Pray Network Forum

Buildings were set ablaze, businesses were looted, cars were torched, and gunshots were fired. There was fire in the night! Police and violent protesters were all over the main street. Anger and emotions were high. The situation was tense as agitators and violent protestors forced police to fire tear gas. This all happened recently in Ferguson, Missouri in the U.S., but it can happen anywhere. Violence is increasing in cities all over the world.

This rise of crime touches us deeply because we desperately want to see peace in our cities. In the above quote, John Dawson emphasizes the fact that this is our planet and that our cities belongs to God. We have authority in prayer to protect and change the atmosphere of our city, but we must learn to fervently pray in faith with watchful eyes. The Greek words used for “to guard” are “gregoreuo” and “agrupneo,” which both mean to be awake or sleepless. This implies protection.

We need to be God’s watchmen day and night on the lookout for danger in our cities. 

The Night Watch

"I will allow no sleep to my eyes, no slumber to my eyelids, till I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling place of the Mighty One of Jacob" (Psalm 132:4). 

At the same time as violence increases worldwide, God is raising up prayer in churches and cities, and he is also raising up the Night Watch. Many will rise up to this call and embrace the lifestyle of the Night Watch. Here at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City (IHOPKC Prayer Room), there are many who love to pray in the middle of the night. It especially appeals to the youth and is called Fire in the Night. The Holy Spirit is stirring the hearts of a community of people worldwide who will pray and contend for the mercy and power of God in the night season (Joel 1:13). 

They will be vigilant and watchful. 

The Fire in the Night Watchmen at IHOP make a lifestyle change. They actually rearrange their lives in order to intercede through the night hours. They train their bodies to adjust to a new time schedule in eating and sleeping. They are intercessors, singers, and musicians who believe that they will see the Lord's victory in the night. We can most effectively do works of justice in the context of night and day prayer. We desperately need God's justice in our cities. The atmosphere of God's presence and fire in the night opens the way for justice and the harvest of souls.

"And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly" (Luke 18:7-8).

Psalm 134 speaks of those in the night watch. This is critical to the divine strategy of God in order to see transformation in our cities. So many evil things happen in the night—murder, theft, immorality, and witchcraft. Light can invade the darkness through prayer and worship. We receive the blessing that the Lord promises those who minister in His house through the night.

“Praise the LORD, all you servants of the LORD who minister in the house of the LORD. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the LORD. May the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion” (Psalm 134).

As we look at what took place in Ferguson, there is an urgency of the hour to pray for our cities. The present emphasis on prayer makes day and night prayer a possibility in this generation. The commitment of a rising group of young people to be God’s night watchmen should stimulate each one of us to give ourselves to prayer. Let’s seek to be people who learn to pray not only in the day but also in the night. "On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night" (Psalm 63:6).

As more of God’s people pray and bless the Lord at night, the spiritual atmosphere changes in the city. His fire is released in the night!       

How to Pray for Your City

"I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day and all night. You who call on the LORD, give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth" (Isaiah 62:6-7).

The following are some ways you can bring authoritative intercession for your city into your prayer life:

• Cover your city with continuous praise and worship - God gives you His heart for your city through worship and a positive attitude. Instead of complaining and reacting toward the sin in your city, praise God for the good things. Satan is already an accuser, so praising God and declaring by faith the eternal purpose and dream of God over your city brings in His presence and defeats the enemy.
  
  
• Wait on the Lord for insight - Don’t depend on your own wisdom, but listen to God with childlike dependence. God will open your eyes as to what He wants to do in your city when you set aside your own agenda and wait upon Him. The Lord will give you His strategies for reaching and blessing your city. 
  
  
• Identify with the sins of the city - We can all identify with the roots of any sin in our city. The potential is in each one of us. We need to identify in personal and corporate repentance. Nehemiah identified with the sins in his city and prayed: “I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you” (Nehemiah 1:6-7).
  
  
• Overcome evil with good - Come in the opposite spirit. If there is a lot of violence, demonstrate the spirit of peace. If your city is full of greed, demonstrate generosity. If there is hate, live a life of love. This will give you great victory in your city.
  
  
• Travail over your city - Just as a pregnant woman travails to give birth to a child, you birth God’s dream in your city through travail (John 16:21). You must pray until something happens; this takes dedication and perseverance. This has everything to do with faith for your city and revival. The Apostle Paul is an excellent example (2 Corinthians 11:27-28).

A few years ago we were praying day and night in southern Spain. I remember a particularly weary time of prayer early in the morning while it was still dark, and I was feeling very alone in the prayer room. God reminded me of when Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane and His disciples fell asleep. He had asked them to watch with Him. In the same way, I felt like the Lord was quietly and tenderly speaking to me, saying:

"Will you not watch with me one hour? Will you not watch and pray here in the dark for the land and the salvation of souls?"

I realized at that moment that I needed to say "yes" to the Lord. He is looking for those who will stand watch even when it is not easy. He is looking for those with an intense desire to see His peace and presence in their city. We have two possibilities before us. We can either release God's holy fire in the night or the enemy will release fires of sin and destruction in our cities. Will you be God’s watchman at such an important hour, even when others are sleeping? 

Will you release His fire in the night through pray until He brings deliverance to your city?  

A Prayer for Your City

Dear Lord, change the atmosphere of our city through our prayers. Help us to guard our city as watchmen. Our city belongs to You [Name your city.] Teach us to continually cover it with praise and worship day and night. We long to release Your fire in the night season. Give us insight into how to pray for our city and how to take action in love as we wait on You. Teach us the secret of travailing prayer. Give us great faith for peace and revival for our city. We will pray until Your deliverance comes. We choose to give ourselves no rest (Isaiah 62:6-7). We praise You for You are mighty and powerful, and You can do all things. We choose to remember Your name in the night. We praise You for what You are going to do in our city as we pray and reach out to the lost. In Jesus’ name, amen.

"I have [earnestly] remembered Your name, O Lord, in the night, and I have observed Your law" (Psalm 119:55).

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 Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
International House of Prayer (IHOP) KC Staff
deb@intercessorsarise.org

“Intercessors have strategic assignments in their prayer closets. The prayer closet is like those ancient watchtowers. From there, they can scour ‘the spiritual horizon’ like air traffic controllers. They often sense spiritual things discerning the good from the bad, the welcome from the unwelcome. In prayer, God sometimes exposes the enemy’s plans and shows the intercessor ‘the cards that Satan is holding.’” Eddie and Alice Smith

If ever there was a need for watchful prayer, it is now! We need to be watchful, especially as we see major changes happening worldwide on a weekly basis. Many of us watch the daily news to see in the natural what is happening, but God wants us to watch and see spiritually what is occurring on the earth. It is time for all of us to get our lives in order before the Lord, become watchful in prayer, and find our position as God’s watchmen on the watchtower.

Intercessors are front-line soldiers.

They see into the distance, observe what is happening, and lean forward in prayer. Sometimes they see with eyes of discernment, and at other times they may see things way in advance. God gives them insight in order to intercede. The Greek word for “watch” means, “to be vigilant, wake, to be watchful.” Jim Goll, well-known author, speaker and intercessory leader, says:

“A watchman on the wall does many things. He carefully watches what is happening and alerts the community when good ambassadors approach the city… A watchman also warns the city far in advance when an enemy approaches. He sounds an alarm to awaken the people because he knows ‘to forewarn them is to alert and arm them.’ Then they quickly can rally to take their stand on the wall against the enemy before he wrongfully tries to enter into the city.”

What does watching mean for you personally?

What does God want you to concentrate on during prayer and intercession?

For what has He given you discernment or a burden?

It may be your school, neighborhood, city, nation, or a particular people group. This is where we need to watch and pray. When we see danger coming, we pray and ask others to pray. We cry out to God to bring salvation, deliverance and make His name known. We pray against evil intruding in the area where we are keeping watch. We say “no” to the powers of darkness in Jesus’ name. We pray for God’s peace instead of fear, for life instead of death, and for hope instead of hopelessness.

At the same time, all of us need to be on the alert and pray diligently for the nations. For many years we lived on a ship that brought the light of the Gospel to various nations. Every hour of every day watchmen had to be on duty. These watchmen kept alert to any possible dangers that might come toward our ship - dangerous weather, thieves, fire, and other possible threats to our safety. During their watch, they stayed alert. They knew that being a watchman was a serious responsibility.

You and I must be vigilant as a watchman for our nation. Although we may get weary and tired, we have a responsibility. We are called to pray for our president, prime minister, or king. We are on watch. We read in Matthew 26:41, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing but the body is weak.” In Isaiah 62:6-7 the Bible speaks of watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem:

“I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.”

God is raising up watchmen in this hour, because the need for day and night prayer for our cities is urgent. Let the following grip your heart. This is adapted from George Otis, Jr., the president and founder of the research group, the Sentinel, and the producer of the Transformation videos:

"If the Church is the nations best hope, it must be awakened from its slumber and fast. Revival must become an urgent priority, not just a theological or historical curiosity. Its promotion must become the task of every pulpit, its implementation the responsibility of every believer. For this to happen, desperate intercessors must prevail upon God to provoke within His people a deep and widespread dissatisfaction with the religious status quo.

The Church needs godly shepherds who will resolutely refuse to downplay the urgency of the hour and the seriousness of the present condition. She requires committed prophets who will seize every opportunity to acknowledge with Ezekiel: ‘Our offenses and sins weigh us down, and we are wasting away because of them’ (Ezekiel 33:10). We have come to the point, both as individuals and as a Church, where we can no longer coast on the momentum of past deeds and choices. Our relationship with God has become fallow, and it can only become fruitful again through true repentance and unreserved obedience.

In this unsettled hour, the eyes of the Lord are upon His people. Will He find faith in the earth? Will He find a hunger for His presence? Will He find a ready remnant through whom He can speak to the nations and their leaders? Let us press in to hear what the Spirit has to say to the Church. If this requires us to suspend, at least temporarily, some of our most cherished routines - let us seize the moment!”

You and I are in a serious spiritual war. Failing to take our post during these days of uncertainty could lead to serious consequences. We must be vigilant and not apathetic - We must be careful and not lax - We must watch with a serious gaze to hear and see all that God is saying and doing. Our families, our churches, our missionaries, and our nations are important.

If watchmen do not keep their post on a ship during serious weather conditions, it could mean the loss of the ship and every person on board. Remember the Titanic, which sank very quickly because the watchmen were not doing their job. Let’s learn to concentrate on prayer, listening with expectation, and seize the moment as we keep our watch. Let’s learn to be God’s Watchmen.

“Watchmen are ordinarily placed on the walls of a city to give notice to the rulers of coming danger. God appoints watchmen not only to warn men - often they will not hear - but also to summon Him to come to their aid whenever need or the enemy may be threatening. The great mark of the intercessors are that they are not to hold their peace day or night, to take no rest, and to give God no rest, until the deliverance comes. In faith they may count upon the assurance that God will answer their prayers.” Andrew Murray

By Debbie Przybylski

Intercessors Arise

deb@intercessorsarise.org

http://www.intercessorsarise.org

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