Mission

From Montauk to Manhattan: Every House a House of Prayer

Introduction to Night and Day Worship/Prayer:

For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of he body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach– if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven… Colossians 1:13-23

The scriptures above are an apt description of our story. God has shown us His Beauty, showered us with His Mercies and stirred our love for Him from a freed heart. He is so very worthy of our unending worship and our joyful affirmation of His desires. This alone is the reason for Night and Day Worship/Prayer in the region.

However, there is a subordinate reason (See Luke 18 and Isaiah 56-58). Although there are many more examples in Scripture, each of these passages link prayer, identity and biblical justice. They each point to this wonder: God’s love is enormous and interactive. He has set a grace-filled dynamic into the fabric of creation: in the economy of the Kingdom of God nothing happens without agreement expressed through the pleasures of prayer, worship and deeds of mercy/justice. It is within this dynamic that we discover unending treasures of joy.

Worship-filled Prayer  to breathing; producing power. The rhythms of worship/prayer mirror the beats of the heart mixed with the grace of each breath. The Beauty of God inspires deep-breathing prayer. When we pray in agreement with His heart, God is loved, honored and serendipitously, so are we. As a result, His Kingdom manifests in power and true, biblical justice is released on earth as it is in Heaven. This results in the transformation of hearts and lives through Love. Understanding this principle, as we corporately agree with God through concerted intercession, we are preparing the way for the Church to have a strategic impact of Love and Power in the region. 

IHOP-LI: The Ark House of Prayer is a growing regional, mission-base; expressing this principle by serving Long Island and New York City’s metroplex through worship-filled prayer. 

Our prevailing desire is to see Long Island/NYC fully equipped and engaged in Worship-filled Prayer 24-7-365; carrying a mantle of love, power and the good news that Jesus is The King and the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. 

We believe this will transpire:

  1. By cultivating and nurturing a regional mission-base that is open 24-7-365 as a furnace of worship and prayer here on Long Island
  2. By developing/nurturing many relational communities of lovesick, worshiping-intercessors throughout the region.

IHOP-LI is part of a global worship-prayer-missionary movement that draws its inspiration from David’s Tabernacle and later, the Moravians who demonstrated the powerful impact of the marriage between worship, prayer and evangelism. (See http://www.zinzendorf.com/countz.htm)

IHOP-LI is sustained by those who willingly pour out their lives as a responsive offering to Jesus and humanity through worship, intercession and deeds of justice/mercy in the power of His Love. We are missionaries to the region; paving the way for the Church in worship-filled prayer and by living simple lifestyles in order to quickly respond to opportunities for love, evangelism and biblical justice.

As “Intercessory Missionaries”, we spend a great deal of our time worshiping God while in a prayerful, agreeing partnership with the heart of Our Father, the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit by means of the scriptures He inspired. (In other words, we pray the Bible.)

We very specifically pray for the region, our families, the local & corporate Church and our communities so they are saturated in love and empowered to walk in the Grace of His Purposes.  Additionally, we partner with the Church (both locally and regionally) to worship together and walk out our prayers in practical expressions of love.

The result we seek is both a regional and global awakening to the Beauty and Worth of the Lord Jesus, the Christ, the release of true, biblical justice on the earth and a fresh empowerment for the Churches of Long Island and NYC. (See Ephesians 1-3)

 This has three clear benefits for Long Island/NYC and the Church: 

  1. Blessing the Bridegroom-King (Jesus): exalting His Love and Beauty
  2. Blessing the Bride (the Church): releasing her into the fullness of her identity
  3. Blessing the Land (the Region): creating an atmosphere of love expressed in power that is conducive to healing and evangelism while unveiling a sober understanding of the urgency of the hour we live in.

Imagine an entire region saturated by and alive with night and day worship, intercession and the pleasure of His Presence! It will be both breathtaking and remarkably powerful.

Our Prayer: At the beginning of our journey to establish this House of Prayer, the Spirit of the Lord laid these words on our hearts: 

 “I long for Long Island . . . See what I will do with an Island that longs for me.”

We are responding to His desire by asking that He establish a House of Worship/Prayer on Long Island that will move Him like a kiss blown straight to His heart. The Father is coming . . . and we long for Him.  

“Lord, our prayer is:

That You would be loved;

That the nations would flock to You;

That Your Kingdom would come!”