The Baby and the Bathwater: Sifting Through IHOPKC Teachings & Practices

Examining The Concepts of Prophetic Histories, Prayer Rooms, the Harp & Bowl Model, 24/7 Prayer and More

As a young adult, I wanted to relocate to IHOP-KC to study at their school and serve in their 24/7 prayer room. However, God never let me leave North Carolina. So I spent the last 16 years launching prayer rooms here in NC and serving presence-centered communities across America through media publication, Bible teaching, and networking.

In retrospect, I’m very grateful I never moved to Kansas City. I have watched from afar as current and former IHOPKC staff and students deal with the pain and trauma of the scandal involving Mike Bickle and other former leaders there. The recent report from the third-party investigation by Firefly opened old wounds for many who had been hurt by the abusive leadership culture at IHOPKC that was exposed publicly in October 2023. I will save you the details of the unfolding drama that has ensued since that time. It has been chronicled elsewhere. But it has been a huge mess.

My heart breaks for those who were abused and hurt. Many of the victims’ stories were shared in the public report, and some have recently revealed more details on podcast interviews or social media. It’s safe to say that thousands of others were impacted on various levels by the unhealthy culture and prophetic manipulation that was taking place under Mike Bickle’s leadership at IHOPKC. Let me say clearly that anyone who engages in sexual abuse is not fit for leadership in the Church. I am grateful I was never close enough to IHOPKC to be deeply affected by it like those who were a part of that local community in Kansas City.

I don’t normally comment on Christian news headlines and scandals. I prefer to stay focused on what God has given me to do rather than what’s happening everywhere else. My only commentary on this situation in the last year and a half was a Presence Pioneers podcast conversation with Jonathan Friz. I continue to stand by what I said there, but I believe it is time for me to say a bit more.

My Limited Connections to IHOPKC

I was never close enough to the ministry to be aware of its dark underbelly, but in hindsight, I regret promoting IHOPKC and Mike Bickle. I don’t know anyone who went to IHOPKC because of me, but it’s possible that happened. If so, I am very sorry for encouraging anyone to go somewhere where they could have been abused.

Over the years, I promoted some of Bickle’s books and quoted him in my books. I listened to dozens of his sermons. I interviewed some of IHOPKC’s staff on the Presence Pioneers podcast. Former IHOPKC leader Allen Hood endorsed my Enjoying Prayer book. However, I never had a significant personal relationship with anyone who was a senior leader at IHOPKC. When I was on staff with Awaken the Dawn, we partnered directly with IHOPKC on a few events. During these events, I met Mike briefly a few times. But that was the extent of my connection.

My biggest related influence was that we had Kirk Bennett and some of his team (from Zadok Hosue of Prayer in Charlotte, at the time) come to Greenville, NC around 2007-2009 to help us when we were launching our first prayer room. Kirk worked with Bickle for decades and later returned to IHOPKC to be on the leadership team there. Kirk’s teachings had a major impact on me in those early years of ministry — much more so than Bickle’s. Bennett’s messages about the priesthood, Bible meditation, and the Tabernacle of David were very helpful. I always said I was more influenced by ZHOP than IHOP.

Sifting Through IHOPKC Teachings & Practices

With all that said, I would like to comment on how I am sifting through the teachings and practices of IHOPKC that have influenced me and many others. I’m making these statements as someone who has only been influenced by their ministry from a distance rather than one who was a part of their organization. I hope those in the same position as me will benefit from my processing below. Those who were IHOPKC staff or students may need to sift through things differently than I have.

Mike Bickle’s Books and Sermons

In light of the abuse, lies, and manipulation that have been uncovered, I am personally discarding Mike Bickle’s written and recorded teachings and will avoid referencing them in the future. While some of what he taught is biblical, I plan to find encouragement and insight on those same topics from other teachers. There are many other amazing books and teachings on intimacy with God, prayer, and the end times.

While I no longer see a need to reference Bickle’s resources, I can still be thankful for how God used IHOPKC to encourage me and help me grow in God’s word. Just because one of the places I encountered a certain biblical truth was through a deceitful leader doesn’t mean that those ideas are incorrect. God is willing to work through imperfect, and even deeply flawed, individuals. The apostle Paul celebrated that the Gospel was being preached, even though the preachers had sinful motives.

The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice. Philippians 1:16-18

Likewise, I rejoice in how the truths of Scripture were proclaimed through IHOPKC’s flawed leaders. However, I also recognize that some of the vessels through which those truths came were not always pure. Because we now know more about the deceit and immorality that happened behind the scenes, it is worth sorting through what we have received from IHOPKC to determine if it is biblical — to test everything and hold to what is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

Prophetic Histories

One of the unique parts of IHOPKC’s culture was their use of what Bickle called a “prophetic history” — essentially a collection of stories that Mike told about the early years of his ministry leading up to the launch of IHOPKC. The stories were dramatic, miraculous, and prophetic. Despite Bickle’s claims that they did not base their ministry on prophecy, the stories were used in an unhealthy and unbiblical way with some of the students, staff, and interns to manipulate them into serving the organization. I am personally discarding IHOPKC’s “prophetic history” and any other stories that depend on Mike Bickle as the source, as he has proven untrustworthy.

I only listened to IHOPKC’s prophetic history series a few times, and it had little impact on my life and ministry. The story was exciting and inspiring, but it was only one of the many stories in the global prayer movement that inspired me. I also read in Red Moon Rising how God miraculously launched the 24-7 prayer movement with Pete Greig in the UK in 1999. I read in The Purple Pig about Dick Eastman’s vision in the 70s that led him to start a 24/7 prayer house in Sacramento during the Jesus People movement. I read in Digging The Wells of Revival how God spoke to Lou Engle about hosting 24/7 prayer in LA in the mid-90s. In fact, anyone I ever talked to who led a prayer room had their own supernatural stories of how He led them to start hosting day and night prayer in their cities.

I always saw the IHOPKC prophetic history as their own stories for their ministry, not mine. I wanted to get my own stories. I wanted God to speak to me and our local community. I wanted Him to confirm His will for our lives. I longed to see miracles for myself, and I have! He’s still speaking today. He’s still writing my prophetic history. I don’t need Mike Bickle’s stories to follow Jesus in my own life and ministry.

24/7 Prayer

The idea of day and night prayer did not start with IHOPKC, and it will not end now. It started in heaven (Revelation 4:8). It’s in the Bible. It’s coming to earth. Day & night prayer will precede the return of Jesus (Luke 18:7-8, Isaiah 62:6-7), and I plan to continue to promote this concept. This is a no-brainer for me.

When I first heard teachings about 24-7 prayer in the mid-2000s, my heart was stirred, but I was also skeptical. I am generally suspicious and need things to be proven before I accept them (I am an INTJ on Meyers-Briggs and an Enneagram 5). I want the data, the footnotes, and the research. Otherwise, I don’t believe you. This questioning led me to years of study and research around the topic, both biblically and historically. I came out on the other end convinced of the power and importance of day and night worship and prayer. Those years of study ultimately led to my book David’s Tabernacle.

Somewhere along that journey, I recall telling my wife that if Mike Bickle ever renounced the idea of 24/7 prayer and closed IHOPKC, I would pull out my Bible and argue the point with him. For me, I built the foundations of my conviction about 24-7 worship and prayer on loads of Bible verses and a plethora of extrabiblical sources, not just on one ministry that was promoting the idea. You can knock down one “pillar” that has influenced me (in this case, IHOPKC), but I have 200 more. I’m not shaken.

Every Christian does not have to be a part of a 24/7 prayer chain to be truly hardcore for Jesus. Every local church does not have to establish 24/7 prayer. But day and night prayer is biblical. It is powerful. And there’s no reason why any city or region with many Christians should not consider hosting an expression of non-stop prayer together.

Prayer Rooms

Many are using the scandal at IHOPKC to discredit the idea of a corporate prayer room with live worship. There are now hundreds, if not thousands, of prayer rooms around the world that host multiple worship-based prayer meetings every week. Some of those are open 24/7, some are open a few hours a week, and many are somewhere in between. Some use the term “house of prayer” to describe these prayer rooms. Presence Pioneers hosts a map of US prayer rooms at houseofprayerhub.com.

I believe prayer rooms are biblical. The early Jewish Christians continued to gather in the Temple in Jerusalem or in synagogues to pray at specified times (Acts 3:1). These were physical locations in their cultural context where people could gather to pray and seek the Lord. The Christians simply adopted those Jewish spaces and prayed to God in Jesus’ name. They also prayed together in homes (Acts 12:12) and at the riverside, which Luke calls the “place of prayer” (Acts 16:13).

It is biblical and wise to establish “places of prayer” in our cities and towns, with regular times where people can gather together to minister to the Lord in worship and intercession. I believe God is calling the Church to host God’s presence with corporate worship and prayer. Don’t let the failings of the leadership of one prayer room discount the value of participating in and leading a prayer room in your region.

Intercessory Missionaries

IHOPKC called their staff “intercessory missionaries”. They utilized a fundraising strategy that had been adopted by groups like YWAM and Cru, where the “missionary” staff member is responsible for raising money for the ministry to cover their salary. Intercessory missionaries typically spend at least half of their workweek serving and participating in the prayer room, with the other half of their time given to various types of ministry work. The idea is that the intercessory missionaries are serving the Great Commission (hence “missionary”) through their intercession (hence “intercessory”). Many other prayer rooms have utilized this same support-raising model to staff their ministries. I have personally used the term “prayer missionary” rather than “intercessory missionary.”

