Launching Out with God

October 14, 2015 DebbieLynn 46 Comments

“The launch event is a fantastic opportunity to create momentum that will last for days in the prayer room. We’ve often observed that a well-launched prayer room continues to impact the group for a long time afterward. You’ll also be surprised at how many people are still only just beginning to get their heads around the 24-7 idea by the time of the launch—no matter how diligently you’ve sought to raise awareness.” Peter Greig and David Blackwell

When you finally do launch your House of Prayer, it’s a big moment for your church and your city. Put some thought into the actual launching and conclusion of your House of Prayer. Make it a real event. We’ve had opening celebrations launching our one-month Houses of Prayer. And we’ve had grand finale celebrations with times of worship, testimony, and food at the end. They all have been very significant events.

At the launch, make sure you have at least the first three days filled. If not, recruit people at the meeting. Give people a positive vision for your House of Prayer. We ceremonially lit the first candle and had lots of worship. You may want to have a countdown. A group of young people in Mexico opened the doors of the prayer room and threw a feast with fajitas and tortillas for everyone! There is no limit to what you can do.

There are so many ways to end your House of Prayer. At the end of our month-long House of Prayer we had many of the local pastors share and give testimonies. They gave motivation for future Houses of Prayer and made sure everyone knew that this wasn’t the end. It was really only the beginning. Everyone celebrated with excited and fervent worship. It was a great accomplishment to all involved.

Whatever you do, make sure it’s a joyful occasion. It’s good to debrief as well and get feedback, share stories, deal with any disappointments, and talk about the possibility of doing it again.

God desires Houses of Prayer in every city around the world. He wants His people to welcome His Kingdom into their city. He is prompting people just like you to gather with other like-minded people and pray towards this goal. He wants us to cry out to Him day and night. We read in Lamentations 2:18-19:

“The hearts of the people cry out to the Lord. O wall of the Daughter of Zion, let your tears flow like a river day and night; give yourself no relief, your eyes no rest. Arise, cry out in the night, as the watches of the night begin; pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint from hunger at the head of every street.”

Even though there is a lot of work involved, it’s worth it all. People’s lives are changed as they encounter God. Let us pray together for this worldwide prayer movement to grow in every nation. In his book, E. M. Bounds on Prayer, Bounds motivates us to make God’s house a House of Prayer.

“The life of the church is the highest life, and its office is to pray. Its prayer life is the highest life, the most fragrant, and the most conspicuous. When God’s house on the earth is a house of prayer, then God’s house in heaven is busy and powerful in its plans and movements. ‘For mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people’ (Isaiah 56:7), says God. Then, His earthly armies are clothed with the triumphs and spoils of victory, and His enemies are defeated on every hand… The very life and prosperity of God’s cause—even its very existence—depend on prayer. And the advance and triumph of His cause depend on one thing: that we ask of Him.” E. M. Bounds

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC