In this episode, Matthew gives a short but packed out teaching on ways to ruin your prayer meeting - and how to fix it! If you've ever sat through a bad prayer meeting, or tried to engage in prayer unsuccessfully, or want to host a prayer meeting that everyone enjoys, give yourself 20 minutes to listen to this one.

The Presence Pioneers podcast exists to help YOU and your community experience and host the presence of God through day & night worship & prayer – because we believe God’s presence changes everything. Hosted by Matthew Lilley, episodes feature short Bible teachings and interviews with key leaders in the prayer & worship movement.

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RESOURCES FROM MATTHEW • http://presencepioneer.com

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Most people who think of the phrase "prayer meeting" envision something awkward, or boring. Matthew's definitely experienced some like that as well! But no matter what the size of your meeting, he's got some tips on how to ruin it - and how to enjoy it.

1 - Don't start on time.

It's hard enough to get people to a prayer meeting, but if you start late each time, people will show up late, and it'll lose value.

2 - Skip the prayer part of the meeting.

In some instances, it simply gets cancelled. It's lower priority than other church functions, so it gets pushed back fairly often. Or, it turns into "fellowship" time instead and no praying (or very little praying) actually happens.

3 - Have no plan and no leader (or, just "show up and see what happens")

If you think about all the other activities that take place at church, lots of planning takes place and someone is in charge to make sure it's working. Think though what you'll be praying for. Think through who will be directing the prayer times, how long people should be praying, and whether it's more intercessory or worshipful. Having a plan beforehand can really give people a direction.

4 - Just pray what comes to mind (have no focus)

People have a hard time engaging when the prayers are all over the place and random. Coming into agreement is what gives prayer power, and we shut that off when we bounce all around. Having a focus we can all agree on together brings unity and power to the prayer meeting.

5 - Be loud and dominate the meeting

There is definitely biblical merit for loud, passionate prayers, but in a group setting it can occasionally be distracting or make someone else feel like their prayers are less important. Praying too long can also shut it down quickly; more than a few minutes and people are checking out and looking at the door.

6 - Leave your Bible at home

Praying the Bible is a powerful way to host a prayer meeting. It's very easy to get in your feelings and pray something unbiblical, which obviously God will not answer! It also brings unity to pray the Bible, as even with different churches and denominations we can generally agree in the Bible being truth.

7 - Don't sing or worship

When you look at the throne room in Heaven in Revelation 4 and 5, you see the bowl full of incense, which is the prayers of the saints, AND you see the harp worshiping. Starting with music can be an excellent way to get everyone engaged and focused. It doesn't have to be a full band doing the IHOP model (although that's great) - even in your personal prayer time or with a small group you can simply play some worship music on your phone while you pray.

8 (bonus tip!) - Don't teach or train anyone about prayer

If you look at the example of Jesus and His disciples, they didn't ask to be taught how to do miracles or walk on water - they asked Him to teach them how to pray. And yet, most Christians don't have a clear understanding of what prayer can look like or how it should sound. This goes back to being intentional - just a few minutes of biblical and practical training at the beginning can make all the difference.

So, next time you're hosting or just going to a prayer meeting, try applying some of these ideas. Share them with someone who wants to host prayer. It could be the catalyst to build a community of believers around your that really LOVE their prayer meetings!

In this episode, Matthew chats with Torrey Harper, director of The Global Prayer Room in New York City. They talk about what it means to have God's heart for your city.

LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE

Global Prayer Room • http://www.globalprayernyc.org/

The Presence Pioneers podcast exists to help YOU and your community experience and host the presence of God through day & night worship & prayer – because we believe God’s presence changes everything. Hosted by Matthew Lilley, episodes feature short Bible teachings and interviews with key leaders in the prayer & worship movement.

SUBSCRIBE • http://eepurl.com/gfw9vH

RESOURCES FROM MATTHEW • http://presencepioneer.com

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Torrey's journey into the prayer movement started 5 years ago, with a prophetic word that he'd lead a prayer room. He realized very quickly that other people were actually praying day and night, and discovered helpful teachings from leaders like Mike Bickle, as well as the story of the Moravians, that gave him hope and fuel to get started. He jokes that he said yes before he realized the cost of Manhattan real estate! They started small, once a week in a dance studio, and now it's been 5 years of prayer and worship in the heart of Manhattan.

