24/7 Prayer in the Spirit of the Tabernacle of David

I was thirty-three years old when God called me to transition from being a youth pastor to move my family to Kansas City to learn the message, model, vision, and values of the House of Prayer. I was working for an incredible church and just when things seemed to be peaking, the Lord called me away to seek Him in perpetual worship and prayer.

A year later, along with a small team, I planted IHOP-Atlanta with 40 hours a week of worship and prayer. Within 16 months that worship and prayer meeting grew to 24-hours a day. In full disclosure, there have been many times I wanted to quit because the challenges of building a ceaseless sanctuary of live worship and prayer are intense; from the funding to the personnel needed to keep the worship going to the pastoral load. But even when we are faithless God is faithful. By the grace of God, IHOP-Atlanta has continued to host a live worship- led prayer meeting to this very day. Today, February 12th, we celebrate 14 years of ceaseless worship and prayer.

Oftentimes people misunderstand the reasoning behind ceaseless worship and prayer. They think it’s simply a charismatic worship experiment without much biblical basis. But the truth is there is rich theology behind what we do in the house of prayer. The idea for 24/7 worship was first explained and operated by King David. Many people miss the fact that his kingdom was based in ceaseless worship and prayer, which took place directly before the Ark of the Covenant. It’s David’s model that has provided the blueprint for much of what takes place in our modern houses of prayer.

The very first thing David did when He took the throne of Israel in Jerusalem was bring the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem (2 Sam 6-7, 1 Chron 15-16). David set the Ark in a tent and commanded Asaph, the song leader, along with specifically trained singers and musicians, to worship the Lord before the Ark night and day (1 Chron 16:37).

David had 288 singers and musicians whose sole job was to worship the Lord before the Ark. There were 24 worship teams all led by a family elder, with 12 members each who served the Lord in this manner. This worship and prayer meeting was the centerpiece of His government and the nation of Israel for the entirety of his reign. (1 Chron 25:6-7)

The number of singers and musicians ultimately grew to 4,000. (1 Chron 23:5) Consider the implications of having a governmental emphasis on worship and prayer that was so significant that 4,000 musicians and singers were financially underwritten to worship the Lord night and day!

It was in this place of worship that the majority of the Psalms of David were written. David’s Tabernacle started a new order of worship that didn’t previously exist in the earth. God gave David the vision to match the throne room in heaven with ceaseless worship on earth. It was truly “on earth as it is in heaven.”

We have not comprehended the level of dynamic spiritual activity that took place in the tabernacle of David. The glory of God dwelt in plain sight above the mercy seat on the Ark of the Covenant. As the singers and musicians sang and worshipped in the beauty of the Lord’s glory there was an incredible spirit of revelation manifest in that place. David rightly said, “I will meditate on your glorious splendor and on your wondrous works.” Psalm 145:5) He would sit before the Ark of the Lord and as the spirit of revelation would break forth He would slip into prophetic sight. It was in these encounters that He would prophesy of Jesus’ crucifixion (Psalm 22) and resurrection (Psalm 16) and the fullness of His kingdom reign (Psalm 2).

Fast forward to the New Testament and we find that at the first church council in Jerusalem, James quoted the prophet Amos, declaring that God will, “RETURN AND WILL REBUILD THE TABERNACLE OF DAVID, WHICH HAS FALLEN DOWN… SO THAT THE REST OF MANKIND MAY SEEK THE LORD, EVEN ALL THE GENTILES WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME, SAYS THE LORD WHO DOES ALL THESE THINGS.”

I believe James quoted this verse very intentionally in order to identify 1) that the Gentiles were welcomed into the New Covenant, but also that 2) the New Testament Church was to be organized around the presence of God just like the Tabernacle of David. 3) He was pointing to the day in which the Lord returns and rules from Jerusalem - He will reign from the rebuilt Tabernacle of David (Isaiah 16:5).

These thoughts are extremely instructive for us today. There is a massive transition taking place right now in the church. At the center of this transition is the shift in worship and prayer. The presence and person of Jesus is becoming the centerpiece of our worship expressions. God is transitioning the worship of the church into throne room worship. As this is happening, He is transitioning the atmosphere of the earth, readying it for His coming.

The prayer and worship movement happening across the earth right now is not the finality of the restoration of the Tabernacle of David. However, this movement is in the spirit of the Tabernacle of David and is unto the final restoration of it when the Lord returns.

We live in an incredibly exciting time. I encourage you to lean into the place of worship and prayer. If you’re a worship leader, I encourage you to make the worship you lead about one thing: abandoned adoration of Jesus Christ. If you are a pastor, as a fellow laborer with you, I challenge you to create a place of worship and prayer at the center of your ministry to mirror the throne room of heaven. Our churches should look much more like the throne room than a modern entertainment arena. This is the hour for us to draw near to the Lord in worship and prayer and allow Him to repossess His church. Great grace to you!