The Importance and Impact of Houses of Prayer
And Three Common Mistakes House of Prayer Leaders Make
God is sovereignly orchestrating a worldwide day-and-night prayer movement in the 21st century, and houses of prayer are one unique expression of this worldwide phenomenon. The term ”house of prayer” was originally used by Jesus to describe God’s people (Isaiah 56:7, Matt. 21:13), and in recent years the term has also come to identify a specific kind of Christian community that gathers throughout the week for multiple hours of corporate prayer.
What Is A House of Prayer?
In his How To Build a House of Prayer handbook, Brad Stroup defines “house of prayer” in this way:
“...a house of prayer is one that is defined by prayer; it is the primary thing that occurs there. It happens regularly or constantly…”
Houses of prayer (HOPs) can be local churches or parachurch ministries. They can be big or small, simple or complex. But the common thread is a desire to prioritize God’s presence through consistent, extravagant, worship-based prayer meetings.
These kinds of presence-centered communities are popping up around the world in the 21st century. There are hundreds of HOPs in America and thousands around the world who are gathering throughout the week to minister to the Lord with worship and prayer. Presence Pioneers Media hosts the HOPHub website with a map of prayer rooms to help track and locate houses of prayer domestically.
The Importance and Impact of Houses of Prayer
A house of prayer is transformative not only for those who participate but also for the cities where they are established. The significant increase in prophetic worship and intercession in a locale begins to shift the spiritual atmosphere of a region, opening hearts to the Gospel, pushing back the demonic strongholds, and accelerating the activity of the Holy Spirit. Worship and prayer fuel evangelism, missions, and justice. In other words, when we ask God to bring his kingdom to the earth, He answers our prayers.
Not only are houses of prayer impacting their local regions, but they are part of the Lord’s plan to prepare the earth for the return of Christ. The day and night prayer movement is a sign of the times. Jesus promised that before He comes again, His elect will cry out day and night for justice (Luke 18:7). Isaiah prophesied that before God “establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth” (at Christ’s 2nd coming), He will sovereignly set watchmen on the wall of day and night worship and prayer (Isaiah 62:6-7).
The end-times prayer movement will inevitably fuel an end-times missions movement. A vital component of God’s unfolding end-times plan is the fulfillment of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). Jesus promised that His return would occur only after every ethnic people group heard the Gospel (Matthew 24:14).
Therefore, houses of prayer are incubators of laborers for the harvest (Matthew 9:37-38). Like the Church at Antioch, as worshipers and intercessors minister to the Lord, the Holy Spirit speaks and sends believers out to proclaim the Gospel in neighborhoods and nations (Acts 13:2-3). As the nations are discipled to obey Jesus, the incense of worship and prayer arises “in every place” (Malachi 1:11), and the earth becomes prepared for Christ to return and fully establish His kingdom.
The How to Build A House of Prayer Handbook
This biblical backdrop demonstrates why it is so important for presence-centered communities such as houses of prayer to be launched, established, sustained, and fully funded. This is why Presence Pioneers Media has published Brad Stroup’s How to Build A House of Prayer: A Practical Guide to Launching and Leading Prayer Rooms. This handbook is available now from the Presence Pioneers store or on Amazon.
Brad Stroup has spent nearly twenty years developing a house of prayer “from the ground up” in Arlington, Texas. The handbook represents hard-earned lessons from his journey pioneering The Prayer Room DFW (which at the time of this writing is hosting 22 hours of live worship and prayer every day). It contains fourteen sessions laying out practical steps to establish and maintain a house of prayer – even with limited resources and influence. Whether you already lead a house of prayer or have a stirring in your heart to gather people to pray, this handbook will be an invaluable tool for you, filled with practical ideas and insights that have been proven to work.
Three Common House of Prayer Leadership Mistakes
Many of you reading this are already leading houses of prayer, serving at a house of prayer, or have a vision for a house of prayer in your city. Here at Presence Pioneers, we want to encourage you in the vision God has given you and provide resources for you to thrive in your unique role in the global prayer movement.
To encourage you in your leading or serving at a house of prayer, I want to summarize a portion of the How To Build A House of Prayer handbook. In session 4, The Call to Build God’s House, Brad points out the unique calling and investment required from the pioneering leader who steps out to build a house of prayer. He says:
“You, as the leader, are setting the example and the pace for what everyone else will follow. The enemy will launch all of his arsenal at you, but if God has called you then you are also equipped to withstand his attacks of discouragement, distraction, and — perhaps most painful of all — the small beginnings that remain small for some time.”
He also points out the three most common leadership mistakes for those seeking to launch and lead a prayer room. These are the failure to either 1) begin, 2) maintain, or 3) sustain.
1) Failure to Begin
Many people like the idea of a house of prayer, but they are hesitant to start prayer meetings. As I shared in a recent bonus podcast episode, strong prayer meetings are the building blocks of a presence-centered community and HOP. Stroup says bluntly:
“Don’t talk about prayer, do it.”
During the early years of pioneering our first house of prayer, a fellow leader gave me the wise advice to “build prayer with prayer.” You can not plan your way into a house of prayer. You can not strategize or work your way into a house of prayer. You can only pray your way into a house of prayer.
2) Failure to Maintain
In my experience, prayer meetings are one of the first things that churches, ministries, and individuals are willing to sacrifice if there is ever a busy season or a scheduling conflict. Prioritizing the presence of God requires that we sacrifice other things to sustain our times of ministry to the Lord.
Conflicts will come. Bad days will come. Other opportunities will arise. Yet the only way to build a house of prayer is through a steadfast commitment to be in the place of prayer, especially on the part of the senior leader. Brad says,
“Establishing prayer takes time, and it takes at least one person who is absolutely unmovable even if it means they are the only person in the room.”
3) Failure to Expand
Leaders must always be looking forward. They carry the unique challenge of stewarding and sustaining what’s been established while simultaneously building towards the future.
The truth is that simply “maintaining” your prayer ministry, without intentionally growing it, will cause your house of prayer to decline. Inevitably, people will move on, stop attending, and stop volunteering. This is normal. This natural process of attrition means that even sustaining existing prayer meetings requires your house of prayer to constantly expand its reach, even if that is a slow process (and it likely will be).
However, you don’t just want to sustain the existing prayer meetings but also add more hours of prayer and worship to your calendar. How can you keep building towards the heavenly reality of unceasing worship and prayer? The vision of day and night prayer around the throne of God will keep the house of prayer leaders pressing toward growth and expansion — to see the reality of heaven on earth.
These three common leadership mistakes which I have summarized only cover two pages from one of the fourteen sessions in Stroup’s How To Build A House of Prayer handbook. There is so much more! This unique resource is an invaluable tool for presence-centered leaders, staff, and volunteers who are building houses of prayer. Check it out today.
P.S. For those who prefer to listen, check out the House of Prayer Leadership podcast with Brad Stroup, featuring several practical teaching sessions for HOP leaders.