New York is definitely known for being individualistic, and being in a hurry. Torrey has felt God's heart for his city is specific - to cultivate family, and to learn to rest in Him. This was especially challenging in the midst of 2020, with the pandemic and the racial tensions that were building, but they pressed into Jesus and were able to even have an internship for 4 weeks that impacted the hearts of everyone involved!

That's at the heart of Torrey's message - every city has a specific destiny, and God has a specific dream for every place, so just listen first to God's dream for your city. Lean into His heart for where you're living right now. Also, his advice to those starting out is to NOT try to figure out how to make it happen yourself. He says to leave the promise in His Presence, and wait on God's timing.

Matthew asks if there are any scriptures that have been impactful for Torrey on this journey, since sometimes that's all there is to hang on to! Psalm 27:4, he says, has been his pillar, but his favorite is Psalm 132 - that's the cry of his heart, to build a home for the Lord. It's even affected some of the language they use in their prayer meetings, to be sure their hearts are tuned in the right way.

What is God doing now? Torrey feels that 2021 will be a year of revelation. There's a lot of noise happening, but he believes that there are some who will have their eyes opened and see what's really going on. There's also an invitation, he feels, to stop being distracted and walk with God again. He believes God is drawing us back to intimacy, back to the Table with Him. Everything else is being shaken, but we can focus our eyes on Jesus and stay secure.

In this episode, Matthew gives a short teaching on Isaiah 62, and what the Bible promises about the prayer, worship, and missions that will explode before Jesus returns.

The Presence Pioneers podcast exists to help YOU and your community experience and host the presence of God through day & night worship & prayer – because we believe God’s presence changes everything. Hosted by Matthew Lilley, episodes feature short Bible teachings and interviews with key leaders in the prayer & worship movement.

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In verse 6 of Isaiah 62, the term "watchmen on the walls" is used - who are these watchmen? In a practical sense, watchmen were the ones posted on the walls of the city, keeping guard all the time. Isaiah uses this image to compare to intercessors - those who "keep guard" day and night. When Jesus was in the garden, He asks His friends to "watch and pray" (Mark 14:38). In Ephesians 6, when talking about prayer, the term "watchful to the end" is used. Peter uses it also, saying to be "watchful in prayer" - basically, Jesus' return should keep us on alert.

So there's a sense of not just praying, but being alert, listening, and discerning. The watchmen stay focused and pay attention to what's going on.

Right now, there is an unprecedented prayer movement exploding in the earth. This is what Isaiah was prophesying! This is what has to happen before Jesus returns. The watchmen will be on the wall and waiting.

God is the one who sets these watchmen on the wall, according to this verse in Isaiah. And since it's meant to be 24/7, that means you can't be a watchman all by yourself! So God is setting people into communities and families who will watch together.

How does He bring us into this? Matthew looks at verse 5 here. Right before the idea of watchmen is introduced, the idea of God as our bridegroom is introduced. He's drawing us into intimacy first, out of His unbelievable love for us. And when we draw close to Him, we can't ignore what's in His heart, what His plans are for the earth. These watchmen are those who have partnered with Jesus in this way.

So these intercessors are not angry, but full of joy. They are set in families who are running after Jesus just because He's good and they love Him. And the invitation is open to all of us! It will look different for different people, but God is drawing us all. Then, you can look at passages like Isaiah 62 and see yourself in this prophecy coming alive!

In this episode, Matthew chats with R.A. Martinez, a return guest to the podcast, about the Great Commission. A recent stat shows that 81% of church-going Christians in America could not define what "The Great Commission" is - Matthew and R.A. discuss why this is and what can be done.

LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE

MAPS Global • https://www.mapsglobal.org/

The Presence Pioneers podcast exists to help YOU and your community experience and host the presence of God through day & night worship & prayer – because we believe God’s presence changes everything. Hosted by Matthew Lilley, episodes feature short Bible teachings and interviews with key leaders in the prayer & worship movement.

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Matthew starts by asking RA to go into what their communities at MAPS Global are like, since they didn't get into in the last episode. RA says that they are presence centered communities, focusing on worship and prayer together, but that in the place of encountering Jesus, they are seeing more and more people sent out for missions.

