace. One thing I do…
