Good morning praying friends,

On this weekend when Christians remember the death of our Lord, celebrate His resurrection and look forward to His coming again in glory, my thoughts are turning once again to laying foundations for the Vanier House of Prayer.

Since our premature launch attempt a couple of months ago, I have “gone silent” in regard to the House of Prayer, but when anyone has asked, I have said we were “building underground” — cultivating relationships that will be crucial to the health of the HoP down the road.

Although this process is far from complete, I am sensing that the time is not far off when we will need to begin building above ground, putting some simple foundation stones in place that will be crucial for what follows.

Sometimes I “see” things in my spirit that are from God, but don’t have complete clarity as to timing and how to get there. Over the past couple of weeks I have caught glimpses of a couple of simple foundation stones for the House of Prayer. I would appreciate prayer for clarity in terms of the timing and other details of setting these foundation stones in place.

One of these foundation stones is a weekly gathering for worship, prayer and simple teaching. The focus of the gathering would be intimacy with Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and its main purpose would be to provide an atmosphere that makes it easy to enter into the presence of God. This would not be primarily an intercessory gathering. Although we will probably do some intercession at this gathering as it develops, its initial purpose would be primarily devotional. The teaching would focus on drawing near to God, intimacy with Him, and hearing and responding to His voice.

I believe this is something that we are to offer. I’m less clear as to time and place. At the moment, Marion and I sensing that we are to begin these gatherings in the fall of this year. That seems a long way off, but it would allow a bit more time for the consolidation of our new relationships at The Village. Please pray for confirmation as to timing.

In terms of a location, we are considering offering our home as an initial meeting place. We have had prophetic words about the Lord using our living room as a birthing place for the House of Prayer — in particular as a place to pray with individuals who come to us. We are very much open to this and have already seen it beginning to happen, but our living room is quite small and won’t hold a lot of people. So, please pray that the Lord would give us His wisdom in terms of an initial meeting place.

I expect to be the initial worship leader at these meetings, but as this weekly gathering develops, I will be looking to the Lord to raise up worship leaders of His choosing. In keeping with our vision for a small, simple, local House of Prayer, we are not looking for superstars, but for willing vessels who have a heart for the presence of the Lord and are willing to learn.

Finally, I am very much aware that I am not a promoter – this is probably one of the areas in which I am least gifted – so I would appreciate your prayers that the Holy Spirit would draw people, as well as your participation in inviting people to come along with you when the time comes for us to begin these meetings.

A second foundation stone is prayer walking. As I was waking up the other day — one of the times when the Lord frequently drops prophetic possibilities into my spirit — I “saw” a picture of a group of people prayer walking through Vanier, and realized that a regular (weekly or bi-weekly) prayer walk could be a very simple and effective foundation stone for the House of Prayer, especially during the spring, summer and fall months. Again, I’d appreciate your prayers as to timing (when to initiate this), and that the Holy Spirit would draw people.

Thank you for praying. Please feel free to contribute your insights in the form of comments. Blessings to you as you celebrate the Lord’s resurrection.

Peter