ENGAGE - Coleraine House of Prayer

What is ‘Engage’ worship all about? - We’re glad you asked!

Engage is a regular intercessory worship event in Coleraine on the Causeway Coast of Ireland that has been running and developing since May 2000.

A diverse community of worshippers get together to worship and seek the God who loves to be found! (periodically we do Engage24/7, non-stop for a whole week). Each event is broken down into 1 or 2-hour sessions led by different musicians, singers and worship leaders.

Sessions vary from contemporary to traditional, from loud to quiet and include both musical and non-musical forms of worship. The agenda is very straightforward - we simply make time and space to worship and engage with God - nothing more, nothing less.

If you’ve yet to experience Engage24 then check out the events link for the time and venue of the next happening.

In Psalm 86 we read. “I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify your name for ever.” Humanity was created to worship God - that is our calling.

We usually think of worship as the corporate act of singing songs or standing in a church. This is true, but it is also a lot more than that - it is a lifestyle. A.W. Tozer describes it as an “..everlasting preoccupation with God.” In other words every choice that we make; our every word and action should flow from a constant desire to please Him.

Scripture also clearly shows us that worship can be the greatest weapon we possess. There are many Biblical accounts of worship being used to change situations, and transform the landscape. In the 21st Century it has lost none of its power. It is we who have often failed to grasp fully the potential that there is when a body of believers begin to place Jesus at the centre of their attention and to cry out to Him again.

This is the remit of Engage, to make space to rediscover the pleasure and power that there is when we interact with our heavenly Father; when we really fulfill the purpose for which we were designed. It is also to encourage a unity in worship between people of different church denominations. Haggai chapter 1 clearly shows that it is only when the people of God learn what it means to work together, in unity of mind and purpose, that the “house of God” will be built. It is about building His holy temple of worship rather than our own denominational houses.

FOUNDATIONS

Biblical

I suppose you could call Engage “Intercessory Worship”. Dick Eastman describes it like this..

“..Intercessory worship is the concentrated worship that becomes intercessory in nature, because it carries the prayers of God’s people, like the fragrance of incense, before God’s throne. As a result, God releases His power to accomplish His purposes for the harvest.”

We can find a pictorial description of this in Revelation 5:8-10:

“…And when [the Lamb] had taken [the scroll], the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song: You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation…”

You will notice here how the worshippers gathered together with harps (which are the symbols of worship) and bowls (which are the symbols of prayer and intercession). This combination of worship and prayer (“Harp & Bowl”) releases the presence of God to bring transformation to communities, and is being used increasingly across the globe.

The Psalmist writes in Psalm 22 “…you [God] are enthroned in the praises of Israel..”, and Eastman further defines worship as:

“..any act, thought or expression of willful adoration that exalts and enthrones God, thereby defeating and dethroning Satan..”

In other words, all those songs that we sing; all the words that we say, and those times we clap and joyfully worship, are not just religious exercises, but if done with a heart of devotion to the living God, are instruments of change. By declaring God’s praises over a situation or community, we are literally enthroning God in the middle of it all. As the glory of God comes in, the darkness has to flee, and transformation can begin.

Historical

As we seek to “Engage” with God in this way, we are not alone. King David built a tent, where he placed the Ark of the Covenant, and for almost 36 years ordered that there be worship surrounding it, day and night. David’s generation benefited because of this. Many years later, monks in Bangor Abbey continued non-stop in Intercessory Worship for 150 years. In 1727 Count Zinzendorf established the Herrnhut (meaning “watch of the Lord”) in Saxony (modern Germany). He was among a group who agreed to spend one hour each day, at different times, in scheduled prayer. This “24/7” prayer meeting lasted for 100 years and stories of the Moravian Church have become legendary.

You could say that they were rebuilding David’s Tabernacle, not literally in terms of bricks and mortar, but in a Spiritual way. Today across the globe, people are being called to do the same and are finding it life changing.

