Pasadena Ministry Trip part 1: The Journey Begins

On April 23, 2015January 5, 2019 By CaitlynIn IHOPKC Life

For this year’s spring ministry trips with IHOPU, I had the privilege of going to Pasadena, CA with a team of 52 students and staff! As I wrote previously, it was a ten day trip partnered with the Pasadena House of Prayer that culminated in a Onething Regional conference at the end of the week!

But first, we had to get there.

We left IHOPU at noon on Friday, April 10, crammed into four 15-passenger vans and towing a U-Haul trailer. We passed the time by filming music videos in our vans and posting them on Facebook. Other trips were posting videos too from their own vans on the road to places like Atlanta and New York, so we all enjoyed challenging each other!

We arrived late that night in Amarillo, TX, where two of our girls are from. Their church and families were gracious enough to host us that night and feed us breakfast the next morning. We were on the road again around 8:00 the next morning.

We drove all day Saturday and were hosted that night by an Assemblies of God church in Needles, CA. Needles is a small town of about 4800 people in the desert on the California-Arizona border. Reportedly it is the second poorest city in California. We had never had any previous contact with this church at all, but we needed a place to stay and just started making phone calls. This church was the first one we talked to and they immediately welcomed us! They let us sleep on the floor in their classrooms and fed us a massive breakfast of bacon and eggs the next day.

We were all amazed at how generouly this church welcomed us. They had never met us, but we were brothers and sisters in Christ and they welcomed us warmly as family. Before we left, we all prayed for them, and then they all prayed for us. God definitely knit our hearts together.

“Love one another with brotherly affection… Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.”
(Romans 12:10a, 13)

Our team Saturday morning with our Needles host church!

On Sunday, we finished our drive and arrived in Pasadena mid-afternoon! We stayed in beautiful dorms at the Venture Center, formerly known as the U.S. Center for World Missions. This 17-acre campus is home to 12 separate ministries living in community together, including the Pasadena House of Prayer. The campus was beautiful, and had plenty of palm trees to feed my palm-starved CaliGirl soul.

That night we did a bit of exploring on foot downtown on Colorado Blvd and shopped at Forever 21 and Target. I hugged a palm tree, because I wasn’t kidding about the palm-starved soul thing.

For real. This CaliGorl needs her fronds. — For real. This CaliGirl needs her fronds.

We also had a team meeting and shared what our individual goals were for the week. One thing that I shared with the team is that I was so excited to be back in my home region with my IHOPU family. Pasadena is about 40 minutes from my hometown; in fact, we drove directly past MY exit on MY freeway and were less than a mile from my front door. To be able to bring all of them to see and serve my Southern California was a dream come true. I told them that my goal for this week was to recruit them all as intercessors. They won’t all be called to move to California (though some of them may be!) but I hope they all catch God’s heart for the Golden State and continue in prayer for it for a very long time.

Jesus loves Southern California. He really, really does. As Dave Sliker pointed out at the conference later in the week, God has repeatedly visited Southern California in a unique way, from the Jesus Movement to the Azusa Street Revival. I am convinced that He has unique plans in His heart for my home state, and I am so honoured and excited to be a part of it.

Journal prayer Friday, April 3, at our last ministry team intercession set in the prayer room. Song lyrics by Jake Hamilton.

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Repentance: The Seed of Revival

On March 30, 2015March 20, 2020 By CaitlynIn IHOPKC Life4 Comments

Today, I showed up for my 10:00 am IHOPU class just like usual on a Monday morning with the rest of my junior classmates. Generally at this time the sophomore 8:00 am class would just be getting out, but as I approached the room, I heard music playing and what sounded like someone crying on the mic. I was told that the Spirit was moving and we were welcome to come in, but normal class plans were on hold for the time being.

When I walked into the room, one student was playing softly on piano, and another student was on the mic sharing a tearful testimony. It was really more of a confession of some deep spiritual struggles; he was being incredibly courageous and vulnerable. The whole room was silent aside from quiet weeping. I found myself tearing up as well as this student whom I’ve never even met shared his heart– and I almost NEVER cry.

