Tag Archives: Prayer Room

God’s Glory – Taking it into the Prayer Room

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11260948_967242630005511_931634998081476917_nTaking it into the Prayer Room

Have each person do the exercise prayerfully before meeting together as a group. Then meet together, open in prayer, and begin by reading the Sermon on the Mount together. Go through each of the questions, with each person sharing their individual answers. Take time to share the areas of heart transformation God is working on at present, how each one is responding to God’s invitation to great-ness, and what specific ways they want to see transformation in your city. Make a written list of these areas for prayer.

Then with Bible and instruments in hand, take it into the prayer room. Begin by spending time worshiping God. Then pray God’s Word from Matthew 5—7, bringing before Him specific areas of need and desire. Pray through your list of ways you want transformation in your city, mixing your requests with Scripture. Accept God’s invitation to greatness in prayer, both personally and corporately, as you pray your commitment to a House of Prayer in your city or church. Use the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-12 in your prayer. Thank God for what He is going to do through your House of Prayer, your church, and your city for God’s glory.

Positioning Your Life for Greatness

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11264013_963028303760277_6266662734616935759_nIn starting and maintaining Houses of Prayer we are seeking for God’s “well done” in our lives. We become involved with what God cherishes and esteems so highly. Establishing Houses of Prayer helps to bring God’s people into a love relationship with Him and helps them establish a close partnership with Jesus on earth. This brings glory to God in the deepest sense. Prayer is rooted in humility and takes time and energy. But when we do this, we are investing our time and energy in order to help others grow in righteousness, peace, and joy.

Let’s press on with diligence and faithfulness (Philippians 3:12-14). He will help each one of us to be faithful in the face of pressure, obstacles, and difficulty. He will help us endure the mundane and the smallness of working diligently day by day and week by week as we get started. This matters to Him. We are living for a Kingdom that cannot be shaken. It’s a daily adventure in pleasing God. It’s all part of His invitation to greatness in His Kingdom. This invitation brings transformation in every area of our lives. Our hearts and our thoughts are transformed.

We are living in a transitional time in all of history. The Holy Spirit is preparing us for a release of His glory upon the Church. There will be a mighty release of signs, wonders, and glory at the end of the age
(Joel 2:28-29). This will bring transformation. God is right now shaking everything that can be shaken in the nations (Haggai 2:6-7). He is inviting everyone to become great in His Kingdom. He designed us for this. True greatness will be fully manifested in the age to come, not here. It will be based on our heart’s response, and it is available to all (Matthew 5:19; 20:26-27; 23:12).

Let’s seek God in all that we do with a childlike faith and a humble heart. He is transforming our hearts and our minds. It’s time to see life from His perspective because it is so far higher than ours. Let’s position our life for greatness in His Kingdom and accept this wonderful invitation.

I was sitting in the back of the International House of Prayer. I was looking at hundreds of young people who were accepting God’s invitation to greatness with glad hearts. They were intently seeking God in the secret place. They were giving Him their time and energy with heartfelt abandonment. It was powerful.

“Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me” (Matthew 18:4-5).

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

Growing in Holiness in the Prayer Room

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11162215_965501473512960_7315828621338825940_nIn the prayer room we learn to hunger after God, we grow in purity of heart, we learn to become peacemakers, and we grow in meekness. God brings inner and outer transformation. Then we take Him with us out into the marketplace, and people are drawn to the Holy Spirit living within us.

The prayer room helps us to become great in God’s eyes rather than man’s. It helps us to pursue the journey to greatness. As you attempt to get involved in His House of Prayer in your city or church, realize that it requires humility and a servant’s lifestyle daily
(Matthew 20:26-27). Those who lead in Houses of Prayer open the way to God’s pathway of greatness. They must be willing to go through difficult and refining situations that seem unbearable at times—but are so worth it (Isaiah 48:10).

