There are unique practical challenges that come with organizing and leading prayer rooms. One of the biggest requests I have received since writing my David’s Tabernacle book is for a practical handbook to assist leaders who want to pursue the vision of day & night worship & prayer that I promote in my book. The goal of my book was to lay biblical foundations and inspire believers to participate in worship, prayer and missions to see God’s kingdom come to earth. It spoke more to why we need Davidic worship than how to lead it in a local church or house of prayer.
In previous articles, I’ve highlighted other vital books to read about the global prayer movement, and those too are primarily inspirational and biblical. But there are still many questions about how to practically implement these ideas in a real-world context. I may write a David’s Tabernacle handbook one day, but in the meantime I thought I could point out some resources that are already available. These manuals, handbooks and podcasts will give you loads of insights in how to host and facilitate intercessory worship and prayer.
Leading Prayer Rooms: A Quick Overview
If you don’t have time to read the whole article, here’s a quick breakdown for you:
- The Harp & Bowl Handbook by Mike Bickle – my #1 recommendation for anyone leading a worship-based prayer meeting or a house of prayer
- The 24-7 Prayer Manual – great for those wanting to experiment with 24-7 prayer or needing creative ideas
- How to Build The House of Prayer by Brad Stroup – practical wisdom on hosting multiple prayer meetings or larger houses of prayer
- House of Prayer Leadership Podcast by Brad Stroup – perfect for leaders who are more inclined to listen rather than read
1. The Harp & Bowl Handbook by Mike Bickle
Bickle describes this booklet as a “practical guide to sustaining enjoyable prayer meetings.” The Harp & Bowl Handbook, in less than 100 pages, outlines the values and format of how IHOP-KC hosts their prayer meetings to sustain the 24/7 prayer room in Kansas City. There may be no one on earth with more wisdom on how to lead people in sustainable day and night prayer than Mike Bickle, and this resource is a treasure trove.
The harp & bowl prayer model is based on Revelation 5:8 where the 24 elders around God’s throne are holding harps (representing musical worship) and bowls of incense (representing the prayers of the saints). Therefore this handbook lays out how to lead worship-based prayer meetings “in the spirit of the tabernacle of David.”
In true Bickle fashion, the handbook is loaded with Scripture references. It also outlines very practical topics like how to build unity in prayer, learning to pray with confidence, praying Biblical prayers, learning to sing antiphonally and the dynamics of team ministry.
For anyone wanting to lead a worship-based prayer meeting or a house of prayer, this handbook is vital. Even if you’re only leading one prayer meeting each week, you would still find value in this book. The Harp & Bowl Handbook would be my top choice of a practical resource for leaders who are wanting to lead others in an expression of day and night prayer and worship.
Buy the Harp & Bowl Handbook here!
2. The 24-7 Prayer Manual by Pete Greig
For those familiar with the modern-day global prayer movement, you will know that Mike Bickle launched IHOP-KC the same year that Pete Greig launched 24-7 Prayer in England. They were unaware of each other, but they have now both influenced a generation in the value of prayer.
The 24-7 Prayer Manual provides a resource to help “anyone, anywhere… learn to pray like never before.” It is a more expansive book at nearly 200 pages. This is because Greig takes time to share the 24-7 prayer story, the values of the movement and stories of successful prayer rooms around the world. This is in addition to the practical advice on hosting a prayer room in your own city. The manual is divided into five sections: Discovering 24-7 Prayer, Steps to a Successful 24-7 Prayer Room, Values of the 24-7 Movement, Perspectives on 24-7 Prayer and Steps for 24-7 Prayer on Campuses.
The 24-7 Prayer movement takes a different approach to organizing their prayer rooms than houses of prayer who are inspired by IHOP-KC. While houses of prayer are typically focused on facilitating corporate prayer, 24-7 prayer rooms are typically focused on creating a place for individual prayer. 24-7 prayer rooms are set up for people to sign up for one-hour prayer slots to cover a period of time in 24-7 prayer. Usually these rooms are set up temporarily for a week or more. They include interactive prayer “stations” where believers can interact with God in tactile and creative ways. There are opportunities to write, draw, dance and create as expressions of one’s intercession for others and devotion to God.
For those wanting to set up a prayer room without the pressure of live worship music, this manual is very helpful. This would also be a great resource for you if you’re wanting to experiment with a temporary prayer room or if you’re looking for ideas to make your existing prayer room more creative and interactive.
Buy the 24-7 Prayer Manual here!
3. How to Build The House of Prayer by Brad Stroup
Brad Stroup is the director of the Prayer Room Missions Base in Arlington, Texas, where they are currently hosting 20 hours of live worship and prayer every day. For over fifteen years, Brad has been leading their house of prayer community with steady and faithful growth. In addition, Brad is uniquely gifted to teach and train in the practical administration of a large prayer ministry.
How to Build The House of Prayer is certainly in line with the IHOP-KC model of prayer, and it would be an excellent follow-up to the Harp & Bowl Handbook by Mike Bickle. Rather than focusing on the Harp & Bowl model and values, Stroup focused on topics like building your team, organizing your schedule, recruiting volunteers, casting vision, creating departments, financing strategies and more. Again, the wisdom is being shared from leading a house of prayer for fifteen years that is currently hosting 140 hours of prayer with worship every week.
This book would be particularly helpful for those who are dealing with the unique dynamics of hosting multiple prayer meetings every week and especially for those who have vision to build a large house of prayer.
This incredibly helpful book is only available directly from Brad. You can order it here (scroll down to the bottom of the page for details).
4. House of Prayer Leadership Podcast by Brad Stroup
In addition to writing the handbook mentioned above, Brad has also recorded audio sessions from times of training other leaders of houses of prayer. These are raw recordings from in-person training events, and they have been converted into a podcast format by our ministry (with Brad’s permission). They cover some of the same material from his How to Build The House of Prayer book, although there is some additional content in both. The two resources compliment each other very well, as you would imagine. Some of the main themes Brad teaches on include house of prayer administration, building community, recruiting mechanisms and sustaining prayer meetings.
The podcast is available on major podcast apps such as Spotify, Apple and Google.