Today was special. There was something different in the room.

For the next three hours, through all the time our class was supposed to take and then some, one student after another came to the mic to confess and repent of various struggles and sins. It truly was a holy moment. (God bless our teachers for completely setting aside their lessons plans and letting the Holy Spirit have His way!)

There was something so freeing and cleansing about opening up to each other in that way. I had a chance to see my classmates as people- with their own struggles, weaknesses, and fears. I’ve been in class and in the prayer room with all of these people for years, and to hear them get up and say, “For years I’ve struggled with…” really made me realise afresh that we’re all broken. None of us belongs on a pedestal.

We are all so broken and in need of grace.

After each person shared, a group of us gathered around them to pray for them and speak truth over them. We covered each other in the love of the Father who was so tenderly embracing us, individually and corporately.

His nearness was so sweet.

As I left the class-that-wasn’t-a-class and went about my day, I felt deeply cleansed and freed from the pressure of holding myself together. I don’t have to hold myself together. I don’t have to hide the shame of my struggles. I can bring them into the light and let them get washed away by the healing presence of God expressed through His people.

The sophomore class in which this movement was sparked was a class on revival history. They had been studying how every great revival of history had corporate repentance of sin as a key element.

When we pray for revival, usually we mean the healings, the dramatic salvations, the “fire.” YES and amen to all of that!

But that isn’t where it starts.

God is after the heart. He is after people broken in humility and dependence before Him, clinging to the cross with full realisation that it’s their only hope. And it doesn’t start with those we’re trying to reach. It starts with us.

“If my people who are called by my name
humble themselves,
and pray and seek my face
and turn from their wicked ways,
then
I will hear from heaven
and will forgive their sin
and heal their land.”
(2 Chronicles 7:14)

The big point that I felt God hitting amongst us was pride. As one of my classmates said today, if God gives us powerful revival, but we’re still stuck in our pride, it will actually draw us away from God rather than to Him. We’ve got to get ourselves out of the way. He’s the only one who belongs on the throne.

Pride robs Jesus of His rightful glory. Jesus’ mercy can’t be glorified if we insist on acting like we’ve got it all together. His power is made perfect in weakness, but we’re often too busy saying “What weakness? I’m awesome!” and then we crash and burn when we realise we’re not.

Repentance is a chance to throw ourselves again on God’s mercy and receive His lavish love. It’s not about us trying harder to fix ourselves. As another classmate shared, God says to us, “I died so that this conversation wouldn’t be about you.” When we come to Him to confess, we’ve simply got to get our eyes off of us and onto the cross, where the blood of Jesus really does cover us completely. He really does see us as holy. He really does delight in us!

None of us expected what happened this morning, but the Holy Spirit moved so strongly on our hearts. We wept, we confessed, we embraced, we covered each other, and we renewed our desire to press on in loving Jesus together.

In less than two weeks, we go out on our ministry trips. We all felt strongly that God is refining and purifying us so that He can use us on these trips.

Please pray for us, that God would continue the good work that He started, that we would be sensitive to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and that God would strengthen us together as a family to carry His kingdom in humility wherever He leads.

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”
(James 5:16)

“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”
(Acts 3:19)

“Love covers a multitude of sins.”
(1 Peter 4:8)

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IHOPU Ministry Trip: Pasadena 2015

On March 17, 2015January 5, 2019 By CaitlynIn IHOPKC Life8 Comments

Hello, friends! I have a very exciting announcement for you– This April I’m going to be coming to Pasadena on a ministry trip with IHOPU! We do spring ministry trips to different cities every year. Last year we went to twelve cities and I was on the Chicago team. This year is different because we’re just going to seven cities (Pasadena, Kansas City, New York, Orlando, Dallas, Twin Cities, and St. Louis) with teams of about 50 students and at the end of every week, April 17-18, we’ll put on a Onething conference in each of those locations! This is the first time IHOPKC has ever tried to do simultaneous regional conferences like this. We’ll have key leaders from IHOPKC coming out to each city to help lead the conference. Laura Hackett Park and Anna Blanc will be leading worship for us in Pasadena and Dave Sliker will be speaking!

