My ministry host in Guatemala had a House Church where every other week he invited us to come to. The first week that we went I had very few expectations. I had never been to a house church, but I figured it would be the same as a “regular” church just with fewer people in a house.
I was incredibly surprised within the first few minutes of my host explaining what we were doing and realizing that this was nothing like our Westernized structured church. I soon realized that this kind of church was something that I would do in college with my friends at my house. We never really had a name for it and it was never really organized, but they were really awestruck at times where worship and prayer would flow together like a beautifully composed symphony. There the presence of God wrapped around us, giving us sweet hugs of rest and safety.
My host explained his vision for the House of Prayer as worship and prayer coming together and equaling heavenly places (worship + prayer = heavenly places). He further explained this by using the wings of an eagle as an analogy. As he was talking about this vision, the Lord brought to my remembrance a dream (that was partially a memory from my childhood) I had just a week prior to this occasion. It was about my Papa, singing hymns to wake me up in the morning and praying with me before I went to bed. At the end of the dream my papa was soaring on wings like an eagle (I often think of my Papa and the wings of an eagle because bald eagles were his favorite) and the verse Isaiah 40:31 came to mind, “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles…”
In the middle of the House of Prayer, I was welting up with tears because I heard the Lord so clearly say that this kind of church (especially with the missionary life that I plan to keep living) is going to protect and renew my strength in the Lord; His ways and His promises.
House of Prayer is both worship and prayer flowing together through the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit and scripture. Using the eagle analogy, think of one wing as worship and the other as prayer. An eagle’s wings have three rows/sections: the first feathers are closer to the head, then the middle section, and the last section which has the longest feathers. For the wing representing worship Ephesians 5:19-20 says, “speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The first section of feathers attaches to the bone of the eagle and this is where the eagle’s strength of their wings are and can be presented as the psalms which is repeating scripture being our bone (foundational piece). The middle section of feathers is what supports the eagle and can be represented by hymns which are repairing songs solely based on scripture. The longest feathers are what allow the eagle to shift directions and move flawlessly through the wind and sky, the long feathers of worship are spiritual songs; this is where the Spirit comes in and can shift the direction of song. For the wing that represents prayer, 1 Timothy 2:1 talks about three kinds of prayer, petitions, intercession, and thanksgiving. Our prayers of thanksgiving are our first section of feathers because they are the backbone, petition prayers which is asking and requesting things to God are in the middle row of feathers, and intercession is being in agreement with God, with His word, and promises which can be represented by our long feathers because they give the direction of prayer.
As my host prayed us in and he started strumming his guitar and singing “Worthy of it all” the Lord directed me to read Psalms 27 over me and my team. As I’m reading it, I feel the Spirit so heavily put it on my heart to shout it out, especially verses 4-6, which says, “One thing I have asked of the Lord, and that I will seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord [in His presence] all the days of my life, To gaze upon the beauty [the delightful loveliness and majestic grandeur] of the Lord, And to meditate in His temple. For in the day of trouble, He will hide me in His shelter; In the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock. And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me. In His tent I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord,” (AMP Psalms 27:4-6). So I did (with a pounding heart), when there was only the sound of the guitar, I shouted this verse with all I had and then was asked to pray it over everyone in the house. This is a huge part of the House of Prayer (always known as the prayer room) is to have scripture read out loud and to pray scripture. We want to pray the Father’s will and praying scripture perfectly aligns our desires with God’s will, you can never go wrong in prayer when you are praying scripture out loud. It’s insanely powerful.
The purpose of the House of Prayer is to come together as a Christian community with one mind and one purpose, to praise and pray, to the Lord our God. Very much like using the model of Acts 1 where the disciples gathered together in the upper room to pray and worship. In fact, another name for the House of Prayer is Upper Room and Prayer Room. Looking throughout Acts, the early church was a community coming together in a house praying and worshiping (Acts 1; 2; 4:31; 12:12;13:2-3; 14:23). House of Prayer is the practice of what the early church looked like in Acts as well as the functions of the body of Christ foretold in Revelations chapter four and five.
Revelation chapter four (read the whole thing… like WOW, come on God) is one of my favorite chapters in the bible. It talks about how in heaven every living creature sings, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come,” (Revelations 4:8). They never get tired of singing praise to the God that is worthy of it all. This is a picture of heaven that we will be a part of someday, and practicing the House of Prayer is the closest I’ve ever come to this image on earth. Revelations chapter five (go and read the whole chapter, literally amazing) verses eight through fourteen expresses the importance of worship, praise, prayer, and intercession in sync, coming together. The House of Prayer is constantly flowing through the spirit in worship, praise, intercession, and the praying of scripture, the body of Christ comes together to worship and pray and share what God reveals. Everyone has a place to hear from God and share what God has put on their heart through scripture and prayer. What one person hears from God is just as important as what a ministry leader or an elder has hears from God, and all of it should be spoken out loud to build the body fully together and equal in their pursuit of Christ.
The House of Prayer is about truly remaining (abiding) in the Word and in His love through residing (dwelling) in the presence of God (John 15). It’s about taking the time to be a Mary, resting and listening at the feet of Jesus, before being a Martha (Luke 10:38-42) and doing Kingdom work (any work really); going out to minister, evangelize, pray for people, serve people, go to work. “Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her,” (Luke 10:42) because being a Mary is something that strengthens and protects our ability to do Kingdom work. Being a Mary is something that no one can take away from you, no matter the hardship, the prosecution, and the rejection one must go through to share the Gospel all the way to the ends of the earth.
As a missionary, this kind of church/dwelling place with the Lord is vital to maintain a strong connection to my Abba Father, and all I need to create this powerful space is my Bible. I not only practice this in my secret place individually with God but also with my team and entire squad. As a Worship leader (crazy I know, my squad leaders did indeed name me, of all people one of our worship coordinator), it’s something that we have been practicing as a squad and it’s been so amazing, and truly awe-inspiring. We did it many times during our debrief and teaching weeks before coming to Romania, and we are doing it in our teams here in Romania. It is very needed, especially in this place, Romania is heavy and full of spiritual warfare that is hitting my team hard. Finding this dwelling place in the midst of a crazy hard ministry schedule and the constant weariness is so hard, but it’s worth finding and being in because it protects us (Psalms 91) it restores our strength to endure and preserve through the hardship and the tiredness each day brings (Isaiah 40). We (my team/squad) know and understand the power that is held in the midst of worship and prayer coming together, and the production of intercession because we’ve experienced it. I truly believe that this kind of church is our main mission here in Romania. It’s a spiritual battle here and there are a lot of spiritual walls around this desolate and dry land that can only be torn down by the authority of the Lion speaking through our voices in deep and passionate worship, prayer, and constant intercession.
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