the heart

“24-hour prayer is not a radical discovery.  In fact, it’s the oldest, simplest idea there is… that we were made to walk in intimate friendship with God.  24-hour prayer is just a way of getting as many people as possible to lock themselves in a room with God for one hour and see what happens.”

- Pete Greig, 24-7 Prayer International, www.24-7prayer.com

Biblical Priorities

Overview

Etiquette

i. Biblical Priorities

We recognize that every ministry has unique and specific mandates and focuses, and that it is vitally important for those assignments to be carried out without compromise.  We also recognize that there is a deep need for the various parts of the Body to lay down our differences in order to unite on the most important priorities of God’s heart: knowing Jesus and making Him known. 

We believe that there are certain things that we can unite on, without compromising the diversity of our ministries.  Those things are:

The Greatest Commandment: to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, strength.  

Seeking Jesus as a united Body in prayer, worship, and humililty – making Him our First Love.

2nd Greatest Commandment: to love our neighbor as ourself.

Loving each other as Jesus loved us, and the world seeing that God truly is among us – by our love for each other, and our love for all people. 

Great Commission: to teach and disciple nations to obey Jesus’ commandments.  

Reaching the lost by working strategically together, recognizing that it will take a campus-wide Church to reach the whole campus.  Since we are all a different part of the same Body, like a business with various tasks and departments, we need each other to express the fullness of Jesus on the earth.  

ii. Overview [Mission, Purpose]

Since the Prayer House is a network and assembly of various campus ministries and churches, it is crucial that we learn to honor the Body of Christ, as well as being open to learning from each other in areas that we can grow in.  Since no one ministry has the full picture, we need the aspects of God’s heart that the other may carry.    

Everything that is done in the Prayer House should be done in the principles of honor and love for the Body of Christ, understanding that we may have doctrinal differences or preferences, but that we are united by the love of Jesus.  It all comes back to who Jesus is and what He has done for us.

God’s Desire - Unity In the Body

“I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.”             

- 1 Corinthians 1:10 (NIV)

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit- just as you were called to one hope when you were called- one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”                                      

- Ephesians 4:1-6 (NIV)

“If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.”                  

- Philippians 2:1-3 (NIV)

Power of Unity In the Body

There is a harvest of souls that is released when the Body comes into unity – THEN the world will believe that Jesus was sent directly from God!  This is one of Jesus’ last prayers before He went to the cross: that we would be in complete unity, and that we would be one as Jesus and the Father are one! (John 17:20-23)

“A new command I give you: Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

- John 13:34-35 (NIV)

The LOVE Principle

Anything done without love, no matter how spectacular, amazing, or sacrificial, has no value in God’s eyes (1 Corinthians 13).  It’s not about being right about different issues, it’s about loving each other.  

The HONOR Principle

Each of us carries a different facet of God’s heart, and a different expression of God.  Unless we are in relationship together, we cannot understand God in His fullness, and there will be unmet needs within our ministries.  No one ministry has everything that everyone needs, and therefore God has made us interdependent on one another.

“The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’  And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!’…If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it”

- 1 Corinthians 12:21, 26 (NIV)  
    
We believe it’s a deep thing on God’s heart that we grow beyond merely accommodating one another, toward valuing (and therefore needing) one another.  He desires that we consider each other better than ourselves and look to other’s interests above our own (Phillippians 2:3-4).  

The Primary Goals of the Prayer House

To return to our First Love for Jesus as a Body of Christ

To connect with God’s heart for ASU campus

To pray for the purposes of God to be fulfilled on ASU and on the earth

To be in relationship with other parts of the Body through seeking God, honoring and appreciating each other for the different roles we fill.

iii. Etiquette

The primary focus should always be Jesus, and who He is. 

The Prayer House is a place of laying aside differences to pray together with other members of the Body, and to seek Jesus.  It is a place for mutual encouragement in pursuit of God, as well as learning from each other in areas that we can grow in. 

When praying for someone of the opposite gender, do not hold hands.  If given permission by the one receiving prayer, you may put a hand on their shoulder while praying for them.

If you are praying for someone of the opposite gender, if possible, ask another person of the opposite gender to join you in praying for them.  Try to defer more to them to lead the prayer ministry.   

When sharing an encouragement for another person, do not use the “thus saith the Lord” or “this is what God says,” but always leave room for the person to judge what was said and take that encouragement back to the Lord.  Instead, humbly submit your encouragement, “This is what I felt like God was putting on my heart…” 

In the area of spiritual gifts, in the heart of 1 Cor. 12-14, the use of these gifts are not forbidden, but neither are they the focus of the Prayer House.  As long as the way people interact with each other is done in the principles of honor for each other, love for the Body of Christ, and unity in Jesus.

Please keep conversations to a maximum of 30 seconds while you are in the prayer house.  Our goal is to keep the Prayer House a place of worship, prayer and meditation.

If you have signed up to pray at a certain time, please try to show up on time at your designated time slot.  The Prayer House thrives on the punctuality of all participants.

Please refrain from speaking, praying or singing on the microphone unless instructed to do so by a prayer leader.  If you feel God leading you to share something in The Prayer House, please discuss it with the prayer leader as well.

If something strange or upsetting is occurring in the Prayer House, please do not hesitate in contacting us at info@loveasu.com.