Tag Archives: prayer

Eye Surgery for a Kingdom Focus

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11692622_990323741030733_6732920235973030542_nWe went for a free vision exam. The advertisement made a lot of amazing claims, just as they so often do. It said the doctors were skilled with extensive experience in advanced diagnostic equipment, the procedure rooms were specially designed for optimal results, the technology used was the best, and they had complete follow-up care with affordable prices! We had thought we were going for a normal eye exam only to discover that the doctor was examining us for laser surgery. Because of the advertisement, the place was packed with people wanting to improve their vision through free laser surgery.

While we were waiting, I noticed a group of patients gathered around a big window intently watching something very interesting in the next room. I walked over, and to my surprise, they were watching a live laser surgery being done on one of the patients. It took only about ten minutes to complete this surgery that provided a vast improvement of one’s vision, even with those who had been wearing bifocal glasses for years and years.

I was fascinated as I watched the doctor wash the eye with a solution and know exactly how to do what seemed like a simple surgery on the eye. I am sure it was much more complex than I imagined. Then he would wash the eye again, and I would see magnified a beautifully colored and designed eye, so unique and carefully created by God. It was an amazing surgery that impressed me greatly.

God is doing eye surgery right now on the body of Christ. He wants us to see with His vision. He is a skilled physician with the very best equipment, and He has the greatest experience of anyone in the entire world. His technology is supernatural, and He provides daily follow-up and personal care. God wants to remove our short-sightedness and the cataracts that fog our vision. He wants us to see through eyes of faith what He can do in our cities. He wants to put His own eye salve on our eyes so we can see brilliantly what is before us and how to pray.

While on a prayer journey in the Biblical city of Laodicea in Turkey, I was reminded of God’s message to the Laodicean Church. God wants us to be willing to go through His refinement so that we are not lukewarm and naked like the Laodicean Church, but instead are on fire for Him. He wants us to buy salve to put on our eyes. He says to the Church of Laodicea in Revelation 3:18:

“I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.”

I didn’t qualify for laser surgery, but I am glad that I do qualify for God’s surgery that opens my eyes further to see from His glorious perspective. You qualify as well. I encourage you to begin to see your city from God’s Kingdom perspective. Think about starting 24/7 prayer in your city for a week or a month. Think about the Kingdom of God invading your city.

We have had one-month Houses of Prayer. When we do this in cities for a month, it changes so many of our lives. Time in God’s presence changes you dramatically. Perhaps you are thinking, “But you don’t know my nation—the church is too small and too divided!” God doesn’t need a large population of Christians in order to bring in His presence. He will work through a few churches that decide to unite in prayer in order to seek His presence for their city.

This is where He loves to show His presence; He longs to give us a Kingdom focus.

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

Our Prayer for a Heart for the Nations

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Prayers from the Book of RevelationLord, help us to see the big picture of what You are doing in the nations. Your Word says: “these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations” (Isaiah 56:7). Give us vision for this worldwide House of Prayer for all nations. Help us to build Your House in our city. You are orchestrating strategic shifts and realignments. Help us not to resist what you are doing but eagerly gain new Kingdom alliances. Help us to relinquish our personal rights and celebrate the victories of others. Teach us to pray Your Word over the nations.

As we seek to start day and night intercession, we ask you to give us your heart for the world. Help us to feel as you feel for the lost and the dying. In the midst of our prayer meetings, transform us into your likeness. Give us Your perspective on the world and all that is happening internationally. Empower us, and give us faith so that as we leave the prayer room, we will be a blessing to all those we encounter in our lives. We want to see Your mighty power to save, to set free, and to heal everywhere we go.

Arrest our attention. Revive us, and free us from ourselves so that we may represent You to a lost world. Give us Your heartbeat. Help us to cry out for souls as Praying Hyde did. Help us to catch the vision for prayer in our city. Increase the vision for prayer in our churches. Clothe us with Your presence, and use us for Your glory in the prayer movement. We sing to You Lord. We praise Your name. We proclaim Your salvation day after day. We declare Your glory among the nations, Your marvelous deeds among all peoples (Psalm 96:2-3). In Jesus’ name, amen.

