Monthly Archives: October 2015

Prayer Requests for the Nations

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11230031_994913747238399_3289985085759092424_n“The Spirit of God is arresting our attention and focusing us upon His agenda which is the very heartbeat of God.  He is a God who has definite strategies and works according to a fixed set of plans.  Nothing, absolutely nothing is a happenstance with the Lord for He is a God of order.  He has a plan concerning the nations.  His agenda is far more serious than anything man can comprehend, for He always deals with eternal issues and the eternity of entire nations is at stake.”  Adapted from Michael Howard

The following are general prayer requests for all nations. It is good to incorporate them into your prayer meetings on a regular basis. In some of the Houses of Prayer I have been involved in, I’ve printed them out and kept them in the prayer room. I have taped prayer requests for the lost, for the city, for the nation, and for the world on the walls for everyone to see. I also have brought several copies of each one, leaving them on the table for others to take and use in prayer.

Have prayer fuel for the city and nation always available in the prayer room. Pray for the nations that God lays on your heart individually and as a group. Mix intercession, worship, and singing together—and always expect God to answer.

  • Thank God for how He is working in the nations – Philippians 4:6.
  • Pray for unity in the body of Christ – Matthew 12:25; John 17:23.
  • Pray for a spiritual awakening among the lost – John 14:13-14; 16:24; 2 Peter 3:9.
  • Pray for leaders – Ephesians 4:11; 1 Timothy 2:1-3.
  • Pray for an outpouring of God’s Spirit of revival on His people – Psalm 85:6; Isaiah 64:1-3.
  • Pray that God’s people will walk in holiness and obedience – Psalm 81:11-12.
  • Pray for the fear of the Lord to touch all Christians so they hate evil – Proverbs 8:13; 2 Corinthians 7:1.
  • Pray for God to send His workers into the harvest field – Matthew 28:19-20.
  • Pray that the body of Christ will reach out to the poor and needy – Proverbs 21:13; Hebrews 13:3.
  • Pray for revival among children and youth and that God will use them mightily for His glory – Mark 9: 37; 10:13-14.
  • Pray for just laws and righteous moral standards – 1 Tim. 2:1-4.
  • Pray that the Word of God will be given its rightful place – Psalm 119:126.
  • Pray that there will be united intercession in cities and regions with the ability to pray against the major principalities over those areas – Ephesians 6:12-13.
  • Pray that God’s people will wage spiritual warfare as directed by the Holy Spirit – Ephesians 6:10-18.

“The key to the authority of the intercessor is when his heartbeat aligns with the heartbeat of Almighty God.  Nothing is more pressing than that the nations and multitudes who are marching to a Christless eternity should be saved.  How I saw the agendas of men: so many and varied and all of such vital importance to them, but there was only one paramount agenda to God:  THE NATIONS.  I instantly realized that the entire task of the glorious triune God was completely and utterly devoted to this one supreme purpose for which Jesus had so freely given His life.  All else was rather trivial in comparison and we all had majored on the trivial.” Michael Howard

Biblical Prayers to Pray for the Nations

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Our Prayers for Wisdom in Developing a House of Prayer“The Bible will teach you the language of God so that you can effectively communicate to Him. When you speak from the Bible in your prayers, you will be led to an entirely different place in prayer—one you might’ve not thought was humanly possible, simply because the language of the Bible is so absolutely different than our own.” Wesley and Stacey Campbell

The following are some Biblical prayers you may want to sing and pray over nations that God lays on your heart, as well as missionaries working in those countries. You may want to pray these in your House of Prayer as a group as well as individually. These prayers are powerful and will definitely bring you to a new place of anointing when you pray them over the nations.

  • Intercession for a nation – Daniel 9:1-8, 11-19.
  • The Valley of dry bones – Ezekiel 37:1-14.
  • Revival power – Acts 4:24-31.
  • Revival of divine revelation – Ephesians 1:15-20.
  • The outpouring of divine love – Ephesians 3:14-21.
  • Filled with a knowledge of His will – Colossians 1:2-4, 9-12.
  • The release of prophetic boldness – Ephesians 6:18-20.
  • Overflowing holy love – Philippians 1:3-4, 9-11.
  • The door of God – Colossians 4:2-4, 12.
  • Praise of the end-time harvest – Revelation 11:5-18.
  • Worthy is the Lamb – Revelation 5:8-14.

The great intercessor and author, E. M. Bounds, emphasizes the need for watchmen to pray for the large population of lost individuals scattered throughout the world. He says:

“While I am very excited about what is happening, yet as an intercessor, I can never forget that over half of the world’s population has never heard of Jesus. The task ahead is still enormous. As darkness covers the earth in the last days and darkens the people, the glory of the Lord will shine brighter and brighter, brighter and brighter in the face of a people who love Him absolutely and uncompromisingly. In this way, the whole world will know that there is a God who reigns in the Heavens and man will be left without excuse on the day of Christ’s appearing. The Spirit is still heralding a call for watchmen to join the great choir of intercessors.”

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

Praying for the Nations

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The Apostolic Prayers of Paul“When a child of God begins to get a real vision into the need of the church and the world, a vision of the divine redemption that God has promised in the outpouring of His love into our hearts, a vision of the power of true intercession to bring down the heavenly blessing, a vision of the honor of being allowed as intercessors to take part in that work, it comes as a matter of course that he regards the work as the most heavenly thing on earth—as intercessor to cry day and night to God for the revelation of His mighty power.” E. M. Bounds

After returning from 33 days in the Middle East, I saw the great need for 24/7 prayer and worship in all major cities around the world. The task is so great, the lost are in such desperate need, and we have the answer to every problem. It’s Jesus! As I was walking through a city of fifteen million on that ministry trip, I looked into the faces of the multitude. I thought to myself:

How can they grasp such a glorious Gospel when they believe such a great lie—unless we pray for them continually?

Our hearts must be on fire, and our eyes must see the power of intercession for the multitudes in the valley of decision. For this we must have a vision of the divine redemption of God’s love for the lost. The harvest is ripe. And our tiny spark added to others will produce a huge flame of intercession. The glory of intercession and worship is so great. In his book, E. M. Bounds on Prayer, Bounds emphasizes the need for prayer for the spreading of the Gospel:

“The only condition that is to give worldwide power to this Gospel is prayer, and the spread of the Gospel will depend on prayer. The energy that is to give it marvelous momentum and conquering power over all its malignant and powerful foes is the energy of prayer… But mighty prayer is the one great spiritual force that will enable the Lord Jesus Christ to enter into full possession of His kingdom, and secure for Him the heathen as His inheritance and the uttermost part of the earth for His possession.”

It is so easy to get caught up in our own little world and miss the big picture of what God is doing worldwide. We used to live in Virginia Beach, and once in a while we would hear about shark attacks. But I doubt if anyone in our area knew this about these deadly creatures. There’s an interesting lesson we can learn from sharks.

A young man who dives for exotic fish for aquariums said that one of the most popular aquarium fish was the shark. He explained that if you catch a small shark and confine it to a small space, it stays a size that is proportionate to the aquarium. A shark can actually be only six inches long and yet be fully mature. But if you turn a shark loose in the ocean, it will grow to its normal length of eight feet.

It’s similar for us as Christians. If we pray for only our own needs or only the small world around us, we won’t grow that large in our prayers. But if we begin to see God’s perspective on the world that Jesus Christ is Lord of all—and we begin to pray for the nations—we will grow into mighty intercessors with a global vision. God’s heart is for the whole world. He wants us to have a holistic vision of his purposes on the earth. He doesn’t want us to be like a six-inch shark! He wants us to be fully grown.

Let’s become great in prayer by praying for the nations. Let’s learn how to pray Biblical prayers for the nations God puts on our hearts. 

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

The Increase of Houses of Prayer Worldwide

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cropped-11169247_994914043905036_2077199318887040447_n.jpg“The worldwide prayer movement implements a specific process when establishing prayer watches. Churches, towns, cities, countries and continents are mobilized to stand before God’s throne 24 hours a day to praise and worship Him, and to plead for the nations. Intercessors pray for revival in the church and for world evangelization, as well as for transformation and healing of cities and countries. In this way the Great Commandment and the Great Commission are carried out.” Awaken the Watchmen

The prayer movement is advancing at an incredible rate worldwide. Day and night prayer watches have been increasing since the beginning of 1990. By 1995 there were a few dozen, but within ten years it grew to a few thousand. By the time you read this, you can imagine how many there will be worldwide.

There are many exciting ways this is happening. Although there are some common approaches, the Holy Spirit is creative and often uses unique methods that are tailored to each city in each country. Jericho Walls, a leading prayer ministry based in South Africa, encourages and gives us some incredible examples of how the worldwide prayer movement is expanding throughout the world. Realize that these statistics regarding Houses of Prayer are constantly changing because God is expanding the prayer movement so quickly. This is adapted from Awaken the Watchmen—24/7 Prayer Guidelines and Models. Let’s give God praise and thanksgiving for what He is doing worldwide in prayer.

  • The Jerusalem House of Prayer for all Nations in Jerusalem – This House of Prayer started in 1987 by Tom Hess. The Gates of Jerusalem Watch is part of this prayer initiative, where twelve prayer teams pray daily for two hours at the twelve gates of Jerusalem. In 1999 Hess started the first convocation for the 24-hour prayer watch. This is spreading around the world. Other prayer watches have been established in Israel in the last several years.
  • The International House of Prayer in Kansas City, USA (IHOPKC) – Since 1999 a 24/7, 365-day House of Prayer has been going in Kansas City. The mission of these intercessors and worshippers is to establish Houses of Prayer all over the world. Mike Bickle designed a model for prayer called “harp and bowl” which combines worship and intercession.
  • The “Waechterruf Initiative” (Watchman’s Call Initiative) in Germany – This model was started in 2000 where every city must pray for the German nation, the salvation of the people, and the needs of the people and government for one full 24-hour day per month. Many cities are involved in this, each taking a day of the month.
  • Cathe, Nagaland Christian Revival Prayer Houses in northern India – This House of Prayer was established in 1962 through a revival movement. Sixty houses have been built for people who want to devote their lives to prayer. A 24-hour prayer watch is kept there. By the end of 2000, there were approximately one thousand active prayer watches in Nagaland, and 95% of the people are now Christians.
  • Washington DC Prayer Watch in the United States – In 1997 the US/DC Prayer Watch was established as a national prayer watch to pray for the U.S. 24 hours a day. A central prayer calendar was compiled with the names of individuals and prayer groups who commit themselves to pray for an hour a week or once a month. Several million intercessors are involved in this prayer watch.
  • A Million Hours of Praise in England – Cathryn Hall in England initiated a million hours of praise and worship that developed into day and night praise and worship. Worship teams all over the world are encouraged to participate in this movement of praise.
  • Prayer Watches for Drug Addicts in South Africa – A pastor’s wife got parents together every Friday night to pray all through the night for their children caught in drugs. After three years it grew to 36 different 365-day prayer chains that pray for children addicted to drugs. It has now grown to a few hundred watches that pray for young people involved in drugs and the occult. Some run 24 hours a day. Thousands are now involved in these watches.
  • Prayer Towers in Indonesia – Through the work of the national prayer network in Indonesia, prayer towers have been
    established in more than five hundred cities. About five million intercessors from all over the country are bound together in a network of prayer. The intercessors cover a week of 24/7 prayer with sixteen or more full-time intercessors taking shifts of four hours a day. Others who want to pray join them. Even children are involved in these prayer towers.
  • Prayer Mountains in South Korea – There are numerous prayer mountains throughout South Korea where people can go up into the mountains to pray day and night. Many go to these places to fast. Some up to forty days. They believe that the political stability and church growth is because of these prayer mountains.
  • Since 1995 World Trumpet Mission and Watchman Intercessors Network have helped to establish 24-hour prayer watches in 43 districts in Uganda.
  • The Youth and 24-7 Prayer in England – In 1999 Peter Greig started a dynamic prayer movement among young people. They creatively decorate prayer rooms and start praying for 168 hours. They are known as 24-7. When they become 24-7, 365-day watches, they are called boiler rooms. By 2006, there were 65 countries where the 24-7 prayer movement among youth had taken root and was growing. They are spreading rapidly all over the world.

In his book, 24-7 Prayer Manual, Peter Greig shares about how day and night prayer is spreading throughout North America. This should create a hunger within us to see it happen now where we personally live.

“In Canada we now have regional representatives resourcing 24-7 prayer rooms from coast to coast. Meanwhile, from Alaska to Florida, almost every state has hosted seasons of 24-7 prayer. By the time you read this, the 24-7 movement will almost certainly have impacted all 50 states. These American prayer rooms have been established in a diverse array of contexts: at many different churches (Evangelical, Charismatic, and liturgical), on university campuses. At festivals, at a slum motel in East Vancouver, and even at the US Naval Academy, where apparently the prayer times were particularly disciplined! Some of the soldiers who prayed in the 24-7 room have since, almost certainly, given their lives in Iraq. God is doing an amazing thing in our time, but, if you’re anything like us, you eventually grow weary of hearing stories of revival and social transformation in other churches, on other campuses or at other times in history. You pray with a mixture of faith and frustration: “Do it here, Lord. Do it now!”

“A person who can pray is the mightiest instrument Christ has in this world. A praying church is stronger than all the gates of hell. God’s decree for the glory of His Son’s kingdom is dependent on prayer for its fulfillment: ‘Ask of me, and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost part of the earth for thy possession’ (Psalm 2:8). God the Father gives nothing to his Son except through prayer.” E.M Bounds

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

God is Connecting Us

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Possible Hindrances to Unity in a House of PrayerGod is uniting a powerful prayer movement worldwide. In a supernatural way, He is connecting all of us. He is realigning ministries and people—He is teaching us to celebrate one another’s victories—He is orchestrating strategic shifts and realignments.

It’s important not to resist what God is doing, but eagerly gain new Kingdom alliances. The Kingdom is any sphere of life that actively obeys the will of God (Matthew 6:10). He wants us to have a Kingdom view of people and all of life.

It’s His Kingdom and not ours.

As I move from place to place and from one country to another, I sense a connection that is powerful. What God is doing in your area is connected and important to other cities and nations. We desperately need each other. The present task now for each one of us is to connect in unity and prayer in our city. Let us ask for God’s powerful anointing in the Houses of Prayer in various churches in the city and in the corporate citywide House of Prayer. Pray that each prayer meeting is led by the Holy Spirit, and functions in grace-empowered prayer and worship.

General Robert E. Lee was a career United States Army officer for 32 years and among the most celebrated generals in American history. He is best known for fighting in the American Civil War on behalf of the Confederate Army. General Lee saw that prayer was a mighty weapon in taking back land from the enemy and winning battles. He was one who not only fought for the nation of America, but he also pleaded earnestly that people would pray everywhere. We must likewise fight for our nations on our knees and realize that God’s House of Prayer is for all nations. This is what Robert E. Lee said:

“Knowing that intercessory prayer is our mightiest weapon and the supreme call for all Christians today, I pleadingly urge our people everywhere to pray. Believing that prayer is the greatest contribution that our people can make in this critical hour, I humbly urge that we take time to pray—to really pray. Let there be prayer at sunup, at noonday, at sundown, at midnight—all through the day. Let us all pray for our children, our youth, our aged, our pastors, our homes. Let us pray for our churches. Let us pray for ourselves, that we may not lose the word “concern” out of our Christian vocabulary. Let us pray for our nation. Let us pray for those who have never known Jesus Christ and redeeming love, for moral forces everywhere, for our national leaders. Let prayer be our passion. Let prayer be our practice.”

As you work on building your House of Prayer, it is a good idea to get involved in the larger 24/7 prayer movement. There is strength in unity; knowing that you are part of something worldwide brings tremendous inner strength. When we work together we can share resources, discoveries, testimonies, and so much more than when we work alone and are isolated. We need one another.

If you would like to connect with the wider 24/7 prayer movement around the world, you can connect here at the Nations House of Prayer Equipping Center. There are several other ways you can do this as well. Here are a few:

  • Intercessors Arise International – Receive bimonthly motivational prayer training and books on prayer. Join the Intercessors Arise International Network and network with other prayer leaders and ministries.
  • International House of Prayer – Listen to 24/7 prayer on the free webstream, and attend prayer conferences, IHOPU, or join an internship where you can grow in prayer and network with others.
  • Mike Bickle’s online teaching library – Get free online teaching on various topics relating to prayer and the end times.
  • Register your prayer room at: www.24-7prayer.com – Receive useful prayer resources, personalized coaching, and get profiled globally on the 24-7 website.
  • Global Day of Prayer – Get the Houses of Prayer in your nation involved in prayer on this day as well as throughout the year.

It’s time for all of us to connect worldwide. Houses of Prayer are springing up in so many nations. With growing excitement and anticipation, let’s rejoice in what God is doing.

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

Our Prayer for Heartfelt Action in Our City

10442923_964567430273031_565179192230379316_nDear Lord, help our prayers to lead us to heartfelt action. We want to be transformed into fervent lovers who reach out to the needy and lost in our city. Anoint us to preach good news to the poor, to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives, and release from darkness for the prisoners (Isaiah 61:1). Help us to abide in you daily (John 15). We want to bear much fruit (John 15:16-17). Teach us enjoyable prayer. We want to always delight and find joy in the prayer room. We want to bring that joy into the streets and into our work places. Show us how to take action in our city and bring forth abundant fruit in Your name. This month we choose to show heartfelt action in our city. [Name what you will do to reach out to your city.] Fill us with Your compassion and love for our city.

Teach us to worship You even in the midst of difficulty, just like Paul and Silas did in prison. Demonstrate Your supernatural power through our lives every day, and bring us into the place of abundance. 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. Give us insight into how to pray for our city and how to take action as we wait on You. Teach us the secret of travailing prayer.

Give us great faith for 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 praise You for what You are going to do in our city as we pray and reach out to the lost. Thank You that we will bear much fruit for Your glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Verses to Memorize

“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (John 15:7-8).

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

Heartfelt Action – Taking it into the Prayer Room

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11329842_966469080082866_4753253200916526631_nTaking it into the Prayer Room

Get together with an individual or group and discuss the application assignment together after first having done it alone. Take extra time to discuss Paul and Silas’s example and how you can bring intercession into your city through the ways suggested. Evaluate your city in the area of watchful prayer. Discuss ways you can take heartfelt action in reaching your city both individually and as a group. Have an action plan of some form of outreach you can do as a group.

Then take it into the prayer room by beginning with a time of praise and worship. Pray through the verses in John 15 about abiding in Christ. Cry out to God to help you learn how to be watchmen for your city. Use the list of questions in this life application, and pray for God’s help to overcome any weaknesses you may each have when you intercede for your city. Pray through the areas where you need walls of protection and boundaries in your city. Ask God to raise up other watchmen for your city. Pray through the various ways you will take heartfelt action in reaching your city. Be specific. Pray through your action plan.

How to Turn Your Prayers into Action

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11214163_990325321030575_6399602475697441857_nHeartfelt Action Life Application

As you think about enjoyable prayer, abundant fruit, heartfelt action, and watchful prayer, begin to imagine the power of heartfelt action when 24/7 prayer is active in your city. Then answer the following questions:

  • As you pray, are there times you have felt the heart of God for those you were praying for? – Explain a time when your prayers led to heartfelt and fruitful action? What did you do?
  • Enjoyable Prayer + Abiding in Christ = Abundant Fruit – Write a paragraph about this in your own words. Use John 15:4-5,
    7-8, and 16-17 in your answer.
  • In what way does evangelism and joyful intercession stimulate one another? – Explain your answer using a personal example if possible.
  • Study the example of Paul and Silas in Acts 16:16-40 – How did they experience the supernatural power and fruitfulness of God right in those dark prison chambers?
  • How can you take action by being a watchman for your city? – Through day and night prayer we can build boundaries of protection around our cities. In what areas does your city need boundaries of protection through prayer? How will you personally take action in your city after you pray?
  • Evaluate your prayers individually and corporately as you look at the following ways to bring intercession into your city – Explain each answer, and consider the areas where you feel weak.- Do you cover your city regularly with praise and worship?
    – Do you wait on God for insight into how to pray and reach your city?
    – What insight has God already given you for your city?
    – Do you identify in prayer for the sins of your city? How?
    – Do you overcome evil with good by coming in the opposite spirit? Give some examples of action steps you have taken.
    – Do you ever travail or pray strong heartfelt prayers for your city? Explain.
    – How can your prayers lead to action? What steps can you take personally in reaching your city this month?

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

The Night Watch

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11144453_965502933512814_2928668468155993148_nMany in the prayer movement will rise up and embrace the lifestyle
of the night watch. Larger Houses of Prayer often requires several people to spend the night hours in the prayer room. Here at the International House of Prayer, there are many who love to pray in the middle of the night. It especially appeals to the youth. The Holy Spirit is raising up a community of people who will pray and contend for the mercy and power of God in the night seasons (Joel 1:13). They will be vigilant and watchful.

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.

Recently I heard about how thirteen young people were being trained to pray from about 8:00 P.M. until 3:00 A.M. here at the International House of Prayer. They were training their bodies to adjust to a new time schedule in eating and sleeping so that they could give themselves to prayer in the night season. The commitment of this group of young people to be God’s watchmen should stimulate each one of us to give ourselves to prayer, whether it is in the day or the night.

The urgency of the hour and the present emphasis on prayer makes 24/7 prayer a possibility in this generation. Let’s seek to be people who learn to pray not only in the day but also in the night (Psalm 63:6; 119:55, 148).

As God’s people behold and bless the Lord at night, the spiritual atmosphere changes in the city.      

A few years ago we were praying 24/7 during the month of October in southern Spain. We were praying for the Gibraltar area, including southern Spain and North Africa. I remember a particularly weary time of prayer early in the morning when it was still dark, and when 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. I felt he was saying:

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

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. Will you not also be God’s watchman at such an important hour, even when others are sleeping?

Will you not also pray until God brings deliverance to your city?

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

Houses of Prayer Protect the City

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11351384_963508680378906_3200653058450209561_nThere is not a better way to protect our cities and touch the needy than to have Houses of Prayer.

This is going to be a necessity in the coming days. Through prayer and intercession we can pray into the atmosphere of heaven and bring heaven’s will to earth, praying the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. The word used for inter-cession in the Bible is “paga.” This word can also be translated as “boundary.” Through prayer we can build boundaries of protection around our cities. Through united prayer together with heartfelt action, we can protect God’s purposes and plans for our cities.

What is the central dream of your city? What is the plan or purpose of God for your city?

God has a good plan for your city, but the enemy has an evil plan. God anticipated your city and planned it. Your city does have a divine purpose; there is the need to cry out to Him 24/7 for the fulfillment of that purpose. You need to protect the dream of God for your city through prayer. Read what well-known intercessor and author, Dutch Sheets, says about watchmen:

“Protection is an important aspect of the watchman anointing. Watchmen are guards, bodyguards, doorkeepers and, generally speaking, those who protect by covering in prayer.”

We used to live in the city of Virginia Beach, very close to the Atlantic Ocean. Often we were threatened by possible hurricanes that occasionally came up the east coast of the United States. I remember a time when a group of Christian leaders, made up of pastors and intercessors, decided that the threat was too serious. They called the region—which included seven cities—to day and night prayer for the protection of our area. God protected each city.

In the Old Testament times, a watchman would keep watch on the walls for enemies or watch after the crops at harvest time (Isaiah 1:6-8; Ezekiel 22:30). We need watchmen to watch over God’s harvest in our cities and protect it as well. Just as God appointed mankind as guardians and watchmen of the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2:15, He wants us to be watchmen and guard the land where we live. 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 night watchmen and be on the lookout for danger.

In an area of Africa, the first Christians were very serious about watchful prayer. Each believer had their own special place outside the village where they could be alone to pray in solitude. They reached these out door “prayer rooms” by walking through their own private footpath through the brush. But when the grass began to grow over one of the trails, they knew something was desperately wrong—someone wasn’t praying.

They were perfect examples of watchmen because they were so concerned about the spiritual welfare of each other. A custom sprang up among them. Whenever one of them noticed an overgrown prayer path, they would go to the person and warn them in a loving way by saying: “Friend, there’s grass on your path!”

God wants you to be a watchman just like these villagers in Africa. He wants you to join with others in 24/7 prayer for your city and for one another.  Isaiah 62:6-7 stresses the need to give God no rest, and to pray day and night for the city of Jerusalem:

“I have posted watchmen on your walls, 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.”

The same is true for each one of our cities. As you begin to look at your city through the eyes of God and with His heart, realize that it belongs to Him. We read in Psalm 24:1, “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.” God wants you to contend for your city in prayer. He wants you to pray for His authority to rule supreme in your city.

Although Satan has invaded our cities, through prayer and action we can take them back.

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC