Reordering Your Day!

Understanding and Embracing the Four Prayer Watches

By Dr. Chuck D. Pierce

Copyright (c) 2006 by Chuck D. Pierce,

Glory of Zion International Ministries

Revised Version: August, 2006

Digital Version: December, 2011

Published by Glory of Zion International Ministries

P.O. Box 1601, Denton TX 76202

Phone: 940-382-1166 – Fax 940-565-9264

Email: info@glory-of-zion.org – Net: www.glory-of-zion.org

Table of Contents

Chapter One: God is Reordering Our Days

Chapter Two: The Watchman Watches!

Chapter Three: The Four Watches

Chapter Four: A New Day Dawns

Chapter Five: Ushering in the Presence of the Lord by Robert Heidler

Chapter Six: Time to Wake Up, Worship and Move to Your Next Glory Realm

Chapter Seven: Praying for the Peace of Jerusalem by Lindy Heidler and Martin & Norma Sarvis

Appendix i: Guidelines for Establishing a Prayer Watch with Linda Heidler

Appendix ii: States That Have Implemented Watches by John & Sheryl Price, Earl Pickard, Allen Cook, Regina Shank, Sallye Burton and Joe Askins

Appendix iii: 17 Day Prayer Focus to Release Covenant Victory Strategy

Appendix iv: 25 Day Prayer Focus for Boldly Entering the Throne Room to Restore Covenant Blessing

Appendix v: 21 Day Prayer Focus to Break the Power of Captivity

Appendix vi: 40 Day Prayer Focus to Initiate Your New Season of Enlargement

Appendix vii: 31 Day Prayer Focus to Release Wealth

(Click on any chapter title to return to the Table of Contents.)

Acknowledgments

I want to thank God for those who have helped with this book: Brian Kooiman, Susan Stanfield, June Rana, Robert and Linda Heidler, Lindy Heidler, Norma and Martin Sarvis, Anne Tate, Justin Rana, John Dickson, John and Sheryl Price, Earl Pickard, Allen Cook, Regina Shank, Sallye Burton and Joseph Askins.

I am most thankful for all of those who WATCH. May this book help you to see more clearly.

CHAPTER 1: God is Reordering Our Days

Time is an interesting concept. Time is probably more valuable to many of us than money (even though we spend most of our time thinking about how to make ends meet and where our supply is coming from.) Most of us wake up wondering how we are going to get everything done in a day.

Have you ever gone through a complete 24-hour cycle and said, "Lord, what happened? I had good intentions when I started the day, but then somehow I lost sight of Your purpose." Although we want to be very efficient in our actions throughout each day, perhaps each of us has made this statement: "I started off well, but distractions sent me in so many directions that I do not know if I accomplished anything today!" Or the worst case scenario: "I wasted the whole day!"

Usually, after the situations described above, we feel behind, taxed with the cares of the world, and filled with anxiety. God is about to change the course of His People to make us efficient and effective in our prayer life and with our time!

Seven Scriptures that Changed My Life

In my twenties I had an awakening to the things of the Spirit when Holy Spirit visited me in a new way. This was my second visitation from Holy Spirit and it changed my life. I went to a meeting and received a prophecy from a well-known leader in the Body of Christ. The prophecy was, "You will be one that understands time and helps My people stay in timing with Me." Of course, I was young and didn't know much about prophecy and really didn't know what this meant. However, I saw the Lord take this word and begin to direct my life. He began to give me an understanding of time versus His timing.

Time is a measurable period during which an action or condition exists or continues. Biblically, we find time measured in hours, days, weeks, months, and years. We also find time categorized as present, fulfillment, future, end, and eternity. To understand time you almost have to move from eternity and then work back into the natural dimensions of "the clock" as it works in the earth. Second Peter 3:8-11 says, "But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat … Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness…" (NKJV)

I have to be really honest and admit that time was a very threatening concept to me until God gave me revelation of the times and seasons by the Spirit. I hope this book will help you in understanding and entering into God's perfect timing for your life.

There were seven scriptures that changed my life that the Lord used to give me an understanding of time.

1. Ps. 31:15-16a: "My times are in Your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies, and from those who persecute me. Make Your face shine upon Your servant …" (NKJV). The Lord showed me that He knew how my life operated in the earth and how I could commit every second to Him. If I did this, then I could enter into His favor.

2. Ps. 37: 4-7, 23: "Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass … The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, and He delights in his way" (NKJV ). He showed me that if I would commit myself to Him and trust in Him then he would align my heart with His heart and order my steps.

3. Eccl. 3: 1, 11a: "To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven … He has made everything beautiful in its time" (NKJV).

4. Eph. 5:13-18: "But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore He says: 'Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.' See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit…" (NKJV). If I would allow Holy Spirit to keep me filled, I could redeem time. I could buy back time. I could actually unlock the prison of time.

5. Rev. 1:8: "'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,' says the Lord, 'who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty'" (NKJV). This scripture gave me a totally different perspective of God. He begins and He ends. He brings to fullness His plans in the earth. I began to see myself as one of His plans. This gave me a heart to enter into the plan of fullness that He had created for me.

6. Matthew 25:13: "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming" (NKJV). This quickened in me like a lightning rod and caused me to want to be alert to the things of God, day and night.

7. Mark 13:35-37: "So keep a sharp lookout! (Watch!) For you do not know when the homeowner will return — at evening, midnight, early dawn (cockcrowing), or late daybreak. Don't let him find you sleeping when he arrives without warning. What I say to you I say to everyone: Watch for his return!" (NLT). This book will explain this last scripture.

Not only did I want to learn to watch, but I also wanted to watch for 24 hours. Even though that is not possible, God had to show me the power of watching when He beckoned for me to come.

Houston Testimony

As I matured in the Lord and began to minister publicly, I also found myself prophesying about things happening in certain time frames. (After I would prophesy something and the anointing would lift, I would actually feel like panicking.) And God began to teach me how He wanted His people to watch in time sequence. Cindy Jacobs writes the following in her book, The Voice of God:

Does God warn His children today to protect them before natural disasters take place? Absolutely! Chuck Pierce, the prayer leader for Generals of Intercession and a pastor in Denton, Texas, gave this unusual prophecy in Houston, Texas, on September 21, 1994:

I would say, the next 24 days are critical. Though the enemy has stood against you as a city, I have brought you to a crossroads and you are about to make a transition and cross over. My eyes are upon this city and the remnant of this city, and I will overcome the structures that are set against My Spirit in this city. Revelation that has been withheld is going to begin to come down to people like rain. Look to the river of the east. As that river rises, so will My people.

[At this time he saw a vision and described it.]

Watchman, what do you see? He replied, "I see a fire. It is a literal fire. Fire is on the river." Then the Lord said, "My fire will begin to come to the city."

[The next part of the prophecy gave detailed instructions on what to do with what had been shown to Chuck as a watchman.]

I would call you to the night watch. Gather together in the night watch. Sing in the night in the hard areas of the city and evil will be uncovered and deliverance will come. If you will enter into the night watch you will overthrow the impending destruction and doom that is set for the area.

One of the prayer leaders, Deborah DeGar, took the prophetic word from church to church, leading a prayer watch from 3:00-6:00 A.M. At the end of 24 days, it began to rain in Houston. There had never been a flood exactly like it in the history of the city. Houston was brought before the eyes of the nation. The San Jacinto River (the river to the east) began to rise and flood the entire territory. Gas lines erupted underneath the river and the flooded river literally had a fire that burned in its midst. In the middle of all this chaos, the Church came together in great unity.

In the case of this prophetic warning, the flooding was not averted but it did not do the damage it could have done. My in-laws live in the area that was flooded and their house was totally spared. I know others whose homes were not spared, but God's promise to work good out of evil will come true. Sometimes crises will force the Church to come into unity when nothing else will. Regardless of what Satan might have wanted to do in the midst of it all, the Church rose triumphantly in spite of the flooding.i

As you can see, not only did this have an exact time frame in it, but it also gave instruction about the night watch. I believe the Lord is bringing us into a place where He will call us into certain watches. It is during that time sequence of the day that we have great victory. This book will explain this also.

A TIME TO WATCH!

I believe that we have entered a time of maturing in the watchman anointing. To watch means to look out, to peer into the distance, to investigate or get a new scope on something, to see an approaching danger (2 Kings 9:17,18), and WARN those endangered! To watch also means to review and evaluate your household (Prov. 31:27) or to SEE so you can GUARD your FUTURE. I see Him restoring the actual WATCHES so we can see things we have never before seen. God is reordering our day so we enter into His time frame and experience the power of seeing what He sees.

What Does Reorder Mean?

As we order our prayers, He will order our steps. As we watch with the Lord, He will begin to reorder the time frame of our day. Order is a mathematical and military term. Order is the opposite of confusion. ORDER:

Means to set in a straight row

Is a fixed or definite plan

Is linked with law of arrangement and the sequencing of events

Is a state or condition in which everything is in its right place and functioning properly

Is a command, direction, or instruction

Is a request or commission

Order is linked with everything we are about. All the functions of society are linked with order: architecture, finance, military, science, theology, grades of angels, ranks of clergy, and politics are all linked with order. Without order these structural components of society would not work properly nor accomplish their purpose. As we watch, God is reordering our day.

The Night Watches

The biblical day actually begins at 6 PM (sunset). As we learn to watch in the time frames prescribed by the Lord, we will see our "light" part of day reordered, becoming very efficient.

There are certain spiritual dynamics that happen in each watch. There are certain victories that are only gained during certain watches. The Jews, like the Greeks and Romans, divided the night into military watches instead of hours. Each watch represented the period for which sentinels or pickets remained on duty. This produced the "watch in the night" (Ps. 90:4). The proper Jewish reckoning recognized only three watches, entitled the first or "beginning of the night watches" (Lam. 2:19), the middle watch (Judg. 7:19), and the morning watch (Ex. 14:24; 1 Sam. 11:11). When Rome established supremacy and began to influence the Church, the number of watches was increased to four, which were described as follows:

Evening – 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM

Midnight – 9:00 PM to 12:00 AM

Breaking of a Day (Cockcrowing) – 12:00 AM to 3:00 AM

Morning – 3:00 AM to 6:00 AM

As we watch with the Lord we will begin to see how to build for our future. We will also see how to connect with the next generation. Our alignments and assignments will become very clear. We will begin to receive the right counsel we need for our future. Most importantly, we will develop His mind for increase and multiplication.

Historical Understanding of the Watch of the Night

God had an order for ministry in the Temple. Because God will restore David's Tabernacle fully in days ahead, He will also restore the order of Temple worship and ministry. Below are several synopses that will help you understand the concept of time and the watch of the night throughout the history of the Church.

In Rev. 16:15 we find Jesus speaking this to John during his apocalyptic visitation: "Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame" (NKJV). I believe this summarizes exactly why this book is so important. The day of the Lord is coming unexpectedly and demands watchfulness on the part of Jesus' disciples. Because we follow Christ, we must watch after His purposes in the earth. Those who are spiritually prepared will reap great blessings. Matthew 24:37-44 says the following: "But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect" (NKJV).

Watch, therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. One of the things we will do in this book is explain the four watches so that, as God calls you to observe the happenings of earth in relation to His will in heaven, you will know what you are looking for. 1 Thess. 4:18-5:2 says this: "Therefore comfort one another with these words. But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night" (NKJV).

Night in the Temple

In The Temple: Its Ministry and Services by Alfred Edersheim, we find a whole narrative on the concept of watching. "For the service of the officiating ministers was not only by day, but also 'at night in the Temple.' From Scripture we know that the ordinary services of the sanctuary consisted of the morning and evening sacrifices. To these the Rabbis add another evening service, probably to account for their own transference of the evening service to a much later hour than that of the sacrifice. There is, however, some difficulty about the exact time when each of the sacrifices was offered. According to general agreement, the morning sacrifice was brought at the 'third hour,' corresponding to our nine o'clock. But the preparations for it must have commenced more than two hours earlier. Few, if any, worshippers could have witnessed the actual slaying of the lamb, which took place immediately on opening the great Temple-gate. Possibly they may have gathered chiefly to join in the prayer 'at the time of incense' (Luke 1:10). In the modified sense, then, of understanding by the morning sacrifice the whole service, it no doubt coincided with the third hour of the day, or 9 a.m. This may explain how on the day of Pentecost such a multitude could so readily 'come together,' to hear in their various tongues 'the wonderful works of God'— it was the third hour (Acts 2:15), when they would all be in the Temple. The evening sacrifice was fixed by the Law (Num 28:4, 8) as 'between the evenings,' that is, between the darkness of the gloaming and that of the night.

Such admonitions as 'to show forth thy faithfulness every night upon an instrument of ten strings and on the psaltery' (Ps. 92:2, 3), and the call to those who 'by night stand in the house of the Lord,' to 'lift up their hands in the sanctuary and bless the Lord' (Ps. 134), seem indeed to imply an evening service— impression confirmed by the appointment of Levite singers for night service in 1 Chronicles 9:33; 23:30. But at the time of our Lord the evening sacrifice certainly commenced much earlier. Josephus puts it down (Ant. xiv. 4, 3) as at the ninth hour. According to the Rabbis the lamb was slain at the eighth hour and a-half, or about 2:30 p.m., and the pieces laid on the altar an hour later— 3:30 p.m. Hence, when 'Peter and John went up together into the Temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour' (Acts 3:1) it must have been for the evening sacrifice, or rather half an hour later, and, as the words indicate, for the 'prayer' that accompanied the offering of incense. The evening service was somewhat shorter than that of the morning, and would last, at any rate, about an hour and a-half, say till about four o'clock, thus well meeting the original requirement in Numbers 28:4. After that no other offering might be brought except on the eve of the Passover, when the ordinary evening sacrifice took place two hours earlier, or at 12:30 p.m."ii

How the Early Christians Prayed

Most Christians today don't realize that observing regular watches for prayer was considered to be a normal part of the Christian life in the first few centuries. These prayer watches were designed to maintain the practice of offering God a "continual sacrifice" of praise and prayer.

The Imperative of Continual Prayer: As we have seen, God had commanded the priests of Israel to offer special sacrifices every morning and evening (Exodus 29:38-39). They were also to maintain continual sacrifices, offerings, and incense throughout the day.

In David's tabernacle, the offering up of animal sacrifices was replaced by a continual "sacrifice of prayer and praise." Even when the temple of Solomon was built, the practice of continual prayer and praise was continued. This was most often accomplished by setting specific times and "watches" of prayer throughout the day and night.

The Origin of the Watches

When I began this book, I asked Robert Heidler to do some research on the watches. The following is what he sent me:

By the time of the Roman Empire, the Jews (and eventually early Christians) began to follow the Roman system of conducting the business day in scheduling their times for prayer. In Roman cities, each city's marketplace had a loud bell, often operated by a water-powered clock, that rang in three-hour intervals. This allowed Romans to schedule their day in the absence of wristwatches! The bell rang at the beginning of the business day at about six o'clock in the morning (prime, the "first hour"). It noted the day's progress by striking again at about nine o'clock in the morning (terce, the "third hour"). It tolled for the lunch break at noon (sext, the "sixth hour"), and then called the people back to work again at about three o'clock in the afternoon (none, the "ninth hour"). It then rang the close of the business day at about six o'clock in the evening (the time for evening prayer).

The Christians and Jews used the sounding of this bell as a signal to pray. In the early Church, every committed Christian was expected to devote time in prayer at these specified times. While the number of set times varied, they usually included four daily prayer events and four nightly divisions (called "nocturnes" or "watches").

The daily events were called:

Prime (the 'First Hour') (at ~6 AM)

Terce (the 'Third Hour') (at ~9 AM)

Sext (the 'Sixth Hour') (at Noon)

None (the 'Ninth Hour') (at ~3 PM)

The night watches included:

Vespers (at sunset): "Evening Prayer," at nightfall, a time of thanksgiving; usually a corporate meeting.

Compline (at bedtime): "Night Prayer," usually a time of private prayer and seeking the Lord.

Vigils: A "Middle of the Night" Prayer Watch, a time for private prayer, but often a time of corporate prayer gatherings.

Lauds (before dawn): "Morning Prayer" or "The Praises," usually a corporate meeting.

Through the second and third centuries, observance of these prayer watches was common practice among Christians. Augustine's mother, Monica, is an example of a devout Christian of this time period. Augustine mentioned in his Confessiones that his mother attended church twice a day for services at daybreak and dusk. The other hours of prayer were the third, sixth, and ninth hours of the day, the middle of the night, and cockcrow.

An Overview of the Hours of Prayer

Vigils (The Middle of the Night)

The word vigils, referring to night prayer, comes from the Latin Vigiliae, the nocturnal watches of Roman soldiers. The night from six o'clock in the evening to six o'clock in the morning was divided into four watches of three hours each, the first, second, third, and fourth watches. In the Church, the use of the term was very elastic. Originally the vigils were the nightly synaxes (reunions or meetings) of the Christians. Because of the secrecy of their meetings, and because they felt the middle of the night was the hour par excellence for prayer, the Christians chose the night time for their meetings. This was especially true of the Sabbath. On occasion, the Christians began their meeting with a meal in the evening, and were still meeting when the new day dawned!

The word "vigil" was also used to describe private times of prayer in the night. Christians were expected to awake in the middle of the night to seek the Lord in prayer. (Tertullian, advising against mixed marriage, gives as an example the marital friction which would be caused when a Christian wife disturbed her pagan husband's slumbers by getting up every night to pray!)

Lauds (Sometime Before Dawn)

A time to begin the day in praise! This was often a corporate gathering. It pictured the morning sacrifice offered by Israel's priests every morning.

Prime (1st Hour: 6 AM)

Prime is to be considered as the prayer of the beginning of the day. Prayer at this watch consecrated all the work of the day.

Terce (3rd Hour: 9 AM)

This was the hour of Christ's condemnation to death, and the hour of the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles on the day of Pentecost (Mark 15:25, Acts 2:15).

Sext (6th Hour: NOON)

Peter went up to the higher parts of the house to pray (Acts 10:9). It was the middle of the day, also the usual hour of rest. A time to seek the Lord! At the sixth hour Abraham received the three angels. It was the hour when darkness covered the whole land during the crucifixion (Matt. 27:45; Mark 15:33).

None (9th Hour: 3 PM)

Its name comes from Latin and refers to the ninth hour of the day after dawn. "Now Peter and John went up into the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer" (Acts 3:1); "And Cornelius said: Four days ago, unto this hour, I was praying in my house, at the ninth hour, and behold a man stood before me" (Acts 10: 30).

Among the ancients, the hour of None was regarded as the close of the day's business and the time for the baths and supper (Martial, "Epigrams", IV, viii; Horace, "Epistles", I, vii, 70). The Christians used this time as an opportunity to pray.

Vespers (Sundown, Around 6 PM)

The word comes from the Latin vesper, meaning "evening." This time was most widely known in the early Church as Lucernalis or Lucernaria hora (the hour of the lights). It was so called because at this hour the candles were lighted. This was often a daily time of corporate prayer. All the lamps and torches were lighted. The psalms were sung, thanksgiving offered, then the prayers, and finally the blessing and dismissal. This evening gathering was a continuation of the evening sacrifice of the Old Testament (Exodus 29:39; Numbers 28:4; Daniel 9:21; 1 Chronicles 23:30).

The day is consecrated to God by Vespers.

Compline

The term Compline is a derivation of the Latin word completorium, designating the last (completing) hour of the day. It is private prayer at bedtime. Prayer at the time of compline closes the day with the Lord.

Christians today long for the power and presence of God enjoyed by the early Church, but few have taken the time to see what the early Church did to experience this power! The answer is: "They followed the directions!" God promised in His Word that if we would offer up a continual sacrifice of prayer and praise, His PRESENCE would come and dwell with us, to release His power in our midst!

Historical Example: Herrnhut

Robert & Linda Heidler, along with Marty Cassady, have visited Herrnhut, Germany. One of the greatest examples of the watch of the Lord comes from the people of this place. You may ask the question: Can the presence of God really come and dwell with you? It sounds good, but is it real? Can we point to a place where continual prayer and praise really made that kind of difference?

Robert writes the following:

The answer is yes! There are many examples! I want to use, as a case study, the little village of Herrnhut in what was formerly East Germany. The greatest revival in modern history was begun in Herrnhut by Count Nicholas Von Zinzindorf. In 1727, a group of Moravians was fleeing persecution in Czechoslovakia and immigrated to Germany. Zinzindorf allowed them to settle on his estate. They came and built a village they called Herrnhut, "the Lord's watch."

Early in their history, one of their prophets, Malchoir Schafer, gave this prophetic word, "God will place a light on these hills that will illumine the whole world." Most people would think that's a silly prophecy. Here is a group of three or four hundred people in a little village. They are refugees, having been kicked out of their own country. They are living in an obscure place in a backwater corner in Germany, and they receive a prophecy that God will do something there that will affect the whole world.

On August 13, 1727, they went to the nearby village of Bertlesdorf to meet together in the Lutheran Church for a communion service. Count Zinzindorf got up to lead the service and got partway through when the Spirit of God fell. No one who was there ever gave a detailed description of what happened. They just said the fire of God fell, there were signs and wonders and miracles, and they were never the same again. The next week they said, "How do we keep this going? God's presence is here with us. How do we keep it?" They turned to their Bibles and found that in Exodus 29, God gave instructions on how to live in His presence! "If you keep the fire burning on the altar, I will dwell with you!" They determined to keep the fire on the altar. They divided the clock into watches and took turns praying 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! They continued in these prayer watches for about 120 years. The result was that the glory of God rested in their midst. Any church history book will give you the account of what happened in that place.

The Spirit of God began to send them out as missionaries. From this tiny village in Germany, missionaries went all over the world. In the early 1700's, there were missionaries from Herrnhut in Greenland, North America, South America, South Africa, among Australian Aborigines, and even in Tibet! One place they went was England. One of the people saved there through their ministry was John Wesley. John Wesley came to salvation through missionaries from Herrnhut! At an early point in his walk with the Lord, Wesley then went to Herrnhut, caught the revival, and brought it back to England. In those days England was in a dreadful situation. It was much like France before the French revolution. But Wesley brought revival from Herrnhut, and it transformed the nation. Secular historians will tell you that the Wesleyan revival probably saved England from the kind of bloody revolution France endured. Missionaries from Herrnhut literally changed the world. At that time in Europe, the average church sent out one missionary for every 5000 people. In Herrnhut, they sent out one missionary for every 60 people. Not only did this revival affect England, it affected America. The revival that began in Herrnhut came through England and hopped the Atlantic! In America it was called the Great Awakening. The Great Awakening transformed America. As it swept through the colonies, church attendance in America doubled. Benjamin Franklin described it this way, "From being thoughtless and indifferent about religion, it seemed as if all the world was growing religious. One could not walk through a town in an evening without hearing psalms being sung in different families on every street."

The great awakening had a great impact on our nation. The Constitution was written, for the most part, by men whose lives had been touched by this awakening. America is the country it is today because back in a tiny little corner of Eastern Germany there was continual praise and prayer being lifted up.

God is Ordering a New Awakening

As you go through this book you are going to find there are reasons you are being awakened during the night. I am hoping that this book will help you as you pursue God's call on your life. We are entering:

A time to awaken to our latter day blessings even in the midst of our wanderings (Hosea 6:1-3).

A time for religious rituals to break and a new reality of His power to overtake us (John 2:1-10).

A time when our faith is being tested and our vision and provision for our future are being released (Genesis 22).

A time to MANIFEST a new bold identity (Esther 5).

A time that the Lord will give us His plan to RESTORE ALL!

Let the Lord reorder your day and bring you into a new place of watching with Him.

Chapter 2: The Watchman Watches!

I look up to the mountains — does my help come from there? My help comes from the LORD, who made the heavens and the earth! He will not let you stumble and fall; the one who watches over you will not sleep. Indeed, he who watches over Israel never tires and never sleeps. The LORD himself watches over you! The LORD stands beside you as your protective shade. The sun will not hurt you by day, nor the moon at night. The LORD keeps you from all evil and preserves your life. The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever. Psalm 121 (NLT)

God Watches!

Since I was a child I have had an awareness of "the Watching Eye of God." I have seen Him supernaturally save me from severe situations. I have been aware of His intervention in my daily circumstances to prevent me from experiencing harm. I have watched Him favor me. I have come to the conclusion that as I seek Him, He is "rending the heavens" and coming down to assist me as I walk through the "toils of this earth." This has caused me to learn to "watch with Him" and "watch for Him." Psalm 121 is a wonderful passage. He made heaven and earth. The Spirit of God brooded over the earth in the midst of confusion and God spoke so that chaos became order. He has become our Protector. He watches after us and gives His angels charge over us. He is the Lord of Hosts. God is our Guardian. He uses angels to send messages to us.

This chapter will define both the concept of watching and the watchman. The watchman watches! I wrote this earlier and want to reiterate it here: "We have entered the season of WATCHING! The watchman anointing must mature in the Body. To watch means to look out, to peer into the distance, to investigate or get a new scope on something, to see an approaching danger (2 Kings 9:17, 18) and WARN those endangered, to review and evaluate your household (Prov. 31:27), or to SEE so you can GUARD your FUTURE! I see the Lord restoring the actual WATCHES so we can see things we have never before seen. God is reordering our day this year so we can enter into His timeframe and experience the power of the watch. Let Holy Spirit establish your WATCH!"

Several words linked with watching are:

1. Shaqad (to "be alert") - to be wakeful, so you can see either for good or evil (Jer. 31:28, 51:12; Is. 29:20)

2. Shamar (to "protect") - may mean a day or night watch; there was a guard over the King's House (2 Kgs. 11:5-7, Neh. 4:9; 7:3)

3. Tsaphah (to "lean forward") - to peer into the distance, to observe, await – behold, espy, look up, wait for, keep the watch

4. Natsar (to "guard") - in a good sense or bad (to conceal); hidden thing, besieged, keep, observe, preserve, monument, watcher (-man)

5. Shomrah (watch for restraint) - "Set a watch, O Yahweh, before my mouth" (Ps. 141:3)

6. Gregoreuo (to "keep awake, to watch") - to take heed, unless through neglect, passivity, and indolence one be led to forsake Christ (Mt. 26:41; Mk. 14:38)

7. Nepho (to "abstain from wine, be sober") - used in the NT figuratively, to be calm and collected in spirit; to be temperate, dispassionate, and circumspective (1 Thess. 5:6; 2 Tim. 4:5)

8. Koustodia;Mishmereth (to guard) - a Roman sentry, one of the soldiers who guarded the tomb of the Lord (Mt. 27:65-66, 28:11)

9. 'Ashmurah, 'Ashmoreth; Phulake (a division of the night) - The night was originally divided into three watches (Judg. 7:19), but later into four, as we find in the New Testament (Mt. 14:25; Mk. 6:48). The fourfold division was according to the Roman system, each of which was a fourth part of the night. (This will be fully explained in the next chapter.)