What is ‘Engage’ worship all about? - We’re glad you asked!

Engage is a regular intercessory worship event in Coleraine on the Causeway Coast of Ireland that has been running and developing since May 2000.

A diverse community of worshippers get together to worship and seek the God who loves to be found! (periodically we do Engage24/7, non-stop for a whole week). Each event is broken down into 1 or 2-hour sessions led by different musicians, singers and worship leaders.

Sessions vary from contemporary to traditional, from loud to quiet and include both musical and non-musical forms of worship. The agenda is very straightforward - we simply make time and space to worship and engage with God - nothing more, nothing less.

If you’ve yet to experience Engage24 then check out the events link for the time and venue of the next happening.

In Psalm 86 we read. “I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify your name for ever.” Humanity was created to worship God - that is our calling.

We usually think of worship as the corporate act of singing songs or standing in a church. This is true, but it is also a lot more than that - it is a lifestyle. A.W. Tozer describes it as an “..everlasting preoccupation with God.” In other words every choice that we make; our every word and action should flow from a constant desire to please Him.

Scripture also clearly shows us that worship can be the greatest weapon we possess. There are many Biblical accounts of worship being used to change situations, and transform the landscape. In the 21st Century it has lost none of its power. It is we who have often failed to grasp fully the potential that there is when a body of believers begin to place Jesus at the centre of their attention and to cry out to Him again.

This is the remit of Engage, to make space to rediscover the pleasure and power that there is when we interact with our heavenly Father; when we really fulfill the purpose for which we were designed. It is also to encourage a unity in worship between people of different church denominations. Haggai chapter 1 clearly shows that it is only when the people of God learn what it means to work together, in unity of mind and purpose, that the “house of God” will be built. It is about building His holy temple of worship rather than our own denominational houses.

FOUNDATIONS

Biblical

I suppose you could call Engage “Intercessory Worship”. Dick Eastman describes it like this..

“..Intercessory worship is the concentrated worship that becomes intercessory in nature, because it carries the prayers of God’s people, like the fragrance of incense, before God’s throne. As a result, God releases His power to accomplish His purposes for the harvest.”

We can find a pictorial description of this in Revelation 5:8-10:

“…And when [the Lamb] had taken [the scroll], the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song: You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation…”

You will notice here how the worshippers gathered together with harps (which are the symbols of worship) and bowls (which are the symbols of prayer and intercession). This combination of worship and prayer (“Harp & Bowl”) releases the presence of God to bring transformation to communities, and is being used increasingly across the globe.

The Psalmist writes in Psalm 22 “…you [God] are enthroned in the praises of Israel..”, and Eastman further defines worship as:

“..any act, thought or expression of willful adoration that exalts and enthrones God, thereby defeating and dethroning Satan..”

In other words, all those songs that we sing; all the words that we say, and those times we clap and joyfully worship, are not just religious exercises, but if done with a heart of devotion to the living God, are instruments of change. By declaring God’s praises over a situation or community, we are literally enthroning God in the middle of it all. As the glory of God comes in, the darkness has to flee, and transformation can begin.

Historical

As we seek to “Engage” with God in this way, we are not alone. King David built a tent, where he placed the Ark of the Covenant, and for almost 36 years ordered that there be worship surrounding it, day and night. David’s generation benefited because of this. Many years later, monks in Bangor Abbey continued non-stop in Intercessory Worship for 150 years. In 1727 Count Zinzendorf established the Herrnhut (meaning “watch of the Lord”) in Saxony (modern Germany). He was among a group who agreed to spend one hour each day, at different times, in scheduled prayer. This “24/7” prayer meeting lasted for 100 years and stories of the Moravian Church have become legendary.

You could say that they were rebuilding David’s Tabernacle, not literally in terms of bricks and mortar, but in a Spiritual way. Today across the globe, people are being called to do the same and are finding it life changing.