“The key of holy desperation for the presence and ministry of Jesus is required in order for us to move out of our complacent, satisfied existence. Desperation is the underlying fuel that ignites our hearts for unity, prayer, worship, and repentance. If we aren’t longing for Jesus our ministry activities will be routine and hollow. There is certainly no shortage of ideas, plans, methods, books, teachings, programs, and activities in the church; what we are suffering from is a drought of desperation for God!” Rhonda Hughey

Are we desperate enough for transformation? Are we each willing to pay the price that desperation requires? I had just begun to taste the level of commitment necessary for city transformation. We had finished a non-stop 24-7 house of prayer throughout the month of November. It had radically changed my life, just as it has so many who have stepped into the fire of God’s presence in this location in southern Spain. Prayer lives have been challenged. The question is, “How far are we willing to go? How desperate are we willing to become? Can we even begin to think about going back to how things were even one month ago?” The answer is “No!” We must proceed. We had stepped in this far and the levels of commitment required are going higher. God is challenging us to a new phase, a new mountain to climb for His glory. The battle is great, but there is no turning back.

There is something so exceeding real and alive to this dimension of living. There is something so necessary and dynamic to this taste of unity between the churches. Suddenly, we are realizing that we are in this together, and we desperately need one another to touch this region with God’s glory. We begin to value and love the body of Christ in all its’ dimensions as we have never done before. We begin to understand what it means to be members of one another. We have tapped into God’s wonderful plan for Kingdom living, and we can never return to the old ways. We are willing to radically change our personal lives and reprioritize everything! God has brought us all to the end of ourselves, and we are beginning to find true life together! It’s all the way forward for city transformation, and for once, we feel really alive with the purpose of God!

Indicators of Transformation

“The decision to make a radical lifestyle change and realign our hearts with the Lord is a matter of our will availing itself of God’s grace and reprioritizing our time and commitments. We can willingly and purposely begin to pursue God! When we do, He responds, and the more time we spend in His presence, the more desperate for Him we will become. It’s an interesting dynamic; the hungrier we are for Him, the hungrier we will become for more of Him!” Rhonda Hughey

There are ways we can evaluate our cities and see if they are on their way towards transformation. There are several ways to discern if the signs of transformation are present and increasing in our city. George Otis, Jr. gives several indicators of transformation. Below are some of these indicators adapted from his study. Take time to regularly evaluate your city and pray through these indicators. Study and pray these verses over your city for each one. Your city is on God’s heart. Pray until transformation becomes a reality in your city!

• The political leaders acknowledge their sin and dependence on God – 2 Kings 11:17-18; 23:2; Jonah 3:6-9.
• The economic conditions improve – 2 Chronicles 17:3-5; Psalm 144:14; Isaiah 60:5; Amos 9:13.
• Kingdom values are integrated into daily life – Ezra 10:4; Nehemiah 8:10; Ecclesiastes 10:17; Acts 19:17-20.Crime and corruption diminish – 2 Kings 12:13-15; Nehemiah 5:6-12; Isaiah 60:17-18.
• New laws are put into effect – 2 Chronicles 19:10; Nehemiah 10:31.
• There is a decline in divorce, bankruptcy and suicide – Nehemiah 12:27-28, 43; Isaiah 54:11-14; 62:3, 7; Jeremiah 30:17-1; 31:11-13; Hosea 2:15.
• The natural environment is restored – Leviticus 26:4-5; II Chronicles 7:14; Ezekiel 34:27; 36:29-30.
• Christians take responsibility in healing and helping their community – Isaiah 58:10-12; 61:104.
• Christians take revival into other cities and nations – 2 Chronicles 17:9; Isaiah 61:6; Acts 11:20-26.

An Invitation

“To walk through the doors before us, the doors of intimacy, hope, and heaven, and to respond to His generous invitation, we need only one master key: the key of holy desperation. Are you desperate for His presence? Then open the door…”

Lord, help the Church in my city to focus on your Kingdom in everything we do. Make us desperate for Your presence. Bring the churches in my city together in unity. Teach us to walk together and love and esteem one another. Help us to find ways to worship and pray together. Reveal to us our city through Your eyes. Teach us brokenness and humility. Help us to walk low and give You all the glory. Help us to walk in repentance. Give us a heart for the lost and the broken-hearted in our city. Help us to walk in Your authority and power and minister to people outside of our church building. Fill our city with a spirit of prayer and intercession. Make us holy and righteous. We seek Your face. Make us hungry. Make us desperate for You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“Lift up your heads, O you gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory” (Psalm 14:9-10).

“To be desperate means to be without hope in your current condition and to know that in your own power you don’t have the necessary resources required to change it. People who are desperate become determined to find help, often taking great risks to meet their desperate need. In the communities where transforming revival has occurred the people of God were desperate enough to change their lifestyle and their priorities and to commit their time and resources, making everything secondary to the desperate pursuit of God in their midst. They cried out in desperation, and the Lord heard their cry.” Rhonda Hughey

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

“If Christians prayed as Christians ought – with strong commanding faith, with earnestness and sincerity – men, God-called men, God-empowered men everywhere, would be burning to go and spread the Gospel worldwide. The Word of the Lord would run and be glorified as never known heretofore. The God-influenced men, the God-inspired men, the God-commissioned men, would go and kindle the flame of sacred fire for
Christ, salvation, and heaven, everywhere in all nations. Soon all men would hear the glad tidings of salvation and have an opportunity to receive Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.” E. M. Bounds

Day and night prayer ignites the power of God to release the fire of the Gospel throughout the earth. Every nation, every city, every people group, every neighborhood cannot miss the tremendous influence of the atmosphere of prayer released from the 24/7 prayer room. There is something deep and far-reaching that happens when God’s people give themselves to 24/7 prayer and intercession in a given location. It cannot be measured by human means, but its’ dynamic power can set the fire of God loose in a nation in a way that is beyond comprehension.

I have heard of evangelists going to a region, locking themselves in a hotel room, praying unceasingly for days, and then going out and sharing the Gospel with incredible results. If one man can see that happen, imagine the effect when the Church worldwide gives itself to prayer and actually makes prayer its primary business. Then we shall surely see things happen! None of us have gotten there yet, but it certainly should be our highest ambition and shall take a primary role as we see the end-time scenario unfold before us.

Perhaps one of the greatest prayer warriors in all of history was Praying Hyde of northern India who lived from 1865-1912. He would miss meals and would bow down or lie on the ground because of intense travail, and cry out to the Lord daily for souls. He was burning within for the salvation of the lost. Finally with an agonizing passion for those without Christ, he began to pray that God would let him win a soul to Jesus every day that year. At the end of the year, four hundred souls had been won through his daily witness. The next year Hyde cried out to the Lord for two souls a day! That year about eight hundred had responded to Christ through Hyde.

But his heart grew in intense desperation, and he began to plead to God for four souls a day. That year he led four souls a day to Christ. He would first travail for the lost, and then go out and speak to men and women about how to find eternal life through Christ. He first prayed, and then he witnessed. After praying, the Holy Spirit would lead him to the right individuals. Multitudes came to Christ through this praying man. What a fantastic method of evangelism!

The ministry of Anna is increasing across the earth. God is raising up individuals who give themselves to day and night prayer as she and Praying Hyde did. Anna in the Bible, even though extremely old, worshiped God night and day almost all her life. We read in Luke 2:36b-37, “She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.” God is raising-up intercessory missionaries who pray night and day. The urgency of the hour and the present emphasis on prayer makes 24/7 prayer a possibility in this generation. We cannot do without intercession and individuals who give themselves to prayer like Anna. The need is too great.

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

God must reveal Himself to us, and He does it as we behold Jesus  in the prayer room (Hebrews 1:1-3, Matthew 11:27, Colossians 2:2-3, 1:19, 2:9, 2 Corinthians 4:6). God wants us filled with fiery love and desire for Him, and the prayer room is the perfect place to cultivate this transformational love relationship. What we behold of God’s heart we become. We are like the beautiful emerging butterfly. Our identity is in Jesus. We discover who we are and what is our worth and destiny by encountering His heart for us in the prayer room. We become successful as lovers of God, and we begin to measure our success in an entirely new way. Imagine what will happen in our cities when God’s people begin to measure success in this way. There will be no more envy and competition. We will be seeking God and His ways, not ours.