The Watchman

One book that I really like is The Watchman by Martha Lucia and Dana Millar. This book links the relationship between the revelation that the intercessor receives and the word spoken by the prophet. With this understanding, Martha and Dana begin to explain how the watchman guards and watches for the word of the Lord to be fulfilled. They write the following:

If we have been re-born, we are supernatural beings, born from the Spirit of the Lord with our natural senses heightened and exercised to know by the Spirit what is good and evil. There are sounds in the spiritual realm we need to recognize. There are also smells, visions, and ways things feel to the touch. John the Revelator was aware of the use of the senses as he wrote in 1 John 1:1:

"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life."

That which has come to our ears, that which we have discerned clearly with our eyes, that which we have perceived, and that which our hands have grasped are the things we recognize because we are no longer just "natural" human beings. We have access to the very throne of God. God instructs us to use even the five senses He has given to each of us – hearing, seeing, tasting, feeling, and smelling – to help us identify who or what is approaching. When we smell a foul odor, we know that it may not be good and that we may need to warn others to stand clear. When we taste sour milk, we know to dispose of it. God gave us these senses to be used and "turned on" in the spiritual realm! What do you see or perceive? What do you hear? What do you feel? What do you smell? What do you taste? And what are we demonstrating in our lives that others may observe: how do we smell, sound, etc.?

As those who keep the watch of the Lord, we should be alert and watching out for what is good and what is evil, temptation, etc. This will enable us to sidestep the wiles of the devil in our lives. The word "wiles" means the strategic, methodical plan of Satan to destroy you by the rules. Satan knows the rules better than most, so we must watch and pray that we don't fall into his trap. As we exercise our spiritual senses and keep the watch, we become more proficient in discerning good and evil.iii

I love Dutch Sheets' book, Watchman Prayer. He perhaps explains the watchman as well as anyone. He writes the following:

The three primary Hebrew words in the Old Testament for watchman are natsar, shamar, and tsaphah. These words have both a defensive or protective connotation and an offensive or aggressive application, with the defensive aspect being the most prominent in the Scriptures… Combining the definitions of these three words, which are used almost synonymously, their defensive concept essentially means to guard or protect through watching over or concealing. While applied to many subjects—crops, people, cities, etc.—the concept is usually preservation. The two New Testament Greek words for "watching," gregoreuo and agrupneo, also refer to protection, but they have the literal meanings of "being awake" or "sleepless." The picture is that of a sentry, lookout, or night watchman who is supposed to remain awake and alert, watching for signs of trouble. Hence the translation at times "be on the alert" (see Luke 21:36, 1 Cor. 16:13, Eph. 6:18, 1 Pet. 5:8). As He does so often in Scripture, the Holy Spirit uses these practical, physical activities of watchmen to symbolize spiritual functions, usually in reference to prophetic warnings and intercessory prayer.iv

Dutch goes on to share how "watchman must beware … be aware. If we are not aware, we are obviously unaware or ignorant … and this can give our adversary a distinct advantage. 'Wary' is also a word related to 'beware.' We must be wary regarding our enemy. Webster defines wary as 'on one's guard, on the lookout for danger or trickery.' We are not to fear our enemy, Satan, but we are to be aware of him and his subtleties." v He is very crafty and is constantly roaming to see who he may devour. Becky Sytsema and I wrote a book called Prayers That Outwit the Enemy. This book will show you ways of communion that can help you watch for the enemy so he does not get an upper hand in your life.

Watchman was also a term used to designate a sentinel on the city walls (2 Sam. 18:25; 2 Ki. 9:18; Ps 127:1; Is. 62:6) or on the hilltops (Jer. 31:6). Song of Solomon 3:3 and 5:7 introduce the concept of a watchman being equated to the city police. A watchman "carefully watches" (being applied even to besiegers from outside), which embraces the idea of "defending" or "guarding." True watchmen attempt to gain the overall scope of an issue. One way to view this is that one who watches is becoming a "looker" and is attempting to see the overall situation. I have written an article in the past which likens the modern day media to a watchman. If they do not give an accurate account of what is happening in the earth, we could suffer greatly. How we communicate what we see is of great importance!

Watchman, What Do You See?

Here are statements we find in the Bible: "Jeremiah, what do you see?" "Isaiah, what do you see?" "Zechariah what do you see?" "Having eyes, see you not?" "Come and see a man who told me everything that I ever did…" Seeing has always been an issue. What we see and what we do with what we see are very important. Our heart is linked with our seeing. The Bible says "the pure in heart see God." Without the conscience being pure, the filter of our spirit does not work accurately. Prophets were required to share what they saw. They would see an inanimate object and have to describe what that object meant spiritually. Watchmen are seers. They peer into the distance to look at the overall scope of something and then accurately declare what they see to a people who need to hear.

We have looked at the watchman, but now let's look at how God interacted with the watchman. In Joy Parrot's book, Watchman, Watchman, What of the Night, she writes the following:

When the watchmen were upon the wall looking out, alert to any approaching danger, they had to be very careful to know when to report to the king. Reporting to the king was given in order to prepare the city for an attack so they had to be very sure that what they were reporting was a real concern to the city. If they reported just anything without being sure that it was a danger to the city, it would be like the boy who cried wolf for no reason. As a result, nobody paid attention to the boy when there really was a wolf.

This is exactly what the enemy would have us do. He would love to get us distracted on something less important so that we would not be available for the important issues. He would also love nothing more than to have us appear less credible before others because we cried wolf when we shouldn't have. Therefore, as watchmen we must be able to discern and report only the real dangers.

How do we know what is of major concern and what is not? How can we know when we are to give a warning? The following scripture reference may bring some answers to these questions:

For thus has the Lord said to me: "Go set a watchman, let him declare what he sees." And he saw a chariot with a pair of horsemen, a chariot of donkeys, and a chariot of camels, and he listened earnestly with great care. Then he cried, "A lion, my Lord! I stand continually on the watchtower in the daytime; I have sat at my post every night. And look, here comes a chariot of men with a pair of horsemen!" Then he answered and said, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen! And all the carved images of her gods he has broken to the ground." Oh, my threshing and the grain of my floor! That which I have heard from the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, I have declared to you (Isaiah 21:6-10).

Let's examine these scriptures more closely. There is great revelation we can glean from this scripture passage. Verse six says, "For thus has the Lord said to me: 'Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he sees.'" This verse starts out with God instructing the people. He tells them to set a watchman upon the wall. God is still instructing us to get our watchmen on the walls. We need to realize that God gave the watchmen to the body of Christ as a gift to them for their protection. We need to recognize that a "watchman" is a critical part of the functioning of the body of Christ. We must set our watchmen into their positions.vi

The Watchman "SEES" into the Heavenly Realm

Many of you have read Releasing the Prophetic Destiny of a Nation, a prophetic history book of our nation. Dutch Sheets and I visited each state of the United States to gather the Body for worship and impartation. This book has a history of each state, what happened prophetically at each state's gathering on our 50 State Tour, and includes the prophetic destiny of each state.

The Texas State Meeting provides one of the best examples of the watchman anointing in action. Alice Patterson, our USSPN Apostolic Coordinator for the state of Texas, sponsored the state meeting in San Antonio on December 8-9, 2003. The meeting was held at New Life Christian Center, headed by Apostles LaSalle and Portia Vaughn. These were key apostolic leaders with an incredible church. We began our restoration process by reconciling issues concerning the Host People of the land. Jay Swallow, a Native apostolic leader, led this. We then moved from the Host People of the land to reconciliation between Hispanics and Anglos. Being in San Antonio, where cultures clash and many breaches have occurred, gave us a need to identify with past sins and problems. Much reconciliation occurred between the Hispanic and Anglo leaders, resulting in Hispanic leaders taking their prophetic and apostolic places in our nation.

Cindy Jacobs, a well-known apostolic prophetic intercessor, was there on the night of December 8 and began to prophesy and unlock a new anointing for the state of Texas. Dutch began to teach and preach on the night of December 9. When he did, a prophetic anointing began to fill the room. It was as if I knew God's heart and mind and why we were there. I actually felt I was being lifted into the heavenlies and standing before the Lord. I grabbed Alice and said, "I am going up before God." In this spiritual place I heard Him say, "I am going to tell you why you are here. Do not think; just go and decree what I tell you."

Declaring the Mantle of a State

Dutch Sheets began by declaring the redemptive gift of the state of Texas: "Jesus, we want more of Your Christ anointing of the prophetic. Jesus, the Prophet, come to Texas. Come with Your holy zeal, come with Your fire, come with Your revelation—Jesus, the Prophet, the Prophet of God. The very testimony of You is the Spirit of prophecy. Jesus, come and mantle Texas tonight with another level, another degree of the prophetic anointing to be forerunners for America. Impregnate this state with a transformation anointing. Impregnate this state with the ability to prophesy and decree change to the rest of the nation. Impregnate this state with revelation so that their words don't fall to the ground. Impregnate them with a power that, no matter what the hoards of hell say, something changes in the Spirit. The decrees of man, the unrighteous spirit, the decrees of ungodly judges (will) begin to pale and fall before You. Let the idols of man fall and be broken next to the Ark of Your Presence. Lord, I say according to Your word, a nation could be born from this state. I say there is a governmental anointing on the state of Texas—on the Church of Texas—to rise up in her position in heavenly places and begin to legislate and begin to affect, to begin to release the government of God (that) changes the government of man."

Connecting the State into the Whole Purposes of our Nation

Pastor Dutch began to pray for President Bush: "I say there is an anointing, whether he knows it or not, on our President to do it— (and) that comes from the state of Texas. He is mantled with a prophetic anointing to hear from Heaven. I break off of him and shield him even now from any ability of the enemy to deceive him or lead him down wrong paths. I decree that if he has gone down a wrong path, You're just going to correct it because You put him there and You love him and You've called him and he loves You. I say that the prophetic anointing of God rests upon the man. Lord, would You speak to this nation and the nations of the earth through that man? Lord, Your word is in us as a seed and we are now pregnant with life. A nation is in our womb. We are a prophetic people, and we're going to build bridges into the new. We are ready. We receive a new mantle of Your Spirit to mantle the state of Texas once again with a new level of the prophetic anointing. We say the old is broken and the new has come, and the reproach is broken and the breaches are dealt with, and the new mantle is coming to the state of Texas, in Jesus' name."

The Stirring of the Prophetic Anointing and the Release of a Now Word

I then began to prophesy: "Watch the bridges that begin to fall. For even now there are some that are sitting on pillars that will not stand in days ahead. These will become signs to you. For bridges will be coming down so that I can reroute what I need to do at this time. There is strength in this state to turn the battle at the gate. Allow your strength to rise up…The heavens are opening tonight and the revelation is beginning to pour out."

Declaration of the Lord's Purpose for Bringing Us Together

I next shared the Lord's reasons for bringing us together: "Pastor Dutch has shared with us about (our meeting in) Detroit, how we were at a certain place at a certain time [April 3-5, 2003], and God gave us revelation that the "key" had been turned over, even causing the voice of that region to be lost. We were there [in Detroit] right when it was time, and (it was also the time) they [the coalition troops] were stalled going through the gate into Babylon. I felt like we made a break, and as we broke through and as we repented, as the "key" people came forward, it allowed us to enter in and bring confusion and to declare a dropping of a stronghold.

However, since that time we have seemed to lose ground in that nation of Babylon, in that nation of Iraq…there was a quickening when Dutch said that.

And He said, "Just as you were there then, I have you here now. And what has fallen into confusion where ambushes have come, I have said to you tonight and I say to you tonight I am raising up a people here tonight that can put a stop to the ambushes from this place in San Antonio. In this place tonight you have been given the power to stop what has been scattered, and call things back into place. Start with yourself and declare scattering will flee. Decree that scattering, that is a part of the vision that you're a part of, will now have to go. Where the enemy has tried to bring scattering even into the leadership of this state—decree it (be) stopped tonight. Now declare over this nation that the power of scattering that would even create plans to go this way and that way and another way, decree that the plans that would be ambushed are now being stopped in Jesus' name. And declare, instead of ambush, that President Bush will have a clear mind tonight."

Speaking From the Seer Anointing

And then the Lord showed me a nest, and it was a nest of snake eggs. And the Lord said,"There are four snake eggs that are lying in wait; from this state I am giving you the power tonight to crush those snake eggs. I would even say to you in this state tonight you will be able to decree to Babylon, and that strongman that has not been found will now be found in the next seven days."

Warring With the Prophetic Word

Pastor Dutch continued, "Expose him. We declare exposure. We declare the eggs are being crushed under our feet in Jesus' name …under our feet, under our feet, under our feet. Break it. We say witchcraft is broken that hides him, in Jesus' name."

Local Leadership Begins to Agree With the Decree

Pastor Darrell Feemster then stated, "Fort Hood, Texas, the 4th I.D. [Infantry Division], is in Iraq. And this next month the 1st Calvary, as he [Chuck] spoke about a nation in our loins—I wonder if God could birth a Christian nation in Iraq with the First Calvary from Texas, the fourth I.D. from Texas, that God would birth a Christian nation in Iraq. Father, we pray. We speak blessing over our soldiers. Lord, they are soldiers of our nation, but they're soldiers of Texas. They are the forerunners around Baghdad and Tikrit. They're watching for Saddam Hussein. Father, their materials, their weapons are already over there. They're going to pick up their weapons. And Lord, they're going to take the victory. They're going to raise up a nation, and that nation is going to be named after Your name, in the name of Jesus. We bring down that spirit of Babylon in the name of Jesus."

National Military Authority Comes Into Agreement With Prophetic Revelation

Greg Jackson, dressed in military uniform, declared, "As a witness to the prophetic word in this house, as a representative of the Armed Forces in the state of Texas, I declare in the name of the Lord, it shall be!"

Whole Corporate Body Expresses Themselves in Worship

A roar went up from the crowd. That roar entered the atmosphere and, I believe, was carried by the Spirit of God all the way to Iraq. Worship was then released in an incredible way. The roar of God is a prophetic release that creates a covering of God's authority in the earth realm. Amos 3:7-8 says, "Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken! Who can but prophesy?" (NKJV)

Results Were Heard Worldwide

Troops from the 4th Infantry went in and found Saddam Hussein three days later! Even though many were praying around the world, I believe it takes corporate gatherings at times to express God's purpose in the earth.vii

The Seer

James Goll has probably written the best book on "seeing" called The Seer: The Prophetic Power of Visions, Dreams, and Open Heavens. In it he states:

Within the overall realm of the prophet lies the particular and distinctive realm of the seer. Remember that I said all true seers are prophets but not all prophets are seers. The word seer describes a particular type of prophet who receives a particular type of prophetic revelation or impartation. The Old Testament uses two words primarily to refer to a seer: ra'ah and chozeh. Ra'ah literally means "to see," particularly in the sense of seeing visions. Other meanings include "to gaze," "to look upon," and "to perceive." Chozeh literally means "a beholder in vision" and can also be translated as "gazer" or "stargazer."

With these definitions now in place, the distinction between a prophet (nabiy') and a seer (ra'ah or chozeh) becomes a little clearer. When it comes to prophetic revelation, a prophet is primarily an inspired hearer and then speaker while a seer is primarily visual. In other words, the prophet is the communicative dimension and the seer is the receptive dimension. Whereas nabiy' emphasizes the active work of the prophet in speaking forth a message from God, ra'ah and chozeh focus on the experience or means by which the prophet "sees or perceives" that message. The first lays emphasis on a prophet's relationship with the people… the second, on a prophet's revelatory relationship with God.

Apparently, seers were commonly employed in the royal court of counsel to the king. Asaph and Gad were both seers in King David's court … (see 2 Chron. 29:30 and 2 Sam. 24:11-12). In contrast, Nathan also served King David, but the Bible calls him a prophet … (see 2 Sam. 7:2-5). Asaph was a seer and Gad was a seer, but Nathan was a prophet. Notice also that 2 Samuel 24:11 refers to Gad as both a prophet and a seer. One interesting verse that contains all three Hebrew words is 1 Chronicles 29:29:

Now the acts of King David, from first to last, are written in the chronicles of Samuel the seer [ra'ah], in the chronicles of Nathan the prophet [nabiy'] and in the chronicles of Gad the seer [chozeh]…

Nabiy' prophets and ra'ah and chozeh seers are all legitimate expressions of God's prophetic stream. As far as prophetic gifting is concerned, prophets and seers are equally valid. First Samuel 9:9 says, "Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he used to say, 'Come, and let us go to the seer' [ra'ah]; for he who called a prophet [nabiy'] now was formerly called a seer [ra'ah]."

All true seers are prophets, but not all prophets are seers. A prophet may have the particular grace to hear and proclaim the word of the Lord and yet not necessarily function as profusely in the revelatory visionary capacity as a seer does. The seer, on the other hand, may move quite remarkably in this visionary dream capacity yet not be as deep in the inspirational audible graces of hearing and speaking. Nevertheless, both move and operate in the prophetic realm, but in different capacities or dimensions.

The seer describes a whole other aspect of the way the prophetic operation occurs. Generally speaking, seers are people who see visions in a consistent and regular manner. For the most part, their prophetic anointing is more visionary than auditory. Rather than receiving words that they attempt to repeat or flow with, they often see pictures that they then describe. These pictures may be in the form of waking visions, or as dreams while sleeping.

I know many prophetic nabiy' people who are not seers at all and who do not move in dream realms, but are nonetheless strong prophetic vessels. At the same time, I know other people who are profoundly gifted in "seeing" – they see angels, demons, lights and colors, dreams and visions – but who do not manifest as much in the inspirational capacity to encourage people spontaneously and verbally.

One of the differences is that, whereas the prophetic word of a nabiy' is often spontaneous and activated by faith, that of a ra'ah or chozeh seer is more dependent upon the manifested presence of God. Many seers will see something beforehand. For example, before going to a meeting or strategic appointment, a seer may receive a picture of a certain person at that meeting sitting in a certain place dressed in a certain color. The seer may even be given the person's name. Later, in the meeting, the seer will begin scanning the crowd looking for that particular person. If the person is actually there, this becomes a "green light" for the seer to move forward. Seeing in the natural what they had already seen in the spirit activates their faith and calls forth courage within them.viii

Watch Now!

Watching with the LORD creates REST and causes you to receive GRACE to begin your next season. I heard the Lord say, "Let Me rearrange your circumstances. Look deep in every circumstance around you for they are setting a new order for your life. Let Me remove your past. Do not strive to hear Me. Let your prayer life be one of asking in simple faith and I will answer you. I will release favor so you can build your future. Let Me train your hands to prosper for building. Stake your claim on your future and expect Me to do wondrous things on your behalf this year." The Lord is revealing signs in the earth so we will understand that times and seasons have changed. Here are some issues to help open your spirit:

Learn to think NOW! Let this be a time of meditation.

Receive the WORD of the Lord in a new way. Run toward His Word! This will allow you to have the right word at the right time. Redevelop your way of touching and communing with the LORD.

Let God arise in your emotions. Only react by the SPIRIT. In other words, see how He is reacting and do what He does! Watch for ways to put your FLESH to death.

Let your INTUITION be activated. Intuition is a function of the spirit of man. This causes you to perceive or SEE things the way he sees them.

Ask the Spirit of God to REMOVE anxiety, fear, doubt, anger, frustration, guilt, jealousy, and envy.

EMBRACE many changes in your life. Embrace means you let go and grab hold of what is ahead!

Do not overdo or strive to accomplish. This prevents you from developing faith. Faith occurs when we enter into God's rest. Most people think rest is where we pull aside and do nothing. Rest actually means that you cross over and enter into your promised destiny. You are being prepared to enter in.

Expect Supernatural Intervention!

As I have already said, this is not a season to strive or manipulate any circumstance to see God's will manifest in our lives and the things for which we are praying. As matter of fact, Jer. 33:3 says, "Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, fenced in and hidden, which you do not know (do not distinguish and recognize, have knowledge of and understand)" (AMP). I believe if we just cry out to the Lord and watch carefully, then we will see Him rearrange circumstances and bring supernatural revelation into our lives. I am watching this happen. Don't strive as you pray for your children this year. Don't strive over your job. Ask God for wisdom—He will release to you what you are to say and do at any given moment. He will use others divinely on your behalf. He will penetrate your cells and mind during the night season. Get to know His presence this year.

This is a year of REVERSING FORTUNE!

Be ready to move from the DUNGEON to the PALACE! Study Joseph this year. Even though the circumstances of Joseph's life seemed horrendous, God had orchestrated his "dungeon" so He could get him into a "palace." I feel the same will be true for us this year. There are a lot of things in our past that God is dealing with this season. There are strategies from bad leadership in your past that can be fully overcome this year. You are going to find certain leaders in your past that just did not understand your gift, and that was all part of God's plan for your future development. You can understand and find the higher purposes in your past sufferings. We all suffer, but suffering leads to glory. Expect the glory this year! God is breathing praise on His people this year. Past seasons of lost praise in your life will be suddenly restored. This will cause God to inhabit your life in a way that you have never before experienced Him.

Your Path is FORWARD and not BACKWARDS!

This is a time when we must allow God to show us the future so we can move forward. Time is not actually linear. Time is in the form of a circle. Therefore, if we move toward our future, God will restore our past. He will also order our path so that we reconcile everything that would be a hindrance to what He has ahead for us. I am studying the life of Jacob. This is a year to leave Laban's camp and move toward your promise. I will write an article on the four stages of moving toward your promise using the life of Jacob. Watch Him overcome your past manipulations this year and settle you in your land of promise.

Plan For Your EXILE to be ENDED!

This is a year that you either rule in the midst of Babylon or Babylon will try to overtake you! As we have counteracted and confronted Babylon, Babylon has attempted to conform us to the blueprint that it has in this world. When I say Babylon, I am talking about the world and religious system that align together. Babylon will attempt to make you submit emotionally, bodily, and intellectually. Babylon will also use a combination of persecution and seducing worldly mindsets to cause you to submit to its blueprint. Be like Daniel! Do not let dainties tempt; do not let lions produce fear; do not let other leaders cause you to change your spiritual focus, and do not let visitation overwhelm you. Babylon has captured so many of us in the past. Plan for your EXILE to be ended! Rule in the midst of your Babylon!

What to Watch For!

The Kingdom of God is advancing as a violent praising STORM throughout this year. We must be a people of praise. Let God ARISE! As we praise, He enthrones Himself in our midst! Let your enemies be SCATTERED! The Lord wishes to uncover any plots of the enemy that are forming against you and yours!

Watch for BREACHES! Do not come into agreement with a covenant breaking spirit!

Watch for a major repositioning in the Body!

Watch for new relationships that are forming to enhance your future!

Watch for the enemy. He has schemes to defeat you. He longs to create a focus of anguish for the year through mishaps, disappointments, and circumstances.

Watch for the Lord to reveal His Best. Be like Mary: sit and listen!

Watch for and expect an amazing turn of events where your favor will open new doors. Expect a 180 degree turnaround! Thank Him for your times of discipline and days of preparation. They will be compensated with FAVOR!

Watch for a reversal of fortune. Get ready to counteract Faith Destroyers! The enemy will not remove your faith, but attempt to make your faith empty.

Watch for His plan of recovery! This is a time to pray that what has been lost in past seasons and not recovered will be found.

Watch for the heavens to open and revelation to overwhelm.

Watch for an UNRAVELLING of every old cycle in your life linked with a threefold cord of poverty, infirmity, and religion. Remember:

The opposite of poverty is increase and trust.

The opposite of infirmity is healing and strength through joy.

The opposite of religion is willingness to embrace something new.

We are in a season of breaking cycles. Let me refresh you on what a cycle is. A cycle is an interval during which a recurring sequence of events happens. A cycle can also be a periodically repeated sequence of events, or something that happens over and over at a certain time. Sometimes this is impregnated with supernatural phenomena. A cycle can be linked with time or events and orchestrated supernaturally so a repeating wound or injustice occurs from generation to generation. I am praying that every old cycle that would bring you or your family decrease or destruction in the future is being broken in your life. I am declaring that you enter into God's restorative power. Restoration is the power of returning to any place from which "God's best covenant plan was deviated." Restoration includes reclaiming lost land, lost health, and lost joy. Restoration is linked with restitution. For instance, if a stone in your house was broken by a workman, it is substituted with another that is even better. I am declaring that every broken stone in your foundation be replaced with new strength in this coming year. Restoration also means the perfecting, mending, or fitting together of every detail of your life that will cause you to complete or end your race greater than you began it. If the enemy tried to overtake you, I am decreeing that you have new strength to outrun him and finish stronger in the end. Do not let obsession overtake you. BREAK the power of OBSESSION by saying, "The Spirit of God will make me hear and overcome!" Obsessive emotional actions stop you from seeing the reality of God.

Receive a New Anointing

The Anointing breaks the yoke! The Lord is saying: "You are anointed! Allow the anointing in you to be released in a new way!" The anointing is Christ in us being released that breaks every yoke set against His will. The anointing is like oil. Not only do you become fragrant, but you are able to slip past the enemy. The anointing is equated to fatness. You grow "fat" with His presence and authority from the inside, and every yoke on the outside breaks (Isaiah 10:27, I John 2:20, Isaiah 9:1-4).

My daughter-in-law, Amber, came to me after developing an anointing oil from an herb that the original colonists used when they pioneered our nation. I know the anointing is within us, but it's always good to have prophetic touch points that represent what God is doing. She called this an AWAKENING anointing!

As you read this book and prepare for a new release of the watchman anointing, I decree a new awakening will occur within you!

Chapter 3: The Four Watches

Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at evening, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning (KJV).

Keep a sharp lookout! For you do not know when I will come, at evening, at midnight, early dawn or late daybreak (Mark 13:35,TLB).

We have discussed WHO the watchman is. We have also discussed WHY the watchman watches. The remainder of the book will be about HOW to watch! But in this chapter let's discuss WHEN!

In the Bible, we find a pattern. Watchmen on the wall are watching for the enemy and announcing what they see. Let me remind you of the four watches:

The first, or "evening watch," from sunset (6 PM) to 9 PM

The second watch, known as the "midnight watch," from 9 PM to midnight

The third watch, referred to as "the cockcrowing watch," from midnight to 3 AM

The fourth, or "morning watch," from 3 AM to 6 AM

The Watch is Being Restored

Matthew 24:43 says, "But know this, if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come he would have watched and would not have suffered his house to be broken up." I believe these words of Jesus are some of the most important words for us to understand today. Let me paraphrase this scripture: If we would watch, then we would understand the time of visitation of the Lord. We would also recognize the thief when he comes. If we would watch, then we would not have to suffer and be scattered in all directions. We would remain whole.

This verse has a dispensational connotation but also a reality for today. The first watch is linked with the call of God upon the life of Israel. This is synonymous to the call of God on our life. If we will enter into the watch, then we can see His time of visitation. There is a time of visitation for each one of us. Every nation has a time of visitation. Of course, this verse refers to the nation of Israel, but is applicable to each one of us as well.

The second watch comes when we get scattered. In the verse above, we see that if we do not watch, then we get scattered. If you never develop a personal discipline of watching, then you will find your life being scattered instead of being ordered. The second watch also represents times of Israel's scattering.

