Passionate for Jesus and for people, prayer warriors and worshipers from more than 20 Colorado churches ushered in the new year with 28 consecutive hours of devotion to the one they say is the only hope for the world: Jesus Christ.
In Spanish and English and from young to old, the devoted turned the first day of 2016 into a round-the-clock expression of love for Jesus through music and dance, along with focused prayer for churches, families, governments, law enforcement, schools, business and media.
Called “David’s Tent” and modeled after the Old Testament practice of continually “ministering to the Lord,” churches from Denver to Fort Collins united, sending diverse teams to lead two-hour worship sets that began Jan. 1 and concluded at 10 p.m. the next night.
Psalm 132, where the Psalmist and King David, writes “I will not give sleep to my eyes, or slumber to my eyelids until I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling place for the mighty God of Jacob,” was the theme.
From “Amazing Grace” in English to an upbeat contemporary worship song in Spanish, members of Vida Abundante’s praise team offered up both holy reverence and a break-out, line dance through the sanctuary of C4 (Christ Center Community Church,) which hosted the sometimes raucous, sometimes quiet worship styles of evangelical and charismatic congregations.
An evangelical church, C4 (Christ Center Community Church) and its pastor, David Niquette, welcomed the varied worship expressions that sometimes included loud shouts of triumph. He’s already familiar with different music styles because C4 shares its building with another congregation, Third Day.
It is part of a small group of pastors, businessman and worship and arts ministry leaders who are contending for revival in Colorado and across the nation.
The group, No Co Revivalists, meets weekly to pray among themselves before its members travel to other churches, where intercessors pray for pastors and congregations hungry for God’s presence and Holy Spirit-led revival, according to Brad Tuttle, who heads the group and another like it, Spiritual Warfare Attack Team (SWAT).
Similar worship and ministry events in Denver, Washington, Oregon and in the nation’s capital, where “David’s Tent DC” will conclude 424 days and 10,000 hours of continuous prayer on Nov. 8 this year, inspire leaders in northern Colorado.
They hope to build more support among pastors and ministry leaders for quarterly gatherings of worship and intercessory prayer and, eventually, a 24/7 “House of Prayer,” according to Chuck Patchen, a graduate of the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, Mo.
An intercessor, Patchen, other leaders and members of the 20-plus churches that participated in “David’s Tent” fervently prayed for marriages, families and prodigal children among other items. Prophetic declarations — both written and spoken — along with Scripture readings, shouts, and passionate intercessory prayer punctuated extended times of worship.
“An event like this one is an opportunity to tell God that He is worthy, that we honor Him, and that we are hungry for more of Him and His glory manifest in the church,” says David Boyd, a former Vineyard pastor.
“It is obviously a very disturbing season for our nation, for Christians around the world and for the church in America,” he says.
“That is a backdrop to understanding the need for worship and prayer in events like these around the nation.
“The focus is simple: Worship Jesus. Give attention to God and listen for His voice,” says Boyd, who leads ministries related to arts, music and prisoners.
A musician and worship leader, Boyd shares hopes for a house of prayer in Colorado. As a missionary to Vienna, Austria, Boyd planted a Vineyard Church there and helped start of house of prayer in Europe about the same time the International House of Prayer in Kansas City (IHOPKC) was getting off the ground.
For teenagers and young adults who weren’t able to travel to a massive prayer and worship gathering in Kansas City called One Thing, “David’s Tent Colorado” held the same spiritual fervor.
“I was really able to renew, restore and refresh myself in Him” says 27-year-old Evan Way, a graduate of a ministry school in Redding, Calif and a current communications major in Fort Collins. “I found some answers and my hopes for strength and clarification were met because of God’s presence.”
Worship leader and intercessor, Mark Weaver, says he loves the multi-ethnic flavor and unity of the body of Christ he sees at “David’s Tent” gatherings.
“Besides getting together before God, I love coming together for these things. He remains the focus, but really all the other things are unimportant, except the unity. That’s where God says He commands a blessing,” Weaver says.
Leaders say they don’t want to build a spiritual house of prayer by their own might or power, but if the Lord builds it, they are eager to use regular “David’s Tent” events as a foundation for a 24/7 ministry in Colorado. And, they add, every state in the nation should pursue houses of prayer.
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