For almost a decade, Misty Edwards has been a worship leader at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, Mo. IHOP is a 24-hour prayer center that has not closed its doors since it initially opened in 1999—a place of refuge regardless of the time, weather or season. Founded on a prophecy that has since grown into reality, IHOP heavily encourages prophetic worship to act as a companion to their ongoing prayer. Edwards has gathered fame across the globe with her worship, songwriting and strong voice. However, this hasn’t changed her commitment to her roots. Edwards is passionate about IHOP and about an intimate understanding of Scripture—so much so that her priority remains to lead people into worship there, even when opportunities to tour continually come beckoning.
You’ve been quoted as saying, “I have a great desire to see the knowledge of God flood this generation. I mean the real knowledge of God, not the distant Sunday-school version, but the true encounter with the Uncreated.” Can you elaborate on how you relate this through your songwriting?
I first ask that the knowledge of God would flood my own heart so that I am not just throwing out a bunch of words and rhetoric that mean nothing to me. I try to write out of an honest heart, and if I am not growing in the knowledge of God, then my songs will reflect that. I write songs by looking right at Jesus from my heart and actually singing to a real person who is listening and moving at the sound of my voice. If I am reaching for “true encounter with the Uncreated” in the secret of my heart, then I end up writing songs with that same reach. To know Him is an endless journey of hunger and satisfaction, then more hunger and deeper satisfaction. “Deep calls out to deep” as the Psalmist says (Psalm 42:7, TNIV). It is our glory to search Him out and not think we have Him figured out just because we memorized the top 10 Sunday-school stories. There is so much more to God than that, and I want to uncover Him and discover Him through His Word under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. I pray that the songs I write would bring people not only into an intellectual understanding, but a true heart connect with the God who is bending over the balcony of heaven to listen to them sing words that move Him and impact Him. Even if they are simple songs, I pray that they at least impart hunger for a greater affection, a deeper understanding and a living encounter with this One called Love.
Where did the idea to construct the “prayer room” to resemble the Tabernacle of David come from?
It was prophesied many years before the International House of Prayer started that the Lord would raise up a worldwide youth movement of prophetic singers and musicians that would release power evangelism and be used to mobilize worldwide prayer. It was prophesied that this would be in the spirit of the Tabernacle of David and would operate in the prophetic and intercession. I don’t think anyone knew what that meant all of those years ago, but when the time came to start IHOP we were trying to find the way to sustain enjoyable prayer 24 hours a day, seven days a week. That is not an easy thing to sustain! We looked at the way worship is done in heaven from Rev. 4, where there is intercession and worship combined, and we looked at what David did and saw a similar pattern, so we figured this must be the key. It turns out to be true. Intercession and worship combined have sustained enjoyable prayer, and the fire on the altar has not gone out for nine years! The music has literally never stopped! It’s incredible to me.
Last year you were featured in “The Blah Blah” blog as a “Girl of Christian Indie.” How did you feel about being tagged in the Christian indie scene?
Honestly, I haven’t thought much about it. I am not sure what it means to be a “Girl of Christian indie,” but it sounds cool. I don’t put a lot of thought into the way I am “tagged” today. I try to stay focused on where I am going. My focus is to go deep in the Word of God; live in the First Commandment, which leads to the Second; stay faithful in the place of prayer; fast more; give more; and live the Sermon-on-the-Mount lifestyle to the highest degree, even in my weakness. I know I am going to die one day, and the only real definition of who I am will come from the lips of Him who searches my heart. So, it’s cool but not relevant to who I really am.
You’re most recent album, Relentless, came with the unplugged accompaniment. What was the inspiration behind releasing both discs together?
I often have devotionals in the prayer room where it is just me at the piano singing. Over the years I have been asked for a CD made like this, so when I was in the studio recording Relentless, someone had the idea to just put me in a room, light the candles, hit record and leave for a few hours. I did a couple of sessions like that, and this is what came out.