When we prayerfully adore and study the person and work of Christ  and live obedient lives, we grow in intimacy. This is not studying academically, but it is more a drinking in of the beauty of Christ just as we would behold a beautiful landscape. We fix our attention and affection upon Christ. We listen carefully – We hear – We behold – We gaze in stillness upon Christ and are transformed into His likeness. We use Scripture as we do this, and we give God our time. Jesus must be our focal point. Our hearts will be unsatisfied if He isn’t. He must be central in our study, devotion, and discipleship. We must be dynamically connected to Him. We are His inheritance and delight (1 Corinthians 3:23, Song of Solomon 7:10, 1 Corinthians 6:15-20, Romans 14:8).

God is using prayer to help prepare and purify His Church all across the earth. Remember that a 24/7 House of Prayer in your city will help prepare Christians to live fully for God. God is using the prayer room to sanctify and cleanse His people and make her a Church filled with His glory. The Church is like the transformed butterfly emerging from its cocoon. In the prayer room we learn to abide by dialoging with God and listening to the Holy Spirit actively within us as He gives us wisdom, direction, and empowers us to live the Christian life – We are attentive and engaged – We are developing a heart connection with the Holy Spirit – We are learning the reality of John 15:5-7. In the prayer room we cultivate a transformed heart. Don’t be discouraged by any difficulties you encounter as you build 24/7 prayer in your city. God is developing a beautiful butterfly and teaching you to fly. Remember that without Him we can do nothing, but with Him we will bear much fruit!

“And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

“Cultivating a responsive heart of extravagant devotion to Jesus takes time and deliberate effort. Love does not grow automatically but rather it automatically diminishes unless intentionally cultivated. A responsive heart to God, renewed in freshness and tenderness, is precious and rare, to be guarded with great care and renewed day by day. Satan’s first priority against the Church is to lead us astray from cultivating the ability to be responsive to God with wholehearted love and extravagant devotion. If Satan leads us astray from the purity of devotion to Jesus then our service and love for others will eventually fail.” Dana Candler

As we build the House of Prayer in our cities, we must realize that it’s all about God coming and taking His place in our hearts. It’s about loving God and preparing the earth for the reign of Jesus, the King. It’s about obeying the first commandment: “Love the Lord your God with ALL your heart, with ALL your soul, and with ALL your mind” (Matthew 22:37-38). The fire of loving God will ignite our faith to live a life of prayer and devotion. He wants us to turn to Him with all our heart (Joel 2:12). Then He will pour out His Spirit in our nations.

God wants to transform our hearts in the prayer room. There is no better way to experience a changed heart as in the prayer room. He wants to impact our hearts so that we impact our cities and the nations. If we love God, we will love others better and with a much greater consistency. Let’s remember that the Church of Ephesus had left their first love (Revelation 2:1-5). Their once fiery love and passion for Jesus had grown cold. Their minds had been led astray from the simplicity of pure devotion to Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3). Loving God and living a holy life must be our primary focus.

Houses of Prayer help us to encounter God on a deep level. Growing in an intimate relationship with God should be our ambition, our highest calling. This means that we know and are deeply known by God. We have a relational knowledge of God and not just a factual understanding. God is a person to be known, and our knowledge of Him produces affection. We position our hearts in the prayer room to receive the love He desires to manifest to us. He wants to partner with us, and He releases blessing to those who are in unity with His heart. Loving God was Jesus’ last public invitation and declaration before He went to the cross (Matthew 22:37-38). It is the great commandment and first priority to God. We impact His heart when we love Him. This should be our life focus (Song of Solomon 8:6-7).

As a child I would try to catch butterflies in a small net. In those days there were several country roads where they loved to freely fly, and monarch butterflies were plentiful. In many of my travels to other nations I have seen outstanding displays of God’s creative and rather remarkable handiwork in butterflies and moths. The colors, designs, and sizes are beyond imagination with reds, yellows, and oranges etched into a perfect design.

We can learn a lot from these colorful insects, and I am sure we can all testify to the transformation (metamorphosis) that takes place as we watch the miracle of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. A crawling ugly and repulsive caterpillar crawls up into a ball and seems to have died with no appearance of life as it lays imprisoned in a tomblike cocoon. Suddenly after a long time delay – it struggles – it pushes – it endures – it works hard to break out of that cocoon and comes forth as a beautiful and graceful butterfly! And did you know that the whole purpose of the butterfly is to reproduce itself, and it spends all its life seeking to do this? It’s amazing! But there is a great problem when this struggle doesn’t occur.