The third watch is linked with the concept of Peter's denial. Instead of watching, Peter hid in fear. The Lord warned that he would deny him three times before the cock crowed. If we will watch prior to the crowing of the cock, our faith will be made strong. There have been times Israel as a nation has denied the Messiah's coming. The third watch represents the trial of our faith.

The fourth watch comes during the Lord's time of revealing His glory. There is a breaking of a new day. We discuss much of that in the next chapter. This occurs when the identity of our future is established. Even with all of Israel's problems throughout history, they have a wonderful future as a nation. They are God's chosen nation of example. All nations align and reconcile around their relationship with Israel. This watch also represents the power of resurrection as we watch with the Lord. If you will continue to watch with the Lord, then you will experience His glory. There is an ultimate returning of God's glory to Israel. There are also times of visitation for each nation and people group as they watch for the coming of the Lord:

Jesus visiting Israel

Israel rejecting Jesus and subsequently being dispersed (Luke 19:44)

Israel being tried

Israel receiving the Messiah when He comes again.

We must understand that He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The Bible was written to the Jews, who were warned that they could miss their time of visitation. That is why we watch.

These are Days of Restoration

God is restoring the apostolic-prophetic alignment of the gifts in the Body of Christ. The foundation of the Church is being realigned (Eph. 4:11; 1 Cor. 12:28). Wealth that has been hidden is being uncovered so the Kingdom of God can advance. Instead of being cloistered away in a building, we are recognizing that the Kingdom of God invades all dimensions of society. We must be watching for our lives, our families, our cities, and the nations in the earth. Without the watch, the anti-Christ system will have a "field day" during our time of harvest. These watches have personal, daily, significant revelation for each one of us! This is one of the ways in which we must mature in the watch. We are not just watching on behalf of the Church; we are watching on behalf of a Kingdom in conflict and advancing in the earth. He is also restoring the years the canker worm has eaten away. If we will watch, then we will see how the thief entered in and ate away our blessings. Once you understand what the thief has done, you can call back your loss as a seven-fold increase. Possessing Your Inheritance, by Chuck D. Pierce and Rebecca Wagner Sytsema, explains this concept.

"John Dickson and I wrote a book called The Worship Warrior: Ascending in Worship, Descending in War. We explained the eight concepts linked with the restoration of the Tabernacle of David. The watches are an integral part of seeing the Tabernacle of David restored in this generation. They refer to the process of our day being ordered. When we begin to enter into the watch on a daily basis, we move into watching during our generation. Without watching daily, we miss the significant seasons of the Lord in our life. He visits, but we don't recognize Him. We get scattered and don't know why. We go through times of trial wherein the confession of our faith is very important and fail just like Peter did. The "cock crows," and we hide in shame. We are awakened during the night when God is attempting to communicate His will for the new day, but in our tiredness we choose to sleep rather than seek. But God! He has grace for us to enter in to a new dimension of communion."

Do We Understand Time?

When you look at THE DAY as we know it, we usually begin by getting up, rushing to work, dealing with all the cares of the world that come into our path, and coming home to fall exhaustedly and passively into a place of rest. God has a different plan for our day. Actually, the day begins with the watch. God ordered the day to begin at 6 PM with meditation. He then wants us to be ready to advance at 6 AM into what He is breaking forth for our lives. In other words, from sunset to twilight we should be watching, which includes resting, so we are ready to prosper throughout our time of LIGHT.

When you read the Bible, you find time was a basis of Hebrew measurement. Time was applied to the day and lunar month. The day was then divided into certain periods, or hours. Many times in the Bible you find the phrase "in the same hour." The "day" begins to be used even during the story of creation. The day is evening and morning. It is 24 hours from sunset to sunset. In our western culture, we think the day begins whenever we get up and enter into the light. For some of us, that is 6 AM. For others, that is 10 AM. Therefore, God wants to reorder us so we understand His time frame in His Word. This will cause us to be much more efficient as we go through the time sequence of what we call "a day."

"Night" in the Old Testament had three divisions, while "night" in the New Testament had four divisions, called watches. These watches were very important. Day actually means a period of 24 hours. The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. Therefore, God has a plan for each rotation of the earth. How we react during each rotation is "summing up" His benefits and blessings on our behalf. How we seek Him determines how we "fill the bowls of incense from our prayers that are poured out into the earth realm" (Rev. 5:8-10). Lev. 23:32 says, "It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict your souls. On the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall celebrate your sabbath." Of course, this is talking about the Day of Atonement which is part of the Feast of Trumpets. However, this verse is an example of a day and a night seeking God.

The term "night" was added to the concept of Creation. The Lord created evening and morning. Night was added to help distinguish the time of light. Genesis 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31 says, "And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day…And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day…And the evening and the morning were the third day…And the evening and the morning were the fourth day…. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day…And God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day."

I believe in our culture we have viewed "night" differently from God's plan of evening till morning. Therefore, we have missed reckoning the day and redeeming time so that we overcome evil and efficiently and effectively prosper. Psalm 90:4 says, "For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it is past, and like a watch in the night." Through the watches we can become very efficient "in time."

Of course, biblically, we should also understand that days make up the weekly division of time, which is a seven day period; six days for man, and the seventh for the Lord, called Shabbat (Mt. 28:1; Lev. 23:15, 25:8; Lk. 23:54). Weeks make up a month. These, of course, are linked with the moon and its changes in relationship to the earth. (You can order a wonderful, prophetic Issachar School course on how the Lord orders our steps through each month of the year. Understanding the Months Prophetically is available for purchase by going to www.glory-of-zion.org or calling 888-965-1099). Each month there is a blessing to receive. The beginning of the month, Chodesh, begins with a Firstfruits celebration which caused the heavenly-planned blessing to be released. (A wonderful book to complement Reordering the Day is The Messianic Church Arising by Robert Heidler. In this book Robert describes the various "cycles of life" God built into the universe.) If we learn to watch during what the Bible calls "God's appointed times," we will see the best God has for us manifested in our lives.

In The Messianic Church Arising, Robert says, "The first cycle God gave the human race was a weekly cycle of REST. Interestingly, this is probably the cycle most desperately needed by all of us in our modern world."ix He goes on to discuss what Sabbath and Church day really mean. "We need to see that Sabbath has nothing to do with what day we go to church. The early Christians met daily. But the seventh day was still their Sabbath."x This is a fascinating, helpful book for you.

Months make up a year. We find that the Bible is written in alignment with the Hebrew year which is composed of 12 or 13 months, depending on the lunar correspondence with the solar year. This time frame is linked with God's pre-appointed FEAST times. Ex. 23 is a very important chapter to understand because it says the Feasts should be understood from generation to generation. The beginning of the year was called Rosh Hashanah. This is usually in the seventh month of the year. Rosh Hashanah means "the head of the year." The first month of every year revolves around Passover time. The Feast of Ingathering becomes the next significant feast for us to understand. We know this feast as Pentecost. The Feast of Tabernacles, which is in the Rosh Hashanah time frame, is a prophetic feast that we need to be watching for that will be fulfilled in all nations (Zech 12-14). Years are divided by seasons. The seasons and years combined make up a chronos time frame. Look at the following words linked with Time from the Hebrew and Greek:

1. Day (Heb. yom), used both in the particular sense of a natural day (see below), and in the general sense of a set time or period of time.

2. An appointed time (Heb. zeman); thus "there is an appointed time for everything" (Eccl 3:1), i.e., everything remains but for a time; all things are frail and fleeting. In Dan 2:16 (see marg.) it is an appointed season.

3. Set or appointed time (Heb. mo`ed, an "appointment"), a space of time, appointed and definite (Ex 34:18; 1 Sam 13:8; cf. Jer 8:7; etc.).

4. Time to come (Heb. mahar, "tomorrow"; Ex 13:14; Josh 4:6,21; cf. 1 Sam 20:12).

5. A set time (Aram. `iddan) is used in the book of Daniel in a sense

that has been much disputed. `Iddan designates generally a definite period of time, whose length or duration may be very different (Keil, Com., on Dan 4:16).

6. Heb. `et is a general term for time; e.g., the time of evening (Josh 8:29); time of bearing (Job 39:1-2); at or about a time (Dan 9:21); time or season of love (Ezek 16:8), i.e., of young women at marriageable age, etc.

7. Heb. pa`am, a "stroke," a tread of the foot, step (Ps 119:126); one time (Gen 18:32, "this once"; Ex 9:27; Prov 7:12, "now").

8. Hidden time, i.e., obscure and long, of which the beginning or end is indefinite, duration, everlasting, eternity (Josh 24:2; Deut 32:7, "days of old"; Prov 8:23, "everlasting"; Heb. `olam, "concealed").

9. An occasion, set time (Grk. kairos). A space of time, opportunity, etc. (Grk. chronos).xi

Psalms 104:23 says, "Man goes forth unto his work and to his labor until the evening." This is an interesting scripture because that is when the day begins. This is so foreign to our thinking. Therefore, the purpose of this book is to show you certain things that go on during the four watches. I believe if we become more acquainted with God's order of time our prayers will not only be more efficient, but we will also understand why God is calling us to come near to Him and visit with Him at certain times. Exodus 27:21 says, "In the tabernacle of the congregation without the veil, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD: it shall be a statute forever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel."

Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, says,

"We read of the candlestick in the twenty-fifth chapter; here is an order given for the keeping of the lamps constantly burning in it, else it was useless; in every candlestick there should be a burning and shining light; candlesticks without candles are as wells without water or as clouds without rain. Now, the people were to provide the oil; from them the Lord's ministers must have their maintenance. Or, rather, the pure oil signified the gifts and graces of the Spirit, which are communicated to all believers from Christ the good olive, of whose fullness we receive (Zech 4:11-12), and without which our light cannot shine before men. The priests were to light the lamps, and to tend them; it was part of their daily service to cause the lamp to burn always, night and day; thus it is the work of ministers, by the preaching and expounding of the scriptures (which are as a lamp), to enlighten the church, God's tabernacle upon the earth, and to direct the spiritual priests in his service. This is to be a statute for ever, that the lamps of the word be lighted as duly as the incense of prayer and praise is offered.xii"

That is why we find David in Psalm 55:17 saying, "Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and He shall hear my voice." He knew he must order his prayers in conjunction with God's time frame. If he did this then he would always have the anointing to break the yoke from him and overthrow his enemies.

Let Light Overtake Darkness

I want to start this section by decreeing that you will be delivered from the fear of the night. Have you ever been afraid of the DARK? Have you chosen to leave the DARKNESS of your PAST and enter into the LIGHT of your FUTURE? Are you aware that you have a "YET" Time to COME in your life, and that it really doesn't matter how old you are? Are you aware that there is a HOPE waiting for you to GRAB HOLD of? Acts 17:26 says, "And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings" (NKJV). God has a preappointed time and boundary for you. Do not fear the dark that is in your boundary.

Darkness can be defined as the absence of light; error; evil, bad luck, or affliction. Darkness can also be synonymous with chaos, disorder, condemnation, ignorance, or spiritual blindness. Sometimes, when we experience gloom, sorrow, and distress, we say that is a day of darkness. And then, of course, darkness biblically refers to works of Satan and the anti-Christ system of unfruitful deeds. Therefore, do not fear the night. The night is not really known biblically as darkness. Be willing to seek God in the night so you can bring the light into darkness. Three good studies on the power of darkness and how it was displayed are:

At creation (Gen. 1:2)

When the plagues came (Ex. 10:21)

At the moment of the Lord's Crucifixion (Mt. 27:45)

Light is the opposite of darkness. Light is synonymous with illumination, clearness, or glory. Light is also equated to knowledge and revelation being released. Fire and light have certain qualities that are linked together. Light is also equated to purity. Therefore, we should remember that the light of God dwells within us. His Word produces light to our path. Our path should be ever illuminating no matter what darkness we have to walk through. We will discuss the breaking of the day in the next chapter.

Light CAME! John 8:12 says, "Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life"

(NKJV). Therefore, light:

Came into existence at the decree of God

Is associated with His presence

Symbolizes His truth

Reflects His glory

Expresses His righteousness

Can be seen on us

Brings judgment (Rm. 13:12, Is. 60:1,2, I Jn. 1:5, Ps.119:105, Jn. 3:19-21, Eph.5:8)

We are to seek for and possess light! Light comes in many forms. Light is Natural, Artificial, Miraculous, Spiritual, Symbolic, Expressive, Surprising, and Brings Change! The real question is: How do we walk in light and respond when light dawns on us? There are many examples in the Bible of how people dealt with light. During Christmas, I always study how people responded to Mary's visitation of the Holy Spirit and her immaculate conception. In the Christmas story, you find many people dealing with the issues of light: Zacharias, when the angel visited him over Elizabeth's pregnancy to come; Mary, when Holy Spirit visited her; Joseph also had a couple of dreams; Simeon when the Lord was brought to be dedicated in the Temple; the Shepherds and the Wise Men; 30 years later, the Disciples, Herod, the Religious World, the Majority of the People, and finally, you.

Break the Fear of Darkness and Receive Light!

To break means to destroy, quench, or deliver. Break is linked with intercession as well. Dutch Sheets has the most wonderful book on understanding the power of intercession called Intercessory Prayer. He explains the whole concept of parats (to break forth and away from). Our faith must break forth. When our faith breaks forth, the light of God breaks through any darkness. Faith overcomes. Ask God to fill you with light. As you heed His call to enter into the watches from this day forth, throughout your life you will find the light of God radiating through you in a new way.

There is another word, dawn, which is linked with the breaking of light. How we approach the breaking of a new day is very important. Do we approach it with Praise? Anticipation? Anxiety? Fatigue? Resistance? This is key. If our day is ordered and we have watched with the Lord as He has called us to, then we will break forth into a new day with His order. When you break forth into a new day, your light will grow brighter and brighter throughout the day (Prov. 4:18; 2 Pet. 1:19).

We find this quote from the Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary:

The first appearance of light is in the morning as the sun rises (Job 7:4; Isa 58:10; Acts 27:33). Matthew's account of the resurrection of Christ begins with these words: "Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb" (Matt 28:1). Matthew also quotes the prophet Isaiah using the figure of the dawn as the beginning of a wonderful new era of hope and promise: "The people who sat in darkness saw a great light" (Matt 4:16).xiii

Entering Into the Watches

Over the years, God has trained me in the prayer room. I probably enjoyed being there as much as any place. I have found God very creative in how He leads us to pray, decree, and seek Him. Leading corporate prayer watches is my favorite assignment from the Lord. I am going to explain each watch below. Here is one example of corporate praying during the morning watch written by Linda Heidler, one of the ministers and prayer leaders of our church:

In September of 2003, Chuck called us to seven weeks of prayer during the Morning Watch, 3-6am. We met every Friday morning beginning September 19 and ending October 31. Chuck said that by praying during this time, we could order the day before the enemy ordered his day. This was an amazing time of revelation as we met with the Lord for those seven weeks.

From the very first meeting, we knew that we were in a different time and place of revelation. One of the first passages the Lord directed us to was Job 38:7, which talks about the morning stars singing together and shouting for joy with the sons of God. We saw that there were certain sounds of heaven and certain songs of heaven that could only be heard in the early morning hours when the morning stars would still be visible.

The Lord began to unfold revelation about how the stars actually do release sounds, vibrations which can be heard. These sounds form a song of praise to God as the day breaks. We began to join in with this sound and song and began to release spontaneous praise to God. From there, the Lord opened up a new realm of revelation from Psalm 22:3 of how our praises enthrone Him. As we enthrone Him, His glory comes down among us and creates a covering over us (Isaiah 4:5). From Ezekiel 28 we saw that Lucifer was the "covering" cherub that "sealed the pattern of perfection." We related this to the two cherubs on the Ark of the Covenant. There were cherubs on either side of the Ark, but there was no "covering" cherub. Where there should have been a perfect pattern of three, there were only two. The cherub who was to lead creation in worship and form the covering of glory was not there. Instead, God created man and gave him the place of creating a covering of glory over the land in worship. This covering of His glory was to make our land like the Garden of Eden. The sound of our praises joined with the song of the morning stars would so change the atmosphere of our territory that the land would flourish. Psalm 67:5-7 showed how the land would flourish when God's people praised Him. During these days of Morning Watch prayer, Rosh Hashanah began. On Rosh Hashanah, the only requirement is to hear the sound of the shofar. This is a call to attention. It is a call to assemble and get your instructions for the next season. It is a call to war and a call to worship. The Lord began to speak to us about the effect of sound on solid objects and how sound will reveal things. We saw that sonar would reveal ships in the water. A sonogram would reveal a baby in the womb. Anything that resisted the path of the sound waves would be revealed.

The Lord said that the sound of the shofar would resonate with the sound of heaven, the voice of the Lord. When this sound penetrated into our inner man, it would reveal anything in us that resisted the voice of the Lord. Through this, God would reveal any places in us that would hold us back, weigh us down, or otherwise stop us from moving forward in the next year. As we received the sound, it would cause things that were out of alignment to come into alignment with God.

The sound of the shofar would also release hidden wisdom by the voice of the Lord. The sound would reveal deep things of God into our inner man, wisdom to which the powers of darkness could not gain access. It is a sound which causes our spirit man to awaken and hear what God is saying.

The sound of the shofar would also reveal structures of the enemy which opposed the plan of God. It would reveal obstacles on our path so that we could find our way through without getting snared. Jericho was a picture of how the sound of the shofar brought down an enemy structure that opposed the plan of God.

The sound of the shofar is also a sound of worship. As we heard the sound of the shofar and began to resonate with it, we would enter into a new realm of heavenly worship.

As we moved from Rosh Hashanah into Tabernacles, in addition to having early prayer, we were having nightly meetings. As we looked at the schedule, we began to ask the Lord how we were to have the strength to do this. He reminded us of several occasions in scripture where His people marched all night, then fought all day in order to recover what had been taken from them. In Genesis 14 Abram took the warriors from his household and pursued those who had captured Lot. They marched all night and fought all day and recovered not only Lot, but all those who had been captured, and took plunder besides.

In Joshua 10, the Israelites marched all night and fought all day to rescue the Gibeonites. Joshua commanded the sun to stand still so they could win a complete victory. David and his men marched all night to overtake the Amalekites who had sacked and burned Ziklag in I Samuel 30. They recovered everything that had been taken and took plunder from the Amalekites. The last example of this that we saw was Jesus: He prayed through the night so that He could fight all day to gain His inheritance back from the enemy. This caught the devil by surprise with a strategy and wisdom of which he had no knowledge.

The Lord said to position yourself during the night so that you can fight during the day. If you will position yourself during the night, then you will be at the right place at the right time for victory in the morning. During this watch, John (Dickson) got the song, "We marched all night." Also during these weeks of prayer, the Islamic celebration of Ramadan was taking place. We noted that they had many calls to prayer during the day, but none through the night. We declared, "This hour does not belong to the powers of darkness. We will awaken the dawn with worship!"

We prayed to bind the spirit of fear that Islam releases. We prayed against the spirits of legalism and lawlessness which work together to resist the Holy Spirit. We completed these weeks of prayer by driving around our whole city, encircling it with praise as we went. We printed up sheets with the names of God and with the Hebrew words for praise and praised the name of the Lord all around our city. We also had Psalms of praise which we read over our city.

These were weeks that none of us will ever forget. We came into a realm of revelation that was just incredible. Through the whole time we had great participation. The number of people did not drop off as we went through it. God met us every week and it was well worth getting up to hear what He had to say to us week by week.

The Developing Night Watches

The Lord has really convicted me to continue in developing the Night Watch. We have individuals that are leading and developing each of the four watches. Here is an account from Anne Tate, one of the Prayer Pastors at Glory of Zion:

In the beginning of the Night Watch (April 7, 2006), the Lord asked me to keep a list by my phone of the prayer requests that came in during the week over which I felt the quickening of the Lord to watch. We have continued that practice each week. During the first night watch, the Lord told us He wanted us to continue and that our focus would be to push through in that watch some things having to do with Pentecost. We prayed over the sick and also began to cry out for Holy Spirit to move us from the level of faith we are currently operating in to the level of faith to loose His miracles in the Body of Christ. From the first night watch on Friday evening, we have experienced the resolution of all things by Sunday morning. It is as though the Lord is saying that as we pray in the Night we align things that are coming with the day.

On Wednesday, April 12, the following is what we recorded.

Early during the watch the Lord gave us the scripture out of Exodus 12:41-42 where the Lord keeps the watch or vigil over Passover. None of us had remembered that before we came. There were four of us at the watch, Susan A., Victoria B., Cuc D. and I. Everyone participated and everyone had revelation and a particular role in pulling down the things we saw.

Last night in the watch we had angels. There were three of them and they came and approached the altar and offered a scroll. I heard the Lord say, "Church of the firstborn" out of Hebrews 12. They took up a watch at each door to see what we would do with the scroll. We knew the scroll was not for us individually but was brought to Glory of Zion.

Holy Spirit gave us many scriptures out of Zechariah and Revelation. He spoke to us about transitions and interpreting angels and about the "living" scroll. He told us to look and see what happened when Ezekiel ate the scroll. The Lord said those who eat will be able to speak.

The Lord spoke to us about plunder and called us to come into agreement with heaven for the treasury in us and in Glory of Zion, to be like David's treasury – to reflect and agree on earth with heaven.

The angels went to the perimeter of the property and we felt they had been assigned for the season of eating the scroll. We are under a window of assistance and protection from heaven. At the end, for communion, we ate the scroll.

The Week of April 14, 2006, we prayed for Kenya and Arkansas. We prayed for all those connected with our house of prayer and the other Night Watches the Lord was bringing forward and birthing. We prayed for Iraq. We also prayed for the sick and the power to disquiet the spirit of infirmity in our midst. We prayed for new paths. We saw that things that are brought up in the Night Watch and released even partially are broken through and released on Sunday Morning in intercession and then in the Service they become full blown. The Lord gave us Is. 21:5-8, and the Lord talked to us about how the night watch anoints the shield of faith. The Lord gave us Is. 34:8, and we declared vengeance against lost destiny. He gave us Is. 59:16-20; Is. 60:12; Je. 51:11.

The Week of April 21,2006 the Lord gave us Is. 21:5 and we prayed into the watchman anointing. He gave us Isaiah 35 and we had visions. The Lord was ministering concerning the glory and how it works and connects to light. This last week we were in the process of shifting and speaking into the watch some shifts that were necessary concerning the belt of truth….

This gives you an example of a watch that is forming. Much worship, prayer, and music go on at each watch.

Pray and Let God Reorder Your Day and Your Steps

Psalm 37:18-23 says, "The LORD knows the days of the upright, and their inheritance shall be forever. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. But the wicked shall perish; and the enemies of the LORD, like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish. Into smoke they shall vanish away. The wicked borrows and does not repay, but the righteous shows mercy and gives. For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth, but those cursed by Him shall be cut off. The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, and He delights in his way" (NKJV).

I am excited about your entering into the understanding of the four watches. Below you will find key, significant events that occurred during each watch. This will help you understand why you are feeling the tug of the Holy Spirit to pray at a certain time. Of course, we should pray without ceasing. But there are times when He wants to meet with us. There are times when He wakes you up to meet with you. This will help you understand what is going on at that time. At the end of this chapter, I have other things that are going on at night. I have an example of how witchcraft and moon worship work together. To understand more about the moon goddess, the Queen of Heaven, you can read Confronting the Queen of Heaven and The Queen's Domain (Wagner Publications). (You can order these publications by calling 888-965-1099 or online at www.glory-of-zion.org.) The early Church had to learn about the Queen of Heaven to overcome. That is what the book of Ephesians is about.

As you reorder your day and pray:

Expect amazing turns of events in your life!

Look at issues that have gone before you and expect a 180 degree turnaround!

Decree that the enemy who has plundered you will be plundered!

Decree that the power of loss breaks and you experience a reversal of fortune!

Get ready to counteract "faith destroyers" that have held you in unbelief!

Declare that the enemy will not succeed in any attempt to make your faith empty!

Watch the strategies break that have captured you and held you in hard labor!

In Candi MacAlpine's book, Take Back the Night, she writes, "One day, during my morning time with the Lord, I heard Him say, 'Take back the night; it belongs to Me.' I did not think too much of it at the moment, but almost a year later, in my quiet time, I was reading Psalm 74. In verse 16 I read, "Both day and night belong to you; you made the starlight and the sun" (NLT). It really attracted my attention. After repenting for my disobedience to the word I had previously received from the Lord, I began to research the subject of the night. I was utterly amazed at what treasures began to unfold before my eyes. From this point I began walking through experiences that showed me the value and importance of the entire season of the night. The Lord wanted to redeem His purposes, as stated in His Word. It is from this journey that we begin this journey into the night and into His light. I pray His light will be shed abroad in your hearts and minds, and that you too will take up the call of God in this hour."xiv

I am excited about this next section of the chapter. This will help you to take the night. Remember, the day begins at sunset at the first watch. Let the Lord lead you on a journey of watching and watch all darkness begin to let go! Enter into the Watch of the Lord.

THE FOUR WATCHES

The transition of day to night begins before sunset and lasts till after sunset. The change of night to day begins before sunrise and continues until after sunrise. The watches extended from 6 PM to 6 AM (Mt. 14:25; Mark 13:35). Acts 12:4 speaks of four parties of four Roman soldiers (quaternions), each of whom had to keep guard during one watch of the night. May the Lord use this to make you a good soldier in His army.

The First Watch: The Evening Watch (6 PM – 9 PM)

During the Evening Watch, we regroup. Most of us have worked all day and would love to just to "chill out" during this time. We like eating with our family, perhaps reading a book or watching a TV program—any way we can escape from the day's activity. However, this is a time that we need to "still" ourselves from the world. Psalm 46 is a wonderful passage that says, "Be still and know that I am God." In other words, there must be a time before we attempt to sleep that we quiet our heart. The evening watch is the time for meditation. Try to find at least 30 minutes when you can meditate before going to bed. Then out of your meditation, find 30 minutes of prayer time to release your anxieties to the Lord.

Genesis 24:63 says, "Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening. He lifted his eyes and looked, and there, the camels were coming." In his place of meditation he saw his future. When he lifted his eyes, there was Eliezer bringing Rebekah back to be his bride. This actually created the extension of the covenant of Abraham in the earth. When we meditate we get focused on God's covenant plan. Joshua 1 says to "meditate day and night on the words of His mouth" and you will be assured of success. I like to call the evening watch my time of focus so I can start my day with a mentality for success. I have had many anxieties in my past. The Lord has used the evening watch to purge me of the anxieties that would keep me from advancing into His perfect plan. This is the watch that Jesus also pulled aside into, to find His place of quietness. Try to do this before you go to bed each day.

Day 1: Read Matthew 14:15-23. "When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, 'This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.' … And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there" (NKJV). Pull away and find a place to seek the Lord. Ask the Lord to remove all distractions from you.

Day 2: Read Genesis 8, especially verse 11: "Then the dove came to him in the evening, and behold, a freshly plucked olive leaf was in her mouth; and Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth" (NKJV). Ask the Lord to show you the changing of the season in your life.

