The end-time role of the praying and worshipping church
Right
now, all across the earth, the Holy Spirit is raising up a
worship-based prayer movement that will culminate in the second coming
of our King, Jesus. This isn’t a new idea, but one rooted in history
and, more importantly, in the Bible. This prayer and worship movement
that we see exploding across the planet was prophesied many years ago,
as recorded in the Scriptures. I believe that what we’re witnessing
today, with the rapidly growing worldwide prayer and worship movement,
is the beginning of the fulfillment of biblical prophecies about the end
times.
This conviction that God is raising up a
worldwide prayer movement that will precede Jesus’ return has
strengthened my resolve to build a 24/7 worship community. We started on
May 7, 1999, and for the last 12 years the International House of
Prayer Missions Base of Kansas City (IHOP-KC), consisting of full-time
missionaries who serve as worship leaders, singers, musicians and
intercessors, has continued nonstop in worship and prayer. Our hearts
are set on gathering corporately to worship Jesus 24 hours a day, seven
days a week, every day of the year. Partnering with Him in intercession,
we contend for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit and for the release of
justice, both in our own city and in the cities of the earth. What
started with 20 full-time missionaries has grown to more than 1,000
full-time staff and 1,000 students and interns in our Bible school.
Why
do I mention this? Because if weak and broken people in Kansas City,
Mo., can do this, anyone can! And that’s exactly the point God wants
made. The Lord is determined to establish a culture of prayer in the
entire body of Christ worldwide before He returns. Over the last 10 to
20 years, we’ve watched the prayer movement grow especially fast in Asia
and Africa. Yet this rapid growth is only the first fruits of what
Jesus is doing in His church in this generation.
I
believe this is the hour in history when many of God’s people from a
multitude of ministries, churches and denominations will align
themselves with Jesus’ commitment to build His church. It will be in
such a way that He Himself will call it “a house of prayer for all
nations” (Is. 56:7).
The Scriptures describe several
characteristics of the end-time worship and prayer movement that are
involved in releasing God’s presence and power. When people pray, the
spiritual atmosphere over cities and regions is changed. Demons are
driven back from their place of influence, angels are more active, and
the Spirit releases a greater measure of grace on our labors. Thus, the
preaching of the gospel and the works of the kingdom become more
effective. Jesus taught us to pray for God’s kingdom to be expressed on
earth as it is in heaven (see Matt. 6:10). This includes worship—the
Father desires to be worshipped on earth as He is in heaven.
The
apostle John wrote more on the end-time worship and prayer movement
than any other writers of Scripture. From two of their books—Isaiah and
Revelation—we can define seven characteristics of this global movement.
1. It will be God-centered (Rev. 4:8; 5:11-14; Is. 24:14-16).
The
worship order of heaven is decidedly God-centered. Night and day, day
and night, those nearest God’s throne proclaim the truth about who God
is and what He does. He desires that His creation would encounter His
majesty, love and goodness and that, in turn, they would offer up their
praise and adoration for all He is, all He has done and all He will do.
Treasuring God and adoring Him endlessly is the priority of the prayer
movement. It is the necessary and fitting response to His matchless
beauty and immeasurable worth.
Worship is a witness on
earth to the indescribable value of Jesus. The truth of His greatness
must be declared in song and in proclamations because it is the ultimate
truth on which the created universe exists. This truth of the greatness
of God is powerful. God loves the truth, including the truth about
Himself.
The power and supremacy of the grand truth
about God demand expression on the earth. If the people do not worship
our great God, Jesus said the rocks would cry out in our place (see Luke
19:37-40). The end-time worship and prayer movement will extol the
majesty and worth of God as it joins the symphony in heaven, where the
worshippers are forever crying out, “Worthy is the Lamb!” (Rev. 5:12).
Our
prayer life is best energized when we experience intimacy with God’s
heart. The Father relates to us with tender mercy. Jesus relates to us
with fiery desire as our bridegroom God (see Is. 54:5, 62:5).In
Revelation 22:17, John prophesied that the Spirit and the bride would
say, “Come, Lord Jesus!” This is one of the most informative and
significant prophecies describing the end-time church. In it, John
describes an end-time church in unity with what the Spirit is saying and
doing.
What is the Spirit saying? He is speaking to
believers about their corporate identity as Jesus’ bride. What is the
Spirit doing? He is interceding for Jesus to come in power and calling
thirsty people to come to Jesus, the bridegroom God.
In
the end times, for the first time in history, the Spirit will
universally emphasize the church’s identity as Jesus’ bride. It is not
the Spirit and the family who will say, “Come!” or the Spirit and the
army, kingdom, body, temple or priesthood. Rather, it is the Spirit
resting on the church as a bride. Forever, we will rejoice in our
identity as God’s family, body, temple, priesthood and more.
As
sons of God, we are to experience God’s throne as heirs of His power
(see Rom. 8:17). As the bride of Christ, we are to experience God’s
heart—His desire for us. The bridegroom message is focused on Jesus’
emotions for us, on His beauty, on His commitments to us (to share His
heart, home, throne, secrets and beauty), and on our response of
wholehearted love and obedience to Him.
Understanding
this message begins with experiencing His affections for us. Jesus
delights in us, enjoys us, partners with us in the work of the kingdom
and is committed to our eternal success.
Isaiah
described the end-time prayer movement as deeply relational, a quality
that would stem from the revelation of God as our bridegroom (see Is.
54:5, 62:5). In no way should “the bridegroom God” term conjure up
images of our Lord and King as some sort of sensual lover or “boyfriend
God.” That is grossly inappropriate and dishonoring to Jesus.
One
reason people burn out in intercession and ministry to others is
because they lack intimacy with God through encountering Jesus as their
bridegroom God. The revelation of the church as Jesus’ cherished bride
is essential for keeping our hearts alive through the years as we
diligently do the work of the kingdom.
2. It will be continual (Rev. 4:8; Is. 62:6-7; Luke 18:7-8).
In
Revelation 4-5, the apostle John describes the heavenly worship order
around the throne. In His vision of God’s throne room he witnessed
celestial beings who “do not rest day or night, saying: ‘Holy, holy,
holy ” (Rev 4:8). As already mentioned, God desires to be worshipped on
this earth just as He is in heaven—continually and unceasingly.
Moreover,
the prophet Isaiah saw a prayer movement on earth that would not rest
night and day until God’s purposes were fully established (see Is.
62:6-7). In these last days God is raising up a prayer movement that
will continually worship Him and cry out to Him for His plans to be
executed and His justice to be released (see Luke 18:7-8).
The
call to 24/7 worship and prayer is not an invitation to organize it all
under one roof. Continual prayer usually is expressed by the body of
Christ together as prayer is offered up from many different buildings
across a city or region. The call of 24/7 prayer is to build a prayer
culture among God’s people across cities and regions so that Jesus
receives continual, corporate worship from many different ministries and
locations. Each does its own small part, but together all offer
night-and-day prayer and worship.
I do not believe the Lord is calling most churches to start a 24/7 prayer ministry in their building but instead to build a prayer culture in their church.
Unless the Lord specifically calls you to start 24/7 prayer in your
congregation, it is best to view it as what will result from the
collective efforts of hundreds of prayer meetings held in homes,
churches, universities and businesses across your city.
3. It will be global (Is. 24:6-7, 42:10-12; Mal. 1:11).
The Scriptures are clear that the end-time worship and
prayer movement will extend all across the earth, even to the most
remote and difficult-to-reach places. Isaiah prophesied that even in the
remote islands of the earth God’s people would sing to the Lord in
worship and intercession (see Is. 42:10). He witnessed worship going
forth in the wilderness, or desert places—even in Islamic villages such
as Kedar in Saudi Arabia and Sela in Jordan—and that God’s people would
worship from one end of the earth to the other until Jesus returns (see
Is. 42:11, 13-15).
Simply put, the end-time worship and
prayer movement will be in every place, even the hardest and darkest
places (see Mal. 1:11). That means it will be international. King David
had a continual, musical worship movement in Jerusalem. About 300 years
after him, Isaiah said, in effect: “The worship moment will go far
beyond what David did. David was limited to one location. The end-time
movement will be global.”
4. It will be musical (Is. 24:14-16; 26:1; 27:2; 30:29; 32; 35:2, 10; 42:10-12; 54:1).
Some
who lead prayer ministries struggle with the idea of prayer meetings
being led by music, but the idea is biblical. One aspect of the kingdom
coming on earth as it is in heaven involves music in our prayer
meetings. This is seen in Revelation 5:8-9.