A man found the cocoon of a butterfly. One day when a small opening appeared, he sat and watched it trying to struggle its body through the small hole but without making much progress. It seemed to actually stop and go no further. He thought, “I’ll help free this butterfly”. So he took scissors and snipped off the cocoon. The butterfly easily emerged but had a small body and shriveled wings. He thought the wings would expand, and the butterfly would fly. It didn’t happen. The butterfly could never fly but could only crawl in it’s swollen body and shriveled wings.

No beautiful transformation took place.

That man didn’t realize that it was necessary for the butterfly to struggle in the cocoon to get through that tiny opening. Fluid would force its way from the body of the butterfly to its wings, making it ready for flight once it achieved freedom from the cocoon. God wants to bring transformation into His Church. He wants to transform all of our lives. Often we want the easy way out. Struggle, tests, trials, and tribulations are not pleasant words. But this is exactly what we need in order to see transformation in our lives. This is what is needed in the prayer movement as God brings transformation onto the earth.

Developing 24/7 prayer in our cities and increasing the level of prayer in our churches involves perseverance and struggle. But it brings transformation in our lives personally, corporately, and regionally. Obstacles are necessary for transformation. We would be crippled and without strength without them – We need to struggle to see things from God’s perspective and do things His way – We need perseverance as we prepare for His soon return to earth. He is strengthening our character and stabilizing our hope in the eternal.

He is creating within us a faith in His promises.

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

“Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all” (Mark 10:42-44).

Spreading the vision for prayer and starting a House of Prayer in your church or city will take a great deal of faithful serving. It will take hard work and endurance. There will be times when you wonder if you are doing the right thing or if it will ever happen. The opposition from the enemy will be great. But this is God’s personal invitation to greatness for you. God designed you for greatness (Matthew 5:12, 18:4, 11:11). Deep in your heart you desire greatness, significance, dignity, nobility, honor, and impact. You want to be great in God’s sight. You are learning to live for His Kingdom purposes.

The Sermon on the Mount is all about the lifestyle of the Kingdom. In obeying it, we position ourselves for greatness. We pursue obedience in our speech, our physical appetites, our time, our money, and our eyes. We renew our inner man for eternal glory (2 Corinthians 4:16-127). We work to become faithful disciples of Jesus through our heart obedience and our ministry impact. We respond to all that the Holy Spirit shows us so that we may be worthy of our calling (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12). Our eternal destiny is to possess Godliness and become like God in character (Ephesians 5:2, Romans 9:29).

This can be cultivated in the prayer room and the development of our secret life with God. He sees our heart. Seeking to lovingly obey is never in vain. We should seek to live out the 8 beatitudes in our daily life. He is looking for a people who obey Him wholeheartedly. The Sermon on the Mount is the core vale of God’s Kingdom and the litmus test to measure our true success in life. We are on a journey to greatness. Matt Chandler from the International House of Prayer writes about God’s invitation to greatness:

“The Sermon on the Mount is the litmus test to measure our success in life, spiritual development and ministry impact. Our foundation call (internal) is to live out the 8 beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12) as we pursue 100-fold obedience (Matthew 5:48, 6:22). The beatitudes are like 8 flowers in the ‘garden of our heart’ that God wants to fully blossom…. God invites us to greatness without regard to our outward achievements or the size of our ministry impact. Rather it is based on the development of our inner man in love, meekness, and revelation or in righteousness, peace, and joy in the spirit (Romans 14:17). Without the paradigm of being on a journey to greatness, the Sermon on the Mount lifestyle is much more difficult to sustain. Living in light of receiving reward in heaven and being great in God’s sight is a major theme that is emphasized in Matthew 5:5, 12, 19. 46, 6:1 4, 6, 18, 20, 7:2.”

The prayer room helps us to become great in God’s eyes rather than mans. It helps us to pursue the journey to greatness. As you attempt to get involved in His House of Prayer in your city or church, realize that it requires humility and a servant’s lifestyle (Matthew 20:26-27). Those who lead in Houses of Prayer open the way to God’s pathway of greatness. They must be willing to go through difficult and refining situations that seem unbearable at times (Isaiah 48:10). Jesus went through the cross for the joy set before Him. We must trust his leadership of God, live in His grace and for His glory (1 Corinthians 12:8-10, 12 Corinthians 4:17, Romans 818). We are partnering with Him and are seeking heavenly rewards instead of earthly ones (Matthew 6:1-20).

