"What Do You Do All Night?!?"
In a nutshell, I pray while a team of musicians in the room is worshipping through song. I also join in and sing as I pray. This combination of worship and prayer is referred to as ‘Harp and Bowl’ in reference to Revelation 5:7 “the elders are before the throne of God in worship and they hold a harp (representing musical worship) and bowls filled with incense which are the prayers of the saints.” (more info on the Harp and Bowl model)We believe that since God has combined these elements in eternity before His throne that combining them on earth is the best way to ‘see His kingdom come.’
Of course, the wisdom of praying through song is the most ancient form of prayer on the earth as well. Every culture on the earth that worships does so primarily through song. In the Bible the book of Psalms is the largest collection of prayers in Scripture, and is the hymnal of ancient Israel. The word Psalm is essentially equivalent to “Song”. Additionally, the monasteries of medieval Europe employed Gregorian chant as well as other forms of music into their lives of prayer.
Perhaps the most dramatic example of night and day ‘harp & bowl’ devotion occurred in Bangor, Ireland in 555 AD. This Celtic monastery eventually saw over 3,000 people praying through song for 300 years. It was this prayer movement that birthed the Celtic mission movement.
Of course, in our worship, we enjoy the luxuries of modern technology. This makes it possible to have a whole worship team with drums, guitar, piano, and four to six prophetic singers praying the Scriptures to God in unison.
Practically speaking, this creates a very enjoyable environment to enter into prayer. The focus of much of our prayer is blessing for the cities of the earth. We especially pray for the church to be filled with God’s Spirit of wisdom and understanding.
If any individual in the room has a desire to pray for a personal need, a city, or any burden on their heart they are invited to pray on a public microphone during our intercession meetings. There are also prayer meetings which are devotional with the singers and musicians praying and singing the Scriptures, especially from the Psalms, Song of Solomon or Revelation.
The House of Prayer is truly something that must be experienced to fully appreciate, if you think of a ‘church that never stops’ you get the basic idea.
If you’d like to experience “Harp and Bowl” simply email me, call, or write, and I can send you a CD recording of one of our prayer meetings to illustrate this worship format for you.