This is based in Matthew 9, where Jesus commands them to pray earnestly for laborers, and that He'll send them out. Something grips us when we spend time in prayer! RA says specifically, there are 3 things that will grab hold of us:

1- The Worth of Jesus

2- His Compassion

3- The Anointing to be sent out

This should be pretty encouraging, due to the global prayer movement happening right now, but Matthew asks - what about those praying communities that aren't sending out missionaries? RA says some of it is the language used(it can tend to be a little monastic), but the real issue is that we haven't let God define the output of the prayer movement. Some people will stay and pray, but they should be in families that are sending some out.

To get to that place, you really have to understand the Great Commission. RA believes that it's been "diluted" some in the last 20 years to include just living your life as a Christian. That really takes priority away from those who haven't heard the gospel! The language used in the Great Commission is "ethnos", which means tribes and families - it has nothing to do with having political influence.

Nationalism is a huge hurdle for the Great Commission. Politics have become a major distraction, even in church, when 81% of Christians surveyed couldn't tell you what the Great Commission is! If we're focused on the prosperity of our own nation, we simply don't care about other nations hearing the gospel.

They tie it in here to the Church in Jerusalem. 500 believers go from seeing Jesus' ascension to pray and wait in Jerusalem, and by the time Pentecost happens, their numbers have dwindled to 120. After Pentecost, revival breaks out, but no one leaves for 10 years. Eventually, issues creep in like racism - seen in the story of the widows not being taken care of equally. After that, persecution begins and the Church is scattered to the nations. RA believes the nationalism/racism issue in the early church is what kept them from sharing the gospel to other nations. That's the problem with the melding of "God and country" - it makes enemies of our nation an enemy of the Church in our minds.

Then you throw in the "prosperity gospel" that's so pervasive in America, and the idea of leaving your comfort zone to live sacrificially and endure suffering for missions seems ludicrous. But if you read the Bible, Jesus guarantees suffering for following Him!

But RA believes the turmoil of persecution is what caused the first Church to be sent out, and that we're in the beginning stages of some turmoil in America that will end in some "scattering". God wants us to be part of His plan for the earth, and sometimes we won't listen until there's turmoil. RA takes it as encouragement, not something to be scared of.

So our job, then, is to pay attention. Look outside ourselves, ask God to give us His heart for the nations, and then to serve the Great Commission in whatever way He tells us to.

All across the earth God is raising up day and night worship and prayer! There are an estimated 20,000 groups praying 24-7 right now. The last 20 years has seen an unprecedented explosion of prayer and davidic worship in the body of Christ around the world.

The Presence Pioneers podcast exists to help YOU and your community experience and host the presence of God through day & night worship & prayer – because we believe God’s presence changes everything. Hosted by Matthew Lilley, episodes feature short Bible teachings and interviews with key leaders in the prayer & worship movement.

SUBSCRIBE • http://eepurl.com/gfw9vH

RESOURCES FROM MATTHEW • http://presencepioneer.com

INSTAGRAM • http://instagram.com/presencepioneer/

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The global, Spirit-led prayer movement has taken many forms and expressions, but there are a few models of day & night prayer that have spread at an unusually “viral” pace. The only explanation is that God is breathing on some of these models of prayer to help bring the Church into its function as a house of prayer for all nations (Isaiah 56:7).

There may be many more models of 24-7 prayer, but Matthew Lilley shares about four that he has noticed that seem to have virality.

1) The Harp & Bowl Model

The harp & bowl was developed by the International House of Prayer in Kansas City to sustain their 24-7 prayer and live worship since 1999. This model utilizes live worship music for 2-hour “sets” that serve as either devotional or intercessory prayer meetings. The term harp & bowl describes the combination of prayer and music that reflects the harps and bowls in God’s throne room (see Revelation 5:8). Many communities and prayer ministries around the world have adapted a version of “harp & bowl” in their worship & prayer meetings. It seems that most or all of the communities that have been able to sustain 24-7-365 prayer with live worship have been inspired by IHOP-KC. You can learn more about this model in Mike Bickle’s Harp & Bowl Handbook.

Get the Harp & Bowl Handbook here: https://amzn.to/3smmJbO

2) The Burn Model

Communities around the world have gathered for “Burns” of 12 to 24 to 100+ hours of non-stop worship and prayer. This model focuses on gathering local worship teams to take 1-2 slots of worship. Rather than using a unified worship model (like harp & bowl), burn events allow local worship teams to bring their unique expression and style of worship & prayer for their time slots. Many of the leaders hosting “burn” events have coalesced around the Burn 24-7 movement that was founded by Sean Feucht. However, like the “house of prayer” model developed by IHOP-KC, you will find many people hosting “burns” who are not associated with the Burn 24-7 movement at all. In podcast episode 32 we discussed hosting a virtual 168-hour Burn during the initial COVID-19 lockdown.

