It’s our desire to see canopies of 24/7 worship-saturated prayer increasing in every place on the earth, where Gods’ people are praying around the throne, around the clock and around the globe!

One of the clearest commands to continual day and night worship saturated prayer is written to the church at Thessalonica,

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess. 5:16-18).

Paul is asking the church to develop a lifestyle of unceasing, joy-filled thanksgiving and prayer! It is clear that this command is to the gathered church at Thessalonica. As with most commands to pray in the New Testament, Paul is not simply commanding each individual to engage in unceasing prayer, but rather he is exhorting the corporate body to this lifestyle, meaning , ‘You all’ do this for this is God’s will for ‘you all’ in Christ Jesus. He is asking them corporately to ‘pray without ceasing,’ combined with joy-filled thanksgiving always and in everything!

May this continual, unceasing prayer be saturated with God-exalting worship and praise!  As the author of Hebrews reminds us,

“Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name” (Hebrews 13:15).

Practically speaking, what if each house church in a city committed to a 24hr day of enjoyable, thankful prayer once a month, or maybe once a week and then passed the baton to the next church in the city? If you had 7 churches commit to this one day a week, you would have a canopy of united, strategic and sustainable 24/7 worship-saturated prayer over your city. Or if you had 30 churches that committed to a 24hr day of prayer once a month every month and people signed up for committed hours of prayer on their day to pray?   People could commit to convenient times and locations of prayer that fit their busy schedules. Families could commit to praying and worshipping together in their homes.  People could also gather together in their churches or in a city-wide house of prayer or prayer tower. Another option would be to pray together with set times over a digital platform like Zoom!  It doesn’t matter how you organize this. It is simply the principle of churches in your area committing to regular times of worship-saturated prayer around the throne, around the clock and praying around the globe! 

What would a canopy of 24/7 worship-saturated prayer look like in your city or region?   

As an example, 12 years ago, we built a canopy of united, strategic and sustainable worship-saturated prayer in Bellingham, Washington State, with tangible results of answered prayer.  Here is a 14-minute video that details the strategy and shares some testimonies of answered prayer!

Also, this last January 2021, we launched a global canopy of 24/7 prayer on a digital platform called the Global Family Prayer Room! Click the link for more information if you would like to join us for a weekly prayer time or launch one in your city/region! 

Many have asked me over the years if 24/7 worship-saturated prayer is a biblical concept?  Let me share with you some biblical principles that might help answer this question.

What is Prayer?

Prayer is the conversational part of the most important love relationship in our lives. It is a conversation that leads to encounter with Jesus! At its core, prayer is developing friendship with God, learning to connect on a regular basis and keep company with him in our daily lives. Prayer is intimacy with God, or the act of relating to God in a personal way. It is growing closer together day by day, being intimately acquainted and yoked with Him in real relationship.  Prayer is not a religious exercise but a beautiful relationship between God as Father and us as his beloved sons and daughters.

Prayer is intimacy with God that leads to the fulfilment of his plans, purposes, and promises. It is accomplished by his power and is for His Glory and our Joy! Flowing from both awe and intimacy with God, we ask for his will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. God releases his power, his truth, and his love in response to the prayers of his people.

The Bible describes this ministry as an element of the priesthood of all believers!

The Priesthood of All Believers

Believe it or not, the priesthood didn’t begin with Moses, Aaron and the Levites. It began in the Garden of Eden. We must go back to the garden where we find that the original portrait of man’s function in creation was to walk in intimate friendship with God. This is actually what priesthood is all about: walking and talking with God in His presence (as Adam walked in Eden, which is in Heaven).   God’s desire has always been to dwell in unhindered face-to-face communion with His people in the paradise-like conditions of the Garden of Eden on the earth forever (Rev. 21:3; 22:4)!

The Hebrew word for “till” or “work” is abad. This is the same word used throughout the Old Testament in reference to the priesthood. Moses spoke to Pharaoh, “Let my people go that they may “abad” me.” i.e. serve him as worshippers. It is the same word used over and over again for priests to “do the work of the tabernacle.” Likewise the word for “keep” is shamar, which means to “keep guard”, “watch as a watchman”, or even to “observe, celebrate and keep the covenant or commandment.” Adam was placed as a watchman in the garden to preserve God’s covenant and minister to Him in worship and prayer forever!

Adam was God’s ambassador on earth. He was given dominion to rule over all the earth from the place of intercession. He would normally walk and talk with God in the garden (temple) – this is how priests’ rule. They stand in the gap between God and others to mediate.  In this way, “working the ground” might just as well read, “rule the earth through ministry to the Lord.” As a prototype for all mankind, his priestly ministry implicates the priestly role that all believers have in Christ.

Fast-forward to Exodus 19 (v. 6). The Lord tells Israel, “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant (as Adam was commissioned to do), you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine (Genesis 2 allusion); and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Peter reminds us in 1 Peter 2:9 that AS BELIEVERS “you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

This is what Israel was chosen to be and do, and to demonstrate to the nations. Now all who are in Christ can walk in this priestly ministry of ‘standing before God on behalf of men and standing before men on behalf of God.’ We are reminded of this in Revelation 1:6 and 5:10 which says that He has made us a “kingdom of priests to our God, and [we] shall reign on the earth.” Our eternal destiny is to rule with Christ forever as priests.

The rest of this article on 24/7 Worship Saturated Prayer includes inspirational teaching about:

* Culture of Prayer in the Old Testament                               * New Testament Culture of Prayer
* Jesus’ last talks on prayer / The Challenge to Ask            * The Prayer Culture of the New Testament Church

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