General Questions
- Where is the concept of the house of prayer found in the Bible?
- Wouldn't a house of prayer essentially be a local church?
- Is a certain prayer format important?
- Is a building or single location important for a house of prayer?
- Why are the concepts of Beauty and Enjoyable Prayer important for the house of prayer?
- Is a building or single location important for a house of prayer?
- How does music and singing fit into a house of prayer?
- What is the relationship between NHOP and...
Where is the concept of the house of prayer found in the Bible?
This is a pretty extensive topic! However, here's a quick overview. The phrase “house of prayer” is drawn from Isaiah 56:7, where it is used twice: Even those (foreigners) I will bring to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.
Jesus refers to this verse when casting the money changers from the temple, as recorded in Matthew 21:13, Mark 11:17, and Luke 19:46: And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it a den of robbers.'”
The heart of the house of prayer is perhaps best captured by David's heart cry in Psalm 27: One thing I ask of the Lord this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in His temple.
King David actually established one example of a house of prayer, called the “Tabernacle of David”.
While referred to in many parts of the Bible, the best description of this biblical house of prayer is found in I Chronicles 16:
(1) And they brought in the ark of God and set inside the tent which David had pitched for it...(4) Moreover, David appointed certain of the Levites as ministers before the ark of the Lord, to invoke, to thank, and to praise the Lord, the God of Israel...(37) So David left Asaph and his brethren there before the ark of the covenant of the Lord to minister continually before the ark as each day required...
We believe God is restoring the spirit and type of this expression of worship and prayer in a physical location.
The best picture of what the house of prayer strives for can be found in the book of Revelation, in the many descriptions of the redeemed gathered before the throne of God, such as:
...the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song:
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seal, because
you were slain, and with your
blood you purchased men for God from
every tribe and language
and people and nation...” (REVELATION
5:8-9)
Wouldn't a house of prayer essentially be a local church?
No. We in no way want to take the place of the local church or try to be like one. We are seeking to be a service arm to the local churches of our city and to be a partnership of churches committed to prayer, worship and fasting.
Local churches seek to meet the spiritual
and community needs of those
who attend, while the house
of prayer is set up to primarily call
to minister through worship
intercession.
Is a certain prayer format important?
It's important for the house of prayer to be organized enough that there is no confusion for leaders and participants (ie. What are we supposed to be doing right now?) We believe God works through anointed leadership and that this actually allows freedom in the Spirit. While He is the Head, He looks to partner with us while we are here on the earth.
Every house of prayer in every city
functions somewhat differently
from the others and usually
takes on the “flavor” of the
region for which they are
contending. The format envisioned
at NHOP is 84 two-hour
weekly prayer and worship sessions.
Most of our sessions will
use the Harp and Bowl model (the combination
of worship and prayer),
but some will have their own expressions
apart from this. In all of
our sessions, we are committed
to praying the Word as our basis.
Is a building or single location important for a house of prayer?
We believe it actually helps facilitate
unity because of the cross-church
relationships of the prayer
teams coming and going. There is a
comfort for both believers
and non-believers to know a place
is always open where they
can always go to and participate in
and receive prayer. A single
location is also a powerful statement
of multi-church unity in
a city.
Why are the concepts of “Beauty” and “Enjoyable Prayer” important for the house of prayer?
The highest expressions of beauty are the beauty of God (Psalm 27:4) and the beauty he imparts to the Bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:27, Psalm 149:4). These two realms of beauty provide a solid foundation and fuel to practice night and day prayer.
Fascination: The heart of man was designed to be fascinated with who God is and what He looks like, never to be dull and lifeless. Part of our journey is rediscovering how amazingly beautiful and fascinating He is.
Confidence: As we begin to understand how amazingly beautiful He is, we also begin to understand that He has passed on to us His own beauty. We stand confident in His love and grace, sustained in affection, not shame or fleshly motivations.
Pleasure and joy are indispensable to the house of prayer. He assured us through the prophet Isaiah that He would give us joy in the place of prayer (Is. 56:7). The psalmist said that “at His right hand are pleasures forevermore”.
In the house of prayer, we are operating
under a paradigm of a God
who is beautiful, fascinating and
full of delightful pleasures. These
qualities are inexhaustible
on this side of eternity and are a
worthy and wise pursuit
for the human heart.
How does music and singing fit into a house of prayer?
We are in the midst of a global worship movement. This movement has everything to do with prayer and intimacy.
We believe that part of prayer becoming enjoyable has everything to do with a spirit of devotion being mixed with worship and prayer. Many of us have tried “rock-pile” prayer meetings, where we just feel like we're chipping away little by little at the resistance around us with very little anointing and power.
Suddenly, when worship becomes a part of our prayers, life erupts corporately in those meetings. This is by God's sovereign design. Music awakens the heart to beauty, and since God is a musical Being and we have been created in His very image, we have been made with a musical spirit. Almost every person finds solace, comfort or expression in music. Again, this is God's design. In Heaven, music and verbal expression (prayer) are never separated from one another. We base most of our prayer meetings in the house of prayer upon this concept and value.
King David upon instituting the Tabernacle
knew that worship and devotion
were major components of day
and night intimacy and prayer. Deep
revelation must have come
to him of “how heaven hosts a prayer
meeting.” We are seeking
this heavenly model, found in Rev.
5:8. We call this particular
model: Harp and Bowl.
How can I learn more about the house of prayer?
There is really no substitute for experiencing a house of prayer. It is best “caught” by going and checking it out.
We encourage you to come and sit at the feet of Jesus and see what life in the house of prayer is like.
We do offer training times throughout
the year for those interested
in learning in greater detail
about the values of NHOP We also offer
internship programs throughout
the year.
What is the relationship between NHOP and...
Nashville's local churches and ministries?
We do not want to do this apart from the involvement of local churches and ministries in our city. Local churches find this a safe place to send “their sheep”. We encourage local churches to participate in the house of prayer.
Pastors and Ministry leaders?
One of our main values is unity in the Body of Christ. We are here to be a resource, not a burden, to already busy church leaders in the city. We are friends and champions of the men and women leading the Body of Christ in this region and are here to be a support to them. Pastors are welcome to be involved in NHOP activities as their schedules and inclinations allow. As the house of prayer matures, we hope it becomes something of a retreat for pastors where they know they can study, write, seek God through prayer, and be prayed for.
Nashville's intercessors?
NHOP provides many different opportunities for intercessors to be involved, whether individually or with teams. It is one place for the Anna's and Mary of Bethany's in our city and from around the state to fulfill their calling to be regularly before the Lord in the temple. Some intercessors just come and go as they participate in our corporate (for revival) or devotional/contemplative (sitting at His feet) prayer times; some choose to volunteer a few hours a week through being trained up as a prayer leader or prayer room assistant. Some choose to come on staff part-time or full-time as an prayer missionary and devote larger chunks of time to the prayer room. Prayer Missionaries are committed to the Great Commission primarily through intercession and seeking God's face and from that place going out and touching the poor and lost. Prayer Missionaries value the lifestyle of living in the prayer room and then reaching out to a dying world.
Nashville's musicians?
Opportunities for musicians to be involved on teams are virtually limitless... and the worship is so key to all that we are doing in the house of prayer. NHOP has a place for musicians and musical teams of varying styles, instruments, backgrounds, and time preferences.
Nashville's youth?
We are convinced that it is the youth who will fuel this movement through living radical lives of abandoned worship before Jesus. We want this to be a children and youth-friendly atmosphere. We want to be training up children's teams to minister in the house of prayer through prayer leading, worship leading and singing.
Nashville's civic leaders and politicians?
We are committed to praying for our governmental leaders in this city and asking for God's blessing and wisdom to rest upon them. We hope that the house of prayer becomes a place where they can seek refuge in the midst of their busy schedule.
Nashville's businesses and business leaders?
We will pray regularly for the marketplace and their leaders, so that Nashville might be a “city of refuge” in the days to come. We would like to see the house of prayer supported financially by business leaders in Nashville.
Nashville's sick and physically-impaired?
We believe in laying hands on the sick and praying for them according to Scripture. This is a location that is handicap accessible and suitable for the sick to come and soak in His healing presence. We pray for the sick at some point in many of the two hour sessions. Eventually, we will have healing rooms set up with prayer for the sick.
Nashville's poor?
We have a value system that is directly linked to how we posture ourselves with the poor. We want the house of prayer to be a place of prayer for Nashville's poor and downtrodden. We want to extravagantly sow into the poor of our region and touch them the same way Jesus would touch them. We don't want to separate what we are doing here from the poor. We hope to have established resources in this area eventually and be networked with mercy and compassion ministries across the city.
Non-Christians?
All non-Christians are welcome! NHOP
is a Christian house of prayer
and totally exalts Jesus Christ
as Savior and Lord. Our prayer is
that anyone who doesn't
know Jesus as Savior and Lord will
come to know Him intimately.