3) The 24-7 Prayer Model

The 24-7 prayer movement in the UK started accidentally with a week of 24-7 prayer in England. Their model of prayer is focused on individuals taking hours of prayer in a 24-7 prayer room rather than corporate prayer times. Usually churches or communities will set up a temporary 24-7 prayer for a week or more. These prayer rooms are creative, multi-sensory and full of interactive “prayer stations” to guide people through their time with the Lord. You can learn more about this model in the 24-7 Prayer Manual from Pete Greig. You can also check out podcast episodes 24 and 25 with Lisa Koons, the USA Director of the 24-7 Prayer movement.

Get the 24-7 Prayer Manual here: https://amzn.to/3nD68wU

4) The One Church, One Day Model

In the podcast I refer to this as the “America Prays” model. One of the more recent models of 24-7 prayer that has emerged focuses on empowering local churches to adopt one day of 24-hour prayer each month. When enough churches in a city commit to a day of prayer, they can collectively cover a citywide 24-7-365 prayer calendar. One of the benefits of this model is that local churches can host their 24 hours in whatever format that suits their congregation. This empowers local churches to host day & night prayer, but it also unites them to a citywide vision. We talked more about this model and its impact in Austin, Texas on podcast episode 53 with Trey Kent.

In today's episode, Matthew talks to Trace Vining, a young prayer house leader from Starkville, Mississippi.

LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE

Trace @ New Horizon • http://www.newhorizonsworship.com/trace_vining.html

Trace on Instagram • https://www.instagram.com/tracevining/?hl=en

The Presence Pioneers podcast exists to help YOU and your community experience and host the presence of God through day & night worship & prayer – because we believe God’s presence changes everything. Hosted by Matthew Lilley, episodes feature short Bible teachings and interviews with key leaders in the prayer & worship movement.

SUBSCRIBE • http://eepurl.com/gfw9vH

RESOURCES FROM MATTHEW • http://presencepioneer.com

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Trace's journey as a prayer leader began when he was in the 9th grade! In his personal prayer time, he was struck with the revelation " When we pray, He comes" - and so he decided they should be praying more. He and a few friends from youth group started meeting at the church after school and praying for hours. He had no paradigm for understanding what he was doing(neither did his church leaders at the time!), but felt strongly that it was what God wanted.

He eventually discovered places like IHOP-KC and realized he wasn't alone! He took this with him when he left for college and carried a vision for more and more prayer - starting at 72 hours once a month, and building from there.

They have a great discussion about the "sleeping giant" of traditional churches in the U.S., about facing resistance when branching out in something new like Spirit-filled prayer. But they also both feel a shift happening, and believe God is doing something in those churches. If you find yourself in one of those churches, keep praying for them!

Psalm 139 has been very impactful for Trace. It brought real encouragement during this Covid season, when many leaders have struggled with the decision to keep gathering or not. It lifted him up to consider the character of God in Psalm 139, that coming together to pray meant talking face to face with a God who knows us better than anyone. As Matthew points out, many house of prayer leaders start these prayer ministries for revival, but eventually they all realize that the real prize is just God's presence, and revival is simply a byproduct.

So who has stepped in and helped as a mentor for this very young leader? Local pastors. There was a church in his home state of Alabama that was very helpful and supportive that launched a campus in Mississippi as Trace was moving there for college, and then after getting married the local church was actually able to host their prayer room. Just regular pastors being willing to say yes to a young guy with big vision, and also showing up and praying alongside him.

Matthew asks Trace to speak to those older ones in the church - how can those of us that are beyond the college/young adult phase of life help pour into what's happening in the generations behind us? Trace says that showing up and praying with these younger kids is a lot more impactful than you probably realize. It may look different than it looked when you were in that season, but Trace says it's about honoring each generation.

And what about the younger ones? Trace says sometimes you have to just wait. They had a vision for a prayer room in 2015 but didn't see it until 2017. He also says you have to be willing to change your mind, pay attention to what's happening, and be humble enough to learn. Don't be afraid to ask for spiritual mothers and fathers - don't be afraid to be the one to reach out.

