I.H.O.P., K.C.-Style

Some folks might say that I was a bit harsh on something associated with Kansas City in my previous post...that was the B.B.Q. issue. Well, I decided to try something else that some folks associate with Kansas City, and that is I.H.O.P.

No, I'm talking about the International House of Prayer.

To save you from reading a dissertation, check this link out to get a better understanding of what IHOP is about and I'll leave you with this long post. IHOP houses a 24/7 prayer service that is come-and-go as you like, and several other things that support ministry that IHOP performs not only in K.C. but across the globe in some cases. I initially heard about IHOP while working at the Wesley Foundation after we had a mission trip group come back from K.C. Other folks had mentioned it in passing about paying a visit through the years. Then a co-worker of mine mentioned he visited IHOP while there for his daughter's gymnastics competition and a couple of friends from church mentioned they had heard amazing things about it, but had never been either. Well, since I was already in K.C., I decided Thursday would be my night to do what I want and set out to find this place called I.H.O.P.

After running an hour behind thanks to some work-related software testing that ran long, I set out for IHOP and arrived around 7 pm. It was a bit of a drive on unknown roads and an uneasy feeling of not knowing what to expect didn't help. However, I arrived only a few minutes after I wanted to and headed into the 24/7 Prayer Room. It wasn't an earth-shattering event. There wasn't a feeling of "Yeah, this is the place". It at first was like walking into any church service after worship had started. I wandered to the back of the room and found a place to stand and watch for a bit while and not be in the way.

I wish I could give you times but I deliberately decided not to look at a watch so I didn't feel rushed. The room was set up like a worship center. Chairs, a stage, T.V.'s for words, cameras, and smaller, enclosed prayer rooms for specific purposes around the periphery of the room. The worship song initially wasn't something I knew and I felt distracted. IHOP allows "free" prayer and worship; you can sit, kneel, walk, or stand and the layout is conducive for that. I wasn't accustomed to having random people walk by me whispering prayers under their breath almost continuously. After a while though, you could start to feel that the Prayer Room was something different.

Some amount of time passed by and then I started to feel amazed that there were people in that room 24/7 all praying for various things, people, causes, or whatever was on their mind and heart. I didn't want to pray for things on my mind, I wanted to pray for them - these people who are taking time out of their day to go to a specific place with a specific purpose and meet with God. There were people of every age, color, creed, and nationality. From the guy close to my age there with his 3-5 year-old son, to the middle-aged Asian lady, to the grandfather walking slowly through the aisles hunched over but still praying to Jesus, to the countless high-school or college-aged kids; these people were lifting up their minds and hearts to the Lord. They didn't mind me standing at the back watching, soaking in all that was going on around me.

The worship team had been playing songs that I didn't know and were doing a bit of intercessory prayer via the words they were singing which was a distraction to me. Somewhere at some time, the person leading worship somehow indicated that they were going to start a new song and it was quiet for a bit. You could hear the soft voices of at least 50 people praying. Then they started a worship song that I know and love and it was like a switch. I was able to start worshiping and somewhere in that song I was able to feel at peace in the room, standing in the back and leaning against the wall. For many months, I have had a really hard time being able to worship at my home church and this was the first time I could actually worship. By this I mean I could feel my heart in the worship; I wasn't just going through the motions or trying to ignore the fact that the song didn't need to be sung with harmony or exactly like it is on a C.D. The words or name to the song escape me right now but it was the perfect thing at the perfect moment for me. Unfortunately, the worship team progressed into songs I didn't know and I went back to observing, but with my eyes more open than before.

After another while longer, I felt it was time to go and I slowly headed towards the door. When I got back in my rental car, almost an hour had passed yet it didn't feel that long. This wasn't a "mountain top" experience; one of those times where I feel like I could conquer the world for Jesus when I left IHOP. There is still much processing I need to do to develop how I feel. Initially, I will say that I ended up praying more for the people in that room; for Jesus to bless them for taking time out of their day to spend it in prayer and worship. However, I'm not sure why I am not completely comfortable with telling folks IHOP is a place to go.

Having developed my relationship with Jesus within a small group structure throughout my walk might have constrained my comfort zone considerably and this is perhaps part of the problem. I would much rather spend a full 24 hour day in fellowship, worship, and prayer with my close friends as I feel that they can experience Jesus with me and relate to what/where/how I've been as opposed to experiencing Jesus with a complete group of strangers with no relationship that allows me to share my experience with them. How would you feel if a complete stranger came up and said "I've had an awesome time with Jesus at this place called IHOP. Let me share this with you" (and no, that didn't happen). I came to IHOP after hearing close friends relate or relay experiences to me that opened my heart to the possibility of going and wish that they could have been there to help me with "processing". A person who didn't have the small-group background might walk into the Prayer Room and feel overwhelmed by the presence of the Holy Spirit and instantly know that Jesus' hands are over that place.

There likely are great things taking place there, but an hour is nowhere near the amount of time I need. My heart and mind probably need to spend a full 12-hour day there to get the full experience and even more time to process it. Heck, I probably need more than one day because Jesus has his own schedule and I can't constrain that. There will be other opportunities for me to head back to IHOP as the training center for my employer is located here in K.C. I'll just need to come better prepared spiritually next time and continue to let Jesus show me what he wants me to see when I'm there.

However, I will be telling all my friends now to go and check out the International House Of Prayer so that they can determine for themselves if that is someplace Jesus is waiting to meet them.

-Weatherman

P.S. It was definitely God who pulled me out of IHOP when he did. I headed back to the Zara Rosa open-air mall to find a place for dinner. Earlier today, I ran into a former co-worker, stormchasing partner, and good friend at the training center. Well, when I was walking into the restaurant for dinner, guess who pulled right in front of me! I'm not sure if he loves Jesus or not so I didn't share my IHOP experience with him, but we did spend a good two hours enjoying getting caught up on life, sharing a good local-brew Bock, all while I enjoyed one of the best Cuban sandwiches I have had since being in Key West's Little Havana.