Before the conference, we’ll be doing some work with the Pasadena House of Prayer and the Azusa House of Prayer, as well as outreach at the campuses of USC and APU! I am so excited for this opportunity to come home (I grew up about 40 minutes away from there) with IHOPU to serve local believers and strengthen houses of prayer. APU is my alma mater, so when I heard we would be going home to MY school, I would have probably cried if I hadn’t been too busy jumping up and down. I remember when IHOPU came to Azusa in 2010 before I graduated. This really feels like a “full circle” season for me, and I can’t wait to see what God’s going to do!

Click below to check out the info page and promo video:

Here’s a peek at our itinerary:

April 10-12 Driving – connect with PIHOP leadership
April 13 Outreach at USC
April 14 Outreach in Azusa and Hollywood
April 15 Prayer room at PIHOP
April 16 Fun day in Santa Monica
April 17-18 Onething conference at PIHOP!!
April 18-20 Drive home to KC

As a team, we’ve been praying for Southern California every Friday at 4pm in the prayer room. (You can stream our set via the 24/7 webstream, either live or archived.) There’s something so powerful about gathering as a team to ask for God’s heart and intercede for the region God has called us to. For me, it’s especially powerful to get to pray with my new spiritual family for the region where my roots are, and where nearly all of the people I have ever known still live. Last Friday as we were praying and singing for college campuses in SoCal, I ended up curled into a ball sobbing, unable to form any words but knowing I was touching God’s heart. This isn’t distant to me. This is my home. I am so hungry to see God move in California.

I am so excited for this opportunity to serve California with my IHOPU family! If you’re in the area, please come to the conference and be blessed! If you’re not, please do still “pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you.” (2 Thessalonians 3:1)

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Hello, Junior Year!

On August 18, 2014January 5, 2019 By CaitlynIn IHOPKC Life1 Comment

I know. I know, I know, I know. I promise I’m not dead. I’m still here, just got a little lax about keeping up with the blogosphere.

So here’s a speed update of what my life has been since I last wrote:

My last IHOPU semester ended on May 16. Since then, I’ve been able to pick up more hours at Bed Bath and Beyond. I work in the bridal department and love getting to help couples set up their wedding registries! I also picked up a job as a sub at a daycare. How I got that job was a total miracle– one of my friends who works there had been talking to the director about me, and before I could even meet her or get an application, I was asked to start working! God is so faithful.

The highlight of my summer was my brother’s wedding in California on June 28. His now-wife was his first girlfriend, and they’ve been together for around three years. It was such a joy to spend time with some of my favourite people in the world.

Today, my junior year at IHOPU started! I am so excited for the journey I’m embarking on. I’m finally in the House of Prayer Leadership major, and this quarter I’m taking Theology of Israel, Biblical Partnership Development, and my major’s practicum, as well as singing on a worship team in the student prayer room twice each week. It’s going to be a gooood semester.

One other piece of big news to share: I’M MOVING!! Spurred by the fact that both of my long-term flatmates are leaving town, I decided it’s time to find a good group of IHOPU girls with whom to live, people who are immersed in the same lifestyle as me. Through a series of events, I ended up looking at a five bedroom house for rent with four other girls, all of whom are dear friends of mine from IHOPU. I freaked out for a while because the house is so big and empty and expensive, but between all of us it’s really about the same rent as what I’m already doing, and I am now so excited to live with these beautiful, godly ladies and make this big empty house our home.

Thanks for hanging in there with me through the quiet summer months! I am so excited about what this new year will bring, and I’m looking forward to taking all of you along with me on the journey.