Day 3: Read Genesis 24. This chapter is very important. The evening watch was when Rebekah met Eliezer. The evening watch is also when Isaac and Rebekah met.

Day 4: Read Genesis 30, especially verse 16: "When Jacob came out of the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, 'You must come in to me, for I have surely hired you with my son's mandrakes.' And he lay with her that night" (NKJV). Ask God for strategies of multiplication.

Day 5: Read Exodus 12, especially verse 6: "And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening" (KJV). Ask the Lord to give you your Passover strategies and help you break free from any bondage that has held you in the past.

Day 6: Read 1 Samuel 14, especially verse 24: "And the men of Israel were distressed that day, for Saul had placed the people under oath, saying, "Cursed is the man who eats any food until evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies." So none of the people tasted food" (NKJV). It was customary to break fasts in the evening. Ask the Lord to refresh you from the wars of the day.

Day 7: Read 1 Samuel 17, especially verse 16: "And the Philistine drew near and presented himself forty days, morning and evening" (NKJV.) Stop and get quiet. Declare that every word the enemy has been using to convince you of failure will be overturned.

Day 8: Read 1 Samuel 30, especially verse 17: "Then David attacked them from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled"(NKJV). Declare that you will recover all.

Day 9: Read 1 Kings 17, especially verse 6: "The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook" (NKJV). Ask God to bring you the supply that you need in the midst of any transition you are going through.

Day 10: Read 1 Kings 18. Ask the Lord to let you hear the prophetic words that He is speaking over you today. Meditate upon the words that He has spoken over you.

Day 11: Read Ezra 3 and Ezra 9, especially verse 5: "At the evening sacrifice I arose from my fasting; and having torn my garment and my robe, I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the LORD my God" (NKJV). Ask God to show you your small window and opportunity for reviving. When you awaken tomorrow morning, declare you will enter in.

Day 12: Read Esther 2, especially verse 14: "In the evening she went, and in the morning she returned to the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king's eunuch who kept the concubines. She would not go in to the king again unless the king delighted in her and called for her by name" (NKJV). When you meditate in the evening, ask God for His plan to prepare you for the future. Esther went through a time of preparation.

Day 13: Read Psalm 59, especially verse 6. Ask the Lord to silence all the enemies of your day.

Day 14: Read Daniel 8 - 9. Ask the Lord to visit you in the evening watch. This is a time that perhaps you will see angels.

Day 15: Read Zechariah 14, especially verse 7: "It shall be one day which is known to the LORD — neither day nor night. But at evening time it shall happen that it will be light" (NKJV). As you seek the Lord ask Him to reorder His light around you.

Day 16: Read Matthew 16, especially verse 2: "He answered… 'When it is evening you say, It will be fair weather, for the sky is red…''" (NKJV). Ask the Lord to give you a clear interpretation of the day ahead.

Day 17: Read Mark 14. Ask the Lord to anoint you to watch.

Day 18: Read Luke 24. Take communion during this time and ask the Lord to bring you into a new place of seeing Him.

Day 19: Read John 20. Expect the Lord to reveal Himself to you in unusual ways.

Day 20: Read Acts 28. Ask for a new dimension of power and strength.

Day 21: Read Psalm 90. Be refreshed and expect miracles.

The Second Watch: The Midnight Watch (9 PM - Midnight)

Psalms 119:62 says, "At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You, because of Your righteous judgments" (NKJV). This is a time for thanksgiving. This is also a time of visitation. This is a time when the Lord begins to prepare you to receive many acts of change in the earth. The midnight watch begins at 9:00 PM and goes to the middle of the night, specifically, 12 o'clock. The word midnight is often used symbolically of a period of time of intense darkness or extended gloom. Many times we try to sleep during this hour and sleep escapes us because of our anxiety. Be sure to remember the power of prayer during this watch.

This is also a time that God is dealing with our enemies that are trying to keep us from entering into His perfect plan for our lives. It was at midnight that the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt (Ex 11:4; 12:29). This can also refer to the "half of the night." Sometimes you wake up at midnight and you think "Lord, did I even make it through the day alright?" Praise Him and watch Him give you peace. In the period before the Exile, midnight does not seem to have been very accurately determined. The division of the night was into three watches, the middle one of which included midnight. In New Testament times, the four-watch division was used where midnight must have been more or less accurately determined. Midnight at many times is a defining point.

Day 1: Read Exodus 11 especially verse 4: "Then Moses said, 'Thus says the LORD: 'About midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt…''" (NKJV). As you pray during this watch, expect the Lord to intervene and deliver you.

Day 2: Read Exodus 12, especially verse 29: "And it came to pass at midnight that the LORD struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock" (NKJV). If you awaken during this time, get up and shout that you are being released to enter into a new place. Declare that your enemies will not be able to hold you back.

Day 3: Read Judges 16, especially verse 3: "And Samson lay low till midnight; then he arose at midnight, took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two gateposts, pulled them up, bar and all, put them on his shoulders, and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron" (NKJV). Again, as you read this, declare that you will have supernatural strength released from the Lord to break out and overcome what seems to be troubling you.

Day 4: Read Ruth 3, especially verse 8: "Now it happened at midnight that the man was startled, and turned himself; and there, a woman was lying at his feet" (NKJV). This was the changing point of Ruth's life. Submit yourself to the Lord and watch your enemies flee. Watch your Redeemer rise up on your behalf.

Day 5: Read 1 Kings 3, especially verse 20: "And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom" (KJV). Ask the Lord to show you any thief that would try to take your inheritance.

Day 6: Read Job 34, especially verse 20: "In a moment shall they die, and the people shall be troubled at midnight, and pass away: and the mighty shall be taken away without hand" (KJV). Declare that the plots of enemies working in secret against you will be foiled.

Day 7: Read Matthew 25, especially verse 6: "And at midnight a cry was heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!'" (NKJV) Ask the Lord to be sure you are trimming your wick and keeping your supply of oil ready for His visitation. Ask the Lord to remove all foolishness from you.

Day 8: Read Luke 11, especially verse 5: "And He said to them, 'Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves…''" (NKJV). Be willing to hear the Lord give you strategies during this time. Let Him show you others who have need greater than yourself.

Day 9: Read Acts 16, especially verse 25: "But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them" (NKJV). Listen to praise music and worship if you are awakened during this watch. Watch your prison doors open. Thank God for the angels that surround you.

Day 10: Read Acts 20, especially verse 7: "Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight" (NKJV). If revelation begins to flow during this watch, don't leave the presence of the Lord until He has completed speaking to you.

Day 11: Read Acts 27, especially verse 27: "Now when the fourteenth night had come, as we were driven up and down in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors sensed that they were drawing near some land" (NKJV). Declare that in the midst of your storm you will have safe landing.

Day 12: Memorize Psalm 119:62: "At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You, because of Your righteous judgments" (NKJV). Rise up and bless the Lord!!! Thank Him for everything He has blessed you with throughout the day.

The Third Watch: The Breaking of a Day (Cockcrowing) Watch (Midnight – 3 AM)

What you entered into in the last watch can carry into the third watch. This is a watch when there is much spiritual activity occurring. I believe many times we are awakened during this watch because of a dream that God has given us. In the next chapter, I share how to prepare yourself for dreams. Most of us equate this watch to Peter's trial that led him to deny His relationship with the Lord. If you are having trouble with doubt, unbelief, and even the direction of your path, then I would suggest you do this watch for 21 days. I especially want to suggest this watch if there is a covenant-breaking spirit in the region of which you are a part. Why 21 days? This is the length of time it took Daniel to break through in prayer and for a principality to let go of the revelation that God was releasing to him. I do not have a prayer focus for this watch, but the following will help you better understand the power of the Cockcrowing watch.

The habit of the cock in the East of crowing during the night at regular times gave rise to the expression "cockcrowing" to indicate a definite portion of time (Mark 13:35). The Romans called this the last watch of the night. This watch could also be equated to "the break of day." This occurred at about three o'clock, or what is known as "gallicinium." The Hebrews designated the cockcrowing period by words signifying "the singing of the cock." Among the Hebrews, we find no mention of the flight of the hours of the night except the crowing of the cock.xv "Cockcrowing" was an indefinite hour of the night between midnight and morning (Mark 13:35), referred to by all the evangelists in their account of Peter's denial (Matt 26:34,74; Mark 14:30; Luke 22:34; John 13:38). All other New Testament references, however, describe an actual rooster that crowed. The crowing of a rooster reminded Peter how easy it is to deny the Savior.xvi

The Fourth Watch: The Morning Watch - A New Day Dawning (3 AM – 6 AM)

This watch is linked with the approaching of the morning light and the breaking of the day. I explain the breaking of the day in the next chapter. There are several words in the Bible linked with this watch:

"Twilight" of the morning (Job 7:4; Ps 119:147)

"The change from darkness to light" (Job 17:12)

"The approaching of the morning" (Jdg 19:26)

"The eyelids" of the morning (Job 3:9; 41:18)

"The ascent" or "rise" of the morning (Josh 6:15)

"The approach of the dawn" (Mt 28:1; Luke 24:1)

Many watches were developed so that protection would be established for God's people. One of the greatest studies on the watch is linked with 2 Kings 11. The fourth watch is the last portion of the night, so we always need to be ready to arise and watch. The word generally refers to the day, and means the hour of dawn or soon after (Gen 19:2, 2 Chron. 36:15, Hos 6:4, Luke 24:22). Ask the Lord to meet you early so you are prepared for the day ahead. The following 31-day focus will help you pray for the breaking of your new day.

Day 1: Read Exodus 14, especially verse 24: "Now it came to pass, in the morning watch, that the LORD looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He troubled the army of the Egyptians" (NKJV). Ask God to trouble your enemy during this time. When you sense the Lord's presence ask Him to cause your enemies to go into confusion.

Day 2: Read Exodus 34, especially verse 2: "So be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself to Me there on the top of the mountain" (NKJV). During this watch ask the Lord to set your boundaries for the future. Present yourself to Him and tell Him that you are not willing to go into the day without Him.

Day 3: Read Genesis 19. Ask the Lord to deal with iniquitous structures in your life, family and city. Get up and stand before the Lord and decree that there will come a cleansing of the land that you are a part of.

Day 4: Read Genesis 22, especially verse 3: "So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him" (NKJV). Let the Lord show you how to meet Him in the midst of your faith being tested. Watch for Him to reveal Himself as Jehovah Jireh.

Day 5: Read Genesis 26, especially verse 31: "Then they arose early in the morning and swore an oath with one another; and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace" (NKJV). During this watch, ask the Lord to redig "wells" of revival from your past. However, ask the Lord to bring you into a new place of enlargement.

Day 6: Read Genesis 28, especially verse 18: "Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it" (NKJV). Ask the Lord to open the heavens and connect heaven and earth where you are. Also read Luke 11.

Day 7: Read Exodus 8-12. As you participate in this watch, ask the Lord to give you the strategy that you need for confronting the enemy that is holding you from prosperity.

Day 8: Read Exodus 16:7-8,13, 21: "'And in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD; for He hears your complaints against the LORD. But what are we that you complain against us?' Also Moses said, 'This shall be seen when the LORD gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to the full; for the LORD hears your complaints which you make against Him. And what are we? Your complaints are not against us but against the LORD.'… So it was that quails came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp…. So they gathered it every morning, every man according to his need. And when the sun became hot, it melted" (NKJV). Ask the Lord to remove murmuring and complaining from you. Thank Him for all of your provision and declare that when the day breaks a new increase will begin to come to you.

Day 9: Read Exodus 19, especially verse 16: "Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled" (NKJV). Also read Isaiah 40. Ask the Lord to cause you rise up with new strength and soar in a new way into the day ahead.

Day 10: Read Exodus 23. The watch is linked with the Feast. Ask the Lord to order your revelation. Ask Him to send angels to guide you.

Day 11: Read Joshua 3, especially verse 1: "Then Joshua rose early in the morning; and they set out from Acacia Grove and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they crossed over" (NKJV). Ask the Lord to prepare you to cross over into all that He has promised you.

Day 12: Read Joshua 6. Declare that everything that is invincible, that would keep you from advancing into the fullness of God's promise, will be removed.

Day 13: Read Joshua 7, especially verses 14 and 16: "In the morning therefore you shall be brought according to your tribes. And it shall be that the tribe which the LORD takes shall come according to families; and the family which the LORD takes shall come by households; and the household which the LORD takes shall come man by man…. So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel by their tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken" (NKJV). If you feel like you have missed a step somewhere and your path seems blocked, ask the Lord to show you anything in your home that should not be there. Protecting Your Home from Spiritual Darkness can help you discern any items that are giving demons legal right into your home.

Day 14: Read Ruth 2, especially verse 7: "And she said, 'Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.' So she came and has continued from morning until now, though she rested a little in the house." (NKJV) Also Read Ruth 3, especially verses 13-14: "'Stay this night, and in the morning it shall be that if he will perform the duty of a close relative for you — good; let him do it. But if he does not want to perform the duty for you, then I will perform the duty for you, as the LORD lives! Lie down until morning.' So she lay at his feet until morning, and she arose before one could recognize another. Then he said, 'Do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor'" (NKJV). From the gleaning of the day before, ask God how to favor you in such a way that your past can be redeemed and your future established.

Day 15: Read 1 Samuel 1-3. Ask the Lord to break any spirit of barrenness. Many times during this watch you will experience travail. Travail like Hannah to bring forth the future.

Day 16: Read 2 Samuel 2-3. Declare that in the war from your last season you are overcoming the structures that would hold you and keep you from your next promotion.

Day 17: Read 2 Chronicles 20, especially verse 20: "So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, 'Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the LORD your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper'" (NKJV). Sing a song to the Lord. Ask the Lord to send confusion into the enemy's camp. Declare that you will take the spoils of the enemy.

Day 18: Read Psalm 5. Set your alarm clock, get up, and let God hear your voice at the breaking of the day.

Day 19: Read Psalm 30, especially verse 5: "For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." (NKJV). Decree that when day breaks that joy will also break loose within you.

Day 20: Read Psalm 59. Sing and receive power. Declare that Lord will be a refuge for you throughout the day.

Day 21: Read Eccl. 11, especially verse 6: "In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not withhold your hand; for you do not know which will prosper, either this or that, or whether both alike will be good" (NKJV). Ask the Lord what to sow in the morning so your seed will prosper.

Day 22: Read Song of Solomon 6, especially verse 10: "Who is she who looks forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, awesome as an army with banners?" (NKJV). Ask the Lord to cover you with His banner. His banner over you is LOVE.

Day 23: Read Isaiah 14. Ask the Lord to teach you about the ways of the enemy. Do not let the enemy overwhelm you. Decree that you will see your enemy for what he truly is.

Day 24: Read Isaiah 21, especially verse 12: "The watchman said, 'The morning comes, and also the night. If you will inquire, inquire; return! Come back!'" (NKJV). Tell the Lord what you see.

Day 25: Read Isaiah 28, especially verse 19: "As often as it goes out it will take you; for morning by morning it will pass over, and by day and by night; it will be a terror just to understand the report" (NKJV). Declare that any shroud of death that has been holding you captive will be removed. Also, declare that your spirit will be free of all vexation.

Day 26: Read Isaiah 50, especially verse 4: "The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to hear as the learned" (NKJV). Ask the Lord to give you a right word for every moment throughout your day ahead.

Day 27: Read Isaiah 58, especially verse 8: "Then your light shall break forth like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard" (NKJV). Declare that your health will spring forth at the breaking of the day.

Day 28: Read Matthew 20, especially verse 1: "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard" (NKJV). Ask the Lord to help you find the help you need for the coming day.

Day 29: Read Mark 1, especially verse 35: "Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed" (NKJV). Find a place to have a quiet time before you enter the day ahead.

Day 30: Read Matthew 14. Declare that Jesus will meet you in the midst of your storm.

Day 31: Read John 20 - 21. Notice that the disciples returned to their old way of making a living after Jesus' death. Also notice that Jesus met the disciples, called them, and showed them how to prosper for the future. During this watch, listen for the call of the Lord on how to proceed for your future.

Islamic Prayer Times

With the conflict of covenants occurring in the earth today, I believe it's important to see that Islam also understands the power of continual prayer. A key feature of Islam is the observance of regular daily prayer times. (They probably learned the importance of this practice by observing the early Christians.) Muslims observe five formal prayers each day. The timings of these prayers are spaced fairly evenly throughout the day, so that one is constantly reminded of Allah and given opportunities to seek his guidance and forgiveness. Muslims observe the formal prayers at the following times:

Fajr (pre-dawn): This prayer starts off the day with the remembrance of god; it is performed before sunrise.

Dhuhr (noon): After the day's work has begun, one breaks shortly after noon to again remember god and seek his guidance.

'Asr (afternoon): In the late afternoon, people are usually busy wrapping up the day's work, getting kids home from school, etc. It is an important time to take a few minutes to remember god and the greater meaning of our lives.

Maghrib (sunset): Just after the sun goes down, Muslims remember god again as the day begins to come to a close.

'Isha (evening): Before retiring for the night, Muslims again take time to remember god's presence, guidance, mercy, and forgiveness.

In Muslim communities, people are reminded of the daily prayer times through the "calling of the adhan." In ancient times, one merely looked at the sun to determine the various times of day for prayer. In more modern times, daily prayer schedules are often printed which precisely pinpoint the beginning of each prayer time

Understanding the Spells of the Night

We need to be alert in the night! Many things go on during the night, so we must learn to rely upon Holy Spirit. If we are awakened and watch with Him, we will see what we need to counteract with our prayers.

Pagans and witches understand that the night is a key time to cast spells. Here is an example of how witchcraft and moon worship work together. (To understand more about the moon goddess, the Queen of Heaven, you can read Confronting the Queen of Heaven and The Queen's Domain from Wagner Publications. To order these books you can call 888-965-1099 or go to www.glory-of-zion.org.)

The following information was taken from the website Everything Under the Moon: Love Spells, Witchcraft, Witchcraft spells, Wiccan spells, Psychic Readings. xvii

Depending on your spell, you should aim to cast it in harmony with the cycles of the moon to achieve the most effective results.

New Moon - The new moon is the beginning of the lunar cycle, and means that the moon is completely in line with the sun and the earth. We see a dark sky with no visible moon. Spells: New beginnings of any sort, beauty, health, personal improvement or new employment.

Waxing Moon - The waxing moon is the period of time between the new moon and the full moon. Every night, the moon gets a little larger. Any spellwork that requires growth should be done now.

Spells: Courage, motivation, inspiration, friendship, elemental magic, healing or luck.

Full Moon - This is a time when the Moon is at its most powerful, and the magic most potent. Performing any positive spell at this time will achieve good results. Since the full moon only truly occurs for one night out of the entire lunar cycle, it can be hard to fit it into your schedule. You can harness the energy of the full moon for about 2 days before or after the night the moon is truly full.

Spells: Artistic projects, love, romance, fertility, psychic abilities or making decisions.

Waning Moon - The moon is waning as it gets smaller again, after the full moon. As the moon seems to disappear in the sky, use this time to do spellwork to remove things from your life. Spells: Banishing bad habits, addictions, or ending relationships

Dark of the Moon - The Dark of the Moon (or Dark Moon) is traditionally the last three days of the Lunar cycle, immediately preceding the New Moon, and the time when the night sky is notably absent the presence of the Moon. "There is less energy available for outer activities and meeting the expectations of others, because the purpose of the dark phase is for focusing on the inner dimensions of our bodies and minds." Spells: Healing, renewal, psychic spells. A good time to meditate on the inner self. [1]

So, if the forces of witchcraft are active in the night, the people of God must be alert in the night! When we watch in the night, God can alert us how to pray to overcome every strategy of the enemy.

References:

[1] Demetra George, Mysteries of the Dark Moon, The Healing Power of the Dark Goddess, Harper San Francisco, 1992.

Chapter 4: A New Day Dawns

When the night ends, the day breaks. The most awesome thought a person can have is this: "I can have relationship with the God who created the universe. I can lift up my eyes from the 'spot' in which I am planted and 'see' God who made the 'spot.' I can have relationship with the One who is greater than this world, and therefore gain wisdom from Him on how to stand in this world. In my own strength, the world is too large for me to handle, but through God I shall do valiantly as I walk in the earth. The night lasts for a moment, but joy comes in the morning."

A New Day is Breaking in the Church

As we stand in intercession, we are seeing the Church's identity change. A new day is breaking in the life of the Church in this season. We are moving from our normal mentality of Church on Sunday to unlocking God's Kingdom plan in the earth realm. The Church exists to see the Kingdom established and operating in the earth realm. The Kingdom is within us but must be unlocked.

Church means those "called to accomplish something," or a group called out for a purpose. The Church is moving "from" just a group who fellowship "to" becoming a victorious war instrument in the earth realm. We are building for the future. We are learning to bind and loose. We are seeing what God has stored in heavenly places for this season and calling it from Heaven into the earth realm. "Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven." We are looking up into Heaven and seeing the "IT" that the Lord wants us to agree with and declaring "IT" will manifest in the earth.

The Church is moving from "confused noise" to a becoming a SURE SOUND in the earth! Worship is changing. Sound produces change. Judah is leading us into new places. Sound creates movement. The wind in the mulberry trees is blowing! Hear the wind and go with the flow!

As the new day breaks, the wineskin of the Church is changing! While we continuously watch with the Lord, the grape clusters are being pressed into wine. The following is from The Future War of the Church:

The transition taking place in the Body of Christ is really a changing of wineskins (see Mark 2:22). The new wine God is longing to pour into His Body is the power, understanding and wisdom we will need to face the future war of the Church. Changing the wineskin—in this case, a changing of government in the Body—is a crucial part of our preparation for the war.

In his book The Complete Wineskin, Harold R. Eberly writes:

Whenever the Holy Spirit fills people with "new wine," the structure or organization in which they function must change. Old wineskins rip. New wineskins must be used to hold the additional life and power of God. . . . The time for God to move is at hand. Therefore, we should expect our present wineskins to rip.

There can be no mighty spiritual awakening in our day without a great shaking of our Church organizations, leaders and structures. If you are looking for the Second Coming of Jesus, or if you are praying to God to move upon your church, your city, your local schools, your family or your own heart, then the first thing you must look for is a new wineskin.

The new wine only comes when it's time for God to give the Church revelation about how to be victorious in the next season. To do that, God has to restructure our wineskin in order to lay the foundations we need for future victory. Let's take a look now at what this new wineskin will look like in the days ahead.xviii

Mizpah - "The Watchtower"

The best example of the "breaking of a new day" comes when we study the life of Jacob. Jacob is such an interesting character. He usually is not one of our favorite Bible people to admire and study, but so much can be understood by his life. I actually think we do not "like" him as much as others because we identify so much with his character and his transformation. That is why he is such a good example for us to review when considering the "breaking of a new day."

Jacob spent 23 years striving in Laban's household. Not only did he strive over his wives, but there was also great contention over his wages. However, there comes a time when we leave our place of striving and take a turn to move back toward the promise. Of course, when you leave, that does not mean the old system that you have been involved with will readily allow you to leave. When Jacob left Laban's household, Laban followed in hot pursuit. When Laban finally caught up with Jacob, he accused Jacob of having stolen his daughters. Laban attempts to portray himself as an aggrieved father, but his real problem is the loss of control over that which was helping him prosper. He then proposes a treaty with Jacob. In this treaty, he states that Jacob will not mistreat his daughters and will not cross over a land mark with hostile intentions.

This account develops one of our first and best examples of watching. God is watching after Jacob. God visits Laban through a dream and warns him about Jacob (God's person who is linked with His covenant future in the earth). Then Jacob and Laban form a covenant linked with boundaries that would be watched over. Laban actually wants this covenant to be ratified so that any violation of any god could cause the covenant agreement to be nullified. Jacob takes an oath on the covenant "by the dread of his father Isaac." This causes God to be in the midst of the covenant. This allowed God to watch after the covenant from that day forward. That is a major principle for us to understand in the concept of watching: only when we put God in the midst of our transactions does He watch along with us.

The place of their covenant is called Mizpah, or watchtower. Both Jacob and Laban call this place by the same name, but from different languages. The name meant "the mound is a witness." This watchtower on the mountain became a conspicuous structure which represented the pact of their covenant. The key to this covenant was by Jacob's oath which caused God to watch on Jacob's side! This becomes a very important principle in developing how we watch, where we watch, and who is watching along with us to defend us against our enemies.

Divine Confrontations and Divine Crossings

Jacob has quite a journey to get into the destined promise of God. We must remember that the Lord prophesied regarding Jacob while he was in Rebekah's womb. This prophecy gave Jacob the inherent promise for the future. This was very unusual because Esau, the firstborn, should have received this promise. However, if you will remember the story, Jacob takes the birthright as well as the blessing from Esau. Jacob was going to get the birthright and the blessing, but someway or another, he and Rebekah's plan, out of God's time, caused many trials and hardships for Jacob. But remember, God has a perfect timing! 23 years later is God's NOW time for Jacob.

To enter into this promise Jacob must go through divine confrontations and divine crossings. We have already talked about the confrontation with Laban. In this, we must remember that Jacob had to first confront his wives and convince them to leave their father's house. The next major confrontation is with Esau. Jacob actually prepares for war. For Jacob to get into the full promise that God has given Abraham and Isaac, he is going to have to face Esau again. Remember, God has waited 23 years for this confrontation. Jacob readies his camp for battle. He throws himself on God's mercy and prays. Then he sends lavish gifts to Esau. He is even prepared to send his entire family to face Esau first. With all of this fleshly and pragmatic planning to meet the enemy, we can surmise that Jacob still needed some sort of work of God done in his life.

Then there are the river crossings. Usually, when we are headed toward our promise, we have to "cross over" something to get there. In Jacob's case, he needed to have three crossings. He crossed the Euphrates--which means breaking or rushing forth. He then comes into the camp of Mahanaim. This means double camp—the camp of heaven and the camp of earth. Angels met him at this place. When God is watching after you, He sends angels at the right time on your path.

He then crosses the Jabbok—which means pouring out. As you can see, Jacob has to let go of everything he has. He needs to use all of his faculties to move forward. He has to deal with his greatest fear—facing the one that he supplanted. We should also remember that without the angels, man's strength alone is never enough. Jacob even makes the statement: "I have been diminished." He needed a new daybreak in his life.

Breaking of the Dawn

We find an interesting scripture after Jacob crosses the Jabbok. Genesis 32:24 says, "Jacob was left alone and a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn." God dispatched an angel to pave the way for Jacob and his descendants. The confrontation with the angel would be Jacob's ultimate salvation. Though he would suffer a loss and a limp would be produced, there would be an emerging victory with blessing.

There comes a time where we have given up all to trust God for our future. This is the best way to describe the breaking of a new day. We wrestle! In the wrestling, though, Jacob even tries to find the angel's name so he can rely upon the angel in the future. The angel replies, "Knowledge of my name can be of no use to you." The angel was only sent to bring Jacob to the place of an identity change.

The breaking of a new day always entails a changing of one nature into another. The breaking of a new day entails wrestling through the night until we see the twilight of the sun breaking upon us. This causes us to know that we have a future and a hope.

To wrestle is to contend in a struggle. This produces a new truth and strength within us. To break means to cut into pieces; to make a noise so the spoil can be released; to disrupt and penetrate, or to burst through. When we put these words together and say we are wrestling for the breaking of a new day, we actually mean that it is time for "the eyelids of the morning to open over our life." The breaking of a new day is linked with the growing of light, the visitation of the Lord, and the opening up of our future

The Identity Shift

Jacob finally has his last crossing over. A new day breaks! If you are willing to wrestle through the night, you must also learn to watch for the day. Wrestling removes our supplanting and manipulating nature. What Jacob got one way 23 years earlier is now given to him by God legally. It is God's time; Jacob has wrestled. A new day has broken and his identity for the future has been released. He is no longer "Jacob," but "Israel." He is no longer a "supplanter," but is now a "PRINCE OF GOD." He moves from Penuel to Peniel. Penuel is his third river crossing—which means to appease. Jacob actually names the place Peniel, or "the face of God." The breaking of the day is equated to looking at God face to face and having His radiant nature penetrate you.

Wrestle to see God and then radiate from gazing into His face. This is why we pray through the night for the breaking of the new day.

Get Back On the Wall

The assignment to go to all 50 States was one of those life-changing events. However, the assignment was not easy. At the end of this journey, I pulled aside and asked the Lord what I should do in the future. He spoke several things to me. One that has set my life in a new order was: "I want you back on the WALL watching!"

Therefore, I started leading prayer at Glory of Zion in Denton every Tuesday morning at 6 AM. After praying through the night watches, 6:00 AM is the prayer time when you watch the eyelids of the morning come open. We now have developed prayer watches based upon the time frames in Chapter 3. Each one of these prayer watches takes on a different personality as well as structure, method, and expression. However, each one is linked with the others that open up the way for the day to be reordered.

I want to give you some examples of what goes on in this prayer meeting. God assembles a remnant representation of the Body on Tuesday morning in the sanctuary of Glory of Zion Outreach Center. As we pray, there are many others throughout the world that receive notes from the meeting, then pray them all during the week in their own city or country.

Many times individuals come in and share the dreams they had the night before. We then pray and prophesy into the dream. In Early Morning Prayer on February 21, 2006, Violet Dickson shared a dream that I feel is full of redemptive purpose for each of us. She shared:

"We were back in Corsicana moving into John's grandmother's house, which we did 30 years ago. It was in the same old condition it was in when we first moved in. I kept feeling like I had been there and done that, but it was also like it was happening for the first time. I was going through the house cleaning and then began to sort through boxes of old moth-eaten junk. I began to wonder how we were going to afford to fix the house up. We did not have anything. I began to go through a small box, pulling out junk, and kept thinking I should go deeper. At the bottom of the box I found a stack of original first run Elvis Presley records! I thought, 'These are worth a fortune!' There were about two dozen of them! I felt like I had found treasure! Then the dream changed and I was getting married. All of our old friends from 30 years ago were there, but our current friends were there as well. It was a new thing. I kept thinking, 'I'm getting married! I've got to get ready!' There was a guy from the past who kept trying to talk to me and I would say, 'I'm glad you're here, but I've got to go and get ready!' When I walked into the bedroom to get ready, I looked in the mirror and I was ready! My hair was fixed. I had on this exquisite gown and my mother walked into the room with this unbelievably beautiful pearl necklace (my grandmother's). She put it on me and said, 'Now you are ready.' When she fastened the necklace on me, the clasp was a ring and a pin, just like the symbol of the Hebraic year, 5766, the Samekh Vav!"

Then I began to prophesy: "I am renewing My covenant with you. I've called you into a place of renewal. Even though you are at the end of a season and you have felt depleted, I am renewing My covenant with you and bringing you back full circle. I will begin to draw the testimony out of you that is deep within you. Even though you say, 'How can I start over and move into a new place?' I'm going to give you supernatural strength to start over. I am also going to have you uncover some things that I have held and kept hidden until now - things from your past that you have never seen. Now the hidden riches that I have deposited in you will be uncovered. I will uncover hidden riches in past movements of My Spirit and redemptive plans that you did not know were redeemable at the time that you initially experienced them. There are depths of spiritual deposits to be redeemed. There are sounds that I will bring forth.

"I am dressing you for the renewal of My covenant and positioning you to receive the blessings of that covenant. Even family members that have gone before you will experience the power of this renewal. I will cause the generation that is rising and following you to reap from the labors of your hands as you reap from the labors of others' hands. (Also, a key scripture was released during this time from John 4:37, In this the saying is true, 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.) Look deep into every member of your family, for there are treasures that each have stored that can be brought to you at this time. There are things I have deposited in families that are redeemable and must be redeemed now!

"I am causing you to enter into a reaping season (to) understand the power of reaping like you have never understood before. In this reaping season you will quickly face off the injustices that have caused you to not reap in the past. This is a time of reaping. Find the treasures that are hidden deep in the fields that I take you to. Like the pearl, when you uncover that which is hidden, it will become a strand of grace around your neck. This is a time that I will adorn you for your future. I am adorning you as a Bride. I am uncovering the mystery of My Bride and will cause the world to view her in a different way. This is a time to ready yourself quickly to move forward and present yourself to the world in a way you have not presented yourself.

"This is a time of presentation. Look in the mirror, for there is a reflection coming upon you that you have not seen. You have seen yourself one way, but I am going to cause you to be seen in another way. I will adorn you so you can move forward quickly. I am pouring favor and grace upon you. This will cause you to regroup and be seen differently." (In her dream, Violet went back and began again and uncovered treasures that were never uncovered before. She then went forward with the resources and ability to advance very quickly.) You will be re-clothed very quickly. That which has robbed your favor will be restored in a matter of moments. … The earth will rejoice because of the grace that you begin to walk in."

I sometimes have a special way that the Lord asks me to minister to the people. That morning, we had a bottle of ALPHA water. I anointed each one with the water. Then the Lord began to say: "There are things now that others have labored for on your behalf that I will present to you to bring forth in a new level of prosperity so you can restore quickly what has been lost. Begin again and do not think you will have to labor in the way you have labored in the past, for you will move quickly into My restorative purposes and your identity will be uncovered quickly and you will be dressed for the future in a way that many will look at you and say, 'Oh my, that one is moving forward quickly with supply and vision.' Do not look to the right or left, but view into the mirror of My reflection, for I will begin to cause you to reflect My grace in days ahead, a grace that has not been seen in this earth."

Many times the song of the Lord comes forth. The instruments and psalmists also prophesy. That morning, Darren Petersen began to play his flute over the people. The sound was like a sound of harvesting or reaping. We then read a scripture: "Jesus said to them, 'My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.'" Lord, as we are loosing an anointing for Alpha, we are also loosing an anointing for finishing. "Do you not say 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest?' I say to you, 'Lift up your eyes and look at the fields for they are already white unto harvest. He who reaps receives wages and gathers fruit for eternal life that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together." Lord, You are ushering us into a reaping time with new wages. Father, You are bringing a supernatural alignment of the sowers and reapers. There will be an acceleration of harvest mentality. "For in this the saying is true, 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored. Others labored and you have entered into their labors." There is a supernatural alignment of the sowers, the laborers, and the reapers. Things are being removed and uncovered and finished in new ways.

"For I would say to you that I am realigning the testimony of your inheritance. I am causing things to happen in the centers for families to realign their testimony. If you will flow in what is happening in your families, there will be a realignment of testimony that causes an overcoming release that needs to occur."

The Exposure is Important

Here is another example. I had a dream on March 16, 2006, during the morning watch from 3-6 AM, that was very significant. Many times you are going to have dreams during this time frame of the day.

Pam and I had been chosen to go through a tube-like turbo-lift/portal to be beamed to another society. (I know this sounds a little sci-fi, which I do not watch, so I know the Lord was attempting to communicate to me from a realm other than my human understanding.) When we got to the other society I met with key leaders. The people were very nice. I began to question some of their societal structures, and they politely gave me information. Then a group approached me and requested that Pam and I live in their society. They explained how we could occupy our dwelling place—we just had to get in line and the place where we were to live would be given to us. All along I was having meetings with key groups because I had been sent as a kingdom representative (like an ambassador) into this society to understand it. Now they were attempting to have me become a part of their society. In other words, they were encouraging me to be assimilated into their society.

When we got in line to get our dwelling place, the line was very long. I looked at Pam and said, "I am not standing in this line to get anything!" As we broke rank and stepped out of the line, I suddenly had an incredible understanding of their society. The problem was that key groups I had been meeting with knew that I now had key understanding of their society. We were immediately surrounded and taken into high level meetings. I then realized the true ruler of this society had not been exposed, and was not only influencing and controlling this "key" people but was also influencing the atmosphere in completely separate kingdoms, especially the one that Pam and I had been sent from. I met with the man that people thought was the leader (but who was actually subject to the "hidden" ruler). After I met with him, I said, "Well, it is time for us to leave." I immediately knew it was not their plan for Pam and me to leave. (Actually, it was Pam and three others that had been sent with me to this kingdom.) We now had a small window of time to get back to our "tube" to return to our kingdom since this societal structure was not planning for us to return to our home kingdom with key understanding of their society.

However, I had actually gained favor with the man that people thought was the ruling governor. He knew it was important for me to get back. Therefore, when his wife turned and began discussions with the rest of their committee about us, he showed me a paper with key information on it. He then slipped me a tape that was entitled: "DIANA IS ON THE MOVE." (This was a clear reference that the Queen of Heaven society had been uncovered.) At that point my group and I hastily began to leave. When we did, the ruler's wife turned around and physically became a raging lion. She was actually the ruling force of the entire society. Her husband and all of the committee subjects had been waiting for someone to come and get her under their control. This lion was the most ferocious enemy I had faced. She violently attacked me as we approached the tube-like portal. I grabbed her mouth three times and knew that I must close it because her words were like a sticky substance that kept us from moving quickly back to the portal. I heard these words, "David killed the lion. Kill her now! THE FUTURE OF THE KINGDOM IS AT STAKE." Then I awakened.

Of course, you can discern that I had not completely killed this enemy. Also, I had not been released to return to where I was sent. This told me that over the next month we would be in an intense battle. Additionally, I have thought of how David killed a bear and lion, and then he had to face Goliath. Understand this: the battle around you will materialize very quickly, but already within you is the strength and command from God to remove that which would hinder you from entering into your future. We are living in an apostolic season of war! Be ready to be sent! Your next assignment is waiting. Do not agree with the enemy's strategy. Be ready to shut the mouth of the lion that is roaring and waiting for an opportunity to devour.

Raise up your Banner! Shout!

Revelation always leads to prayer, which leads to more revelation. As we began to pray about the REVERSING FORTUNE, the Lord began to say: "Be ready to move from the DUNGEON to the PALACE!"

At times during the prayer watch we use mantles or flags and enter into and do prophetic acts. Recently, we used a mantle of different colors representing Joseph and declared the whole Body of Christ would begin to move in the anointing of Joseph. Even though the circumstances of Joseph's life seemed horrendous, God had orchestrated his "dungeon" so He could get him into a "palace." I feel the same is true for us. There are a lot of things in our past that God is dealing with this season. There are strategies from bad leadership in your past that can be fully overcome. You are going to find certain leaders in your past that just did not understand your gift, and that was all part of God's plan for your future development. You can understand and find the higher purposes in your past sufferings. We all suffer, but suffering leads to glory. Expect the glory this year. God is breathing praise on His people this year. Past seasons of lost praise in your life will be suddenly restored. This will cause God to inhabit your life in a way that you have never really experienced Him before.

The Lord is releasing new Kingdom sounds. This will change the course of the Church as we know it today. In the past one of the most difficult transitions for the Church has been to receive new sounds. The sounds the Church has refused, the world has embraced. This time Judah will go first. Pray that the sounds that have been lost in past seasons and not recovered will be found and demonstrated. Thank Him for your times of discipline and days of preparation. They will be compensated with FAVOR! For every place of victory attained and every old cycle broken, expect a new mantle of favor and joy to be placed on you. Let Him become your rearguard so the path ahead is secured for you.

This led us into thanking God for His presence with us. Never forget to thank Him for His presence which overcomes evil, breaks curses, and gives us life. Use His Names! Honor the Lord for His provision! This is the time to thank Him so He can set the course to be Jireh in your life. Jireh means "He opens your eyes to see your supply." Thank Him that the ram is in the bush and you will hear the sound of the ram.

While we prayed, John led us in singing, "Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Jireh, We know Your name. Lord we thank You, we thank You, we thank You, for the ram is in the bush." We began to thank Him for His name, Jehovah Rophe. He doesn't forget us in our sickness. In the midst of our infirmity, we need to remember Him as Healer.

During the prayer meeting we used a large "Joseph's Coat" banner. As we held this up, we would move and stand under the banner as a declaration of His Banner being over us. When the Lord's banner is over us, we can stand as the army and wave our banners. If His banner is not over us, we cannot wave the banner of war. We cannot be the Glorious Bride, "awesome as an army with its banners unfurled." We then prayed, "Father, right now it is so important for Nissi to get established over our comings and goings. Raise up the banner of Nissi over us. Lord, we declare that arms are being strengthened and lifted. There are people finding their place again to get the banner back up." This is how prophetic acts work in the midst of corporate prayer. The Lord began to prophesy: "Even now I am beginning to cause arms to be raised. Even though this authority structure will not be able to lead My people in this land into its freedom, I say to you that you must rise up and lift up the arms of the structure that remains."

Hearing God Through Dreams and Visions

I feel it necessary to give you some guidelines and encouragement with dreams. "Then He said, 'If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream'"(Numbers 12:6). Rebecca Wagner Sytsema and I have two chapters on dreams and the power of interpretation in When God Speaks. We also have a dream index to help you with interpretation. When you begin to watch, you will find yourself having many dreams.

What Is a Dream?

A dream is a release of revelation (whether natural or spiritual) that comes at a time when your body is at peace and you are settled. Sometimes this is the only way God can communicate with you because your soul is quiet enough for the Lord to speak deeply into your spirit. A dream is like a snapshot of something you can relate to in picture form. Ecclesiastes 5:3 speaks of a dream coming when there are many cares. It may be a subconscious response to the circumstances of your life or the Holy Spirit communicating to you. As Jane Hamon states in her book Dreams and Visions:

Dreams are formed in the subconscious mind of a man or woman based on images and symbols which are unique to the individual, depending on his or her background, experience and current life circumstances. Dreams can communicate to us truth about ourselves—or others—which our conscious mind may have failed to acknowledge.

Dreams can originate strictly within the natural mind or can be given as messages from God's Spirit and received within the mind of man. If we compare the communication of the Spirit of the Lord through dreams to other methods of divine communication mentioned in Scripture—prophecy, a word of knowledge, etc.—the primary difference is that dreams are given first to our subconscious minds before being perceived by our conscious minds.

In the ancient eastern world, dreams were treated as reality. Dreams were considered to be the world of the divine or the demonic, and they often revealed the future. Dreams could be filled with revelation that would cause the dreamer to make the right decision for his or her future.

Israel was forbidden to use many of the same types of divining practices as Egypt and other neighboring countries and peoples. However, God would visit them in the night to communicate His will and way to them. This continued throughout the Bible. In the first two chapters of the New Testament, God gave direction through prophetic dreams five times. We as Christians can receive revelation from dreams that are inspired by the Holy Spirit as well.

What Is a Vision?

The easiest way to describe a vision is to imagine you are having a dream, but you are awake. To those experiencing a vision, it often seems as if they have entered into a different reality, since they are seeing images of items and events with their spiritual eyes that are not physically present. Others in the room may not see what is going on because the person having the vision perceives a spiritual event.

Sometimes differentiating between vision and dream is difficult to determine, if not impossible. For instance, the circumstances vary in which the revelatory visions came to the seers of the Bible. They came in waking hours (see Dan. 10:7; Acts 9:7), by day (see Acts 10:3), and by night (see Gen. 46:2). But the visions had close connections with the dream state (see Num. 12:6; Job 4:13).

In the Old Testament, the recipients of revelatory visions were the prophets, "writing" (see Isa. 1; Obad. 1; Nah. 1) and "non-writing" (see 2 Sam. 7:17; 1 Kings 22:17-19; 2 Chron. 9:29). The outstanding examples are Ezekiel and Daniel. In the New Testament, Luke manifests the greatest interest in visions, reporting the visions of Zechariah (see Luke 1:22), Ananias (see Acts 9:10), Cornelius (see 10:3), Peter (see 10:10), and Paul (see 18:9). We find Paul treating visions with much reserve (see 2 Cor. 12:1). The book of Revelation is the ultimate vision.

In The Future War of the Church, Rebecca and I share an in-depth vision that the Lord gave me on December 31, 1985. Even though I dream often, I have only had five visions that were significant enough for me to record. This detailed vision gave direction for the changes in the Church of the future. It also warned of militant Islam and lawless acts coming against the Church.

Linda Heidler is a wonderful, prophetic prayer leader and minister. She had the following vision:

In March of 1997, we were in a Sunday morning church service. I began to have a vision. In this vision, I knew that the Lord was coming to visit my house. I had cleaned everything cleaner than ever before. My carpets were cleaned, my curtains were washed and ironed, and everything was dusted and polished. I had fresh flowers on the table. I could not think of anything else to do to make my house ready for the Lord to come. It was the best it could possibly be.

All at once, the Lord was standing in my house. He had not come to the door; He just appeared. I did not know what to say or to do. He looked around and then pointed to one wall of my living room and said, "That whole wall has to go." I was in shock. That wall was the one between my living room and garage. My washer and dryer were on the other side of that wall. I wanted to protest, but as the Lord spoke the words, the wall shattered. Sheet rock, two-by-fours and wires protruded from the wall, and the room was covered in plaster dust.

Before I could recover from that, the Lord pointed to a room off the back of my house. In reality, I did not have a room like this, only in the vision. This room had all kinds of awards, pictures, trophies, medals, and so on. It also had family heirlooms. The Lord pointed to that room and said, "That whole room has to go." Immediately, I thought of getting all my treasures out, but the Lord said, "And don't try to get anything out, either." As I looked, a huge crane appeared in my backyard and a wrecking ball swung across and demolished the room.

My house was a wreck, I was in shock, and I didn't know what to do. This was not what I had anticipated, but it was very clear that the Lord knew what needed to happen in my house.

I love this vision. It speaks for itself. The Lord is saying, "Even though you've got everything in order, get ready for the changes I am bringing!"

What Is a Night Vision?

The Scriptures refer to night visions several times. A night vision occurs when we are not sure if we are asleep or awake, and it tends to be right to the point.

In Acts 16:9-10 we read: "And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them."

Ira Milligan offers this insight: "There is a difference between a dream and a night vision. A night vision requires little or no interpretation. In addition to the actual vision seen, a night vision usually has a voice speaking that gives the primary meaning of the vision. In contrast, a dream seldom lends itself to self-interpretation"

Chances are that whether or not you are aware of it, you have received messages from God in your dreams. Now that you have a bit more understanding, here is a list of practical things you can do to prepare yourself for future occurrences:

1. Keep an open mind. Don't be frightened about receiving God-inspired dreams.

2. Make sure your bedroom is in peace and conducive to hearing the Spirit of God. If you have ungodly objects, such as gargoyle statues or Ouija Boards in your bedroom (or anywhere in your home for that matter), the Spirit of God will not be able to flow as freely because you have an open door to demonic activity. Do all you can to invite the Holy Spirit into your bedroom.

3. Ask what your sleep habits are like. Do you have sleep deprivation? Is your sleep frequently interrupted? Often the enemy will attempt to keep you from being refreshed so that it will be difficult to perceive what God is saying. Try to get your sleep patterns in good order so your sleep is refreshing and rejuvenating.

4. Pray before you go to sleep and ask the Lord to speak to you, and expect to receive spiritual dreams.

5. Have a pen and notebook near your bed to write down impressions. If it is easier, keep a tape recorder nearby. Record every detail you can remember. If you can remember it, there may be a good reason why. Record the setting, progression, symbols, colors, people—everything you can remember. Also, if your dream changes scenes, continue to record it as one dream because, even though it may have different scenes, it is probably all one message. It is also a good idea to keep a dream diary so you have a record to refer to in days ahead. Often the Lord will use a series of dreams to convey a message. It is possible to miss the full impact of what God is saying without this kind of record.

6. Ask the Lord to help you remember your dreams. Dreams are fleeting. Job 20:8 says, "He will fly away like a dream, and not be found; yes, he will be chased away like a vision of the night." There is often a short span of time when that portion of your memory is working. Also, we have not trained ourselves to remember dreams because few of us understand their true significance. Of course, there will be times when we still cannot remember our dreams, but the Lord can help us with our recall.

7. Give yourself time when you awaken to record your dreams and meditate before the Lord. Because you generally have a short window of time upon awakening to record dreams when they are more vivid, I recommend giving yourself about half an hour between the time you awaken and get out of bed to meditate on what the Lord may have been speaking to you in the night. This is a good time to ask God to begin giving you an interpretation of your dream.

8. Be sure you respond to the revelation God gives you through your dreams in the same way you would to a prophetic word or to other Holy Spirit-inspired revelation in your life. . . all revelation from God requires a response from you.xix

A Fresh Anointing is Being Released as We CROSS OVER and Watch!

As you can see, this is the time to watch. There are great benefits. Do not be afraid to move forward spiritually in a new way. Leave the trauma of the past behind and begin new and fresh. Catch a new wave of Holy Spirit to come alive and AWAKEN to His best purpose! Declare that seeds you have sown are getting ready to pour out and manifest an increase. Receive the angelic hosts that will lead you into a new dimension of BREAKTHROUGH! Let the healing flow of God BURST FORTH in you and through you! Declare your resources will multiply! Raise up a banner and war for your future! Cross over into the breaking of a new day. He is watching for you! Watch with HIM!

Chapter 5: Ushering In the Presence of God

By Robert Heidler and Chuck Pierce

I asked Robert Heidler, my ministry partner, to write a synopsis of what we need to watch for in days ahead! Robert loves the Spirit of God. He is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary. However, after being delivered from Cessation thinking and experiencing God's Spirit in a powerful way, I do not know of anyone who loves God's Spirit as much as he! He writes the following:

God is about to answer your prayers for revival! As we stand on the verge of revival, we need to see clearly what revival is! Many have prayed for revival without understanding what they are praying for! Some think of revival in terms of a massive harvest of souls. "When revival comes, the lost will crowd in and get saved." They picture a time of rapid church growth. Other people describe revival in terms of repentance and holiness in the church. They think, "When revival comes, everyone will weep and fall on the floor and repent of their sin, and the church will become holy."

Still others define revival in terms of societal change. In true revival, drunkenness, pornography, and drug abuse go out of style. Crime is greatly reduced. There is a new level of morality in the nation that releases a new level of prosperity. All of these things have accompanied most true revivals. But if these are what we pray for when we seek revival, we don't really understand what revival is. Repentance, harvest, and societal change are the results of revival. They are not the essence of revival. If we are going to "pray in" revival, we need to understand what revival is.

I believe the simplest definition of revival is this: Revival is God visiting His Church. As you study the great revivals of history, there are certain phrases you encounter over and over again. You read things like:

"There was an overwhelming sense of the presence of God."

"His sacred presence was everywhere."

"God came down into that room."

"The power of God seemed to descend on the assembly with an astonishing energy."

My favorite quote about revival comes from the Welsh revival. The Spirit of God visited one village and the town was transformed. In the midst of all the changes, someone overheard two children talking. One remarked, "I don't understand what's happening in our town!" The other answered, "Don't you know? Jesus lives here now!" that is revival! After diligently studying revival for the past twenty-five years, I've found that the one common denominator in every true revival is that people suddenly know they are in the presence of God. The essence of revival is that Jesus visits his church.

What Do We Mean By the "Presence of God?"

When we talk about God's presence coming into His church, some object, "But isn't God always present?" To understand revival, we need to see that the Bible describes different levels of God's presence…

1. God's Omnipresence. God's omnipresence means that God is always present everywhere. No matter where you go, God will be there. He is always present to hear your prayers. He is always here to bless and protect His people.

2. God's Indwelling Presence. God's indwelling presence means that when you trusted Jesus, the Holy Spirit came to live inside you. If you know Jesus, the Spirit of God is present in you in a way that is different from His general presence everywhere.

3. God's Manifest Presence. God's manifest presence is when God reveals himself in a given time and place in a way that is discernable to your physical senses. God is always here, but we don't always discern Him. When God manifests His presence, He makes His presence known in a tangible way.

A good illustration of God's manifest presence is found in your radio. Right now, as you read this book, there are invisible radio waves passing through your body. There are probably news programs, talk shows, country and western music, rock and roll music, and all sorts of other radio programs filling the air around you, yet you are totally oblivious to them. But, if you turn on your radio, those invisible radio waves suddenly become manifest as sound! You are able to discern them with your physical senses! That is what the manifest presence of God is like. When God manifests His presence, He makes himself known in a way people can discern through their physical senses.

When God's presence is manifested in a tangible way, the Bible calls that His Glory. Glory is one of those "religious" words many people use without knowing what it means. But God wants you to know what His glory is! God's glory is the tangible expression of His presence. God manifests His presence in many different ways…

In the temple, God revealed His presence as a glowing cloud.

At Mt. Sinai, it was in a storm and thunder and fire.

Many times, people sense the weight of his glory.

The Hebrew word for glory is the word kavod. It literally means weight. When God's presence is manifested, it sometimes feels like there is a change in the air pressure. You can feel the weight of God's presence resting down upon you. During the Toronto movement in the mid '90's, we had a meeting to minister the "Toronto blessing" to our youth group. One of the Junior High kids was standing in line waiting for ministry. I walked over to him and prayed, "Come Holy Spirit." The Spirit of God came on him and he got a strange look on his face. His mouth dropped open. I said, "What are you feeling?" He replied, "It feels heavy," and promptly fell to the floor! This Junior High student had never studied Hebrew. He didn't know that the Hebrew word for glory meant weight. He just knew that God's presence felt heavy!

Sometimes God manifests His glory through a revelation of His holiness. That's why many times when revival hits, people weep and repent of their sins. When you are in the presence of a holy God, you see your own sin in a new way.

To Elijah, the glory of God came as a gentle whisper. I think the story of Elijah is enlightening. At Sinai, the glory of God was revealed in thunder and smoke and lightning, but to Elijah, God revealed Himself in a gentle whisper.

God has many ways of manifesting His presence. In every revival, there are different manifestations. Some people think that if God doesn't work today in exactly the same way He worked in the last revival, it can't be God. That's not biblical. God won't manifest Himself the same way every time. Sometimes God's glory is manifested through an empowering for service, through the release of spiritual gifts, and acts of power.

Experiencing God's Glory

I believe all Christians have experienced God's manifest presence. If I asked you to tell me the testimony of how you were saved, or how God did something significant in your life, you would probably use phrases like this:

"The Lord touched my heart."

