IHOP-LI: The Ark House of Prayer
Fall 2008 Update and Blue Prints
A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery
As we enter our second year as a visible House of Prayer, our first thoughts are “Thank You” to all of you and above all to the Lord for His great kindness. We are set now to move forward as a community in order to grow in our understanding of the value God places upon our partnership with Him in intercession and our individual/corporate contribution toward building a sanctuary of worship & prayer here on Long Island.
Above all else, we are set on hosting His Presence and while we know that worship & prayer are not means to an end, they do mean to end upon Him. It is Him and really only Him that we seek. With this as the full intent of our hearts, we are asking for those of you that desire to see a sanctuary of night and day worship on and for Long Island to prayerfully consider your involvement and time here as a “sacred trust” between you and the Lord. It’s not just a “prayer meeting.” It is the answer to the brokenness of our families and communities and the release of love, healing and justice.
“And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" Luke 18:8
Your worship & prayers are gifts of immeasurable worth and we value your place in this community. If there are ways that you would like to be involved that we have not thought of or made room for, you should know that it is our heart’s desire to make a way for all of us to minister to the Lord and to Long Island. Step up! Speak up!
For some of you, one meeting is all you have in you. With all of our hearts we bless and honor that –TRULY. For others, it’s your “time” and the Holy Spirit is calling you to this – even if only for a season. We are asking therefore that you prayerfully consider extending yourself beyond participation in a prayer meeting or “the Burn” to help form the internal supports and structures of “the House”. God will most certainly make a way for each of your gifts/talents to be honored, developed and employed as we engage together in this endeavor.
Here’s what we’re looking at and praying about for the Fall in order to facilitate growth in vision, understanding, relationship and commitment:
1. We will gather for our first corporate meeting on Tuesday, October 7th beginning at 7:00 p.m. It is our hope that we will all carve out the first Tuesday evening of the month thereafter to come together as a community. There is no other way to build together unless we make a concerted effort to come with one heart to hear, see, learn, create, worship and pray.
2. The October 7th meeting will provide an opportunity for us to teach about the Global Bridegroom Fast and prepare us for our first corporate fast in November. Three days of the month – beginning on the first Monday of each month - will be set aside for our corporate expression of a GBF (Global Bridegroom Fast). These days are meant to coincide with Houses of Prayer across the earth that are also fasting during these days in order to cultivate a deeper relationship with the Lord and each other. It is a very intentional fast of longing for Him and His return. (See John 3) It is a fast focused upon intimacy, identity and purpose. Therefore, whether you or I fast food, time, money, etc., it is a time we will intentionally set aside to seek Him and minister to each other. We’ll begin our first fast together just as we enter into the elections. Timely isn’t it? We thought so.
3. We have been approached by “Emanate” (Central Suffolk Vineyard’s young adult ministry) regarding ‘hands-on” ministry to the community. (We love to hear the passions that all of you carry and bring to this “House”.) We would like to partner with them to launch outreach weeks leading up to “the Burns” while covering their labors in prayer. It will be both scary and fun – God style. We’re aiming for the week leading into Thanksgiving as a launch date. If you are interested or have a desire to lead/serve in a particular arena, let us know and we’ll hook you up. More information will certainly follow.
4. “24-7 style” prayer watches are coming. (See www.24-7prayer.com or www.ihop-li.com under “Blueprints” for more info.) These are more individually driven “watches” and we will provide information about that at the Oct. 7 meeting. Beware of life changing God encounters.
5. We’re itching to begin setting up Harp & Bowl teams/training and we strongly recommend that you take advantage of this as it is an invaluable model of fusing worship and intercession that we are incorporating into the House. Come to the training to find out why! You don’t have to be a musician to do this. However, musicians and singers (regardless of whether or not you can carry a tune – completely irrelevant- it’s not a talent show or a gong show) . . . this is your opportunity to express yourself, stretch yourself and engage more deeply in a growing community. Can’t beat that. Dates TBA.
6. Intro to IHOP-LI mini-weekends will be offered quarterly beginning after the new year. All those who desire to lead/serve a ministry or take a watch are requested to participate in one. We think you’re going to really enjoy this opportunity and we know that we cannot move further without communal agreement on the values and mission of the “House” and the “ekklesia” expressed in prayer. It is a “starter package/on-ramp” for creating or joining a team and it will help you get connected with “la familia”. We love it already.
7. We will be developing workshops/trainings in various arenas in order to grow in our respective callings/gifting. We hope to pull out the gifts of various people within our community (which happens to be quite rich) as well as to partner with other ministries that have gained some mastery in particular areas. Some of the immediate topics that come to mind are: healing, revelatory/prophetic gifts (dreams, visions, words of knowledge/wisdom), the Kingdom of God, intercession, worship, etc. If there is a particular topic that you have an interest in, training in or if you would like to be part of coordinating a workshop, speak up! We care and we value you!
As we close this letter, please know that we have great love and honor for all of you who are a part of this community, regardless of your ability to commit time to this House. Your lives have their own stamp of God’s calling and destiny and it would be completely erroneous and contrary to our hearts to communicate a comparative value in any manner. Therefore, receive this letter as an invitation only. If it stirs your heart and you would like to be more involved, we encourage you to pray and ask God about what He says in this regard. His answer may be “Yes, now”, “soon”, “later” or “I have something else in mind for you.” We trust Him and we bless you!
With much love,
Patti & t