What about the struggles? For Trace, hosting on a college campus means losing people every time someone graduates. It's hard to pour in so hard, and then watch the seasons shift in ways beyond your control. But Trace goes back to Psalm 139 - it's about God, and He doesn't change.

So what's ahead for their crew? Trace says they felt like God wanted them to go back to their roots - those small living room gatherings. They didn't totally understand, but then Covid hit and suddenly it made sense! They want to reach out to more small towns, to people that may feel like hosting prayer isn't something that could happen where they live, and some alongside and equip those people. And Trace is doing more worship, hoping to travel some with that in the future.

But their heartbeat, he says, is that ongoing prayer.

In this quick teaching, Matthew goes through Luke 18 to find the keys Jesus gives us to be faithful in prayer.

The Presence Pioneers podcast exists to help YOU and your community experience and host the presence of God through day & night worship & prayer – because we believe God’s presence changes everything. Hosted by Matthew Lilley, episodes feature short Bible teachings and interviews with key leaders in the prayer & worship movement.

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"We won't pray until we hear His word, and He won't delay when He hears our prayers."

When you look at this story in Luke 18, you first have to understand that this isn't a comparison - it's a contrast. He's saying that if a widow can get a judge who is openly unjust to grant her justice, how much more will God, our Good Father, answer our prayers? It's important to understand that we are approaching a loving Father, and not an angry judge, when we pray. In Luke 11, He touches on this again contrasting earthly fathers and our Heavenly Father.

So the secret here would appear to be that when it comes to prayer, it's not understanding prayer itself that matters as much as understanding Who we're praying to.

We also have to pay attention to who God says we are - we aren't coming as a widow, or a slave, but as a son or daughter. We have a relationship with God that gives us access to come close to Him and lay out our requests.

Then, He connects consistent prayer to having faith. You can also catch that thought in Romans 10:17 - the idea that faith is being aligned with His Word. What that means is, we're reading the Bible and and believing it, so we are praying it - and that builds faith. Who God is, who we are, and what He wants to do on the Earth are what we find in the Bible that we have faith in. So that's what we pray and how we pray.

What is God's justice that it says He'll pour out? It's His kingdom coming down. As He comes, He will confront evil and injustice in the world and in our own hearts. Now, God could do all of this by Himself in an instant, but He loves to work in partnership with humanity to bring His kingdom. That happens through prayer and intercession.

The ultimate culmination of this will be Jesus coming back, which is the end goal of every prayer. That's what the Bible points us to, and that's where our hearts can find hope to keep praying.

In today's episode, Matthew connects with Brad Stroup, a prayer leader from the Dallas-Fort Worth area in Texas. They discuss Brad's story and what it's like to sustain daily prayer meetings, nonstop, for 15 years!

LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE

The Prayer Room DFW • http://www.theprayerroomdfw.com/

The Presence Pioneers podcast exists to help YOU and your community experience and host the presence of God through day & night worship & prayer – because we believe God’s presence changes everything. Hosted by Matthew Lilley, episodes feature short Bible teachings and interviews with key leaders in the prayer & worship movement.

SUBSCRIBE VIA EMAIL • http://eepurl.com/gfw9vH

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EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Brad actually started out as a missionary in North Africa, but felt called away from that - so he stepped away, not knowing for sure what was next. In an encounter with the Holy Spirit, he heard very clearly that he was to start a 5 am prayer meeting the NEXT DAY and not stop until Jesus came back. He laughs that he had no idea what he was saying yes to, but said yes anyway. The next morning, he and a group of young adults started this prayer meeting at his home, and they've gone every day for the last 15 years! It's gone from just that 5 am meeting to an extended group of sets, now from 5 am to 1 am, every single day.

It started as a drive for revival for Brad, but as he went along, he felt more and more that it was simply because Jesus is worthy. It's about rallying a group of people to express their love to God. And, he says, it's how God gets His kingdom done!

They started this prayer meeting not knowing why or what to pray. So, Brad says, they prayed 2 things : first, for more people (he jokes that they grew from 11 people to 3 people very quickly). And people started showing up! Random connections started occurring that led to their numbers actually going up instead of down. Second, they prayed for more houses of prayer to open up all over their area. Brad says they weren't even sure why they prayed this, but they had to pray something. They started getting phone calls months later from the people starting these houses of prayer in these specific locations they'd prayed for, and eventually there were 30 houses of prayer in their city!

Matthew then asks Brad to share the bible verses that have encouraged and sustained him over the years in this calling. His daily Bible reading plan the day they started was 2 Samuel 24, where David bought the dirt that would later be where the tabernacle was built. David refuses gifts from another man to use as sacrifices, making a profound statement : "I will not offer sacrifices to the Lord that cost me nothing." This was encouragement to Brad, who was struggling with this brand new calling that didn't look like the missions work he wanted to do. He accepted that this would be a sacrifice, and that sacrifices have a cost. Giving of time and resources to God, he says, can't always come out of the abundance - sometimes it has to come out of lack. Just like the widow with the 2 mites, the tiniest offering that really is all we've got left is often the most touching to God's heart.

So what have been the hardest parts of this journey? For Brad, it's been the transience of people in the prayer room. Of course, they'd prefer to have people be in it for life, but more often than not people are there for a season and then it's time for them to move on. It's hard to be the guy left over with the calling when everyone else gets to shift in and out sometimes! But it's important, Brad says, to love people well in the transitions.

Lastly, Matthew asks Brad about the importance of consistency. Brad says it's all about the schedule. The single most important administrative role in the prayer movement is creating a schedule that people can stick to. It's a lot of communicating, and shuffling, and readjusting. He compares it to WalMart - the only reason you can decide to go to WalMart anytime is because someone put together a schedule so that someone will always be there! They use the term "sacred trust" for the time commitment a person makes. They choose a 2 hour block somewhere within the prayer room's schedule and commit to be there every week. It's simple, but it lets people get in the door and experience it.

Want to engage? Check out their internship! You can check out their live stream, but of course Brad encourages us to come on down and get in the room.

In this episode, Matthew shares a teaching from Facebook Live that he gave for Cassidy Campbell, a leader in Texas. He saved that video so that he could share it with the Presence Pioneers community as well!

LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE

Cassidy on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/cassidyshawna.campbell

The Presence Pioneers podcast exists to help YOU and your community experience and host the presence of God through day & night worship & prayer – because we believe God’s presence changes everything. Hosted by Matthew Lilley, episodes feature short Bible teachings and interviews with key leaders in the prayer & worship movement.

SUBSCRIBE • http://eepurl.com/gfw9vH

RESOURCES FROM MATTHEW • http://presencepioneer.com

INSTAGRAM • http://instagram.com/presencepioneer/

FACEBOOK • http://facebook.com/presencepioneer/

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Cassidy starts by asking, what is the deal with ministering to God? Does Jesus even need to be ministered to? Matthew quotes Kirk Bennett as saying that not only is it important, it's the most important thing we should do! A lot of people think that you have to be called into ministry, but if you look at Acts 13:1-3, it says that they were all ministering to the Lord, and then Paul and Barnabas got called out to go. That would indicate that everyone ministers, not just those who are called "Ministers".

But does God need ministry? That takes a shift in what we consider ministry. We don't help God or give Him something He doesn't have when we minister to Him. However, when we worship Him, we give Him something He loves. 1 Peter 2:9 says that we are a "royal priesthood" - every believer. So what do priests do? They interact with God, they worship and they offer sacrifices.

That was how ministry to God worked in the Old Testament. Now we are to offer "spiritual sacrifices" like these, as His priests:

Romans 12:1 says that we offer our bodies as sacrifices. This would be laying down our hearts and lives for Him.

Hebrews 13:15 says to offer the sacrifice of praise - that's where our worship comes in. Worship is not for us - it's not about enjoying the music or the moment - it's for God.

Revelation 5:8 says that the elders are offering incense to God, and that incense is the prayers of the saints. So our prayers are a "pleasing aroma" to God that actually brings Him delight!

So when you worship and pray, Matthew says to literally imagine Jesus there - because He is - and know that He is smiling! Cassidy jumps in to point out that this is similar to how we interact with our kids. A parent does not need their child, but they bring so much joy and delight. As Matthew puts it, while this is our duty to minister to God, it is also our Joy. God is a good Father who designed our duty to be the thing that brings us the greatest fulfillment.

Intimacy with Jesus should also be our starting point for everything, but we often skip it because we're chasing our vision and other ministries. And yet, this is where all the power comes from for all those other callings! It's how Jesus started the Church - He told them to go and tarry and pray until the Holy Spirit came, and once the power came, they could rush out with power.

