For over one thousand years monasticism (the practice of taking vows of poverty, chastity and obedience to one’s spiritual superior) held a key role in the development of theology and practice in the Church. From the fourth and fifth centuries, monks and nuns were an accepted part of society. Monasticism was the cradle in which laus perennis, perpetual prayer, was birthed in the church age.

The Reformation of the sixteenth century saw much-needed reform enter the European Church, which also caused the closing of many monasteries that had become spiritually dead. The next great champion of 24 hour / 7 day a week prayer would not appear until the start of the eighteenth century and his name was Count Nicholas Ludwig Von Zinzendorf. Under Zinzendorf's leadership, a community of Believers was established and the location named Hernhut (The Watch of the Lord). In 1727, after a great out-pouring of the Holy Spirit, a group of 24 men and 24 women covenanted to pray "hourly intercessions," thus praying every hour around the clock.  They were committed to seeing that, "The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out" (Leviticus 6:13).  This prayer meeting continued to increase in the number of participants and would continue non-stop for the next one hundred years.

In 1973 David Yonggi Cho, Pastor of the Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, South Korea, established Prayer Mountain with night and day prayer. Prayer Mountain was soon attracting over a million visitors per year, as people would spend retreats in the prayer cells provided on the mountain. Cho had a commitment to continuous prayer, to faith and to establishing small discipleship cells in his church. Perhaps as a result, Cho’s church rapidly expanded to become the largest church congregation on the globe, with membership now over 780,000.

On September 19, 1999, the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, Missouri, started a prayer and worship meeting that has continued for twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week ever since. With a similar vision to Zinzendorf, that the fire on the altar should never go out, there has never been a time when worship and prayer has not ascended to heaven since that date.

At the same time, in many other places around the world, God placed desires and plans for 24/7 prayer in the fabric of diverse ministries and in the hearts of leaders. This has resulted in 24/7 houses of prayer and prayer mountains being established in every continent of the earth. Hence, we here at River City House of Prayer, were called by Father God to join this movement, this cause in the earth, by giving our energies and resources to see a 24/7 house of prayer established in downtown San Antonio, Texas.  We desire to partner with those called to this purpose to bring light and transformation to our great city.