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Chicago is Praying

On April 18, 2014January 5, 2019 By CaitlynIn IHOPKC Life2 Comments

Hi, all! I meant to get this blog up much earlier this week, but I came home to a book to finish reading and an accompanying 500 words to write on it, an outline of Acts to write, discussion posts online to complete, shifts to work, classes to attend, my country’s 500th anniversary to plan, my wedding to arrange, my wife to murder and Guilder to frame for it.* I was swamped.

So here is the long-awaited report on my Chicago ministry trip with IHOPU!

I’ve done mission trips before, but they’ve always been very service oriented. Never before have I been on a trip specifically focussed on prayer and strengthening the church. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I loved discovering the power of simply coming to encourage. Even when I felt like I had nothing to give, just being in the room praying with my Chicago brothers and sisters was powerful, and they were touched and strengthened to keep doing what they are called to.

We left KC around 6:00 a.m. on Sunday, April 6, and arrived in Chicago in time to join some students of Moody Bible Institute for their Sunday night prayer meeting. Though we were exhausted, it was an honour to join with them to cry out for revival on their campus and in their city. I met two girls named Jessica and Jung who were my prayer partners throughout the rest of the week, and we’re still in touch and praying for each other.

On Monday we spent our morning as we did every day, spending “family time” together in the mansion that hosted us most of the time. (Half our team stayed there, and the rest of us were spread out over a few other host homes, also very large and hospitable.) And when I say “mansion,” that’s no exaggeration, y’all. It’s in Hinsdale, a very affluent suburb of Chicago, and is owned by a former NFL legend. The Von Trapp mansion came to mind more than once. I lost count of the number of rooms and staircases in this place. The family wasn’t there, but the people who took care of us were exceptionally hospitable. (And in Chicago, hospitality apparently equals FOOD. We ate so much on this trip…)

That night we went to Northwestern University to pray and worship with them at the Rock, a campus landmark that according to tradition students may guard for 24 hours for the privilege of painting it to promote any cause or event they choose. These students were guarding it in order to paint it for the Veritas Forum, at which a Christian, a Jew, and an atheist discussed the role of faith on a secular campus. (Read Northwestern’s report of the event HERE.)

On Tuesday morning during our family time we had a very special opportunity to minister to some leaders of Young Life. Some of the main leaders of the campus youth ministry organisation allowed us to pray and prophesy over them, and the Holy Spirit really moved and touched them.

That night most of us went to lead a prayer and worship night at a church, but I and three others went to a prayer meeting held by some Loyola students in a small living room downtown. It was casual, intimate, honest, and passionate. These students had a deep desire to see the Holy Spirit move in their community, and they prayed for many by name to be saved.

Wednesday was our day to see the city. We walked from Moody to the Bean in downtown Chicago, and from there we scattered to explore and sightsee. We finished up the night with ice cream and games to one of our host homes. I love my team. I don’t know when I last laughed that hard.

Downtown with my new friend Jung (with others from our team posing in the background!)

Thursday evening after stuffing our bellies with real deep dish Chicago pizza from Giordano’s, we hosted an intercollegiate prayer meeting at a church. I had the privilege of singing with the worship team as we led worship and prayer for two hours with the harp and bowl model.

Friday and Saturday were our 24-hour prayer “burn” from 8:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.. This was an event called Illuminate Chicago put on by the Chicago Prayer Network, a coalition of local churches dedicated to prayer and unity, and we were only there to support them. I was on the night watch for the burn, so I was at the church from 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. (plus our set up time). I slept till about 1:00 p.m., and came back for the closing of the burn from 4:00 to 8:00.

This was such a beautiful event to watch because it wasn’t about IHOPKC coming in and taking over and leading. It was the local churches — the Body of Christ in that city — that were taking the tools we had given them in years past, making them their own, and running with them. Around 20 churches came together for this, and many churches provided worship teams and prayer leaders to carry the torch two hours at a time, just like we do in the prayer room in Kansas City. IHOPU only led three sets out of the whole 24 hours.

Over and over, I kept looking at the room, breaking out in a huge grin, and whispering to Jesus, “CHICAGO IS PRAYING!”

IHOPU team leading a set — IHOPU team leading the final set

It was such a privilege to be in the room keeping the fire on the altar (Leviticus 6:13) with and for Chicago for those 10 hours overnight. I was praying for strength simply to stay awake, and God more than came through. At first I was praying and singing and pacing almost the entire time, and I was recruited to sing on the 4:00 a.m. worship set, which the leader decided to make a worship with the word set instead of an intercession set like most of the other teams were doing. I spent 4:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. singing through Psalm 84.

“How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God… For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.”
(Psalm 84:1-2, 10a)

As I was leaving this trip and coming home, my heart was overwhelmed with the goodness of God and the vastness of His purposes. My heart has been knit to the city of Chicago, and I know I will be praying for Moody, Northwestern, Loyola, and the churches of the Chicago Prayer Network for a long time. So often it’s easy for me to get into my little Kansas City bubble and miss what God’s doing all in different cities all over the world. He is stirring up His people to pray. He is putting a burning desire for revival in them. Jesus is building His church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18)

*These last four items may or may not be facetious. Just in case anyone was confused.

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Chicago Bound!

On April 5, 2014January 5, 2019 By CaitlynIn IHOPKC Life1 Comment

As soon as I finish this blog post, I have some packing to do. Why? Because tomorrow morning at 5:30 I am leaving for Chicago! I am so excited to do this ministry trip with my IHOPU brothers and sisters. We’re going to pray and worship with churches and prayer groups in the city, especially at Moody Bible Institute, and really just come alongside and encourage what the Lord is doing there. He has such a big place in His heart for that city, and such big plans for His church there… I can’t wait to tell you stories when I come back!

Our theme for all of the spring ministry teams this year is Malachi 1:11–

“For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts.”
(Malachi 1:11)

On Friday/Saturday we’re going to do a 24 hour “Prayer Burn,” in which we will basically do a 24-hour slice of what we do in the IHOPKC prayer room, with rotating worship teams, prayer leaders, etc. I was asked to be part of the Night Watch team for that, so I’ll be praying through the wee early hours of the morning! I’m also going to be singing on a worship team during the 6:00 a.m. set on Saturday morning. I’ve never done night watch and I’ve only sung on a worship team a few times (and never for the full two hours), so much prayer for grace is appreciated!

Also, please pray for safety on the road and throughout the trip! Idris (my car) and I are going to be driving a carload of girls on the long road to and from Chicago and throughout the week to our ministry locations. God has such big plans for this week, as we go to cities across America. Let’s pray for His purposes to be accomplished in and through us!

All you hashtaggers on Facebook, Twitter, and especially Instagram can follow all the IHOPU teams on their trips with the hashtag #IHOPUGO2014.

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IHOPU Ministry Trip: Chicago 2014

On March 1, 2014January 5, 2019 By CaitlynIn IHOPKC Life3 Comments

Greetings, friends! A lot has been going on the past few weeks, but one of the most exciting things coming up is an IHOPU ministry trip to Chicago over April 6-13!

This time last year, I was at home in CA working at camp and looking at all the spring ministry trip pictures on Facebook. I am so excited that this year I can actually participate in going out to partner with the prayer movement across the nation. The vision for incense arising from every nation, tribe, and tongue is so much bigger than Kansas City. God is putting this fire in the hearts of believers all over the earth, and I am so excited to partner with what He’s doing in Chicago.

About thirty of us will be partnering with local colleges, churches, and houses of prayer, especially supporting the prayer group at Moody Bible Institute. We’ll put together several events for the community, including a full 24 hour period of prayer and worship called Illuminate Chicago, which we also did last year. I am so excited for this. Especially after my time at APU, I have a big heart to see college students throw themselves into a lifestyle of prayer and worship with expectancy for God to move.

The leaders of this trip put together a sweet promo video:

You can also find out more about the trip on the blog page HERE.