When I
first began having daily prayer meetings, we did not include music led
by a worship team. We spent more time shouting at the devil than we did
talking to God. It seemed like the mark of a good prayer meeting was
exhausted and hoarse intercessors. Eventually I introduced music, and
our prayer meetings became not just bearable but enjoyable!
The
end-time prayer movement is musical. The human spirit is deeply musical
because we were created in the image of God, who is very musical. Few
things touch the human spirit in the way that anointed music does.
5. It will be missional (Rev. 7:9, 14).
The
end-time worship and prayer movement will be instrumental in ushering
in the greatest harvest of souls in history (see Matt. 24:14; Rev. 7:9,
14). Jesus said in Luke 10:2 that we must pray for the Lord to release
laborers for the harvest. Throughout the Scriptures we see a pattern in
which communities, such as the one in Jerusalem in Acts 2 and the
Antioch community in Acts 13, gather together in worship and prayer.
From those prayer meetings, missionaries are sent out and evangelism
movements are unleashed that result in a significant harvest of souls.
Jesus
connected night-and-day prayer to the release of justice on the earth
(see Luke 18:7-8). He spoke of this in the context of the end times,
with specific reference to His second coming (see Luke 17:24-37; 18:8).
John spoke of the end-time prayer movement as being deeply connected to
the release of God’s judgment to remove oppression from the earth (see
Rev. 6:9-11; 8:3-6).
6. It will be youth-oriented (Mal. 4:5-6).
The
end-time prayer movement will consist primarily of young people. We
know historically that most people who turn to Jesus do so before they
are 25 years old. Most great revivals of history were focused primarily
on youth. This will be the pattern again because the majority of the
world’s population is under age 25.
Malachi prophesied
that the Holy Spirit would turn the hearts of the fathers to a focus on
the youth during the generation in which the Lord would return (see Mal.
4:5-6). This means spiritual fathers and mothers will focus on God’s
purpose for young people in the end times. Thus, the end-time prayer and
worship movement will comprise youth who walk in a spirit of humility
and honor.
David spoke of a time when young people
would declare the excellence of God’s name throughout the earth. This
will happen, in the fullest sense, only in the generation in which the
Lord returns.
David went on to prophesy of the power of
this worship movement that would flow from the mouths of babes. He said
that even through the youth God would release His strength to silence
the enemy and the avenger (see Ps. 8:1-2). Jesus referenced David’s
prophecy during His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. It was at this time
that He declared His house would function as a house of prayer.
Matthew
tells us that immediately after this the scribes were indignant at
seeing children cry out in worship to Jesus. Jesus answered them by
quoting David’s prophecy that from the mouth of babes God would perfect
praise (see Matt. 21:13-16). David’s prophecy of young people
worshipping God was so important that Jesus emphasized it in the context
of calling God’s house a house of prayer. On another occasion, David
prophesied about young people volunteering for the Lord’s end-time army
at a time when God’s power would be openly manifested in the nations
(see Ps. 110:3, 5).
7. It will be unified (John 17:21-23; Eph. 3:18).
In
His high-priestly prayer, Jesus prayed and prophesied that He would
pour out His glory, enabling His people to walk in unity and greatly
enhance the effectiveness of the gospel (see John 17:21-23). The
end-time worship and prayer movement will function in gracious
cooperation because God has entrusted different aspects of His purposes
and plans to separate parts of His body. Out of necessity, but borne of
love, the prayer movement will be profoundly unified as the church
experiences the fullness of God’s purpose by honoring and serving one
another in relationship. This will be achieved by a supernatural grace
that God will pour upon His body, enabling it to walk in love and a
spirit of unity. For unity is the place where God commands His blessing
in the greatest measure (see Ps. 133:1-3).
The Holy
Spirit is calling the church to rise up in unity as the end-time prayer
movement to offer fervent, continual intercession and worship that flows
from prophetic music and intimacy with God. From this position of
strength we will work together to fulfill the Great Commission and bring
in the greatest harvest of souls in history. And Jesus will respond to
the voice of His bride calling out as one with His Spirit for Him to
come in power, vanquish His enemies and fill the earth with the
knowledge of the Lord.
Mike Bickle is the
director of the International House of Prayer Missions Base of Kansas
City (IHOP-KC) and author of several books. For more information, visit mikebickle.org or ihop.org.
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