I heard about a famous professional baseball player who said that the aim of his life was to hear his manager say to him, “You are the greatest player I have ever coached.” He was motivated by the hope that one day he would hear his manager’s affirmation. How many multitudes of athletes feel like this? But how much more should we as Christians be motivated by the hope that one day we will hear our Master say, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness’” (Matthew 25:21). What more could we ever want? In starting and maintaining Houses of Prayer we are seeking for God’s “Well Done” in our lives and are involved with what God’s cherishes and esteems so highly (Matthew 25:21).

Establishing 24/7 Houses of Prayer helps to bring God’s people into a love relationship with Him and helps them establish a close partnership with Jesus on earth. This brings glory to God in the deepest sense. Prayer is rooted in humility and takes time and energy. But when you do this, you are investing your time and energy in order to help others grow in righteousness, peace, and joy.

Let’s press on with diligence and faithfulness (Philippians 3:12-14). He will help each one of us to be faithful in the face of pressure, obstacles, and difficulty. He will help us endure the mundane and smallness of working day-by-day and week-by-week as we get started. This matters to Him. We are living for a Kingdom that cannot be shaken. It’s a daily adventure in pleasing God. It’s all part of God’s invitation to greatness in His Kingdom. This invitation brings transformation in every area of our lives. Our hearts and our thoughts are transformed.

God is developing us in the Beatitudes of Matthew 5:3-12. He is our source, and we are absolutely dependent on Him. Let’s wholeheartedly pursue his fullness and hunger and thirst for His righteousness. We are complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10, 4:12, 1:28-29, 1 Thessalonians 5:22-23). We are seeking to be obedient and perfectly established (1 Peter 5:10, 1 Timothy 6:13-14). We are seeking a blameless life. In the prayer room, we learn to hunger after God, we grow in purity of heart, we learn to become peacemakers, and we grow in meekness. God brings inner and outer transformation. Then we take Him with us out into the marketplace and people are drawn to the Holy Spirit living within us.

We are living in a transitional time in all of history. The Holy Spirit is preparing us for a release of His glory upon the Church. There will be a mighty release of signs, wonders and glory at the end of the age (Joel 2:28-29). This will bring transformation. God is right now shaking everything that can be shaken in the nations (Haggai 2:6-7). He is inviting everyone to become great in His Kingdom. He designed us for this. True greatness will be fully manifested in the age to come, not here. It will be based on our heart’s response, and it is available to all (Matthew 5:19, 20:26-27, 23:12). Let’s seek Him in all that we do with a childlike faith and a humble heart. He is transforming our hearts and our minds. It’s time to see life from His perspective. Let’s position our life for greatness in His Kingdom and accept this wonderful invitation.

Recently I was sitting in the back of the International House of Prayer (IHOP) in Kansas City. I was looking at 100’s of young people who were accepting God’s invitation to greatness with glad hearts. It was powerful.

“Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me (Matthew 18:3-5).

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

“Anyone who breaks one of the least of these command-ments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:19).

Establishing a House of Prayer in your church or city is pursuing greatness in God’s sight. You are involved in one of the greatest things you can ever do for God. He wants to transform our thinking and understand His invitation to greatness. Think about it – What do we really want – fame before man or before God? Lasting greatness is not in the praise of man but in the affirmation of God. He has placed within our heart a longing for greatness. He looks at the heart; He looks at our obedience and motives. He sees our hidden heart (1 Samuel 16:7). He sees what we do in secret, in the hidden place of prayer. Jesus wants to unlock our hearts and minds so that we are fully alive in Him. And this is how he will reward us (Matthew 6:6). Most of what we do now will not be fully known until the age to come.

When we build a House of Prayer, we are building upon a foundation that cannot be shaken (1 Corinthians 3:11-15). We are pursuing greatness in God’s sight. When we all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, we will be judged by the motives of our hearts and the established thought patterns behind our actions. God is evaluating our hearts. Moses prayed, “Please, show me your glory” (Exodus 33:18-19). He understood the true meaning and purpose of life. When we meet God face-to-face will He ask us, “How much did you seek me?” “How much did you love others?” “How much did you let me transform your heart in the prayer room?”