It can feel silly, to be sure. Sitting in a room alone singing and praying doesn't seem like a great use of our time. But if we can understand that we are ministering straight to God's heart and bringing Him Joy when we do that, it'll change everything. As Mike Bickle puts it, there are lovers and workers - and the lovers get way more done than the workers do.

In the garden, in the very beginning, Adam and Eve were put there to be priests and kings. Genesis 2:15 says He put man there to "tend and keep it". But when you realize that Moses wrote Genesis, in the middle of the Israelites caring for the Tabernacle, it jumps out that the phrase "tend and keep it" actually refers to priestly work in the sanctuary. So it would be more accurate to call the Garden of Eden a tabernacle or a sanctuary! The people of Israel, who Moses was writing for, would've read it as a priests job, not a gardener's. God literally created humans to fill the earth with worship from the beginning! So when we minister to Him, we are connecting in with God's original vision for humanity, and our calling from the beginning of time.

In this episode, Matthew interviews Jason Hershey, the founder of David's Tent DC. They go into the history, the victories, and the struggles.

LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE

David's Tent • http://davidstentdc.org

The Presence Pioneers podcast exists to help YOU and your community experience and host the presence of God through day & night worship & prayer – because we believe God’s presence changes everything. Hosted by Matthew Lilley, episodes feature short Bible teachings and interviews with key leaders in the prayer & worship movement.

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Matthew starts by asking Jason for his backstory - how on earth did he end up hosting a 24/7 worship tent on the National Mall for 5 years (and counting)? Jason started out in Lancaster, PA with a Mennonite pastor/dairy farmer for a father, working on the farm with his family. He feels he truly accepted Jesus after his brother came back from a mission trip to Asia, when Jason was 19. It was his first introduction to Grace. At 22, he joined YWAM and hoped to go to the nations full time, but he realized God was calling him to intercede for the U.S. This meant he moved his young family to DC, and began connecting with groups like JHOP, led by Lou Engle. In 2009 and 2010, he went through what he calls a "pruning season", where his entire team left him and his wife there in DC and he had to lean into what God had said. He just started going to any prayer meeting he could find! In 2011, he did a 72 day fast with Lou Engle and the Circuit Rider Movement, and what was birthed out of that was David's Tent. They went to the parks service to find a spot for 40 days to start, hoping to find a side park to set up, and they suggested them setting up on the Ellipse instead, in view of the White House. So they did 40 days in 2012 and 2013, 50 days in 2014, and on September 11th, 2015 (in honor of Amos 9:11), they began the 24/7 model that's still going today.

Matthew then asks him to expound on that pruning season - it's a pretty common setback for people with big vision. So what did Jason learn in that season? He calls it "the dark night of the soul". His advice is simply Isaiah 35 - Be strong, fear not, your God will come. It's tempting to believe what's happening is your fault, but he insists that if you can trust God, you will come out of the wilderness "leaning on your Beloved", with deeper intimacy. God isn't pruning the ministry, He's pruning us.

Looking back at David's Tent over the last 9 years, Jason recalls the cookie jar. They have a prayer request cookie jar in the tent, where anyone passing through can write down a prayer request and then the staff will pray over it for 2 weeks. They've averaged 400-700 prayer requests in that cookie jar EVERY MONTH! Most of the time, there are 3-10 people in the tent, not huge crowds. It's actually random people off the street - joggers will stop in, write it down, and jog out. Jason believes this proves that people are hungry for God. One woman flew back to DC from Georgia just to tell them that her daughter had been healed of depression after she put it in the cookie jar!

That's one of the special things about the tent setup - people can just wander in and experience what God's doing. Committing to 24/7 prayer is "weird" enough, but committing to do it outdoors takes it to another level. Jason definitely got ostracized a bit for wanting to do prayer "instead of" missions, but he's watched them converge at David's Tent in a powerful way.

So what are some of the challenges of sustaining this for years? Basically, he says, prayer doesn't END the conflict - it starts it. You're poking at things that the enemy wants left alone, and that will lead to attack. Often, it's through relationships that he attacks, which can be heartbreaking. The other challenge is the nightwatch - he jokes that people are into the nightwatch for about 2 weeks tops. There's also been a rise in issues with the homeless, since Covid has shut down the shelters. But Jason says the solution is to rejoice, and be glad that you can see the big picture.

The team there believes in building from the Father's House - He must be the strength of the house. They must be going deeper on a heart level, and not just powering through. It can't just be in the tent - it must be in our lives.