I came across this secret when I was studying the tabernacle of
David (see Acts 15:16-17), the perfect model of a 24-hour-a-day prayer
and worship ministry. King David assigned musicians and singers, whom
he had trained in the prophetic spirit (see 1 Chr. 25:1-3), to worship
God continuously before the ark.
In Moses' time, the glory on the ark was hidden in the holy of
holies behind a thick veil. But in David's tent (tabernacle), there was
no veil to keep the people from seeing the glory of God. It was
unprecedented: David set the ark of the covenant in open view!
Instead
of the thick veil Moses used, David made musicians and singers into a
human veil around the ark. He organized 4,000 musicians and 288 singers
to minister to God in shifts that rotated 24 hours a day (see 1 Chr.
6:31-33; 15:16-22; 23:4-6; 25:7). In fact, David released these
worshipers from other duties so that they could make prayer and worship
their full-time occupation (see 1 Chr. 9:33).
I believe God will fully restore the tabernacle of David--which is the
very embodiment of intercessory worship before the beauty, holiness and
glory of God--in the generation in which the Lord returns (see Acts
15:16-17). I believe it will be the means of releasing the fullness of
salvation and revival for all the nations. Through this model of
intercessory worship, the Great Commission will be fulfilled so that
every tribe, tongue and nation will be present on the last day (see
Rev. 5:9; 7: 9-10; 14:6; 15:4; Matt. 24:14).
God has already begun His work of restoration. In May 1983, our
church hosted a citywide effort that involved 21 days of prayer and
fasting for revival. In the midst of our intercession, the Lord spoke
to us in a dramatic way. He told us that one day He would establish
among us a 24-hour-a-day prayer ministry in the spirit of the
tabernacle of David.
At the time, we were not at all sure what God meant. But 16 years
later we took a giant step in our journey to see this long-term vision
fulfilled. Last year, I resigned as the senior pastor of Metro
Christian Fellowship in Kansas City, Missouri, in order to give myself
full time to a citywide prayer ministry.
On May 7, 1999, we signed a lease on a 200-seat prayer building
about one mile from our church. We began with 13 hours a day of
intercession, led by worship teams. Then on Sept. 19 we began to
worship and pray 24 hours a day.
We are clearly in the embryonic stages of development. The pattern we
have established thus far is that we sing and pray the New Testament
apostolic prayers, the hymns of Revelation, the Song of Solomon and the
Psalms in a corporate, antiphonal way. We do this in the form of 84
prayer meetings a week, each one lasting two hours and folding
seamlessly into the next. Each two-hour segment is led by a worship
team. We also engage in spiritual warfare for revival in the cities of
the earth.
We have raised several hundred thousand dollars toward an annual
budget to supplement some of the singers and pay for the building. We
believe it is essential for a core of musicians and singers to be
involved full time and to receive financial support (as commanded by
God through King David in 1 Chronicles). This frees them to go deeper
in God and learn to flow in the Spirit as a team. The benefits these
worshipers provide the church are well worth what it costs to release
them for full-time service.
Perhaps God is calling you to be a part of His end-time purposes to
restore 24-hour-a-day worship and intercession to the church. If so, I
encourage you to press in to Him and follow His direction for
establishing a local "prayer furnace." Jesus is not coming back to a
prayerless people but to a bride who is on fire with passion for Him.
In David's tabernacle there was no veil to keep the people from seeing the glory of God.