Do you have any plans to go on tour in the next year?
I don’t plan on traveling much at all this next year. The Lord has made it clear to me that my primary calling is in the house of prayer here in Kansas City. I want to pour all of my energy into stoking the fire and stirring this flame here. It takes a lot of time and energy to pull off a 24/7 house of prayer, and I want to put the best of my strength into it. I love the place of prayer, and I believe in the impact it has in the earth.
What can we expect from you in 2009?
In 2009, by the grace of God, you will find me leading in the prayer room and writing songs from an overflow of that. I don’t know if I will be in the studio much this year, but I want to focus on songwriting and staying in the pursuit of “Presence worship.”
How can one get involved with IHOP?
There are several ways to get involved with IHOP. We have weekend events, conferences or we also have an internship program that lasts from three to six months, which are excellent. You can also check out the IHOP University. One great way to get involved in whatever city you are in is through our webstream, which allows you to stay connected. We have live streaming 24/7. I highly recommend getting it. It makes you feel like you are in the prayer room and you can pray along with us, which is a great way to sustain in prayer. A lot of people use it in their “houses of prayer” or in their homes. You can find out more by visiting www.ihop.org.
So if you haven’t seen it yet, which I can’t believe there is anyone who hasn’t… it’s been release for almost 48 hours now, Bob Powers and Caleb Culver have released a music video of an original song titled “Love” performed by them to the viewers of the internet. In response to the amazing video, both Caleb and Bob have agreed to give an exclusive interview available only to the readers of CompelledByReality.com.
Bob & Caleb, you have a new music video out titled “Love”, and I wanted to give our readers a behind the scenes look at the video and the message of the video. But first we want to get to know you a little and introduce you to my readers here at compelledbyreality.com. Tell us a little about yourselves.
[Bob] Well, I grew up in the upstate New York, Rochester area. I moved out to Kansas City 5 years ago. About 3 years ago I jumped on Luke Wood’s team playing electric guitar and associate worship leading.
[Caleb] I grew up in Syracuse, New York and moved out to the International House of Prayer 4 years ago. I’ve been on Luke Wood’s team playing keyboard for 3 years and I’ve been section leading in the JPR (Justice Prayer Room) for 1 year.
What was your inspiration for the song/music video “Love” ?
[Bob] Well, when we originally wrote the song, me and Caleb sat down one day, and we were talking about writing an album, and we realized that there just weren’t enough love songs in the world. Particularly love songs that compared love to nature. And so we both decided, alright, lets really try to hash out what a well written song comparing love to nature would look like. And I think we did it on this one.
[Caleb] We wrote the song in about 45 minutes… is that right?
[Bob] It was really fast
[Caleb] I had the progression, idea and the creativeness flowed with the lyrics and 45 minutes later…
[Bob] We had a hit.
[Caleb] We had a hit.
So, being that this is a song about love, performed by two guys in a very romantic type setting… who or what is the song about?
[Bob] Actually, the song glories in itself. It’s a song about love, to love… and that’s basically it. It’s not to anybody, it’s just a song speaking about itself… essentially.
So, just to set the record straight…
[Caleb] Is that a pun Adam…. Is that a pun? Answer the question…
[Bob] [laughs] It’s just a metaphor… a metaphor for love using nature.
Why a music video? Don’t we have enough music videos in the world today, especially on You Tube?
[Bob] Each music video is unique and we felt like we really needed to express our hearts through a video. And, by chance, our friend Micah had heard the song and demanded that we start immediately filming. This is the message that we wanted to convey. And we really took it seriously, and came out with a great looking video.
Why love, why not peace, hope or joy?
[Bob] Well the greatest of those is love, so why not just stick with the best.
Love has been sung about in many different ways, what is the message behind your song? What do you want your viewers to walk away with from this video/song?
[Caleb] Give 110%. Believe in yourself.
[Bob] Never give up.
[Caleb] Never give up.
The video has been out for about a day, and it’s already climbing to the top of the charts, almost. On YouTube it has more than 200 hits… So, going into this did you expect this big of a reaction?
[Bob] Absolutely. We knew we had written a hit. We knew it was great and that it was bound for success. I mean, I’m not gonna apologize for that. It’s a well written song, with very sophisticated lyrics, much better than most radio songs, I would say. Yeah, I’m actually shocked that it hasn’t gotten more views. But I’m guessing it’s just because, you know, word of mouth hasn’t really gotten around. We haven’t really been plugging it very much. So yeah, we’re pretty happy with what we have so far.
Should we expect to see more music videos from Bob and Caleb in the future?
[Bob] Probably. You should probably see more in the future. We were really trying to spread our wings on this one and venture out of our normal styles and so we figured a beautiful piano ballad would do the trick. So you might see us pulling out some other ones. Maybe going the route of techno, only with some style… with great melodies and thoughtful lyrics written by me, awesome music in general by Caleb. So yeah, definitely expect more.
What do you hope to accomplish by releasing this song and this video into the world?
[Caleb] We really just want people to think… not about anything in particular.
[Bob] Yeah, just thinking is really good. We also chose the route of comparing love to nature because we love nature so dearly. And we’re the kind that really respect nature, we love animals, and I’m not embarrassed that I do break for birds. They have their lives and I would never want to take it from them. And I just… people who litter… well, they’re alright I guess… I understand where they’re coming from but we don’t like to litter any more than we have to.
[Caleb] We want people to find love in nature more so than in tire burning parties.
[Bob] Yeah
[Caleb] Although we do enjoy a good tire burning party from time to time.
[Bob] Who doesn’t love a good tire burning party. So… a love of nature and for people… and to just think about stuff. Lots of stuff.
So any last thoughts?
[Caleb] We know that many of you probably aren’t able to put out music with such exceptional quality, but you ARE able to listen to it and learn from it…
[Bob] And love it…
[Caleb] And love it… So remember to do your part.
[Bob] Yeah, absolutely. We can’t love our music as much as if you love it more than us. So… if I had final words, those would be it.
Even on my death bed I think I would say those words.
For those of you out there who would consider themselves musicians or aspiring musicians, I wanted to point out a cool website I came across, Metronome Online. I teach music lessons for a few different instruments and one thing I am an avid advocate of is practicing with a metronome.
Today I am continuing my interview with Shawn Blanc of The Fight Spot. He is an intercessory missionary at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, plays drums on Justin Rizzo’s worship team, and tours ’round the country with the Onething team as their tech/sound/live-blogger/guru.
What’s the dumbest/funniest experience you’ve ever had while drumming?
Today I have the pleasure of posting the first part of an email interview that I conducted with Shawn Blanc from one of my favorite blogs The Fight Spot. He is an intercessory missionary at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, plays drums on Justin Rizzo’s worship team, and tours ’round the country with the Onething team as their tech/sound/live-blogger/guru.
I’ve divided the interview into two parts because of the whole too much of a good thing… or maybe its because I asked lots of questions and breaking it up means I get 2 posts out of it. Whatever the case, I hope you enjoy it.
What are the 2 most important things in your life?
This is a great interview with The Merchant Band who’s lives of prayer show in the songs they write and the fruit and impact they have at Onething Conferences. All the guys are really solid examples of a life set apart before God… Tim, Marcus, Shawn, Josh… And I wanted to also take this post to promote their album (which you all probably already have), but for those of you that do not…. You should get it.
I’m going to have more meaningful posts soon, but I just ran across this and had to share it.
Aaron Weiss (above) was spotted in the IHOP KC coffee shop. Was he just visiting? Or is IHOP making good on its statement “All Music Genres are Encouraged�
Today I have the pleasure of posting the first part of an email interview that I conducted with Shawn Blanc from one of my favorite blogs 
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