Verses to Memorize

“And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to serve him, to love the name of the LORD, and to worship him, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant—these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations” (Isaiah 56:6-7).

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOP-KC

How to Pray for the Nations

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11017668_964162400313534_4613183786382334611_nPray for the Nations Life Application

We looked at the need for a House of Prayer for all nations. You’ve learned about how to pray for the nations and how to spread the vision of prayer world-wide. Carefully review before answering the following:

  • A House of Prayer for all nations – In your own words, write down what a House of Prayer for all nations means to you and to your city. See Isaiah 56:7 and Mark 11:17.
  • In what way do you see God realigning and bringing a divine connection in the prayer movement – Explain your answer. How does God want you involved in uniting with the worldwide prayer movement and prayer in your city?
  • Pray some of the following Biblical prayers over your country every day this week – They are found in Ezekiel 37:1-14; Daniel 9:1-8, 11-19; Acts 4:24-31; Ephesians 1:15-20; 3:14-21; 6:18-20; Philippians 1:3-4, 9-11; Colossians 1:2-4, 9-12; Revelation 5:8-14; and 11:5-18. Journal regarding any insight God may have given you as you prayed for your country.
  • Pray several of the general prayer requests for nations – Pray them a few times this week. This will help you become familiar with Biblical ways to pray for nations. They are prayers for unity, spiritual awakening, revival, leaders, holiness, obedience, the fear of the Lord, reaching the harvest, the poor and the needy, just laws, united intercession, the Bible, and revival among children and youth. They can be found in Psalm 81:11-12; 85:6; 119:126; Proverbs 8:13; 21:13; Isaiah 64:1-3; Matthew 12:25; 28:19-20; John 14:13-14; 16:24; 17:23; 2 Corinthians 7:1b; Ephesians 4:11; 6:10-18; Philippians 4:6; 1 Timothy 2:1-4; Hebrews 13:3; and 2 Peter 3:9. Review  “Prayer Requests for the Nations” to get the best layout for prayer.
  • Write a paragraph commenting on the spread of Houses of Prayer worldwide – Look carefully at the examples. How do you plan to catch the vision and spread it in your own sphere of influence? Write down action steps that you plan to make in your own life.

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

Catch and Spread the Vision for 24/7 Prayer

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“Prayer is the key to reaching the world with the Gospel of Jesus. The greatest forces of power in the universe are mobilized, and history is made when we pray. God is looking for men who will stand in the gap on behalf of the land. Ezekiel 22:30; Isaiah 59:16; 63:5″

Houses of Prayer are spreading all over the world. Prayer rooms are also being established in churches throughout the world. Not only are churches starting them, denominations and Christian organi-zations have started prayer watches.

The Salvation Army in Australia and in England started praying 24/7 for a week in 52 of their branches with immediate results. YWAM, with sixteen bases in Western Europe, set aside an entire year where each base took responsibility for a week, filling the whole year with day and night prayer. In 2005, thirteen denominations and Christian organizations in England alone started filling the whole year with 24/7 prayer.

Several prisons in Argentina have established 24/7, 365-day prayer watches where the inmates pray for their families, communities, their country, fellow inmates, and the world. Inmates are converted and change their lifestyle. Breakthroughs are happening in the prisons. Here’s how you can catch and spread the vision:

  • Daily pray that a House of Prayer starts in every city in every nation – Keep on praying for your own city to catch the vision for Houses of Prayer.
  • Rejoice that God is awakening the watchmen – Watch the Awaken the Watchmen DVD and others to find out how the 24/7 prayer movement is spreading worldwide. Visit the Jericho Walls website.
  • Register your prayer watch – The purpose of this website, Global 24-7, is to register and encourage prayer watches all over the world. This will support what God is doing worldwide and help to link 24/7 prayer in different regions of the world.
  • Start a one-month House of Prayer in your city – Use the practical guidelines found in the next chapter as your training manual. Write to us at: intercessorsarise.org, and let us know how God is working in your House of Prayer.
  • Start a one-week House of Prayer in your church – You may want to use one my books on prayer to help encourage your church in intercession. See the recommended book list for an extensive list of recommended books on prayer, intercession, revival, fasting, evangelism, intimacy, spiritual warfare, and how to reach cities and nations.
  • Learn from other Houses of Prayer. Notice how they are function-ing, and what they teach and emphasize. Observe the creativity in each one. Here are a few House of Prayer websites to encourage your heart in how the 24/7 prayer movement is spreading worldwide, but there are dozens of other websites.
    – IHOPKC – 24/7 prayer internationally.
    – Succathallel – 24/7 prayer in Israel.
    – Justice House of Prayer – 24/7 prayer in Washington D.C. for justice.
    – 24-7 Prayer – 24/7 prayer internationally among the youth.
    – Hollywood Prayer Network  – 24/7 prayer in Hollywood for the media.
    – National House of Prayer – 24/7 Prayer in Canada.

I highly recommend the book, Red Moon Rising, by Pete Greig and Dave Roberts. This book gives the amazing story of how the prayer movement is spreading worldwide among the youth. They have 24/7 prayer rooms that have grown into 24/7 prayer houses called “Boiler Rooms” that are modeled after the ancient Celtic monasteries.

These Boiler Rooms are mission-focused and are places of disciplined prayer and outreach to the poor. They pursue missions, justice, hospitality, and prayer. As the world gets darker, they are spreading all over the world at an incredible rate. The vision is catching fire! Here is their incredible testimony:

“A movement to encourage churches to make room for nonstop prayer has spread to 63 nations in the last seven years and is especially multiplying in the United Kingdom, the United States and South Africa. ‘We don’t have a fixed number of prayer rooms because they can take off so quickly,’ said Pete Greig, 37, who founded the 24/7 prayer movement in 1999 in Chichester, England. Named for its nonstop concert of prayer, 24/7 has meeting places as diverse as a bus in the slums of Delhi, India, and a brewery in Missouri. Volunteers pray, usually alone, in one-hour shifts, round the clock, seven days a week for global issues and requests they receive from their international website or from their local communities. Visitors are free to drop in, pray and talk. 24/7 also has planted itself in places where there is a crisis, such as Lebanon during the recent war between Israel and Hezbollah, and in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. Teams also live long-term in needy communities in Mexico, where intercessors can be found ministering among pimps and prostitutes.

‘In a squatter’s camp in Soweto, South Africa, we’ve seen 64 prayer tents spring up in just two years,’ Greig said. ‘The local man who spearheads them said 80 percent of new converts in the camp are maintaining their salvation, and the local police chief says crime has dropped by 20 percent.’ Greig said the movement is being fueled by young people who are passionate about prayer, justice and missions.” Josie Newman

This is only a small taste of what is happening worldwide in the area of prayer. Our God is creative, and we see the unique ways he initiates 24/7 prayer in different nations. Day and night prayer will lead to the final gathering of the worldwide harvest. Let’s jump on board and prepare for this harvest and the salvation of millions of souls. As we pray, let’s expect to see many souls saved. It is time for the Gospel to advance.

“If men would pray as they ought to pray, the marvels of the past would be more than reproduced. The Gospel would advance with a facility and power it has never known. Doors would be thrown open to the Gospel, and the Word of God would have a conquering force rarely if ever known before.” E. M. Bounds

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

Spreading Prayer Worldwide

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The Apostolic Prayers of Paul“If Christians prayed as Christians ought—with strong commanding faith, with earnestness and sincerity—men, God-called men, God-empowered men everywhere, would be burning to go and spread the Gospel worldwide. The Word of the Lord would run and be glorified as never known heretofore. The God-influenced men, the God-inspired men, the God-commissioned men, would go and kindle the flame of sacred fire for Christ, salvation, and heaven, everywhere in all nations. Soon all men would hear the glad tidings of salvation and have an opportunity to receive Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.”
E. M. Bounds

Day and night prayer ignites the power of God to release the fire of the Gospel throughout the earth. Every nation, every city, every people group, and every neighborhood cannot miss the tremendous influence of the atmosphere of prayer released from the prayer room. There is something deep and far-reaching that happens when God’s people give themselves to 24/7 prayer and intercession in a given location. It cannot be measured by human means, but its dynamic power can set the fire of God loose in a nation in a way that is beyond comprehension.

I have heard of evangelists going to a region, locking themselves in a hotel room, praying unceasingly for days, and then going out and sharing the Gospel with incredible results. If one man can see that happen, imagine the effect when the Church worldwide gives itself to prayer and actually makes prayer its primary business. Then we shall surely see things happen. None of us have gotten there yet, but it certainly should be our highest ambition and shall take a primary role as we see the end-time scenario unfold before us.

Perhaps one of the greatest prayer warriors in all of history was Praying Hyde of northern India who lived from 1865-1912. He would miss meals and would bow or lie down on the ground because of intense travail, and cry out to the Lord daily for souls. He was burning within for the salvation of the lost.

Finally, with an agonizing passion for those without Christ, he began to pray that God would let him win a soul to Jesus every day that year. At the end of the year, four hundred souls had been won through his daily witness. The next year Hyde cried out to the Lord for two souls a day. That year about eight hundred had responded to Christ through Hyde. But his heart grew in intense desperation, and he began to plead to God for four souls a day. That year he led four souls a day to Christ.

He would first travail for the lost, and then he would go out and speak to men and women about how to find eternal life through Christ. He first prayed, and then he witnessed. After praying, the Holy Spirit would lead him to the right individuals.

Multitudes came to Christ through this praying man. What a fantastic method of evangelism!

The ministry of Anna in the Bible is increasing across the earth—individuals who give themselves to day and night prayer as she and Praying Hyde did. Anna, even though extremely old, worshiped God night and day almost all her life. We read in Luke 2:36b-37:

“She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.”

God is raising up intercessory missionaries who pray night and day. The urgency of the hour and the present emphasis on prayer makes 24/7 prayer a possibility in this generation. We cannot do without intercession and individuals who give themselves to prayer like Anna. The need is too great. Here at IHOP there are several hundred intercessory missionaries. Multitudes of intercessors visit this mission base annually to learn about day and night prayer.

God will release finances for the harvest and for this great worldwide prayer movement. He will shake all things as He does this (Haggai 2:6-8). He will open up the financial windows of heaven supernaturally, if we will be faithful to obey Him with our money (Malachi 3:10-11). The release of finances will bring great blessing, but there certainly will be pressures as God deals with our heart issues.

Already there is a spirit of fear throughout the world regarding finances, and Satan greatly opposes and hinders the release of finances for God’s work. Giving forces us to wrestle with covetousness and the spirit of fear. Economic prosperity gives us an increased ability to help others, to grow in righteousness, and to increase our position in the Millennial Kingdom.

More money in our pockets is not for a bigger house or a nicer car, as many of us may think. It’s for God’s Kingdom purposes. The struggle will be great for many of us until we see everything in light of God’s Kingdom. He will return to us in proportion to the measure of our giving (Luke 6:38; 2 Corinthians 9:5-6). We must have money to eat, but God also gives us money to sow. In the midst of all that is happening in the end times, we must refuse the spirit of poverty and the mentality of lack.

Norm and I have been involved in missions and the prayer movement since 1978. We have not had a regular paycheck, but have had to trust God for our finances all these years. That’s over 37 years. I can testify that God has provided for us all these years, and we never lacked anything. He has been faithful.

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC 

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

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

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

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