This is going to be such an amazing experience. I will so much appreciate your prayers for our team as we prepare for this trip, for the church in Chicago as they prepare to receive us, and for the hearts of all those God wants to touch.

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A New Semester and the Harp and Bowl Model

On January 25, 2014January 5, 2019 By CaitlynIn IHOPKC Life, Prayer and Worship7 Comments

My second semester at IHOPU began on Monday. This quarter I’m taking Foundations of Biblical Eschatology, New Testament Survey, and Forerunner Messenger Practicum. The Practicum is broken up into three rotations, one of which is Harp and Bowl (the model for combining prayer and worship that we use in the prayer room). For my other two rotations I chose Preaching and Teaching, and Writing, out of options including Social Media, Creative Media, and Drama. I know, I know, Drama would be right up my alley, but I already spent four years developing my personal philosophy of Christians in the arts. I would not be able to come into that class with an open mind. Besides, drama is already something I know I have. Preaching and teaching is almost completely new to me, and both that and writing are things I’m feeling called to step into more.

Also, as part of the practicum, I’ll be placed as a singer on a student harp and bowl team. I was on an intern worship team for about three weeks during my internship, but other than that (and one Sunday morning singing at The Refuge) I’ve never been on a worship team before. I am SO excited for this!

For those not familiar with the harp and bowl model, it’s drawn from Revelation 5:8.

“And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.”
(Revelation 5:8)

Anything that combines prayer and worship (specifically of the musical variety) can be considered “harp and bowl,” but the way we do harp and bowl is a whole structure that is designed to provide an atmosphere for maximum engagement in the room. Singing brings unity, and singing the Word and singing prayers from the Word–WOW!!

At IHOPKC, we mostly do two kinds of harp and bowl sets: worship with the Word, and intercession. Both are structured essentially the same, with times of corporate worship interspersed with times of spoken prayer developed by spontaneous singing. Here’s what your standard two-hour harp and bowl intercession set looks like:

Intercession set several years ago (old stage design). See that far right seat in the front row? That’s my seat. Every time.

The worship team consists of a worship leader on (usually) guitar or keys, at least three prophetic singers, musicians, and a prayer leader. At the start of the set, the worship leader will begin leading a familiar worship song as the rest of the team is transitioning onto the stage. We’ll have a time of corporate worship for 20-40 minutes, mostly consisting of worship songs that everyone already knows with maybe a bit of spontaneous singing sprinkled in as the Spirit leads.
When it’s time to transition into the prayer time, the worship leader will initiate several minutes of singing in the Spirit. (“What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also.” 1 Corinthians 14:15) At this time, everyone will sing at the same time, either in tongues or with whatever words of praise are on their hearts.
Then, the prayer leader will start leading intercession from the podium just off stage right. The musicians will usually start playing something with a more driving beat, and many people in the room will stand up if they’re not already to help themselves engage more fully. The prayer leader will choose a verse, preferably an apostolic prayer, and pray from that for 2-3 minutes. It may go something like this:
- “Praying for the ending of sex trafficking in Thailand from Ephesians 1:17-19. ‘That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power.’ So God, I pray that You would break into Thailand with the spirit of wisdom and revelation. Open up their eyes to see You rightly. Let the traffickers see who You are and be transformed, and let those trafficked see You and be filled with hope…”
After the prayer leader finishes “in the name of Jesus,” the singers will one by one sing spontaneous phrases inspired by the verse and the prayer. The prayer leader may interject phrases of spoken prayers to help guide the singers. It may sound like this:
- “Oh, God, bring wisdom and revelation to Thailand…”
  “Wisdom and revelation…”
  — “Open up their eyes!”
  “Open up their eyes and let them see You…”
  — “Bring deliverance!”
  “Great Deliverer, bring deliverance…”
After a minute or two, the chorus leader (the first singer) will launch a short, simple chorus that the whole room can jump in on, and then will end with a name of God. Maybe something like:
- “You are the God of justice
  You are the God of deliverance
  Open up their eyes
  Open up their eyes
  [repeat]
  Open up their eyes, oh God”
  [Note: I just made up all of these prayers and choruses off the top of my head, so what you’d actually hear in the prayer room may be quite a bit better.]
After the chorus, the prayer leader will either pray again, or another person will come up to pray, and the process will repeat.
At some point during the intercession cycle, the prayer leader will invite a time of rapid fire prayer. At this time, anyone in the room can come line up behind the podium to pray a short 5-10 second prayer on the chosen topic. Every ten or so people, the chorus leader will interrupt with a chorus the whole room can sing together for a minute, then the prayer line will continue.
After the line ends, the worship team may continue with a chorus, someone may feel inspired to sing a solo prophetic oracle for a few minutes on the intercession topic, or the worship leader may take the room back into corporate worship.
After another 20 minutes or so of worship, another intercession cycle will commence.

A worship with the Word set is essentially the same, except that instead of a prayer leader leading intercession, there will be a prayer leader guiding the team through meditation on a short passage of the Bible. Phrase by phrase, the singers will develop the verse (paraphrase, interpret, and expand it). One person’s insight will spark another’s, and as a corporate body we will go somewhere in the Spirit we couldn’t go alone. Singing the Word, whether in intercession or meditation, is the best way I know of to make it a part of you. You may forget the verse you heard in a sermon, or even the verse you read in your own Bible, but you’ll find it difficult to forget the verse you sang. The centrality of the Word is of primary importance in every harp and bowl set.

This model is incredibly flexible and is easily adapted to any culture or context. It fosters unity and an atmosphere of enjoyable prayer–and enjoyable prayer is sustainable prayer.

“These I will bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.”
(Isaiah 56:7)

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Onething 2013

On January 17, 2014February 10, 2024 By CaitlynIn IHOPKC Life

I arrived back in Kansas City on December 27. I would have stayed in California longer, but I was eager to get back to Kansas City to attend the annual Onething conference December 28-31.

Onething 2013 — “Rightly do we love You, Son of God, Son of Man. Rightly do we love You, Jesus…”

Since 2002, IHOPKC has dedicated the last few days of the year to a massive young adult conference with the chief aim of growing passion for Jesus in the “one thing” spirit of Psalm 27:4. In 2002, over 4000 people attended; in 2013, over 35,000 people filled Bartle Hall in downtown KC. I had just taken ten days off of work to go home, so I didn’t want to take any more time off for the conference, but I made sure to be there every chance I got. Since I had so little time to be there, I signed up to serve every session I could. I served two shifts in the bookstore and two on the ministry team. As much fun as I had working with books in a retail environment, my favourite times were when I got to wear the blue “Ministry Captain” vest. I got to go up front during worship and sing my heart out with the crowd of young people pressing close to the stage, then move through them during the ministry times and lay hands on them and pray for God to move in their lives. I believe God gave me several divine appointments with people He wanted me to pray over, and a few of them keep coming to mind and I’m still praying for them.

This year was extra special because we had several special guests. Matt Redman, Jesus Culture (including Banning Liebscher!), and Francis Chan all joined us. That was of course in addition to our own amazing IHOPKC worship leaders and speakers such as Misty Edwards, Laura Hackett, Justin Rizzo, Allen Hood, Corey Russell, and Brian Kim. Matt Gilman even came back to worship with us! He led us in some very loud, sweaty, dancey worship through midnight on December 31. We entered the first minutes of 2014 with dancing, singing, and shouting praise to Jesus!

The recurring theme through the teaching all weekend was David’s vow in Psalm 132.

“I will not enter my house
or get into my bed,
I will not give sleep to my eyes
or slumber to my eyelids,
until I find a place for the Lord,
a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
(Psalm 132:3-5)

This vow highlights the urgency of forsaking personal comfort for the pursuit of God having a dwelling place on earth. In David’s time, that meant building the Temple. Ultimately, that will mean Jesus’ personal return to the planet. Throughout all times, however, it means the manifest presence of God dwelling among us. We want God here. We want to create an environment in which God is welcome. We are not okay without Him. Everything else is secondary.

