From the desk of Steve Shultz:
Yes, Church, yes, saints—WE ARE HIS WATCHMAN! This watchful word by my friend James Goll will get you excited to return to your prayer walls and with two or three gathered in your midst. Just read this word here by James:
"God intends to cover the earth with His glory and with a flood of mercy and grace. But first God must wake His sleeping giant, the Church. It is time for you and I to shake the world for Christ from our places of prevailing prayer!...God is calling His watchmen—every Blood-washed saint and redeemed king and priest—in groups of twos or threes to come together on the wall."
Now, let's return watchmen to our prayer walls!
Here are a couple of great products on intercession that I recommend:
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James W. Goll:
"Restoring the Watch of the Lord: Shake the World with Prevailing Prayer!"
Intro and Health Update:
We continue to praise the Lord for my great health report on being cancer free. My blood count is now normal and we thank the Lord! You have played such a vital role in my healing and restoration process. I am so grateful for your love and support. Perhaps the Holy Spirit will move upon you to partner with us in the future. I will soon be launching a strategy called Restoring the Walls—EN's Nehemiah Project. So watch for details concerning this in coming weeks.
Recently in PrayerStorm, I had us pray in the gift of tongues. Instead of giving us a specific prayer target, we entered into the realm of the supernatural by praying in the Spirit. Now, I want us to practice "watching" in our prayers. Again, I am not giving us an agenda or a prayer list this week. I want you to practice watching with your worship and prayer, and then pray what you "see in the Spirit." To build on this concept, I am bringing you some of my early teachings.
Let the Fire Burn! And May the Fire of the Lord Be Restored on the Altars of our Hearts!
June, 1991
"I will restore the ancient tools of the Watch of the Lord that have been used and will be used again to change the expression of Christianity across the face of the earth."
This prophetic word came to me in the middle of the night on the Kansas plains. I had brought 30 people with me to that remote area for a prayer retreat at a country lodge. We were praying around the clock in prayer teams for "hour watches" or prayer periods, modeled after military sentry patterns. Our focus was not on fellowship or even a prayer list; we were there to seek God's face. As usual, I had chosen the 2:00-to-3:00 a.m. time slot because the Lord had been waking me up at that time virtually two or three times a week for more than a decade.
As I waited on the Lord, I suddenly saw a picture of an old farm implement, the kind of plow that used to be drawn by horses. When I asked the Lord what it was, the Holy Spirit said, "These are the ancient tools." When I asked what these were, the response was immediate: "The Watch of the Lord is the ancient tool." Now that phrase went deep inside of me and stuck.
As I continued to wait before the Lord in that quiet, far-removed place, I saw the tool again and the Lord said, "I will restore the ancient tool of the Watch of the Lord. It has been used and will be used again to change the expression of Christianity across the face of the earth."
I was already familiar with the concept of "watching in prayer" in the Old and the New Testaments (sorry to say, it is sorely missing from the life of the Church at large). This clear word of the Lord given under the starry skies of Kansas lit a fire under me that ultimately propelled me into the borderland of ancient Saxony, the ancient site of the Moravian prayer watch at Herrnhut that lasted over 100 years nonstop.
Few English-speaking people use the term, "Watch of the Lord," in our day. Books on prayer seldom discuss it. Yet the importance of the Watch of the Lord, or of watching in prayer, is very important to the plans and order of God. Jesus commanded us to "watch" with Him in several Gospel accounts, particularly in the time called "the last days."
Much has been taught about "the last days" by teachers in Evangelical and Charismatic circles. But exceptionally little has been taught about the Biblical response of God's people to the last days. I made a comparative study of the verbs Jesus used in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, where He described how we should respond when we see earthquakes, famines, wars and rumors of wars, and so on. Here is a summary of these responses:
See Matthew 24 (NIV):
"Watch out that no one deceives you" (verse 4).
"See to it that you are not alarmed" (verse 6).
"Stand firm to the end" (verse 13).
"Keep watch" (verse 42).
See Mark 13:
"Watch out that no one deceives you" (verse 5).
"Do not be alarmed" (verse 7).
"Be on your guard" (verse 9).
"Do not worry" (verse 11).
"Stand firm" (verse 13).
"Be on your guard" (verse 23).
"Be on guard! Be alert!" (verse 33).
"Keep watch" (verse 35).
"Watch!" (verse 37).
See Luke 21:
"Watch out that you are not deceived" (verse 8).
"Do not be frightened" (verse 9).
"Stand firm" (verse 19).
"Stand up and lift up your heads" (verse 28).
"Be careful" (verse 34).
"Be always on the watch, and pray" (verse 36).
All of these statements can be summarized in three main phrases: "Do not be afraid" (mentioned four times), "Stand firm" (mentioned four times), and "Watch." Jesus used this key word, "watch," 11 times—almost three times more than any other admonition! Once again, you can hear His voice saying to the Church, "The key I give you is 'watch.'" In Matthew 18:19-20, He gave us the keys of the Kingdom, and they have to do with prayer:
Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in Heaven. For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.
Jesus wants groups of two or three people to gather in His name and ask in symphony or harmony. (The Greek word translated "agree" is sumphoneo, or "harmonious.") This is the heart of the "watch of the Lord." I know it's profound, but you don't need a doctorate in theology or linguistics to understand it.
The Greek word for "watch" in these verses is gregoreuo, and it means "to be vigilant, wake, to be watchful." A watchman on the wall does many things. He carefully watches what is happening and alerts the community when good ambassadors approach the city. The guardsman then will open the gates and lower the bridge so the ambassadors may enter. 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.
Putting Out the Welcome Mat
We are to watch for the good things and good messengers God sends to His people. We are to watch for the gifted ones and the coming of the Lord's Presence. We are to alert the people to roll out the welcome mat, saying, "Come, come, come, come! Angels of healing, you are welcome here. Spirit of the Lord, You are welcome here. Gifts of the Spirit, you are welcome here. Spirit of conviction of sin, righteousness and judgment, come; you are welcome here. Come, come, come, come!" We are to roll out the red carpet to the name and the Blood of Jesus, and say, "Come!"
We are to watch to see what the Lord is saying and doing. And we are to look at what the enemy's plans could be. Paul warned us not to be ignorant concerning the devil's schemes (see 2 Corinthians 2:11). God wants to tip us off beforehand to cut off, postpone, delay, or even entirely dismantle the works of the enemy and frustrate his plans for evil.
But as watchers on the wall of the Lord, we go far beyond any dictionary definition. God wants us to look into the mirror of His great Word and discern those things that He has said that He wants to do. Then we are to remind Him of those things that He wants to do and is, at the same time, waiting for us to ask Him to do. Why? Because He has given us that little key called the "prayer of agreement."
Little keys unlock big doors. The Moravians discovered a key of power in Leviticus 6:13, where the Lord says, "Fire shall be kept burning continually on the altar; it is not to go out." They believed the New Covenant fire on the altar was prayer, and they acted on God's challenge. The Moravians actually managed to change the world with that little key and so can we in our day.
Through other extreme God encounters, I became convinced that the Lord was releasing grace for the house of prayer for all nations, and for the Watch of the Lord to be released first in 120 cities across the earth, and from there to 3,000 cities according to the pattern of Pentecost as found in Acts, the second chapter. Yes, the ancient tool of the Watch of the Lord has been released anew on the earth by the winds of God.
Dear God, I want to be vigilant and awake in this hour. Wake me up if You have to! I want to be a practical part of the watch of the Lord for my city. Equip me and use me as one of Your Last Day Watchers. Place me in Your global prayer army and send mentors my way so I can be effective in this historic move of God! Bless You, Lord, for including me in Your growing prayer army! Praise the Lord!
The Day of the Watch Has Come
Since God ignited my burden for the Watch of the Lord at Herrnhut, the site of the great Moravian prayer watch, it is no accident that He has sent me to draw from their deep pool of wisdom again and again along my journey. Indeed, the Day of the Watch has come.
God is restoring the fire of the Holy Spirit to His people so we will restore the fire of prayer on His altar of incense and release the glory of God on the earth! Look at the striking parallels between the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on people of prayer in Jerusalem, and on another people of prayer 17 centuries later in Herrnhut, Saxony!
The same God who engineered this miracle in Jerusalem and in Herrnhut in the 1700s appears determined to do the same across the earth before the dawn of the millennium! God is not interested in "corporate assent" to the principle of revival—He demands personal surrender, commitment, and sold-out service in prayer and public witness to His glory!
When the people of God dare to surrender to the Holy Spirit of God and then live lives of continuous consecrated prayer, they will display an infectious joy that will draw the lost to them again and again in divine appointments of destiny.
God's Intention
Matthew Henry wrote, "When God intends great mercy for His people, the first thing He does is to set them a-praying." God intends to cover the earth with His glory and with a flood of mercy and grace. But first God must wake His sleeping giant, the Church. It is time for you and I to shake the world for Christ from our places of prevailing prayer! We can no longer afford to hear the urgent word of the Lord and walk away passively. The call is the same regardless of what title or flavor adorns the sign over the door of our place of worship.
God is calling His watchmen—every Blood-washed saint and redeemed king and priest—in groups of twos or threes to come together on the wall. He is calling forth the ancient tools to bring salvation to our generation. Do you believe dead men's bones can live again?
I believe dead men's bones will live again. I believe that the same Spirit who kept the promises of God for generations in the past is waiting for us to enter into the Holy of Holies for our time and our generation! There is only one path for you to take if you have received and believed this message: You need to be possessed. God wants you to be possessed with His Spirit in the same way Gideon was! The Amplified Bible says:
But the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon with Himself and took possession of him, and he blew a trumpet, and (the clan of) Abiezer was gathered to him.—Judges 6:34 AMP
Nehemiah's Tools
When Nehemiah the prophet risked all to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem in occupied territory filled with violent enemies, the first thing he did was to establish watchmen on the walls. In fact, everyone who worked on the wall was both workman and watchman, builder and soldier. They would work with a trowel in one hand and a spear in the other. God is quickly setting things into place to build His Church in a quick work. Again, this building project takes place in temporarily-occupied territory surrounded by violent and desperate enemies. The first thing God is setting in place is "the Watch of the Lord."
What are the rewards for these labors? If you could ask the Moravians this question, they would instantly answer: "To win for the Lamb that was slain the reward of His sufferings." The prayers of the "possessed" are more powerful than any of us know. A German historian named Dr. Warneck wrote in his book, Protestant Missions, "This small Church [the Moravians] in twenty years called into being more missions than the whole Evangelical Church has done in two centuries."
The work of the Holy Spirit was so complete and deep in the people at Herrnhut that they literally began to live out in microcosm the plan of God for His spotless Bride when He returns! Listen to the words John Wesley wrote after visiting Herrnhut in August of 1738, as recorded by Moravian historian Rev. John Greenfield:
"'God has given me at length,' he wrote to his brother Samuel, 'the desire of my heart. I am with a Church whose conversation is in Heaven; in whom is the mind that was in Christ, and who so walk as He walked.' In his journal he wrote: 'I would gladly have spent my life here; but my Master called me to labour in another part of His vineyard. O when shall this Christianity cover the earth, as the waters cover the sea?'"
On a Worldwide Scale
God fully intends to do on a worldwide scale what He did more than 200 years ago among a divided group of Believers from diverse backgrounds. He is out to raise up a Church, a nation of kings and priests, whose determination is to know nothing among men save Jesus Christ and Him crucified, whose theology has become Christology, and whose creed was in one word, the "Cross."
Are you willing to be "possessed for prayer"? Will you yield yourself as a living sacrifice this very day so that God can clothe you with Himself and conduct warfare for souls? Little keys open big doors. What goes up must come down!
The key to fulfillment and fruitfulness in your life is found in one word of eternal significance: "Yes." Your commission is clear: As a king and priest cleansed by the Blood of Jesus, your lifelong calling is to offer the fire and incense of prayer, praise, worship, and intercession to the Most High God and to intercede on behalf of this lost and dying generation.
Allow the Spirit of Pentecost to fall on you again in all of His fire and glory. Find those of like mind who also have discovered the secrets and power of God's altar of prayer. Join with one or two others to harmonize your requests to God as you restore the Watch of the Lord in your area. Work with your pastor or church members to raise up a "house of prayer for all nations" that truly fulfills the desire of God.
Pray for the harvest, for workers of the harvest. Seek the face of Him who bared His right Arm in Christ Jesus and redeemed you from the kingdom of darkness. Then, do anything and everything that He tells you with all of your heart. The Moravians discovered the secret place of power called prayer. They also lived out another secret of effective Christian living—that all men and women are ministers of the Gospel of Jesus and stewards of a sacred hope that must be trumpeted to hurting people at every occasion. It is time to mount the Watch of the Lord. It is time to light the watch fires and restore the lost art of intercession, the ancient tool of the Lord, to the Church of the Lord. Let it begin!
A Prayer of Consecration
Here I am, Lord. Possess me with Your Holy Life. Teach me to release the highest weapon of spiritual warfare—the brilliance of Your great Presence. Let the fire of Your hot love burn on the altar of my heart. Let there be fire on my altar and may it never go out. Count me in. Sign me up as a watchman on Your wall. Restore the lost art of intercession. Restore the power and the passion of the watch of the Lord. Use me in Your End Time Army and set me as an intercessor for Christ's namesake. Amen.
Now Just Do It! Amen and Amen!
James W. Goll
Encounters Network • PrayerStorm • Compassion Acts
Email: info@encountersnetwork.com
