Watchmen On The Walls

Isaiah 62:6-7

O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen on your walls; they will pray day and night, continually. . . . Give the LORD no rest until he completes his work. (Isaiah 62:6-7)

THE MORAVIANS STARTED a round-the-clock prayer vigil in 1727, and it lasted a hundred years. During that time, they sent out hundreds of missionaries, who influenced hundreds or even thousands more. They were instrumental in the conversion experience of John Wesley, who along with his brother Charles became the founders of Methodism. To this day, groups of Christians around the world can trace something of their founding or influence back to the Moravian movement, which began when a handful of people decided to pray. In other words, prayer can change the world.

Most Christians believe that, but few are convinced enough to devote themselves to the sort of intense intercession that pleads with God, persists in its requests, and holds to his promises. Yet if we’re looking to influence our world rather than lament its direction or complain about its faults; if we want to be salt and light the way God intended; if we long for the days when God moved in power; then some spark within us needs to turn into a flame that burns brightly in the prayer closet. We need to see our prayers as vital work in the Kingdom of God.

Two centuries ago, less than one in ten people in the world self-identified as a Christian. Today it’s almost one in three. Despite what you’ve heard about the declining church, Christianity is growing globally. And despite what you’ve heard about the negative influences of cultural Christianity, it’s actually a powerful, behind-the-scenes force for transformed lives and societies. Those trends didn’t just happen by accident, and they didn’t come arbitrarily from the hand of God. He invites us into his work and listens to our prayers. He sets watchmen on the walls of his Kingdom to pray incessantly and give him no rest because he insists on partnering with human beings. Take him up on it. Invest your life in this. Intercede for your world and know that it will change by your persistence and faith.

{Lord, forgive my prayerlessness. May I catch a vision for how you respond to the prayers of your people. Let the petitions I bring to you today—in faith and persistence—transform lives tomorrow on a scale I can scarcely imagine. Amen.