Let God measure the success of what we do. He is looking for faithfulness (Luke 16:10-12, 1 Corinthians 4:2) and relationship (Luke 10:20, Matthew 7:23). We must be faithful stewards as we pray and prepare our Houses of Prayer. Our goal is to help prepare the Bride for her destiny (Eph 5:225-27). Our identity is found in being a friend of the bridegroom. He must increase and we must decrease.

We do not possess the fragrance of Jesus through education or money. God is raising-up the uneducated and unknown to turn the world upside down (1 Corinthians 1: 27-29). The power of the Kingdom will not come through the best training programs in the world. It will come through those who train in the desert, in that secret place of prayer. Moses had the best training in the world (Hebrews 11:24) and was the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, but he needed 40 years in the desert. Daniel had the best education, but it was in the secret place where he became wiser than all the wise men of Babylon. He was steadfast and prayed three times a day even when it endangered his life. Nothing – absolutely nothing – could hinder his commitment to prayer, not even a den of lions!

In Acts 4:13-16 we see the boldness of Peter and John because they had been with Jesus. Others realized this and marveled. They were uneducated and untrained yet their lives were ones of power. These men had the vision and commitment to pray and spend time with God. They accepted God’s invitation to greatness. As we wait for the coming of God’s Kingdom we can walk in that same power, but we must see with eyes of vision God’s great invitation to us. We must have hearts of commitment to pray and advance the prayer movement. We need to believe that God wants to spread 24/7 Houses of Prayer throughout the entire world. We must have vision for our city and our church.

God is inviting us to greatness in His Kingdom.

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

“¡De cuan infinita importancia es el lugar que el intercesor tiene en el Reino de Dios! ¿no es de hecho cuestión de maravillarse el que Dios le de a los hombres tal poder? Aún así hay muy pocos que sepan lo que es echar mano de Su poder y orar Sus bendiciones sobre la tierra… Dios rige el mundo y Su iglesia a través de las oraciones de Su pueblo. Que Dios dispusiese que la expansión de Su Reino dependiese hasta tal punto de la fidelidad de Su pueblo en oración es un estupendo misterio y a la vez una absoluta certeza. Dios llama a intercesores; en Su gracia Él ha hecho que Sus obras dependan de ellos. Él les espera.” Andrew Murray

Los días que nos esperan se vuelven más un reto en todo el mundo. Crisis financiera, cambios constantes e incertidumbre, un incremento en el índice de criminalidad, y perdidas de trabajos están creando temor y ansiedad por todos lados. Definitivamente es hora de comenzar casas de oración 24/7 en nuestras ciudades. Solo con las últimas elecciones en los Estados Unidos, se podía sentir el incremento de las batallas a las que se enfrenta la nación. Puede que te estés preguntando cuando piensas acerca de casas de oración 24/7 en tu ciudad, “Si, en estos días es más urgente orar, así que, ¿cómo empezamos? Mi ciudad necesita oración de día y de noche, pero ¿que puedo yo hacer?” En las siguientes tres cartas estaremos viendo guías para comenzar, en la siguiente estaremos viendo acercamientos creativos en casas de oración, y por último, estaremos viendo el contar los costos y que hemos de considerar en oración.

Comenzar y mantener una casa de oración 24/7 no es tarea fácil, pero es el deseo de Dios y es de infinita importancia. Su trabajo depende de ello, pero requiere Su sabiduría y el asociarse con Su Espíritu para poder hacerlo bien. Se quiere hacer todo en obediencia y bajo la dirección del Espíritu Santo (Salmo 127:1, Juan 3:8). Se quiere siempre buscar lo que se ve que el Padre está hacienda. Es mucho trabajo duro para todo el mundo que se involucra. Por esto el trabajo en equipo con el Espíritu Santo es tan vital. La oración 24/7 es un ministerio relacional que involucra no solo el relacionarse con Dios, sino también el relacionarse con otros y el orar en unidad (Juan 15:14-15, Lucas 10:1-22, 1 Juan 4:7-12). Quieres incluir a otros que son diferentes a ti – diferentes culturas, trasfondos denominacionales, edades y géneros. Quieres construir unidad pero disfrutar la diversidad (Colosenses 3:11). Leemos en Efesios 4:3-6:

“Procurando mantener la unidad del Espíritu en el vínculo de la paz: un solo cuerpo y un solo Espíritu, como fuisteis también llamados en una misma esperanza de vuestra vocación; un solo Señor, una sola fe, un solo bautismo, un solo Dios y Padre de todos, el cual es sobre todos y por todos y en todos.”

