At Sanctuary you will hear the term Harp and Bowl now and then. This is a biblical term taken from Revelation 5:8, where the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb holding a harp in one hand and a bowl filled with incense, that were the prayers of the saints, in the other. We like this image! More and more this image has been used around the world as a simple way to show the important connection between worship and intercession. This is not a biblical proof that they must be put together. It is a simple image that captures in one verse what we believe is a very effective approach to praying for whole cities in an ongoing way.

Worship is the first call of all people. It seems pointless to stand before the King of Heaven and ask with boldness for issues related to our city if we fail to worship Him and recognize who He is in our midst. We see this pattern in the Lord’s Prayer itself (Matt 6:9:13) where the prayer begins with “Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name!” This expression of worship comes before any request and Jesus wants us to know that getting things done for God is never to come before knowing and worshipping God. This theme comes up again and again in the gospels. Mary and Martha both hosted Jesus that day, but it was Mary while reclining at Jesus feet that was commended for choosing the better thing. Stuff can and will get done later. But, nothing replaces worshipping Him in intimacy and honesty.

As we press into God and offer our worship to Him as an “audience of One”, we know that He is eager to reveal His heart for others to us and longs for us to ask on their behalf. This is intercession. We want to pray according to what is on His heart and worshipping Him allows us to better see and feel this. Bible prayers become essential here, as we know that He has given these to all the church for their strengthening and growth. They are on His heart!

Sanctuary will function differently from other prayer models in that we believe there is much benefit in intertwining the worship and intercession constantly. We will keep the music going at all times as a way of engaging in worship and allow the prayers to be spoken out over the music. Even more so, the model that we will use allows for this to happen in an orderly but creative way. This will allow the singers to sing over what you pray and allow you to pray again around what they are singing. In the middle of all this is the scripture itself, anchoring all this to the truth of God. There will be opportunities to sing in tongues as a way of praying beyond our own understanding into what we have been asking. We believe it is God-breathed and empowered by the Holy Spirit and we will press into this activity frequently in any meeting.

We will go further together than we will by ourselves. Corporate meetings can be alive with the swirling presence of the Spirit and we can know that God is leading us in our “partnering efforts” to stand for our city. The "Harp and Bowl" model allows us to function as a team and press forward together with energy as we seek Him.