When viewing this approach to ministry staffing, two questions need to be addressed:

1. Is it biblical to be paid to pray?

2. Is the missionary-support-raising model biblical and wise?

The first question is pretty easy. Yes, it is biblical to pay ministers to pray. Here is a quote from my article “Getting Paid To Pray”:

There is actually a precedent throughout history and in Scriptures of those who engaged in this kind of ministry….

Like the full-time Levites of David’s tabernacle who offered prophetic, musical, 24/7 praise to the Lord for 33 years.

Like the early apostles who gave themselves to the word of God and prayer, pioneering new communities of God’s presence with the Gospel and the power of God.

Like the monks throughout the ages that gave themselves to simple lifestyles, long hours of prayer, fasting and service to others.

Like the Moravians who lived together, hosting a 24/7 prayer watch that lasted over 100 years, while sending their best and brightest as missionaries and martyrs to unreached people groups of the earth.

Like the revivalists and intercessors throughout Church history that gave themselves to extravagant expressions of worship & prayer, long hours in the Scriptures and whatever it took to see their generation encounter Jesus.

Like the thousands of prayer missionaries that are emerging across the nations of the earth in our day.

The second question about raising support is a bit more tricky. There’s nothing inherently wrong with the concept of missionary “partnership development” (a common term used for raising the required money to cover one’s salary). In practice, though, many of the IHOPKC staff were severely underpaid for their work. For one reason or another, they were not allowed, prepared, or able to raise the amount of funding that would provide them a livable salary. This led to an unsustainable lifestyle where many became burned out after a few years. Thousands of young people cycled in and out of the ministry. From what I understand, this sometimes happens in other places too.

The Bible says that a worker is worthy of His wages (I Timothy 5:18). Churches and ministries must recognize this biblical truth and develop sustainable ways to finance and staff prayer rooms that do not require people living in poverty or becoming burned out. I believe there are many ways to grow in this area that are beyond the scope of this article.

I have had to raise money for Presence Pioneers’ entire budget (including my salary) since 2007. We receive limited revenue from other sources (such as paid subscriptions), but our income is still 90% from donations. I am not opposed to raising funds for the ministry God has called you to do. I am not opposed to people being paid to pray. We just need to ensure we do it healthily and sustainably.

The Harp & Bowl Model

IHOPKC popularized a way to host prayer meetings with live worship music called the “harp & bowl model”. The name comes from Revelation 5:8 where the heavenly elders hold harps representing worship and bowls of incense representing prayer. I have taught the harp & bowl model for years, and I have found it to be helpful in hosting worshipful, prophetic, Bible-based, team-led prayer meetings. Many of the values behind the harp & bowl model are simply the values of David’s tabernacle. These include praying the Scriptures, prophetic worship, antiphonal singing, etc.

Harp & bowl is not the only way to host a prayer room or prayer meetings. It is not the “right” way or the best way. But it might be a good way, especially if you want to include live music and host extended hours of worship-based prayer. Perhaps it would be prudent to find a new term for this approach, to avoid the association with Bickle and IHOPKC. Personally, I like the phrase “worship-based prayer”. But regardless of terminology, I plan to continue to utilize a similar prayer model, as long as it's helpful, whenever we build prayer rooms.

The Prayer Movement

There is a real global prayer movement in the 21st century that is a lot bigger than anything that came out of Kansas City. By “movement”, I mean a legit move of God that is not orchestrated by any one organization, leader, or church. The Spirit of God is inviting the body of Christ to participate with Jesus in the restoration of David’s Tabernacle in our day.

Despite Bickle’s claim that the “prayer movement” was way bigger than IHOPKC, many of the staff, students, and followers of IHOPKC thought otherwise. Some adopted the false narrative that IHOPKC was the “hub” or the “source” of the global prayer movement. That idea is inaccurate. Certainly, IHOPKC had a huge impact and influence on many people, but many amazing prayer ministries were never influenced by them. And as I said before, anyone I know who has launched a prayer room has their own stories of how God has spoken to them directly. It’s all part of a Spirit-led wave of prayer in the 21st century.

I believed Bickle when he said IHOPKC was only a small part of the global prayer movement. So I started digging again. Through internet research, my roles serving with national prayer ministries, my podcast interviews, and friendships with other leaders, I now have a clearer (although still limited) perspective on what God is doing in the prayer movement. I promise you: it’s real. And it’s historic. This has never happened before.

Day and night prayer is arising across the world. God is doing it. And there’s nothing we can do to stop it. Of the hundreds of leaders I’ve met through the years, they do it because they love Jesus and the Holy Spirit has spoken to them to do it — not because a celebrity preacher has told them to do it. They are just following the Lord.

I will continue to promote the ideas of a presence-centered Church along with day-and-night worship & prayer. Because it’s in the Bible. It's in heaven. And it should be on earth. I won’t stop. And neither will the global day-and-night prayer movement. God is doing it sovereignly, and we can choose to be a part of it. It's real, it's global and it's so much bigger than Bickle, IHOPKC, or any of us. Praise God!