Jesus went through the cross for the joy set before Him. We must trust God’s leadership, and live in His grace and for His glory (1 Cor. 12:8-10; 2 Corinthians 4:17; Romans 818). We are partnering with Him and are seeking heavenly rewards instead of earthly ones (Matthew 6:1-20).

I heard about a famous professional baseball player who said that the aim of his life was to hear his manager say to him, “You are the greatest player I have ever coached.” He was motivated by the hope that one day he would hear his manager’s affirmation. He was waiting for that day. How many multitudes of athletes feel like this? But how much more should we as Christians be motivated by the hope that one day we will hear our Master’s affirmation. One day we will hear him say to us personally:

“Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” (Matthew 25:21).

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

People are Attracted to Intimacy and Love

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10407494_964089923654115_5859114877055829784_n-2People are attracted to intimacy and love. They want to know what is real. According to a publishing house that has been in the romance business for half a century, more than 180 romance novels are purchased each year. This publishing house sold, on average, five and one-half books per second! People are desperately looking for love, and so often they look in the wrong places. Mother Teresa, whose life was a demonstration of love and who has impacted the multitudes in India, said:

“We need to find God, and He cannot be found in noise and restlessness. The more we receive in silent prayer the more we have to give in our active life.”

We receive God’s love in the prayer room and give it away outside to the needy world in which we live. God’s love touches people’s hearts in remarkable ways right where we live.

On April 6, 2000, Ricky and Toni Sexton were taken hostage inside their home by a fugitive couple on a crime spree. Toni took her poodle outside when suddenly Dennis and Angela Tanner roared into her driveway, pointed pistols at her, and yelled for her to get back inside the house.

Trapped inside their house as hostages, the Sextons showed the love of Christ to the couple. They listened to their troubles—read from the Bible—showed them Gospel videos—and prayed and cried with them. During negotiations with the police, Ricky refused his own release when the Tanner’s suggested committing suicide to end their standoff. But before finally surrendering, something remarkable happened. Angela Tanner left $135 and a note for the Sextons that said:

Thank you for your hospitality. We really appreciate it… Wish all luck and love. Please accept this. It really is all we have to offer. Love, Angela and Dennis. 

This couple was touched and disarmed by the power of love they experienced in Ricky and Toni’s life. The world will recognize our authenticity when our love is expressed in sacrifice, purity, and serving. A transformation took place because of the disarming power of love. God wants to remove everything that hinders love in our lives. He wants to establish His dwelling place and bring His presence on earth (Psalm 132:2-5). Our intimacy with the Lord will go on throughout all of eternity.

Intimacy is a journey. It requires time and has seasons of highs and lows.

It doesn’t come automatically but must be cultivated over years of pursuing God day-in and day-out. We must faithfully and earnestly seek God all the days of our life. In the prayer room we position our hearts to seek after God, and our hearts are transformed day-by-day into the likeness of Christ.

The other day when I was praying and worshipping God in the Global Prayer Room at the International House of Prayer, I looked around at the individuals sitting there. They were all shapes and sizes, mainly young. The worship was so beautiful as it always is. I watched some with uplifted hands, others gazing intently upward, and others praying softly. I felt so privileged to be there at that moment, and I thought to myself:

These people love God so much! This is the real thing. Nothing is greater than this.

Let’s give ourselves to loving God. It will lead to loving others outside the prayer room in the everyday world where we live and work. Houses of Prayer are God’s strategic way to bring transfor-mation into our hearts and our cities. It’s time we seek to grow our hearts and watch it affect every area of our life for God’s glory.

“Loving God with all our heart is the greatest commandment because it is the one that encompasses all else. It is the one that steadily takes over every area of our lives, from our thought life, our words, our relation-ships; to the way we spend time and money. If we truly give ourselves to loving Him entirely, we will in time love our neighbor as ourselves and be given to extravagant service, yet with a heart burning in the sustaining fire of intimacy.” Dana Candler

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

Kingdom Life – Taking it into the Prayer Room

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11246593_964162010313573_5345612100422823544_nTaking it into the Prayer Room

Meet together as a group and study  this  together. Then prayerfully answer the life application questions. Brainstorm about how you can prepare for a one-month House of Prayer in your city. This may take more than one time of meeting together.

Decide who will be responsible for the different jobs that need to be done. Carefully decide on a neutral place. The Holy Spirit will give you His step-by-step plan, and an agreement with His plan, as you regularly pray together. Pray and be alert to any who God may lay on your heart to join your group.

With Bible in hand and some worship music, take it into the prayer room. Begin having weekly prayer meetings leading up to the one-month House of Prayer. Write down what God says to you in your prayer meetings. He will give you His strategy for your city, but you must consistently pray together. Pray about all the details. Pray about the participation of the churches in your city.

When we have a one-month House of Prayer, we spend several months planning and praying. We bring in several intercessors from other countries to cover the hours. You will need to bring in many people from various churches within your city to cover the hours. You will probably not get 100% participation, but thank God for all the churches who join together for prayer. Others will join in later. If you are having a one-week or weekend House of Prayer in your church, adapt all of this accordingly. Remember, you don’t have to start big.

Just start!

Heartfelt Action – Taking it into the Prayer Room

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11329842_966469080082866_4753253200916526631_nTaking it into the Prayer Room

Get together with an individual or group and discuss the application assignment together after first having done it alone. Take extra time to discuss Paul and Silas’s example and how you can bring intercession into your city through the ways suggested. Evaluate your city in the area of watchful prayer. Discuss ways you can take heartfelt action in reaching your city both individually and as a group. Have an action plan of some form of outreach you can do as a group.

Then take it into the prayer room by beginning with a time of praise and worship. Pray through the verses in John 15 about abiding in Christ. Cry out to God to help you learn how to be watchmen for your city. Use the list of questions in this life application, and pray for God’s help to overcome any weaknesses you may each have when you intercede for your city. Pray through the areas where you need walls of protection and boundaries in your city. Ask God to raise up other watchmen for your city. Pray through the various ways you will take heartfelt action in reaching your city. Be specific. Pray through your action plan.

An Awakened Heart

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11260948_967242630005511_931634998081476917_nFor those who have kept intimacy with God as their primary assignment, fruitfulness will flow. We bring God with us to a lost and dying world. He energizes us with His life as we go forth, and we realize that time spent with Jesus has empowered us. It is worth it to seek the Lord’s face. As we go forth from the prayer room, let’s pray this prayer found in Tom Tenney’s book called The God Chasers:

“Father, we confess that we want to see change in our lives and in our church so that we can bring about change in our city. Give us such a heart and passion after You that we may begin to see your glory flow out of us to convict and save the lost. Release your presence through us as You did through Charles Finney when he walked through factories and saw workers drop to their knees under Your glory and cried out for forgiveness although not one word had been spoken or preached. May the faintest shadow of Your presence in our lives heal the sick and restore the lame we meet in the streets. Let Your presence so saturate us that unsaved guests can’t step into our homes or be around us with unrepentant hearts. May Your glory bring conviction in their lives that lead to salvation—not because of the words we say but because of Your presence and power in our hearts.”

God is awakening our hearts in the prayer room. That’s why it’s good to have your prayer room outward-looking. Maps, globes, news about missionaries, and many other things can give it an outward focus.

We’ve had one-week Houses of Prayer where unsaved friends and family’s names were taped up on one wall and the local pastors names on another wall. We had evenings in our prayer room where we focused on praying for the sick. In all these demonstrations of loving prayer we are showing earth that our God reigns supreme. We are bringing the reality of heaven to earth.

“The wake up call is now being sounded for the greatest force for truth and righteousness that has yet been released on the earth. It is now time to show the earth that heaven exists. All that we know on earth is but a shadow of the reality that is in heaven. We are called to bring reality to earth so that men will seek God.” Rick Joyner

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

United Prayer – Taking it into the Prayer Room

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11701226_990322364364204_1884118167031320414_nTaking it into the Prayer Room

Meet together and study the verses, thoroughly answering each question as a group. Carefully discuss the “Keys in Antiphonal Singing.” Then put together a prayer and worship team, designating who will be the intercessors and who will be the antiphonal singers. Choose a leader for the intercessors and a leader for the worship team. Pray through some of the apostolic prayers of Paul (Romans 15:5-7, 13; 10:1; 1 Cor. 1:4-8; Ephesians 1:17-19; 3:16-19; Philippines 1:9-11; Colossians 1:9-12; 4:2-4; 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13; 5:23-24; and 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12; 3:1-5).

Then take it into the prayer room, and practice with the intercessors praying the Word and the antiphonal singers responding to the Word through singing short phrases. Have the musicians play their instruments throughout this prayer time. After your one or two hours in the prayer room, come out and have a time to debrief and evaluate your prayer time. What did you do right and wrong? How can you improve in the future? In closing, pray the prayer for unity.

Wisdom – Taking it into the Prayer Room

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11017668_964162400313534_4613183786382334611_nTaking it into the Prayer Room

After having completed the application assignment alone, get with a group and go through the points together. Discuss practical wisdom that you can apply in the prayer room, your personal action plans that you will apply individually, and guidelines in starting a House of Prayer. Evaluate and assess your city and Christian community.

Then with the Bible and some musical instruments such as a guitar or keyboard, take it into the prayer room. Begin with praise and thanksgiving before praying through some of the Scriptures for your city (Psalm 25:4-5; 43:3-4; Ephesians 3:8b-11; Colossians 1:9-10; 2:2-3). Pray through the evaluation and assessment of your city that you made together with others, bringing to the Lord areas that are weak in your community. Pray for a Spirit of wisdom and revelation using your memory verses (Ephesians 1:17-19a).

Ask the Lord to help you apply the guidelines in starting a House of Prayer in your city. Pray specifically through several of the guidelines and points of wisdom. Pray that God helps each one of you to apply your prayer action plan. Pray that He helps each of you to develop a dynamic prayer life in the prayer room. Thank Him for what He will do in your city. End with praying “Our Prayer for Wisdom in Developing a House of Prayer.”

How to Practice Wisdom in the Prayer Room

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11403171_990321821030925_1910952849621166331_nWisdom in Prayer Life Application

We’ve looked at how treasures of wisdom are released in Houses of Prayer. We’ve discovered how to develop a dynamic prayer life in the prayer room, and learned important guidelines in starting a House of Prayer. Carefully review about wisdom in the prayer room and answer the following:

  • What practical wisdom will you apply in the prayer room? – Write a paragraph that specifically relates to you and is something you can look back on as a reminder.
  • Spend time daily this week praying the following Scriptures over your city – Psalm 25:4-5; 43:3-4; Ephesians 3:8b-11; Colossians 1:9-10 and 2:2-3. Write down any insight and wisdom you have received from God through praying these verses for your city.
  • How do you plan to develop a dynamic prayer life in the prayer room? – What will be your personal action plan? Take some time and write down your action plan specifically. Look at the prayer wisdom given in this wisdom section, and adapt it to your action plan. For example, a personal Bible plan, praying the apostolic prayers, making a prayer list, praying for wisdom, social issues, etc.
  • Picture with the eyes of faith what God wants to do in your life, your ministry, and in your city – Write a prayer bringing this picture before God.
  • Study carefully the guidelines in starting a House of Prayer – Write down any ideas and concerns as you look at when and where you should have it, length of time, creative approaches, who should be involved, what you can handle, etc. Share and discuss this with other like-minded people.
  • Evaluate and assess your city and Christian community – Pray with other like-minded people regarding the following: a consistent start, a faithful team, dedicated intercessors and worshippers, careful planning and clear guidance, and the training and motivating of intercessors. What areas do you need to work on the most?

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC