Beyond The Basics

Over the weekend Gina and I attended a luncheon hosted by Abide Church in Brandon, FL. During the luncheon we had the opportunity to listen to a panel of speakers which included David Bradshaw, founder of Awaken The Dawn, and Billy Humphrey, Director of GateCity House of Prayer in Atlanta, GA. As someone who has been involved in the 24/7 prayer and worship movement for over a decade, it was such a privilege to hear from a couple guys who have been doing this for way longer than I have.

Wait, did you say 24/7 prayer and worship? Are you nuts?

Let’s back up a bit. Yes, I said 24/7 prayer and worship. And yes, I am aware that it sounds nuts to many who might be reading this. So let’s explore it a little bit.

“Our Father, who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9-10)

Most of us are familiar with the Lord’s prayer. But how many of us have ever really wondered what the phrase “on earth as it is in heaven” actually means? I mean, do we even know what’s happening in heaven? If we don’t know what’s happening in heaven, how can we pray that it would be done on earth as well?

Fortunately, the book of Revelation gives us a hint of what is happening in heaven. In chapter 4 the author describes a vision of heaven, in which he sees the Father sitting on His throne. The descriptions of this scene are beyond imagination, with God the Father radiating light and fire with vibrant red, orange and yellow colors emanating from His very being, surrounded by an emerald rainbow with peals of thunder and lighting going forth directly from the throne. In front of Him are seven torches burning with fire and surrounding the throne is a crystal sea on which are seated twenty-four elders in twenty-four thrones. These elders wear white robes with golden crowns on their heads. And on each side of the throne are four super weird creatures with faces like a lion, an ox, a man, and an eagle, and completely covered with eyes.

Whoa.

And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” (Revelation 4:8-11)

These living creatures declare God’s holiness day and night, and in response the elders declare God’s worthiness. Day and night. Night and day. They never stop worshipping, they never stop praising, they never stop casting everything they have before the Lord in adoration.

Let me repeat that in case you didn’t notice it the first several times: There is a constant, never-ending, day and night worship service before the throne of God in heaven.

Oh wait, there’s more!

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” (Isaiah 6:1-3)

Not many had the privilege of seeing into the heavenly realm. Those that did saw many of the same things: A throne, God’s presence characterized by fire, and some combination of seraphim, cherubim, and humans surrounding the throne in worship and reverence. This very scene was fashioned as the mercy seat on the ark of the covenant in the holy of holies in the temple. The holy of holies was a picture of Eden, the place where God could dwell with men in peace and communion, and a foreshadowing of the new Eden, the New Jerusalem, the merging of heaven and earth when God will dwell among men once again.

Is it becoming a little more clear now what Jesus meant when He told us to pray, “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”?

David somehow managed to get a glimpse of this. David, for all his faults, was called a “man after God’s own heart.” Ever wonder what that means? I think often we just assume that it means he loved God. But it’s so much more than that. It means that whatever was important to God was important to David. What was important to God?

Let’s review:

The Bible begins and ends with God dwelling in unity with human beings in a garden. In between are all sorts of hints and images of that ultimate reality scattered throughout the pages of Scripture. David noticed this and was so captured by God’s desire to dwell with men that he built a tabernacle where there was day and night worship happening during his entire reign. He spent a fortune on singers and musicians to keep this thing going without end. And guess what? God honored that by providing the most comprehensive prophetic songs and poems about the Messiah that Israel had seen up to that time. Seriously, any time you read a Psalm by David, Asaph, or the sons of Korah, you are reading a Psalm that was written during that time in the tabernacle.

Every king after David that turned their heart to the Lord and followed the Torah re-established the tabernacle of David which resulted in a national revival and smashing of the idols across the land. Then, in Amos chapter 9, a final word from the Lord comes after promising that He will shake and sift Israel one final time:

In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old, that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name.” (Amos 9:11-12)

The prophet then goes on to describe Eden-like conditions and a nation of Israel that is fully restored to God and fully restored in the land. Once again, we see the tabernacle of David followed by national revival, this time one that is permanent and complete. There are several other passages throughout Scripture that describe a revival of prayer and worship followed by the coming of the Messiah or the restoration of Eden. It is clear that this is a major sign of the end of the age.

Let’s bring this back full circle. There are thousands of ministries across the whole earth that are operating in the spirit of the tabernacle of David. That is, they are captured by God’s desire to dwell with men permanently and in full unity and they are captured with praying for God’s will to be done here on earth as it is in heaven. The International House of Prayer in Kansas City, MO is the largest ministry here in the states, as they have been worshipping and praying day and night for over 20 years, but there are thousands of others that are doing this or have the desire to do this. In the Tampa Bay region alone, we’ve had a half dozen houses of prayer pop up in just the last two or three years. Tampa Bay has declared that we are ready to establish the tabernacle of David here in this region!

So with the support of David Bradshaw and Billy Humphrey, the pastor at Abide Church announced the launch of the Tampa Bay House of Prayer, an initiative with dozens of houses of prayer and praying churches all around the region to establish day and night prayer and worship in our region. Their slogan is, “One house, many rooms,” meaning that there will not be one building where everyone will go that will be open for prayer and worship all day and all night but that there will be multiple ministries across the region that will cover various hours of the day and night until all 168 hours per week are covered in prayer and worship.

I know this is getting long but this is what I’m passionate about right here. So I’ll wrap up by encouraging you to do this: go spend some time meditating on what Jesus meant by “Your will be done on earth as it is heaven” and be consumed with the Father’s desire to dwell among His people. Catch David’s vision to refuse to sleep until he created that place where God could be at rest with humans. And then, if you live in the Tampa Bay area, go to www.tampahouseofprayer.com and click “subscribe” so you can receive notifications of when ministries will be praying so you can get involved.

Let’s take part in the global movement of worship rising to heaven until Jesus can’t stay away from His Bride any longer.