Planteamiento Cuidadoso y Guía Clara

Es más fácil establecer casas de oración 24/7 de un día o una semana, ¡pero establecerlas para 365 días al año es otra historia! Se necesitan personas dedicadas para mantenerlas en funcionamiento cuando es a largo plazo. Nos hemos dado cuenta de que muchos se han unido a nosotros en la etapa emocionante del principio de nuestra primera casa de oración de un mes en España, pero la segunda fue más difícil porque se había disminuido la novedad y algunos de los que buscaban la emoción se marcharon. Dios había traido la casa de oración a una nueva etapa y se requería otro nivel de compromiso. Pero cuando nos asociamos con el Espíritu Santo, ninguna de estas cosas debe desanimarnos. Después de todo, recordemos siempre el corazón de Dios hacia la oración de día y noche.

Cuando pienses acerca de comenzar una casa de oración en tu iglesia o ciudad, hazte las siguientes preguntas:

• ¿Durante cuanto tiempo debemos continuar? Esta es una muy importante pregunta a responder. ¿Quieres tener una casa de oración de una semana y después continuar a una más larga? ¿Quieres tener una casa de oración de un mes e incluir otras iglesias de tu ciudad? ¿O quieres tener una 24/7 corta en tu propia iglesia?
• ¿Cuando debemos empezar y quien debe estar involucrado? Es importante que esto se determine por adelantado. Debes preguntarle a Dios en oración cuando comenzar y quien debe venir ¿Es para incrementar la oración en tu propia iglesia o para involucrar toda tu ciudad con otras iglesias y otras denominaciones?
• ¿Dónde debe ubicarse nuestra sala de oración, y que debe contener? Es importante elegir en oración la ubicación de la sala de oración. Si es para toda la ciudad, la ubicación debe ser neutral. Lo que se meta dentro de la sala de oración y el como se decora también es importante.

Una ubicación fija es una gran bendición porque existe una sensación de la presencia de Dios en un lugar que se designa para la oración. Con mucha frecuencia he oído a personas decir que podían sentir la presencia de Dios en la sala de oración. Muchos han dicho, “puedo orar con más facilidad sin distracciones en una sala de oración” por algún motivo especial, las personas son capaces de dejar atrás su vida de a diario cuando llegan a un lugar que se usa para orar. Es como si se pudiese tomar inmediatamente un paso de gigante hacia la intimidad con Dios en la sala de oración.

Un lugar designado como sala de oración da un sentido de comunidad y de rendir cuentas a otros que desean orar. Cuando voy a la sala de oración de la playa de Virginia y oro por nuestra nación con otros que tienen la misma carga, me siento muy unida y vinculada en propósito. Hay una sensación de comunidad. La carga se hace menos pesada, y todos salimos con una sensación de Victoria. Y cuando sabes que va a haber otros que van a estar ahí a las 12 del medio día de los Jueves, te sientes más obligado a presentarte para orar.

Las salas de oración son tan buenas porque parece como que la sociedad está buscando un lugar que sea santo – en un mundo no santo – es como una bocanada de aire limpio y fresco. Estás entrando en terreno santo. Con frecuencia nos quitamos nuestros zapatos debido a una sensación de la santidad de Dios. El ambiente creativo de la mayoría de las salas de oración apuntan a las personas hacia Dios en un tiempo en el que necesitamos desesperadamente ver las cosas desde la perspectiva de Dios en lugar de la del hombre.

“Ya que la casa de Dios es una casa de oración, la oración de pasar a ser parte de todo lo que se hace allí. La oración pertenece a todo tipo de trabajo que tenga que ver con la iglesia. Como la casa de Dios es una casa en la que se lleva a cabo el negocio de la oración, así es también el lugar en el que se forman personas que oran partiendo de personas que no lo hacen. La casa de oración es un taller divino, y allí el trabajo de la oración se lleva a cabo. O la casa de Dios es una escuela divina, en la que se enseña la asignatura de la oración, en la que hombres y mujeres aprenden a orar, y en la que se gradúan en la escuela de oración.” E. M. Bounds

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC