Creative Approaches

11018190_990332584363182_4240848183604782477_n“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in every one, it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good”
(1 Cor. 12:4-7).

There are so many creative approaches to 24/7 prayer all around the world. The same Spirit works so many different and creative approaches to Houses of Prayer. Some examples of various places are homes, basements, shacks, chapels, church buildings, offices, shopping centers, prisons, and dedicated prayer rooms.

Ask God to show you not only the right place, but the right timing. Plan carefully. Ask yourself, “Is this the best time when people will be in town?” Look at the big picture in your city. Are you building up to something bigger evangelistically in your community or church?

We had a month-long House of Prayer in our city right before the 400th anniversary of our nation and before a big evangelistic Graham Celebration. We chose this time very carefully, and it fit perfectly into what was happening—not only in our city—but also in our nation.

Maybe you are thinking about a continuous 24/7 House of Prayer in your city and want to start by creating a short season of prayer and then doing longer ones later. Remember that the local church is the primary cornerstone of the House of Prayer. Some churches and cities like to look at the seasonal approach to prayer. It’s better to quit when you’re ahead than to drag it on too long. You want to leave people hungry and eager for the next time.

Not only are there a variety of places, there are also a lot of different approaches to 24/7 prayer. Some like to sign up for one-hour slots or sets and fill in 24 hours. Some like two-hour sets. Think about how long individuals should be in the prayer room at one time in your House of Prayer.

Here at the International House of Prayer (IHOPKC), the staff is encouraged to spend two hours at a time in the prayer room. The NightWatch spend every night in the prayer room from midnight to 6:00 A.M. and love it. Perhaps one to four hours at a time should be the limit in the prayer room, though as you can see with the NightWatch, this isn’t a fixed rule.

Some churches like to cover a week of 24/7 prayer, or one day a week for a few months that can later grow into more days a month systematically. Churches can then come together with other churches that are doing the same thing. They can each take one day a week for an entire year. This becomes a 24/7, 365-day prayer watch that goes all year.

Young people are starting Houses of Prayer on college and university campuses and even children are mobilizing into prayer watches. People all over the world are becoming willing candidates for full-time prayer for various periods of time. God is presently raising up intercessory missionaries who make prayer their full-time occupation.

Even the names vary for Houses of Prayer. They can be called prayer rooms, 24/7 watches, prayer chains, boiler rooms, prayer towers, power houses, and prayer mountains, to name a few. And the focuses might vary from praise and worship, intercession and warfare, praying the Word of God, silent meditation and soaking prayer, praying for the nations, the needs of the community, the national needs, the local church, or any combination of these.

There is extreme creativity and uniqueness to each House of Prayer. Let’s not institutionalize what God is doing according to what we think is the right and wrong way of doing it. His House of Prayer is extraordinary. He is doing something that is fresh and alive, full of variety and creativity.

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

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