We need to regain this urgency.

I need to regain this urgency.

Francis Chan and Misty Edwards both spoke about Revelation 3 and the slow slide into lukewarmness. The scary thing is that we can be in such a spiritually dynamic environment and still realise one day that we don’t have the same fire we once did. I once wrote in my journal during the final few weeks of my internship:

“I’ve learned that going dull is not acceptable. And it can be fought with actual tools I’ve been given. I was created to live in communion with Him. If I can’t hear His voice, that’s a problem. If I can’t seem to remember why I need to, that’s a full-blown crisis. I need to live inside His heartbeat… If I read this later and realise I’m not–consider this the trumpet sounding in Zion. Shields up, red alert. Houston, we have a problem. There is no neutral in the Kingdom. You’re either going forward or back… if you don’t have that constant communion with Jesus, get on your face, figure out why, and then do whatever it takes to get it back.”

This is what’s been striking me the past few weeks. I’m hearing that Joel 2 trumpet sounding in Zion. I want to hit 2014 running harder than I ever have before. I am not okay without the daily presence of God.

Lord, help me.

Watch the archives of the Onething 2013 conference here: IHOPKC.org/onething And don’t miss Corey Russell’s teaching on Psalm 132!

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In Living We Die, In Dying We Live

On October 6, 2013January 5, 2019 By CaitlynIn Bible Stuff

(One of my IHOPU classes, Basic Christian Beliefs, is giving the assignment of blogging on certain questions from the lessons every week. This week, I’m choosing the question “Why should Christians break bread together?”)

On the night before His death, Jesus acted out a picture of what He was about to do.

Don’t just read the verses. Enter into the quiet, sacred drama of the moment. Let it take your breath away.

“And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, ‘I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.’

“And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, ‘Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.’

“And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’

“And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.'”
(Luke 22:14-20)

This is one of the sacraments or ordinances that the Church has practiced together for generations. Jesus left us this tangible reenactment to keep His death fresh in our minds. When we come to the table, we come in humility, as a family of grace, each repenting of our sins and thanking Jesus again for His body and blood that were sacrificed for us.

This partaking of the bread and wine together is about many things, but at its core it is about embracing death in order to receive life. Consider this episode from earlier in Jesus’ ministry:

“So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.’

“Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum. When many of his disciples heard it, they said, ‘This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?’ …After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.”
(John 6:53-60, 66)

This kind of talk is confusing and offensive! Jesus clearly wasn’t trying to “win friends and influence people” here. He was inviting people into the experience of embracing His death and making His death a part of them. He wants us so closely identified with His death that we are willing to “eat His flesh and drink His blood.” He wants His death entwined into our DNA.

Paul said that baptism represents the same reality.

“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”
(Romans 6:3-5)

Again, life and death and death and life, all wrapped up in each other. Ted Dekker explored this theme in his novel When Heaven Weeps. “The path to life runs through death… In living we die, in dying we live.”

Paul actually said that when we take the bread and the cup, we “proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:26) He was warning the believers in Corinth about taking the Lord’s supper lightly, as merely a chance to eat and drink, without showing concern for one another and without repenting. This is not church snack time. This is a holy reenactment of the most scandalous, tragic, glorious event in history. GOD DIED. He had a body and it was ripped to shreds while blood gushed out. He was mocked, beaten, nailed to a tree, and died in agony.

“Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
(Matthew 26:27-28)

When we take communion or “break bread” together as a family, we are corporately reidentifying ourselves with the death of Christ. His blood cleanses us, His suffering heals us, and His death brings us to life.

How dare we ever for a moment forget.

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Fragrance Arise

Tag: International House of Prayer

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Repentance: The Seed of Revival

IHOPU Ministry Trip: Pasadena 2015

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IHOPU Ministry Trip: Chicago 2014

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Onething 2013

In Living We Die, In Dying We Live