Ian & Jocelyn Barker

Here are IHOP, there has been prayer and worship 24/7 for almost 9 years. But what is the reason for the House of Prayer? For a long time I have considered the release of revival as the purpose for the House of Prayer (globally not just locally). Yet lately I’ve been seeing things a little differently.

If you start with the idea that heaven and earth will be joined together at the end of this age, the purpose of the House of Prayer starts to take a different shape. In short, we are to mirror on earth the prayer and worship in heaven happening now in anticipation of the day when we will join the worship of heaven as heaven descends to earth.

If the angels, the 24 elders, and the 4 living creatures are worshipping God day and night now, should not there be an expression of this on earth? We are to enter into unceasing prayer and worship as a corporate people because He is worthy and we will be doing this forever.

“For you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Ex. 34:14).

God is jealous for worship not because He is egotistical, but because it is right and it is healing for our souls. As we worship Him, we become like Him. As the purpose of new creation goes forward, He wants a place where worship continually goes up before His throne joining the incense of heaven.

David understood this and appointed the Levites “to stand every morning to thank and to praise the LORD, and likewise at evening” (1 Chr. 23:30). Notice that their job was to “thank and praise the Lord.” That was it!

The purpose of the House of Prayer is to pray for revival, but it is so much more. Revival will come, but the House of Prayer will never stop. It will just join in with the chorus that has been sung since the creation of those creatures in heaven:

“HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME” (Rev. 4:8).