"I knew God was speaking to me."

"I sensed the presence of God in a way I had never known before."

"I didn't understand what was happening. I couldn't stop weeping, tears were rolling down my cheeks! God was there with me!"

What those phrases describe is the experience of God's manifest presence! Every Christian has experienced God's presence! It was in those times that everything changed. It was in God's presence that we found salvation. It was in God's presence that we were empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicated ourselves to Him, we found repentance, or discovered our call.

It may have been in a church service. It may have been when you were driving in your car. Maybe you were just sitting at home alone, or even taking a shower. Suddenly God was there with you. There may have been a wave of emotion. You found yourself weeping inexplicably. You may have experienced a sudden enlightenment and you understood what you could not understand before. In that moment, your heart responded to His presence and you were transformed. Most of the significant transitions in our spiritual lives have occurred when we were visited by God's presence.

Being in God's presence is ultimate fulfillment… a foretaste of heaven! The sons of Korah sang, "As the deer pants for the rush of waters, my soul thirsts for You." Korah's sons had known God's presence and longed to experience it again! Once you have experienced the presence of God, you are always thirsty for more. It is like a physical hunger. The presence of God is addictive. If you are a Christian, the experience of God's presence is part of your birthright! This was true in both the Old Covenant and the New. In Exodus 33 Moses prayed, "If Your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here... What else would distinguish us from all the other people on the face of the earth?" (Ex. 33:15-16).

The Corporate Manifestation of God's Glory

We can all recall times when we sensed God's presence. But God not only manifests His presence to individuals, He also manifests His presence corporately. When God manifests His presence to His church corporately, we call it revival. Revival is the glory of God coming into His temple. Remember what it felt like when you were visited by God? When God came down and met with you, your life changed dramatically! Now imagine that same thing happening to an entire church, all at the same moment. Imagine it happening to a college dormitory, an entire city, or a nation. The presence of God comes down and people are changed. Out of God's presence, all of the effects of revival flow…

His LIFE is a magnet to draw the lost. People are attracted to LIFE. In stories of revival, people show up in church without even knowing why they have come. They have responded to an inner urge they cannot explain. There is something about the presence of God that draws people to Him!

His HOLINESS moves sinful believers to repentance. A lot of times we try to persuade people to repent. When the presence of God comes, persuasion is not usually necessary. When God shows up, people repent because they see the reality of His holiness.

His POWER brings healing, miracles, and faith for answered prayer. When God manifests His presence, it is not hard to see miracles. Miracles are what He naturally does!

Case Study: The Welsh Revival

One of my favorite accounts of God's visitation is the revival in Wales that took place in the early years of the twentieth century. Witnesses described the Welsh revival "a supernatural presence that moved from county to county." The newspapers reported on the spread of the revival as it moved across the nation. They even printed maps showing where revival was located. The revival was so tangible that people reported a change in the atmosphere when they entered a county where the revival was present.

When the revival came to a town, the entire city experienced God's manifest presence. People repented in the streets! There are accounts of people walking into a village where the revival was present and dropping to their knees in the middle of the street to repent of their sins. They were overcome by the awesome presence of God! The results were incredible. Society was changed. The whole nation was transformed by the revival. You may have heard some of the accounts: bars closed because nobody wanted to get drunk anymore and the police and judges had nothing to do because no crimes were being committed. In one town, the police officers who could sing formed quartets and went around singing in the churches. The officers that couldn't sing stood outside to direct traffic.

My favorite story concerns the "pit ponies" in the coal mines. At that time, the Welsh coal mines used ponies to pull the coal carts out of the mine. These ponies were trained by the miners, who tended to use rather colorful language. Then revival swept through the mines and the miners received salvation. When the Holy Spirit transformed the miner's language, the ponies were thrown into confusion. The pit ponies no longer understood the miner's instructions! They had to be retrained to respond to less colorful language! The Presence of God visited the nation of Wales, and the result was repentance, salvation, anointing, and change. The presence of God always brings change!

The Key to Revival

If you are praying for revival, the most important thing you can know is this: revival is not an "it." It is not a movement. It is not an activity. It is not an event. Revival is Him. It is Jesus visiting His church. Jesus wants to visit His church. Sometimes we think God needs to be coaxed to bring revival, but Jesus wants revival more than we do.

Jesus has made us an offer. In Revelation 3:20, He says, "Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come in." We often use Revelation 3:20 in evangelism. We tell unbelievers, "Jesus is knocking at the door of your heart!" I believe it's acceptable to apply this verse in evangelism, but that's not really what the verse is talking about. When you read Revelation 3:20 in context, it is not talking about Jesus knocking at the door of someone's heart. It's talking about Jesus knocking at the door of His church! It is talking about a cold, spiritually dead, lifeless church, and Jesus is pounding on the door saying, "Let me in! …If anyone will open the door I will come in and sit down and fellowship with you." Jesus wants to visit His church. He is knocking on the door. But how do we open the door?

Jeremiah 29:13 says, "You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart." Read that verse again. "You will seek me and you will find me when you seek me with all your heart." That is God's condition. Jesus wants to visit His church, but He wants to come to a people who seek him with all their heart. If we are truly seeking a move of God's Spirit, I believe we need to begin with this understanding. Revival is not found by urging repentance (even though God wants us to repent). It does not result from seeking unity (although unity is important). It does not come by seeking the harvest. It is not achieved by seeking city transformation. In fact, Revival IS not found by seeking revival. Revival comes—God's presence comes—when we seek him with all of our hearts!

I believe God's presence is about to visit His church again. I believe the great revivals of the past were merely the firstfruits, the foretaste, of what is to come. I believe God is about to bring the Big One. Since the early 1990's, God has been preparing the ground. He has removed obstacles to the flow of His Spirit. He has restored an understanding of His power and gifts. We are in the final stages of preparation. Jesus is knocking. It's time to open the door and receive His presence. God's Word gives very specific instructions on how to usher in His presence. Throughout history, when God's people have followed His instructions, His presence has come.

From Visitation to Habitation

We've looked at three levels of God's presence: His Omnipresence, His Indwelling Presence, and His Manifest Presence. But there is a fourth level of God's presence! The fourth level of God's presence is His DWELLING presence, or Shekinah! God's manifest presence can be pictured as a brief visitation of the Spirit. God's Spirit comes and "visits" us for a moment, a day, or a year. It's a time of tremendous blessing and change, but then it ends! God loves to visit us, but He wants more than that! He wants to DWELL with us! He wants to make His habitation with us!

God wants His Presence to abide in the midst of His people. When that happens—when His glory comes to dwell with us—we call it His Shekinah glory. The word Shekinah comes from the Hebrew verb "shakan," which means to dwell. The Shekinah is God's Presence dwelling continuously in a given location. His Shekinah dwelt in the Tabernacle of Moses and the Temple of Solomon. It was visibly present at the Tabernacle of David. The Shekinah is what David describes when he writes, "I have seen You in the Sanctuary, and beheld Your power and Your glory!" God also desires His shekinah to dwell in His church. Wherever the church is, God wants His Shekinah to be there. God's goal for us is habitation! God doesn't want to just come for a visit. He wants to live in our midst. If you look at church history over the past few hundred years, you see many instances of visitation.

We see "revivals" where God visits for a few days, or a few weeks, and in some cases perhaps a few years. But then His presence leaves! The cry of our hearts should be Jeremiah 14:8, "O Hope of Israel, its Savior in times of distress, why are you like a stranger in the land, like a traveler who stays only a night?" We should ask, "Lord, why did Your Presence leave us? Why can't we have Your presence with us continually?"

I believe the answer to that question is this: We do not understand how to live in God's presence! We have not taken the time to see what brings His presence, and what causes His presence to leave!

Build It and He Will Come!

One of the most important verses in the Old Testament is Exodus 25:8. I believe it expresses God's heart for His people in all generations. In this verse, God tells Moses, "Let them construct a sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them."

The word sanctuary means a holy place, a special place, a "set apart" place. God says that if His people will prepare the place, His Presence will come! The word "dwell" in this passage is Shakan. God says, "Prepare a place for Me, so that My Shekinah can live among My people." God wants His presence to dwell with us. Our responsibility is to prepare a place. He wants us to make a special place in our hearts where His presence can dwell. He wants our homes to be places where His Glory dwells. He wants the church to be a sanctuary filled with His shekinah! When someone comes into your home, or into your church, they should be able to say, "I sense that God is here."

Bringing In His Presence

God gave Moses detailed instructions on how to make the tabernacle a place where the Shekinah could dwell. I believe if we understand what God told Moses, we will know how to live in His presence today! It is interesting to read the instructions God gave for the tabernacle. Let's look at some of the items in the tabernacle and see the instructions God gave…

1. The Altar of Burnt Offering. The altar of burnt offering was a place of worship. The New American Study Bible defines it this way: "A burnt offering was a voluntary act of worship expressing commitment and complete surrender." The burnt offering was the Old Testament equivalent of Romans 12:1-2. When you brought your animal in to be offered up as a burnt offering, you were saying, "This animal represents me. I am giving myself totally and completely to God as an act of worship."

In Lev. 6:9-13 God gives the following instructions about the altar: "The fire on the altar of burnt offering is to be kept burning… It shall not go out… Fire shall be kept burning continually on the altar." The focus of God's instruction is this: God wanted the tabernacle to be a place of CONTINUAL worship!

2. The Table of Showbread. The showbread is part of the grain offering. It was a voluntary act of worship thanking God for his goodness and provision. God's instruction for the table of showbread is found in Lev. 24: "Bake twelve cakes… and set them before the Lord every Sabbath ...set it in order before the Lord continually." God wanted continual thanksgiving.

3. The Golden Lampstand. The lampstand is the symbol of the presence of the Holy Spirit fellowshipping with His people and releasing divine revelation. In Lev. 24, God gave His instruction concerning the Lampstand: "Command the sons of Israel to make the lamp burn continually. Aaron shall keep it in order from evening to morning before the Lord continually. It shall be a perpetual statute. He will keep the lamps on the lamp stand before the Lord continually." There must be continual fellowship with the Holy Spirit!

4. The Altar of Incense. Incense is a symbol of our prayers rising before God. God's instruction about the altar of incense was this: "And Aaron shall burn fragrance incense on it; he shall burn it every morning when he trims the lamps. And when Aaron trims the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense. There shall be perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations"

The Importance of Continual Prayer

Do you see a pattern in what God is saying? God gave specific instructions on how to "build" a special place where His Presence can abide! He says, "I am giving you a pattern to follow: The Tabernacle must be marked by continual worship, continual thanksgiving, continual fellowship with the Spirit, and continual prayer!" Now, notice God's promise in Exodus 29:42-46, "There will be continual burnt offerings throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle. There I will meet you and speak to you… and the place will be sanctified by My glory… Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God and they will know that I am the Lord their God who brought them out of Egypt that I might dwell among them."

God is saying, "You've built the Tabernacle, but it is just a tent until the Shekinah glory dwells in it. Here is how to get the Shekinah glory of God to come: you must establish continual prayer, praise, and worship in that place!" God then gives some incredible promises. He says if you establish continual prayer and praise…

1. "I will meet with you there." - His presence will come in a tangible way. It will be a place where you will know you are in His presence!

2. "I will speak to you there." - Prophetic revelation released in that place.

3. "The place will be consecrated (set apart, or made special) by My glory." - The manifest glory of God will make that place discernibly different!

4. "I will dwell among the sons of Israel." – God uses the word shakan again. He says, "My shekinah will come if you do this."

Later in the passage, God describes the blessings that will flow from His presence dwelling with them: "I will give you rains in their seasons so the land will yield its produce. You will eat to the full and live securely. I will turn toward you, multiply you, and confirm My covenant with you, and I will walk among you and be your God and you will be my people." That's quite a promise! If that's not revival, it'll do until revival comes!

The Principle for Dwelling in His Presence

To understand how to experience God's shekinah, we must see two things:

First: Where there is prayer, praise, and thanksgiving, God's presence will come. We have all experienced that. That is visitation. We have all experienced times in the midst of praise and worship when the atmosphere changes and, suddenly, God is there! Years ago, I attended a conference at Christ for the Nations. There were 2,000 people jammed into the auditorium, praising God with all their might! The worship team was playing, and we were all clapping our hands, singing, and joyfully praising God. Suddenly, in the middle of a song, the presence of God invaded that room in awesome power. One moment we were singing, clapping our hands, and enjoying the worship, and the next moment the entire room went silent. A Holy HUSH fell over the auditorium. All the musicians stopped playing. All the singers stopped singing. No one moved. No one spoke. I have no idea how long it was. It might have been five minutes; it might have been twenty minutes. You could hear a pin drop. There was total and absolute silence because the heaviness of the glory of God filled that place. After a while, the presence of God lifted and everyone broke into spontaneous applause because God had come. Where there is praise, prayer, and thanksgiving, God's presence will come.

The second principle is this: Where there is continual praise, prayer, and thanksgiving, God's presence will dwell. When you come into a place where prayer takes place on a regular basis, you often can sense a difference in the atmosphere. In the early 90's I was on a mission trip to Ukraine. In those days, Ukraine was a spiritually dark and oppressive place. You felt a heavy oppression wherever you went. One day, our translator took us to an apartment to meet someone. We walked through the door into the apartment and the sense of oppression suddenly lifted. My friend and I looked at each other in amazement and said, "God is here!" I turned to our translator and asked, "What takes place here?" She answered, "This is where our prayer group meets every week." Because there was regular prayer there, the heavy oppression that was "in the air" in that city could not affect that apartment. It had become an island of light in a sea of darkness! Wherever there is continual praise, prayer, and thanksgiving, God's presence will dwell. Where the presence of God dwells in power, there is revival and everything is changed.

Ushering In His Presence

We need to understand how God's presence dwells in His church. There's an interesting account in Acts chapter three:

"Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer. And a man who had been lame from his mother's womb… saw Peter and John about to go into the temple. He began asking to receive alms. But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, 'Look at us!'

"And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, 'I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene — walk!'

"And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God" (Acts 3:1-8).

We've all read that story. It is one of those wonderful passages about the miracles in the early church. But we never stop to ask, how did it happen? How was Peter able to do what he did? Peter said, "What I HAVE, I give to you!" How did he get what he had? Most of us don't have what he had! When we read this passage, we focus on the walking and leaping and praising God… and we skip right over the verse that tells us how it happened. In the very first verse we read, "One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer." If you study this verse in the original Greek, you will discover that they had an hour of prayer!

As you study this passage historically, you find out this hour of prayer was daily. As a matter of fact, they had a number of "hours of prayer" every day. They met to pray every morning, and they met to pray every evening. There were also times of prayer during the day, and watches of prayer throughout the night! As there were set times for sacrifice in the temple, so there were set times for a "sacrifice of praise" in the church. This was one of the most distinguishing characteristics of the early church. They would come together and praise and worship God throughout the day and night! That's why it says in Acts 2, "They continually devoted themselves to prayer" (Acts 2:42).

They divided up the day and night into WATCHES, based on the vigils of the Roman military. They did this wherever the church was established. Hebrews 13:15 says they continually offered up a sacrifice of praise. The purpose was to keep the fire of the Spirit continually burning. That was the norm in the church! Wherever the church was planted, for over 300 years, they would seek the presence of God through continual watches of prayer. Wherever the early church was planted, they considered it their highest priority to praise and worship God continually. Out of that ministry to God, the power flowed! Remember what happens when you praise and worship God continually? His presence dwells! The early church was a temple in which the Shekinah Glory of God lived!

The key to fulfilling our mission as a church is to dwell in the presence of God, continually experiencing His power and love. That's why the number one ministry of the church is not a ministry to people; it's a ministry to God! We minister to God through continual prayer and praise. In the book of Acts, we read that the church was "ministering to the Lord." When we minister toGod in the daily watches, He comes and dwells with us. As He dwells with us, He releases the power we need to minister to people. If you try to minister to people without ministering to God, you're ministering in your own power and not much happens. But if we walk in His power and presence, we experience revival and everything changes! That's how the early church walked in power! That's how the church throughout history has experienced revival!

Earlier in the book we saw how the WATCH OF THE LORD at Herrnhut kept the fires of revival burning for over one hundred years, producing a Great Awakening that swept the world. That's what the watch of the Lord produces! When Christians entered into God's watch, then revival came! God hasn't changed! What worked then will work now! God is calling His people to stand WATCH in prayer, that His Glory may come! Right now, allow God to release faith in your heart for revival. Thank Him that He is coming to His people. Thank Him that He is preparing His church to host His Presence. Claim the promise of Hosea six, and thank God that His Glory is coming…

"He will revive us! On the third day He will restore us that we may live in His presence. Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge Him. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that refresh the earth." - Hosea 6:2-3

As we WATCH we will see God's Presence revealed!

As we WATCH we will see revival return!

The next great awakening is at hand!

It's time to WATCH!

Chapter 6: Time to Wake Up, Worship, and Move to Your Next Glory Realm

If ever we are living in a time not to be passive, that time is now! We must be a people who are willing to rise up. To be awakened means our spirit man has come alive to the things of God. We are aroused and active. We are standing and not sleeping. We are alert to His call night and day. We are aware of His purposes in our lives. We are not like the bride in Song of Solomon who hesitates when the bridegroom comes to her chambers and jostles the door. Song of Songs 5:2-8 says:

"I went to sleep, but my heart stayed awake. [I dreamed that I heard] the voice of my beloved as he knocked [at the door of my mother's cottage]. Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my spotless one [he said], for I am wet with the [heavy] night dew; my hair is covered with it. [Job 11:13-15.] [But weary from a day in the vineyards, I had already sought my rest] I had put off my garment-- how could I [again] put it on? I had washed my feet--how could I [again] soil them? [Isa 32:9; Heb 3:15.]My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my heart was moved for him. I rose up to open for my beloved, and my hands dripped with myrrh, and my fingers with liquid [sweet-scented] myrrh, [which he had left] upon the handles of the bolt. I opened for my beloved, but my beloved had turned away and withdrawn himself, and was gone! My soul went forth [to him] when he spoke, but it failed me [and now he was gone]! I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer. The watchmen who go about the city found me. They struck me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took my veil and my mantle from me. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, that you tell him that I am sick from love [simply sick to be with him]. [Ps 63:1.] (AMP)

The bride-to-be has a troubling dream that her bridegroom leaves her. She has taken off a garment and is hesitant to redress to meet Him. She then runs after Him. The watchmen mistake her as a harlot wandering in the streets and remove her other garment. Oh my! She is stripped of her authority.

By reordering our day and moving into a place of response to God during the night watches, we will see our authority restored and even increased, instead of being stripped from us!

Wake Up or You'll Die!

When Rebecca Wagner Sytsema and I were writing The Future War of the Church, the following situation happened. I feel it is very appropriate to repeat that story now.

During the time that my coauthor, Rebecca Sytsema, and I have been writing, we have both encountered vicious attacks meant to kill one or all of our family members. The most dramatic of these attacks occurred in the Sytsema's home, which they share with her parents, Peter and Doris Wagner.

Rebecca and her husband, Jack, were fast asleep one cold, autumn night. At 2:30 that morning, their 15-month-old son Nicholas woke up screaming—an unusual occurrence. As Rebecca was getting up to see what was wrong, she immediately developed a splitting headache and decided to take some aspirin before tending to her son. As she reached the bathroom, she realized that something was very wrong. She felt weak and faint. She called out for Jack.

Jack got out of bed and ran to the hallway just in time to see Rebecca pass out cold. It was then that Jack noticed Nicholas had stopped crying. Thinking quickly, Jack surmised that there must be some kind of gas leak in the house. He ran into Nicholas' room and grabbed the limp child from his crib. He ran out to the garage, opened the garage door for fresh air, and deposited his son in a stroller. Jack then ran back into the house and dragged an unconscious Rebecca out to the garage.

Despite feeling weak himself, he knew the job was not done. Running back into the house, Jack called 911 and frantically explained the situation to the emergency operator. He then realized that Doris was sleeping upstairs and he needed to get her to safety. (Peter was traveling in Korea at the time.) Jack remembers falling at least once, knocking over several dining room chairs, but he got back up. As he climbed the stairs, the lethal fumes overtook him, causing him to black out and tumble to the bottom.

Jack lay at the bottom of the stairs, thinking, Oh, this is so nice just lying here. I'll just take a quick nap and then get Mom. But then reality set in. Wake up or you'll die! he told himself. He chose to fight. God, he prayed, if You don't get me up and give me strength, we are all dead! He then mustered every ounce of physical energy he had left to save Doris. Not realizing that the fall had broken his leg, Jack managed to crawl to the top of the stairs and get to Doris' room. He fell through her bedroom door and, with what little energy he had left, cried, "Get out! There's a gas leak!"

Doris immediately arose and opened her bedroom door to the deck, where she and Jack escaped to safety. Jack and Rebecca later learned that they and Nicholas had all ingested what was considered to be a lethal dose of carbon monoxide (Doris was fine because she had been sleeping with her windows open until a few minutes before Jack came through the door). The doctor commented several times that he was amazed they were alive. They later discovered that the furnace had been leaking enough carbon monoxide to kill a healthy adult in 30 to 45 minutes.

Later that same month, several newly acquired carbon monoxide detectors sounded early one morning and, realizing they had another leak, the family got out quickly. This time a completely separate boiler was the trouble, and it was putting out more than four times the amount of carbon monoxide that the first leak had emitted. Had the Sytsemas not known what to do right away, this leak would have quickly killed them all in a very short time!

The Prophetic Picture

As I prayed, thanking God for sparing the lives of the Sytsema family, God began to show me how Jack represented the Church in this hour. Once Jack recognized the danger, he leaped into action to fight the enemy. But there came a point when the battle began to overtake him.

Jack had a definite choice. He could lie there feeling groggy and do what felt most comfortable to him—take a quick nap. As he describes it, when he was being overtaken by the carbon monoxide, his thinking was anything but clear. It actually seemed reasonable to him to lie there and gain some strength so he could continue to fight. But had he chosen to do that, he would surely have died where he slept. Instead, he chose to cry out to God and to fight his invisible enemy, though he was weak and wounded. As a result, he gained a great victory.

We, as the Church, need to realize that, although our enemy is invisible, the threat is very real and quite deadly. We can make the choice to ignore the threat and fall asleep. We may feel so overcome by the battle itself that we stop fighting at a crucial juncture. But if we do, we, like Jack, could be killed where we lie. But if we decide to see the enemy for who he is and understand how he can overtake us, if we choose to continue the fight though we grow weary and suffer wounds, we will win a great victory…We need to learn from battles we have fought in the past. The second carbon-monoxide leak in the Sytsema home proved to have a much greater potential for sudden death than the first. But because they had already fought that battle once, they knew exactly what to do when the alarm sounded. They acted quickly and, for the second time in 16 days, saved their lives. We need to keep a constant guard against quick, vicious attacks and listen for the alarms God is sounding. If we allow the Lord to train us for war, we will be prepared and victorious when the attacks come!xx

We Must WATCH the Movement of the Ark of His Presence!

When the time came to finally enter the Promised Land, the Lord made some drastic changes for His covenant people. Joshua 1-3 is an excellent scenario to read. He removed the Cloud by Day and the Pillar of Fire by Night. He then said, "I will set the priests in place with the ark and when they move, then you move. You must let them go before you. Give them space!" I tell you that the only way to enter into what the Lord is doing today is to know the movement of His Presence. By finding your place in the watch of the Lord, you will begin to see His Presence in a whole new way.

From Glory to Glory

One of my favorite verses is 2 Corinthians 3:18: "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord."

In Possessing Your Inheritance (still my favorite book to date), Rebecca Wagner Sytsema and I write:

As children of God, part of our inheritance is experiencing the glory of God and being transformed into new levels of His glory. Each carries with it a particular blessing and thrill for us as Christians. In an effort to understand the glory of God, let's look at both the aspect of experiencing and the aspect of being transformed into His glory.

Experiencing the Glory of God

To experience the glory of God is to experience His manifest presence. It is to go beyond an abstract understanding of His omnipresence to knowing that God Himself is there with you, tangibly in your midst. In his book, Glory on Your House, Jack Hayford describes experiencing the glory of God this way:

"This does not mean you have to have a vision of something visible, as I did. God may be noticeably present in glory and power without any such manifestation. The Hebrew word translated 'glory' helps us grasp this, in that it is also the word for 'weight.' When the Bible speaks of 'the glory' it is not speaking so much of something aglow as of something with substantial force to it. Glory isn't something flimsy, ethereal, intangible. Rather, when the glory of God is in a place, something forceful, weighty, mighty is present in the spiritual realm. People can recognize it. They will want to be there. Mankind longs intuitively for the fulfillment and restoration, the focus and fruitfulness, that attend the soul reintroduced to lost glory."

The "weight" that Hayford refers to here is the Hebrew word kabod which implies not only heaviness, but a great quantity of things. The New Unger's Bible Dictionary (Moody Press) defines glory as the manifestation of God's attributes and perfections, or a visible splendor that represents His attributes or perfections. It can be said, then, that the glory of God is the full weight and quantity of His attributes and perfections. The glory of God is essentially what He is and does.

One way for us to experience God's glory is to experience a tangible manifestation of one or more of the attributes of God. Sometimes it may come as an overwhelming sense of His utter holiness, and all we can do is bow and worship Him in awe. Sometimes we may experience a great sweep of His joy that brings deep refreshing to our spirits. Each of us who have been born again has experienced the glory of His saving grace, perhaps the most precious gift of all. We may catch a fresh glimpse of His mighty power and new faith begins to arise within us. Each of these, and so many others we could describe, is a manifestation of God's glory.

These types of experiences may be quiet occurrences in our personal devotional times, or they may be in the middle of a prayer meeting or church service. Sometimes, however, a manifestation of His glory may be a dramatic, supernatural manifestation of God, much as it was for me when I was 18 in the story I described in the first chapter. His voice was so loud and clear that it seemed audible to me. I can quote the very words. In my case, that visitation changed the course of my entire life.

In Jack Hayford's book mentioned earlier, he describes a vision he had of the glory of the Lord which appeared as a silvery mist with a glowing quality that filled the little sanctuary where he was standing alone. He likened it to the shekinah—the radiant visible manifestation of God's glory described in the Bible. He then heard the voice of God say, "I have given My glory to dwell in this place." At that time the small church Hayford pastored barely averaged 100. The day after this visitation 170 came to the little church.

Since that day years ago, although not manifested in a silvery mist, the glory of the Lord has continued to shine on Church on the Way and Jack Hayford. Over 10,000 worshippers attend this life-giving church on an average Sunday. Dozens, if not scores, of new believers come to know the Lord each month. Hayford's worldwide recognition as a modern-day father in the faith continues to gain in strength and credibility. That dramatic manifestation of God's glory changed not only the course of his small church, but the course of countless lives that have been so profoundly influenced by one man's ministry.

When God's manifest presence invades our daily lives, things change! We cannot remain the same. Either we will harden our hearts, as the Israelites did on many occasions, or we experience new zoe life. If we choose to allow God's presence to soften our hearts then we may see the power of God released in greater measure. We may catch a glimpse of the very atmosphere of heaven. We experience God! He longs to pour out His glory upon His people so that we may know Him. This experience is not just for us personally, but for the harvest of souls the Lord would draw in through the magnetic influence His presence has on the lost.

Becoming Transformed By His Glory

Becoming transformed by the glory of God may be a new thought to some. But, in fact, it is central to the Christian life. The reason is simple. The very character and ways of God were exhibited through Jesus as He walked the earth. Jesus was the incarnation of God's glory, weighed heavily with divine attributes.

2 Corinthians 4 says, "They don't understand the message we preach about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God . . . For God, who said, 'Let there be light in the darkness,' has made us understand that this light is the brightness of the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ" (vv. 4, 6, New Living Translation).

Christ is our hope of glory (Col. 1:27). Through Him we are being made into carriers of the glory of God. As believers in Christ, we are to be in a position of being transformed into the image of Christ—and that means mirroring the glory, or characteristics of God. 2 Corinthians 3:18 in the New Living Translation says, "And all of us have had that veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more."

This, of course, does not mean we will have the divine attributes that belong only to God (such as omniscience or omnipresence), but it does include such things as love, joy, peace, wisdom, mercy, justice, selflessness, patience, self-control, holiness and so forth. Therefore, as the Holy Spirit helps us move through the process of becoming more like Christ, we are moving from glory to glory!

Why Do We Move From Glory to Glory?

The question comes up: why is it necessary to move from glory to glory? Isn't one glory as good as the next? The answer is no. The reason is because in every season of glory we experience a new order that God brings to our lives as we mirror His image to a greater extent. But then we begin to add a new method—a settled plan or strategy of how we operate within that new order. It is our way of implementing what we have learned from God.

While in and of itself this is not a problem, we can eventually get so organized in God's last manifestation of glory that the enemy can use it to hold us back from God's next step for us. It is so easy to become legalistic or build binding doctrines around a truth that God revealed during a season of glory. That, however, can leave us open to not moving forward when it comes time for God to change the seasons in our lives. If we do not allow God to move us from glory to glory, we will get caught up in living in an old season. As the Holy Spirit moves us toward becoming more Christ-like, the methodology of an old season will not propel us into the future. We need something new and fresh. We need a new glory.

Praise and Worship Produce Glory

All throughout God's Word we see that God is enthroned in praise. We glorify Him through our worship. That is why praise and worship are essential to experiencing God's glory. Praise is that element of celebration that can transport us into the throne room of God. Once we are in the throne room at His feet, we need to worship and adore Him. As we worship Him in that intimate place, He begins to reveal His glory to us. God is looking for true worshipers who will worship in spirit and truth (John 4:24) and as He finds those worshipers, they are able to experience the reality of heaven, which is God's glory.

Glory and Inheritance

So what does glory have to do with inheritance? It is at the very core. We are joint heirs with Christ. Glory, therefore, is part of our inheritance. Romans 8:17-18 says, "And if children, then heirs-- heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." So how does the Holy Spirit take us through this process of possessing our inheritance by moving from glory to glory? Here are some ways:

It's "Dew" Time

Here is a dream I had that signifies the glory of God:

"For the seed shall be prosperous, the vine shall give its fruit, the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew—I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these" (Zech. 8:12).

Recently I had a dream in which I was walking in a thick, blue mist. I asked the Lord what the mist was. I felt the Lord spoke to me and said, "It is dew. You have entered a new season; it is 'dew' time." I knew that the color blue also signifies truth in the word of God, so I knew God was trying to release a revelation of truth for today. I then began to study dew and I believe the Lord revealed many correlations between the effects of dew on the earth, and how He desires to move us to our next manifestation of His glory.

1. Dew renews the face of the earth. During the night when dew falls on the earth, vegetation is nourished and grows. Without dew dryness and desolation can set in greatly inhibiting the growth process. The same is true of renewal in the Lord. We are being renewed day by day. This suggests a renovation, restoration, and transformation that is taking place in our hearts and lives. Titus 3:5 says, "According to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit." Just as dew regenerates and renews the earth, so the Holy Spirit regenerates and renews us.

The dew of renewal also brings a complete change of heart. The dew, though only a fine mist, is often enough to soften hard and otherwise barren ground. This is the same concept as the new wineskin, softened with oil. The Holy Spirit, God's restorative agent on this earth, can transform and renew through the quiet spiritual soaking of the dew of renewal. He needs only our cooperation, through an obedient and submissive relationship with Him, to soak us afresh with the dew of renewal.

2. Heavenly dew provides strength to move forward. Dew is released when all is still. It does not gather when there is heat or wind. When the temperature falls, the air comes to a point of rest, then the dew can begin to cover the earth. Rest occurs when we enter into the perfect will of God. If we will get still before the Lord, we will receive the revelation and strategy to move forward out of the hassles, anxieties, and warfare that have sapped our strength in the past season.

The opposite of stillness is haste. Haste leads to poverty and lost inheritance because we misunderstand or are not willing to wait for God's strategy for our next step forward. "But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." (Is. 40:31). Isaiah 30:15 says, "In quietness and confidence shall be your strength." As we get quiet and rest before the Lord, we are in a much better position to hear and understand the strategy of our next step. In the process, His dew of refreshing can fall on our lives and bring new levels of strength that will move us forward.

3. The dew of the Holy Spirit imparts overcoming power. The heavens shall drop dew . . . your enemies shall submit to you . . and you shall tread down their high places (Deut. 33:28, 29). By appropriating the power of God through the Holy Spirit (which in this passage is likened to dew), we have the authority to dethrone the enemy's plan to keep us from spiritual life and wholeness. High places in the Bible are often linked with places of sin and iniquity; places of idolatrous altars. We all have or have had high places in our lives filled with sin and iniquity, sometimes even passed down to us through the generations. The dew of the Lord, here used as a picture of washing us clean, gives us the power to tread down the high places and defeat old enemies living there. This overcoming power allows God to break our conformity to the standards of this world, and renew our minds. He is able to replace old deceptions that have caused us to fail in the past with a new belief system that will bring us to success!

4. The refreshing dew of the Lord uncovers new supply and provision. Therefore may God give you of the dew of heaven, of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine. . . Then Isaac his father answered and said to him: "Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above" (Gen. 27:28, 39). When Isaac blessed Jacob, he equated the dew of heaven to the material prosperity that Jacob would receive.

Like the rain, dew was regarded in biblical times as God's gift bringing good harvest and providing food. As the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, we find that God supplied their needs each night as the dew fell. Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its color like the color of bdellium. The people went about and gathered it, ground it on millstones or beat it in the mortar, cooked it in pans, and made cakes of it, and its taste was like the taste of pastry prepared with oil. And when the dew fell on the camp in the night, the manna fell on it (Num 11:7-9). Dew, therefore, came to symbolize supply and provision, new every morning. As we follow the Lord's leading, His dew will also rain down new supply and provision in our lives, just as it did for the children of Israel.

5. The favor of God is "like dew on the grass" (Prov. 19:12). Favor means pleasure, desire, delight, to be pleased with or favorable toward something. When God is pleased with us, His favor rests on us. Favor is very similar to grace and to glory. When we respond to the sovereign hand of God, He begins to drop down on us His favor. His favor can cause us to accomplish things on the earth and give us access to places that we did not previously have access to.

The opposite of favor is reproach, which means to find fault with, blame, criticize, disapprove of or discredit. As God's favor comes on us, He removes condemnation, judgementalism, failure, mistakes from the past—places where the enemy has brought reproaches into our lives. We exchange disapproval for favor.

God is raising up an obedient people that are responding to His heart. As we obey Him in faith (for without faith it is impossible to please God or allow His favor to come on us), we will begin to feel that favor dropping like dew from heaven.

6. Dew is not permanent. Dew falls during the night season when all is quiet and calm. As soon as the new morning breaks, however, the dew begins to evaporate. This is where dew ties back in to the process of moving from glory to glory. We cannot settle into all the dew brings and expect it to last beyond the time God would allow.

The children of Israel received just enough manna for one day at a time. The earth receives just enough dew to be refreshed for a short season. In the same way, we cannot allow ourselves to settle into our current state of glory. If we do, we will find that God begins to move in a new way, or interrupts us with a circumstance, problem, or even a vision that we can't control or engineer with our present understanding.

We need to move to our next place of glory. For that we must receive new revelation from God. If you are in a place of confusion, listen for the voice of God to receive the necessary instructions that will bring new order to your life and circumstances. Don't fear changes! His glory falls like dew.xxi

Observations on Visitation

As we pray and enter into communing with the Lord during the watches, and the watches begin to connect, His Presence begins to inhabit our territories. Then we will experience frequent visitations.

Over time certain truths about visitation have been impressed upon me. Look with me at five particular observations that might help us better understand the topic:

1. There is a time of visitation. In the New Testament there are two Greek words for time. One is chronos and the other is kairos. The word chronos refers to chronological time—days, weeks, months, years. Kairos refers to an appointed time or an opportune time. For instance when a woman is pregnant, she spends nine months of chronos time in pregnancy waiting for her child. But when she goes into labor the kairos time for the birth of her child has come. The Lord has appointed, or kairos, times He has set aside for visitation. When speaking prophetically to the city of Jerusalem, Jesus said, "For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation" (Luke 19:43-44, bold added).

In his book, Welcoming a Visitation of the Holy Spirit, Wesley Campbell says, "God visited Jerusalem many times. His voice came through His prophets. His glory came in kairos events such as the building of the temples. Finally, He came through His Son, Jesus Christ, who boldly stated: "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). However, after only three years of ministry, Jesus was forced to declare that enemies would raze the holy city of Jerusalem to the ground as judgment for not recognizing Him, even when He came in the flesh (see Luke 19:41-44). The prophesied judgement happened in A.D. 70 when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Roman invader, Titus."

Jerusalem missed her time of visitation and, consequently, could not even recognize the Lord when He stood in their midst. Likewise, if we do not perceive our times of visitation, how would we recognize the Lord if He were to stand in our midst? We must understand that the Lord desires to bring visitation to us and we must stand ready for our kairos time.

2. During times of visitation miraculous blessings come. By far the greatest visitation of God in history was the 33 years Jesus walked on earth. As Jesus moved among the people, tremendous blessings on an unprecedented scale fell on those with whom He came in contact. The blind received sight, the deaf heard, the lame walked, the dead were raised, sin was forgiven, bondages were broken, demoniacs were freed, and death, hell and the grave were soundly defeated.

As the Lord comes in contact with us today, why should we expect less? Miraculous blessings are a part of kairos times of visitation. They are something we should cry out to God for. Consider the story of blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52) who, as Jesus was passing by, cried out for Him. Those around tried to quiet him down, but Bartimaeus shouted louder. Jesus, hearing him cry out, called to Bartimaeus and asked him what he wanted Jesus to do for him. When Bartimaeus asked to receive his sight, Jesus said, "Go your way; your faith has made you well" (v. 52). Bartimaeus recognized the kairos time of Jesus' visitation. He also knew that if he did not cry out then, Jesus might not pass by again and the chance to be healed would be lost. Like blind Bartimaeus, we too must be ready for our visitation and willing to cry out to God for whatever miraculous blessings we are needing in our own lives.

3. Faithfulness and consistency produce surprise visitation. In Luke 1:13-15 we read the story of the priest Zacharias who was righteous and blameless in the sight of the Lord. He was a good man who followed God's commandments and fulfilled the duties of his priesthood faithfully. But he and his wife Elizabeth had no children. Apparently he had petitioned the Lord concerning their barrenness. One day, while performing his normal priestly duties, an angel of the Lord visited him, told him that his petition had been heard and that Elizabeth would bear a son whom they were to name John.

By no biblical indications were Zacharias or Elizabeth extraordinary people. But they were a man and woman of God who were found righteous in His sight. They were also faithful and consistent in the portion God had given them. It was in the consistent performance of Zacharias' duties that his kairos time of visitation came, and his prayer for a child was answered. No one can know when a time of visitation is coming. But our faithfulness in serving in the portion God has given us and crying out to God for those barren places in our lives can be a catalyst to visitation—when we least expect to hear from Him.

4. Visitation secures our inheritance. Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit (Job 10:12, KJV). In Hebrew the word preserved in this passage is shamar meaning to guard, keep safe, protect, watch over or care for. It is the same word used in Genesis 2:15 when Adam was called to tend and keep (shamar) the garden. It is also used when God commanded the people of God to guard over the covenant (see Gen. 17:9, Exod. 31:14, Deut. 28:9). In Job we see that God has granted life and favor, and that His visitation has preserved (shamared) Job's spirit. Every time the will of God comes from heaven to earth and God's glory is present, our destiny, our inheritance, our very spirit is guarded, protected, watched over—shamared by the Spirit of God through that visitation. How is that so? When visitation comes, God always releases some type of strategic information that thrusts us forward in His purposes. As we respond to His visitation and to the strategic information we receive, we possess a greater portion of our inheritance. Therefore, as God manifests Himself through visitation, He is shamaring His purposes for our lives, and securing our inheritance.

5. Visitation produces glory! When the true manifest presence of God visits us as humans, it cannot be done without His glory radiating from that presence. At times God does reveal His glory to man visibly, much as he did for me that night in Houston. Such a display of the presence of God is often seen as fire or dazzling light, perhaps as a cloud or mist, or sometimes as an act of His mighty power. But even if we do not visibly see manifestations of His glory, the visitation we experience leaves us with an impression of His glory burned into our hearts. It is, after all, the inward and hidden work in our hearts that produces the Christ-like attributes that move us from glory to glory.xxii

One of the greatest saints that ever lived was a man known as Brother Lawrence. Many of you have read the little book called Practicing the Presence of God. I just love how Brother Lawrence worshiped the Lord in the kitchen and wherever else he was. By finding your place in the watch you begin to experience God's presence in a new way. Here is an excerpt from The New Mystics by John Crowder on Brother Lawrence:

Brother Lawrence (1605-1691) held as his lifelong endeavor the practice of the presence of God. People traveled from miles around just to come watch this humble monk wash dishes, because he was so saturated with the substance of God. His was the most simple, yet profound type of walk a person can have. I believe there is no greater purpose a man can hope to attain. Lawrence composed the best rule ever written for holy life, and it is simply this:

"I wouldn't even lift a straw from the ground against His order or for any other motive than love for Him. Pure love of Him is all that keeps me going," he said. He gave up all his other forms of prayer besides intercession, in order to focus all his attention on the presence of God. This experience of God's unceasing presence filled him with such uncontrollable joy, that it compelled him to sometimes do childish things to try and contain it. "My prayers consist of a simple continuation of this exercise (of practicing God's presence). … If I am deceiving myself, the Lord will have to remedy it. I want Him to do whatever He pleases with me; all I want is to be completely His," he said.

Lawrence said it is key to recognize that God is always intimately present with us. He renounced everything that did not lead him closer to God. But Lawrence said we are not so much to change our activities, as we are to begin doing them for God instead of ourselves. To Lawrence, life became a prayer. He says it is wrong to think of our prayer time as different from any other. All the actions of our daily activities should unite us with God's presence as much as our prayer time does. This set him aside from many others, in that his natural life of service was directly linked with his inner life.

This practice is to become a pleasurable habit we do without thinking. He said that we should not become discouraged when we fail at this initially. Our attitude should be so focused on faith, hope and love that we are not concerned with our own shortcomings. "Although the habit is difficult to form, it is a source of divine pleasure once it is learned," he said.

Lawrence embodied perhaps the purest form of Christian mysticism, but there were many forms of contemplation. During the spiritual renewal of the past decade, we have used the broad term "soaking prayer" to describe various methods of contemplation. Simply speaking, contemplation is that form of prayer in which the mind and soul become stilled, in order for the Holy Spirit to come upon us and bring us into new levels of transcendent intimacy and holiness.xxiii

Let our Lord begin the process of reordering your day, calling you to watch with Him, giving you a desire to become His delight, and moving you from your present GLORY realm to the next level of demonstration of His power.

Chapter 7: Praying for the Peace of Jerusalem

I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go into the house of the LORD." Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem! Jerusalem is built as a city that is compact together, where the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, to the Testimony of Israel, to give thanks to the name of the LORD. For thrones are set there for judgment, the thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls, prosperity within your palaces."For the sake of my brethren and companions, I will now say, "Peace be within you." Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek your good. - Psalm 122 (NKJV)

The Lord commands us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. I believe this is part of understanding God's sovereignty. If we do not pray for His land and people, then we will not understand God's covenant plan for our own life. We are grafted into God's covenant with Abraham. Jesus, of course, fulfilled that covenant and made a way for us to be an inheritor of God's plan of fullness.

We are progressing toward times of fullness. This is a time when God is fulfilling His plan for the Gentiles. The restoration of the Tabernacle of David is linked with God's ultimate plan of reaching the nations of the world. The Gentiles are called to make the Jews jealous over the reality of Messiah. Israel's land is important. Don Finto, in his book, God's Promise and the Future of Israel, shares the following:

Today we stand at another intersection of promise and timing. Within the past 60 years, two historical events have brought about the fulfillment of biblical promises and have changed the course of the nations.

The birth of the State of Israel in May 1948, resulting from the United Nation's vote in November 1947, was God's announcement to a watching world that major world shifts were about to take place—that the time of Messiah's return is near. Israel is back. Promise and timing have intersected in our day.

The recapture of Jerusalem by the nation of Israel during the Six-Day War in June 1967 was God's exclamation point that His plans were on schedule. King David's capital city is back in Israel's possession, just as Jesus Himself foretold (see Luke 21:24).

These two events have triggered three other phenomena that are having an impact on the world with exponential force.

Hundreds of thousands of Jewish people have opened their hearts to believe that Yeshua (Jesus) is indeed the Messiah of Israel, just as Isaiah, Hosea, Ezekiel, and others predicted. Not since the first century, when the original Church was totally Jewish, have so many Jewish people begun to believe that Jesus is the long-awaited, prophecy-foretold Messiah of Israel.

An expansion of faith in this Jewish Messiah is reaching around the world to shake the nations that have long known nothing of the world's Redeemer— exactly as Paul foresaw when writing to the Romans, just as the prophet Ezekiel had predicted, and just as prophecy students have come to believe in the past 400 years or more.

The Church throughout the world is becoming aware of her own Jewish heritage and her "grafted-in-ness" to the family of Israel, and is becoming united as the "one new man" of which Paul spoke in Ephesians 2:15. Sadly, the Church has not been kind to the Jewish people through the centuries. All that is changing in our day, as fresh revelation about the Jewish roots of our faith reaches the ends of the earth and as the Church grows in her desire to affirm and bless the people of the Land.xxiv

We are connected with Succat Hallel in Jerusalem. They have 24-hour, 7-days-a-week corporate worship and intercession patterned after the Tabernacle of David. They are actually within walking distance of the Tabernacle's original location in Jerusalem. This ministry has been leading a night watch for over two years and has really matured in understanding the watch. You will enjoy reading this report from Lindy Heidler, who coordinates the night watch. Martin and Norma Sarvis, who also serve as watch leaders and provide our Prayer Updates from Israel, also share some of their insights on the watches.

Night Watch: A Report by Lindy Heidler

In February of 2004, I was part of a group working with a ministry called Succat Hallel that started a night watch in Jerusalem. For the past two years, there has been a group of us in Jerusalem who meet from midnight to 6 AM to pray and worship. There is usually a group of between three and six of us who have committed to doing this full time. It's a little like working the graveyard shift—we pray all night and sleep all day. There are some great things about it and some harder things. Because it is the middle of the night, we can be totally focused on what we are doing. There are fewer distractions than during the day. But it is also a time when we are physically weaker. It makes us so much more dependant on the Holy Spirit! If He is not there, then the sacrifice of the night watch is not worthwhile. We have to hear His voice. At the same time, because of the sacrifice, there is a special way that the Holy Spirit often meets with us. It's a unique lifestyle, but I am so thankful to be called to it for a season.

When we began, there were several things we saw in the Word that spoke to us about what we were to do during the night in Jerusalem. Ps. 134:1-2 says, "Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who minister by night in the house of the Lord. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord" (NIV). Ministering to the Lord, blessing Him, and worshipping Him are our greatest desires. My heart is that there would always be praise waiting for the Lord, especially in Zion, the city that He has desired to dwell in, but also a city with a multitude of false worship. We are called to build an altar of true worship, to the only true and living God.

The second thing we saw in the Word was that we were to be a place of intercession. Isaiah 62:6-7 says, "I have posted watchmen on our walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the Lord, give yourself no rest, and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her a praise of the earth" (NIV). The night is a time when the Lord longs to reveal what is on His heart and have a people that will cry out for it.

When Solomon sought the Lord at night, God spoke to him. He said Solomon could ask whatever he wanted and it would be granted. I truly believe that when we make the sacrifice to seek God at night, we have a different authority in what we ask for and declare. Just as when Solomon sought the Lord and had his request granted, we can also receive that for which we seek.

When we began the night watch, the Lord spoke to us out of 1 Sam 3:1-10: "Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD before Eli. And word from the LORD was rare in those days, visions were infrequent. It happened at that time as Eli was lying down in his place (now his eyesight had begun to grow dim and he could not see well), and the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD where the ark of God was, that the LORD called Samuel; and he said, 'Here I am.' Then he ran to Eli and said, 'Here I am, for you called me.' But he said, 'I did not call, lie down again.' So he went and lay down. The LORD called yet again, 'Samuel!' So Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, 'Here I am, for you called me.' But he answered, 'I did not call, my son, lie down again.' Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, nor had the word of the LORD yet been revealed to him. So the LORD called Samuel again for the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, 'Here I am, for you called me.' Then Eli discerned that the LORD was calling the boy. And Eli said to Samuel, 'Go lie down, and it shall be if He calls you, that you shall say, Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.' So Samuel went and lay down in his place. Then the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, 'Samuel! Samuel!' And Samuel said, 'Speak, for your servant is listening'" (NASU).

In a time when the word of the Lord was rare, God chose to speak to Samuel at night. It was a time of prophetic release and breakthrough. The silence Israel had endured was shattered and the voice of God broke into Samuel as he rested near the Ark of the Lord. When we position ourselves in the presence of God in the night season, He can open up our ears to hear Him in a new way.

The night is also a time when God longs to reveal the deep and secret things—to show that which lies in darkness. "He reveals deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him" (Dan 2:22, NIV). The night is a time when there is more occult activity. One of the characteristics of the occult is that it seeks to stay hidden. This is much easier to do in the night, so God longs to raise up a people who will shine out His light to reveal the hidden things, to remove their covering. "For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open" (Luke 8:17, NIV).

As we enter into the last half of the night and begin to see the dawning of the new day, we also stand in the gate of a new season. Job 38:12-13 says, "Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place, that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it?" (NIV). As we allow the Lord to position us at the dawn, there is an authority we have to take hold of the day and shake the wicked out of it. We are called to rule in the gates. Many of us have seen how to do this territorially, but we can also do this with the gates of time. We can stand in the gate of the new day and declare over our sphere of authority what has the right to occur. When we began the night watch in Jerusalem in February of 2004, the second intifata in Israel was in full force. Almost once a month there would be some sort of terrorist attack in Jerusalem. About two weeks after we started, there was a bus bombing in Jerusalem; that, however, was the last terrorist attack in Jerusalem to date (May, 2006). As we have taken our place on the wall, I believe God has used us to establish a boundary around Jerusalem.

As we have walked through the night hours with the Lord over the past years, there have been several strategies we have felt the Lord has given us to be those who cry out before Him day and night.

The Power of Unity

One of the things we felt when we started the night watch in Jerusalem was that it needed to be a corporate watch. While the Lord can meet us in wonderful ways by ourselves, there is a different authority that comes when two or three are gathered. However, this also means that there are more issues with which you have to deal. We saw individually and corporately that we needed to leave behind our personal issues when we came together at night. Whether we had a good day or a bad day, felt happy or sad, tired or energized, we needed to move past it and focus on the Lord together. One of the things that I love during the night watch is the fact that we are in close relationship with each other, which makes coming into a place of unity much easier.

The power that comes when we meet together and leave behind our personal differences as we come to the Lord was powerfully demonstrated one night in 2004. Our team was leading prayer from 2-4 AM for Tom Hess's All Nation's Convocation. Tom asked different nations to pray during specific hours of the day. The 2-4 AM time period was focused on countries from Africa. We had an Egyptian friend, Margo, whom we asked to come one night as we planned to spend time praying for Egypt. We came in and explained what we wanted to do and began to worship, but it was very hard to focus on the Lord and come into His presence. When we tried to pray for Egypt, it was like we were hitting a brick wall. This surprised us because we had been with this group for several nights and knew that they knew how to worship and pray. At first we thought people were just tired and that we would just press through, however, there came a point when we realized that we just were not coming into the presence of the Lord. As we looked around we saw small groups of the African women towards the back of the room talking or praying with each other, but not engaged with what was going on in the group as a whole. We began to ask them, "Is there something the matter?" and they began to share with us some of the history between Egypt and their countries. They explained that the Nile River flows into Egypt from several other African nations, but Egypt controls the water rights for all of the Nile and its tributaries and refuses to let other nations use the river. Even though their countries were in drought and people were starving, they could not use the major water source in their country. They shared several examples like this of Egypt making decisions that oppressed and harmed the people in their countries. They said, "We cannot pray for God to bless Egypt," and we understood why.

Our friend, Margo, was very grieved by this. She was born in Egypt, but her family moved away when she was 3, so she did not know much of the history of her country and its relationship with the rest of Africa. She asked the people in the room if they would stand in groups by country; she went from cluster to cluster, washing the feet of each person, asking forgiveness on behalf of Egypt for the ways it had oppressed and harmed that nation. Everyone was in tears.

When she finished with the last group, one of the women said, "Now we will pray for you!" They washed Margo's feet and launched into a powerful time of intercession, asking that Egypt would be a place where springs of living water would flow and reach into other African nations. It was wonderful!

At the end of intercession, we looked outside: in the middle of Jerusalem's desert climate, the room we were in was surrounded with fog. We opened the windows and it flooded into the room. All of a sudden, someone exclaimed, "It's Ps. 133, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity! ... It is like the dew of Hermon coming down upon the mountains of Zion" (NASU). As we stood in the hills of Zion and dealt with offenses and wounds and came into a place of unity, we saw dew fall in the night.

Over and over again, we have seen how much harder it is to come into the presence, gain His heart, and release it when we are not in a place of unity. At a night watch, one of our first priorities is to come into a place where we can function as the body of Christ, each one in our gifting, without competition or comparison.

The Power of Praise

One of my favorite verses about the night watch is Ps. 134, "Come and bless the Lord all you servants of the Lord who stand by night in the house of the Lord" (NIV). When we come at night, one of the things we can be sure of is that God wants us to praise Him. As we pray in the night, our heart is also to pray with the heart of the Lord, which means we need to be in His presence and hear His voice. When we look in the Word at places where people are caught up into the Throne Room, there is always an atmosphere of worship. Isaiah sees the Seraphs crying out, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is filled with his glory" (Is. 6:3, NIV). Throughout the book of Revelation, as John sees into heaven, he sees angels, elders, creatures, and thousands and thousands around the throne singing new songs of worship.

Job 38 also talks about the morning stars singing together and the angels shouting for joy. As we move into the second half of the night, the morning stars begin to come out. We can not only join with the angels around the throne, we can join with all creation in praising the One who created all and is over all!

As we seek to enter into the presence of the Lord and to see His kingdom come into the earth, one of the first things we experience is the atmosphere of worship that exists in heaven established in our midst. This looks many different ways. Some nights we are loud and joyful and others we are quiet and reverent. Some nights we exalt God as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, some nights we proclaim His holiness, and others we rest in His love. The list is endless, and as we come each night and begin in praise and adoration, we see aspects of God that propel us into deeper levels of worship. It is a cycle of glory to glory.

In the fall of 2004, Succat Hallel, the ministry I work with in Jerusalem, rented a new facility to use for prayer and worship. This room had been a disco and physically was very dark—the walls painted black and red. The physical mirrored the spiritual, and as you walked into the building there was something that made one's skin crawl. Through the month of November, as the building was renovated during the day, we would come in the night to ask the Lord to bring a spiritual restoration, as well. As we went through the month, there were several strategies we felt the Lord gave us to see the atmosphere of that place changed, but one of the main ones was worship. In addition to starting in worship every night, there were some nights we felt like our strategy for cleansing was to worship. The Word says that God inhabits the praises of His people, and as we worshiped in the building, our prayer was that it would become a place where the Holy Spirit would rest and be at home.

Praise was also an important strategy for us in the fall of 2005. While Israel is thought of as a Jewish State, there is also a very large Islamic population, so we are very aware of what is going on in the Islamic world. In 2005, the month-long Islamic holiday called Ramadan fell in October. This holiday is a time when Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. It is a time when the demonic forces that control Islam are empowered by false worship. It is often a time when oppression increases both spiritually and physically. As we approached Ramadan in 2005, we asked the Lord what His strategy for victory was in that time. He spoke to us out of Is. 59:19, that when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord raises up a standard against him. We felt that one of the things we needed to do in this time was to see a standard of true worship lifted up. We entered into a time of wild, exuberant, "violent" praise. As we stayed in a place of worship and focused on the King of Glory, we saw that we were not coming under the same oppression that people had described in past years. It kept us in a place of victory and joy instead of fear.

The Power of the Word

As we enter into the presence of the Lord through worship, we are also asking to hear His voice, to know how to pray, and what to declare. As we come to the Lord with a specific situation on our hearts to pray for, one of the most common ways the Lord will speak to me is through the Bible. As we worship, I begin to hear a phrase or verse in my spirit and I know this is the word to proclaim over the situation on our heart. In the fall of 2004, as we were cleansing our new building, the word was one of the weapons the Lord gave us. One night as we came in, we felt we should go into one specific room and read Psalms 119 aloud. In doing this, we were choosing to agree with the truth: that the law of the Lord is our delight, it is our light, and it is sweet to us. This was in direct opposition to the spirit of rebellion that had resided in the building that said the purpose of the law is to stifle and oppress. By confronting the lie with the truth of the word, its power was broken, and the Spirit of God was given place.

God also longs for us to hear His prophetic word, which may not be a verse found in scripture, but is the heart of the Lord for the situation. One night we were praying for a conference that was being held in Jerusalem. As we prayed, one of the young men on our team had a vision of a ship going through a series of locks, and that to get to the next place, the water level needed to rise. We knew from this that we needed to pray for an increase in the level of the Spirit so the conference could break through into all it was supposed to be. What this young man did not know was that in preparing for the conference the Lord had been speaking through a vision of a ship stuck in a bay, and the tide coming in to carry it out to sea. When we shared his vision of the ship in the canal going through the locks it was very encouraging to the conference organizers, because we could all see how the Lord was speaking consistently not just that the level of the Spirit needed to rise, but even using the same metaphor of a ship in the water.

The Power of Prophetic Acts

As we hear the word of the Lord, many times He asks us to make a faith, or prophetic, action to demonstrate what He is saying. As we look in the Word, we see that God asked many of the prophets to do this, including Jeremiah buying a field, Ezekiel laying on his side, and Naaman dipping seven times in the Jordan River. These actions can breathe new life into our prayers.

Sometimes the prophetic acts we make are very familiar to us. One night we came in and the presence of God was so strong we could do nothing but sit. As the night progressed, we felt that the Lord was saying He was drawing us under His hoopa, to His banqueting table. We felt that we needed to respond not just in our spirits, but by taking action. We set up a hoopa in the middle of the room with communion. As the night wore on, we would go individually under the hoopa to feast with the Lord. It was one of the most powerful times of experiencing the love of God in which I have ever participated.

As we were praying through our new building, there were also prophetic acts we needed to do. In Ezekiel 36:25, God says, "I will sprinkle clean water on you and you will be clean" (NIV). As we were praying about the defilement in that place, and because of all of the sin that had occurred there, we felt we should sprinkle it with water as an act of cleansing. Several nights, as we prayed through different parts of the building, we brought bottles of water and would sprinkle (or flood) the floor, asking for the iniquities that had occurred in the place to be cleansed, and that it would be set apart as holy. As we would pray through different parts of the building, worshipping, proclaiming the truth of God's Word, and doing prophetic acts, people began to come to us and say that the building felt much better to be in, and often would say the areas we had been focusing on were the places they felt the biggest change.

Sometimes our prophetic acts are a strategy in intercession. In the first few months that we did the night watch, Rick Ridings, the founder of Succat Hallel, released a prophetic word saying that the Lord wanted to remove the occult covering over Islamic leaders. We felt specifically that this was an assignment in prayer that we needed to cover in the night, since it is a time of heightened occult activity. One night as we prayed about it, we were focusing specifically on Osama bin Laden. We laid out a map of Afghanistan and began to declare that the Lord was searching for him. We rang bells and blew shofars over the map saying that God was sounding the alarm, looking for him. We turned out all the lights and turned on a flashlight, shining it over specific areas of Afghanistan, declaring that the light of God would be like a searchlight searching him out. The next morning, the headlines on CNN were that the US was launching a new search for Osama bin Laden. It was wonderful to see in the natural a response to what we were declaring in the Spirit.

Sometimes the prophetic acts would take us out of our prayer room and into the world. One of the holidays celebrated in Israel is Purim. Purim is rooted in the story of Esther and God's deliverance of His people. One of the traditional things done during this holiday is for groups of people to dress up and put on small plays acting out the story of Esther. However, over the generations, this has degenerated so that today in Israel Purim often resembles a mix between Halloween and Mardi Gras. One year on the night of Purim, as we were praying, we really felt the grief of the Lord and His anger over the sin that was occurring that night. We felt that because of the sin that was not just allowed, but exalted, that night, there was an opening in the wall of protection around the city. We felt the Lord speaking to us that He was looking for someone to stand in the gap that night. As we prayed about this, we felt we needed to respond to what the Lord was saying with physical action and that we should go to a place in the city where many kids would congregate and wave white flags asking for the holiness of the Lord to be established in Jerusalem. It was intimidating at first, but as we went we knew that we were answering the call of God.

The Power of Sound

As we seek to see the Kingdom of God established on the Earth, a powerful tool is sound. Throughout scripture, when people encounter God, they describe the sound that accompanies it—a mighty rushing wind on the day of Pentecost, the sound of many waters, a still small voice. As we declare the Word of God over situations, many times we can use not only words but shouts of deliverance—Ps. 34. When Paul and Silas were in prison, as they praised in the night, the Lord worked deliverance and freedom for them. God loves to release a sound in the night that will break things open and set people free.

One of the things we have seen in the night is that God loves to break us out of our boxes. He loves to take our formulas for how things should work and throw them out the window. There are several ways I normally think of the sound of heaven being released—someone singing a prophetic song, or an instrument prophesying, or even the sound of travail and groaning. In the fall of 2005, we saw this demonstrated in a very different way. One week towards the end of October, we had three teams from different places that came to participate with us in the night watch. Towards the end of the time the first team was leading, they asked if they could pray for God to refresh those of us who were normally there. As they prayed, the Holy Spirit came, and we all ended up on the floor laughing. It was a wonderful time of joy and renewal, and after the team left we all just stayed in a place of resting before the Lord. About an hour after the team left, one of the other full time night watch girls and I started laughing again, but this time it was different. There was not just a refreshing, but a power in it. After we calmed down, we both said, "I think that was a sound of deliverance!" It reminded us of Ps. 2:4, "He who sits in the heavens laughs" (NASU). We both felt that we had released the sound of the Lord laughing in victory over his enemies.

The next night we had a team that came that was fairly structured. The guitar player had a military school background, to give you an idea of where they were coming from. Towards the end of the night, one of the singers got a flag and started to walk around the room and wave it. As she walked close to the guitar player, he suddenly collapsed on the floor in laughter. He would try to get up, but would fall back down, laughing. This went on for about twenty minutes. When he finally composed himself, he said, "That reminded me of the verse in Psalm 2 where the Lord laughs in triumph over his enemies." It launched us into a long period of intercession where we sang and danced and declared the victory of the Lord over Jerusalem.

Two nights later, a third group was there and the same thing happened! A woman went up to the microphone to pray, stepped back when she finished, and fell on the floor laughing. We had not shared anything about what had gone on the previous nights, so we really felt that God was confirming His Word.

The Power of Stillness

Sometimes we are called to release what God is saying through sound, but sometimes there is nothing we need to say at all. We know as we come in each night that what we need most of all is be in the presence of the Lord and follow Him, with no preset idea or pattern.

In the fall of 2004, Chuck released a prophetic word that we needed to take 7 days of stillness to hear the Lord. As a night watch, we felt we should do this as a part of preparation for Ramadan that year. We took the week before Ramadan and did a corporate fast of silence. One of the key passages the Lord was speaking to us was in Psalm 46, to be still and know that He is God. We pulled back from our normal routine to seek the Lord. We would still meet together every night from 12-6, but we would not pray aloud. It was a wonderful experience to hear the Lord in a new way. At the end of the week, when we shared what the Lord had been speaking to us during the week, we all had very similar things.

One key passage the Lord spoke to us as we prepared for the fast was in Joshua when the children of Israel assaulted Jericho. They also had 7 days of stillness. In preparation for Ramadan, we felt that part of our fast of stillness was to do a Jericho walk around the Temple Mount. For the first six days of the fast, we would pack up and drive to the Temple Mount at 4 AM and walk around it one time. The last day we went around 2 AM and walked around it 7 times. When we first talked about doing this I was a little uncertain how it would be, but it was one of the most powerful experiences of my life. In Is. 30 there is a verse that says, "Stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel." In walking around the Temple Mount, I felt that was what we were doing. We were confronting the powers and principalities that rule over the Temple Mount, who were preparing to go on the offensive during Ramadan, with the Holy Spirit that lives in us. Without saying a word, we could let the Holy Spirit testify to the truth.

Many times Ramadan is a time when the power of Islam is advanced, but that year several Christian ministries in Jerusalem, including Succat Hallel, made major advances and rented or purchased their own buildings.

Participating in the night watch has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. God meets us in so many different ways as we seek Him at night.

Insights on the Watches – from Norma Sarvis

What we are watching for here in Jerusalem…

Because we live in a place that God so has His stamp upon, we are always praying and worshipping over His Word … that He will perform it here and that He will remove the obstacles here so that His Kingdom can come to His Land in His timing.

After being part of the watch of the Lord for six years, I have learned these things:

Practice helps. The more you stand in the watch of the Lord, the easier it is to hear, to see, and to know His heart during your watch time. There is a sense of expectation from the start because of the 'history' of watching.

Habbakuk says 'stand' your watch. The position of being in a watch is one of 'STANDING,' alertness, ability to move about from one place to another. It is important to be both alert and mobile during the time of a watch. God is 'on the move' and we need to be available to flow with Him, even if it is just inside of a room.

Sometimes, watching is led by a 'sound,' sometimes it is led by a 'song,' sometimes by a Scripture, sometimes by an event in the news, sometimes by something visual. It is often an issue of the 'senses.' Pray that the Lord will sanctify your sense passages so that you will know how He is speaking at any given time.

I find that the main focus of a watch is found this way: the Word and an event in time intersect. That's it! That is the target. It is like the scope on a gun. The point of the vertical Word and the horizontal time intersect (whether it is a sound, an event, a song). That point is the starting point of the watch.

I have learned to enter the watch in humility. There are those there who I may not naturally flow with, but the Lord can use them in a watch—with a word or a prayer or a song. Without humility, I can miss something huge.

I have also learned that we must 'guard the sacrifice' and not just let anyone share. If we sense a spirit at work that is not of the Lord, then that has to be silenced or dealt with in a loving way. The ravens always try to steal the sacrifice, so it is important to guard it.

We always pray for discernment before we enter a watch... and for the Lord to send the right people while keeping the wrong ones away. Our alertness needs to include a discerning heart.

We need to enter the watch with a heart of love. If we wound our brother while ministering to the Lord, then what have we done for Him?

Insights on the Watches – from Martin Sarvis

"I will stand my watch and set myself on the rampart, and watch to see what He will say to me, and I will answer when I am corrected" (Hab. 2:1, NKJV).

Outside the Worship Room at Succat Hallel, we have a literal "rampart" looking out over the Ben Hinnom Valley. I find this important because when standing my watch, not only am I guarding the territory against evil, but also am on the alert to "see what He will say to me." It's interesting that the word here is "see" rather than "hear" (cff: Eph 1:18; Rev 3:18b). One of the invaluable things the Father does for those "on the watch" is that He is constantly adjusting or correcting our sensitivities. An example might be the rangefinder on a military artillery piece, say on a tank. He must constantly readjust the sights as the tank lumbers along over rough terrain. In astronomy, a special motor on the telescope keeps it moving a certain way to account for the turning of the earth while the viewer is constantly adjusted to focus on the star. So the Holy Spirit is not rebuking us in this passage in the sense of reproach, but rather correcting in order to bring our spiritual sensitivities into even sharper focus.

This brings us to the fourth "watch" in this passage (after the watch for the Spirit's moving in worship and praise and counsel, the rampart watch against evil from the outside, and the Spirit's corrections, adjustments, focusing). This fourth watch is keeping a weather eye out on my own flesh—"what I will answer" when corrected. The flesh will either presumptuously ignore correction of any kind, thinking it couldn't be wrong, or it will react in irritation. The spirit-man will know that all correction in this is not only from the Master Navigator, but from the very creator of the "instrument" itself!

The "correction" can come from within, or it might come from someone on the outside. Musicians are especially susceptible to blowing it with the "fourth" watch, because the connections between their music and their emotions are extremely sensitive. Until they have been freed from finding their identity in their music and "performance," a call for adjustment to what they're playing in their watch can knock them out of focus (and thus, off of their rampart) through wounding or reaction. Or it can at least cause them to miss the timing of the crucial "correction" the Holy Spirit was trying to release.

NOTE: Always pray for the peace of Jerusalem and embrace God's call to His covenant land of Israel.

Appendix I Guidelines for Establishing a Prayer Watch

By Chuck D. Pierce and Linda Heidler

What do you do in a prayer watch? Not all watches are the same. There is a difference in praying by yourself in a watch versus praying in a corporate prayer watch. The following guidelines could apply to either watch.

Be sure the place that you are going to is conducive for seeking the Lord. If at home, this would need to be a place you are comfortable in and one where you will not get disturbed or distracted.

Corporately, you should arrange the setting according to the number of people. For instance, some of our watches have 100 people and we set up chairs in a circle in the sanctuary. Other watches may have 10 people which would work in a different room. Whatever room is used should be large enough so people can get up and walk around. A carpeted location can allow people to "lay" before the Lord more easily than non-carpeted settings.

Sometimes it is necessary to record the revelation that the Lord is bringing forth in the corporate meeting. Therefore, you want to have proper microphones or tape recorders available. If you have a large crowd you need sufficient amplification so people can hear what is being prayed. The larger the crowd, the more attention to sound requirements you will need. Wireless microphones work much better in a large crowd.

We suggest you have one or two people designated as scribes. Not only can these people take pertinent notes during the meeting (a summary is usually better than a compilation of all the prayers that go forth during a meeting), but later they can also serve to transcribe a taped recording of the meeting using their notes to guide them to key portions of the prayer watch. Two good books to assist you in processing revelation are When God Speaks and God's Now Time for Your Life.

In your personal watch you always want to have your Bible with you so the Lord can interact with you through the Word. You will also want a notebook to record any impressions you receive.

We use several people as prophetic filters. Though we want prayer to be as free as possible, we want to be sure prophetic words and other revelation is being released properly with the overall mood of the prayer meeting.

We suggest that you have music available. In corporate prayer meetings we have worship leaders. In the 24/7 movement from Kansas City, worship is a very large component of the prayer meeting. In many of the prophetic prayer meetings that I lead the worship is spontaneous as well as interactive with the revelatory word. When the word is coming forth we usually end up singing that word.

We suggest that you have CDs available to help you move into worship. The night watch in Israel is one of the best examples of this. They actually program their worship CDs based on what they are attempting to accomplish. They get a prophetic focus and then prepare music to help them accomplish what they are hearing from the Lord. When using a live worship band we suggest that they have music prepared to begin the prayer meeting before the spontaneous flow starts.

If people pray then they need to pray in a way that they can be heard. Prayers should be brief and not religious.

Many times the leader will have a focus before the group is assembled. This is very appropriate for a WATCH. At times a watch is different than a prayer meeting since there is something that you are actually watching for.

Do not allow religious spirits to press you into staying a fixed time (i.e. the entire three hours of a 3-hour watch). If you feel like you have accomplished what you need to in an hour and a half, begin to praise God and then go home.

Timing is very important in the release of revelation. Be willing to train the people that are praying with you in the aspect of releasing their declarations in a timed manner. As you mature in your corporate praying, you will begin to sense the right timing for the release of revelation.

Be very aware of the mood of Holy Spirit. If He is in a joyful mood, do not just be sad or quiet because your emotions feel

that way. Rather, submit to and be sensitive to the mood of Holy Spirit. The leader should remain very focused but also be very aware if Holy Spirit changes the focus. Holy Spirit is the administrator of the prayer meeting.

Get to know those who are praying with you. The Bible says to know those who labor among you.

If you are a leader, do not let a religious pattern form. Be careful of ritual methods of prayer.

Watch the group you are praying with and see how to activate their gifts. In other words, if you see someone who never prays out loud, find the right time to initiate them into praying out loud.

Prayer is a dialogue in the midst of a worshipful setting. Part of worship is giving. Allow giving to break loose in the midst of your prayer meetings. Be willing to use certain individuals as a prayer focus for giving.

Personal prayer watches do not need to be inside, but can also be outdoors. Prayer walking is important. I would suggest you use wisdom in this if it's during the night watches. The Lord always sent His people out two by two. In today's society it may not be wise to walk in the night watches.

Find a way to release new anointings in corporate prayer. In other words, you may have a new oil that you may want to anoint each person with as a symbol of what God is doing in the Body.

In both corporate and personal watches you may want to have implements of praise such as flags, tambourines, etc.

In a corporate meeting there will be certain people who are more anointed than others to do specific things. The leader should be very aware of the anointings that are within the people at the meeting. The leader would not normally have a person who is quiet and introspective make a bold prophetic decree. I have seen this cause the anointing to diminish.

If someone does something contrary to the direction and flow of Holy Spirit in the corporate meeting, the leader should find a way to redirect the watch back on course. As a leader, be careful about falling into the snare of public correction. You can always privately disciple and correct people.

Prophetic acts are very key to demonstrating what God is doing in Heaven. Usually these are planned before time so you have the right supplies with you. Even in your own personal time prophetic acts are appropriate.

Ministry will sometimes break loose in the midst of a corporate prayer meeting. If that is what Holy Spirit is doing, then go with it! Remember, you are connecting heaven with earth. At times it is very important to discuss what you are attempting to accomplish.

If the Spirit of the Lord is dealing with personal issues, then it's appropriate for people to bring personal requests. However, you should direct those personal requests back into a place of corporate release where the whole Body is being focused around that request. When one suffers, we all suffer; when one glories, we all glory. Personal testimonies are appropriate as well. Remember, the testimony is the spirit of prophecy.

The following section on individual and corporate intercession is from Linda Heidler. Linda serves as the Minister of Healing and Deliverance for Glory of Zion International. She is also an Eagle of God, and wife of Robert Heidler. (Additionally, there are wonderful examples and suggestions on leading prayer watches in the following appendix, States that Have Implemented Watches.)

Individual Intercession

By definition it is between you and God. This is the place where you learn to hear and respond to the voice of God. This is the foundation of intercession whether it is individual or corporate. Your strength and effectiveness in corporate intercession will not exceed your strength in individual intercession.

It will often begin with a burden in your heart for prayer. As you begin to express your heart to Him in prayer, He will express His heart back to you and move you into intercession.

It is related to your individual call and ministry assignment. God will call you to personally stand in the gap for a season. He will release you when this season is over or He has accomplished what was in His heart. This may not be a corporate call to intercession.

You are totally free to express yourself in any way. You can dance, shout, weep or sit in total stillness without having to fit in with anyone else.

You are free before the Lord to set the time and length of your intercession. There is a great deal of personal freedom in this type of intercession. You may shut yourself away with the Lord for a morning, a day or 40 days.

There is often a free flow between prayer ( the desires, burdens and emotions of your heart) and intercession ( the desires, burdens and emotions of God's heart).You may find yourself praying and pouring out your emotions to God, then rising up releasing the prophetic declaration of God, then breaking into worship. There will be a flow, but it may not all be intercession.

Corporate Intercession

1. You are part of a group coming together. The dynamics change in corporate intercession. There must be a corporate mentality that recognizes that God will speak to and through the group. There must be a leader. If there is not a leader, you tend to end up with individuals interceding with their own revelation. If there is no leader, there will be confusion. I've heard it said that any "body" without a "head" is a monster. A group without a leader is like a chicken with its head cut off! There may be a lot of action, but no vision or direction and in the end nothing is accomplished. It is also true that any "body" with more than one "head" is a monster. I have also been in meetings where there were several conflicting visions. There was so much competition for leadership that nothing was accomplished. I don't know which is worse. On the other hand, a head without a functioning body is very limited in what it can do. Think of a quadriplegic that is very bright, but unable to accomplish his vision. It takes both the leader and the group working together to accomplish what is in the heart of God. A corporate mentality is essential.

The leader will set the direction. The leader is responsible to seek the Lord beforehand to know the direction God wants to take. This is the first responsibility of the leader. The second responsibility is to administrate the flow of the Holy Spirit. This does not mean to control or dominate the meeting, but to point the way to the goal, establish boundaries and start the group moving in that direction. The leader will recognize the anointing on someone and bring it out. The leader will also recognize when things get off track and make the necessary course corrections. It is sort of like taking a road trip. The leader may have the map and set the direction, but not necessarily do all the driving. However, he will stay alert in case someone takes a wrong turn.

The members of the group will have a part to play in the meeting. Corporate intercession is not a spectator event. It is a place to observe, learn, and participate. In corporate intercession, different ones will have a piece of the whole revelation that God is bringing. A good leader will see how to fit all the pieces together.

There is a sensitivity to the flow of the Holy Spirit within the group. There must be an awareness of the corporate moving of the Holy Spirit. As different ones share what the Lord is speaking to them, clarity begins to develop. This is not just each person saying what they think, but each contributing to a unified direction and focus. There should be a sense of timing in which you see one thing lead to another so that revelation increases. When a group really begins to flow together, there is a rhythm of revelation and intercession that builds until you know that you have breakthrough.

Practical guidelines:

Worship will bring corporate unity. Worship gets everyone on the same track, focused on the Lord. It is easier to move forward if you establish unity of the Spirit first.

Let the leader set the direction.

Be sensitive to the timing, prompting and direction of the Holy Spirit. If you believe that you have something to share, watch to see how it fits with how the Spirit is moving in the group so that your revelation is released with power and anointing.

Stay focused until you have breakthrough. There is a discipline and focus to corporate intercession that will help you to avoid bunny trails and bring you to breakthrough. It is very fulfilling to sense that you have accomplished something in the spirit realm which will be seen in the earth.

Personal Testimony

Corporate intercession is not always easy. One of the clearest examples I have experienced of the power of corporate intercession was at a conference a few years ago. I was part of the intercession team and my dear friend, Marty Cassady, was leading the team. The night before the conference began, I was seeking the Lord about the conference and felt that I got a very clear impression of how we were to intercede. The next morning I was very excited as I shared this with Marty.

What I said did not sound right at all to Marty. God had given her a totally different focus. The two were not even similar. We did not know what to do, so we began to worship. Finally I went to Marty and said, "You are the leader of this group and I will follow and support you in whatever you feel the Lord has directed."

One person said, "I think we all need to get in a line behind Marty and just follow her lead wherever she goes and whatever she does." Intercession can look strange, but it always has a purpose behind it. We all got in line behind Marty. She began to walk and we began to walk behind her. We began to hold on to each other, like a train. She bent over as she walked and we bent over as we walked. She began to say "OOOOH!" and we all begin to say "OOOOH!" This sound built until we erupted into a shout and somehow we knew that we had come into complete unity.

Marty then shared that she felt like the Lord wanted to "blow the roof off" during the ministry time that night, to minister particularly to the men to raise them to a new level of freedom and leadership in ministry. We begin to declare this prophetically and to call on the Holy Spirit to stir the men's hearts to prepare them for God to move.

One of the men in the group fell on the floor in travail. Marty acknowledged this and asked several from the group to be with him while the rest of us continued in intercession. We ended up in several groups around the room, all doing prophetic actions. I remember being part of a human pyramid showing that we would support the leader. It may have looked like mass confusion, but it was actually totally in order.

At about this time, one of the conference speakers walked into the room. She took one look at the man in travail and told him to stop immediately and get up off of the floor. Her words and attitude quenched everything that was going on. We all felt like we had been rebuked. Then she just walked out. We were all very confused and distressed. Had we been off track? Were we just being wild and emotional? I really felt that our intercession had been right and that it had been cut short. I was very distressed by this.

That night as the ministry time began, it was very interesting to see what happened. The presence of God was there. You could sense the power of the Holy Spirit and the anointing of God. People were streaming forward for ministry. It was developing into a tremendous ministry time, then the man who was ministering said, "God particularly wants to minister to the men tonight, to set them free from bondages and raise them up as leaders." This was exactly what God had told Marty!

Instead of men rising up to go forward, no one moved. It felt like all the air being let out of a balloon. There was absolutely no response from any of the men. The speaker then asked the men to kneel at their chairs and ask God if they needed ministry. They knelt at their chairs, but still no one went forward for ministry. The speaker knew that God wanted to minister to the men, so he kept making appeals, but there was just no response.

About this time, someone came to where I was sitting and said that they wanted the intercessors to start praying for breakthrough. We all headed to the intercession room, but they wanted us to go up front to intercede. The Spirit of God fell on us and we began to cry out and weep. I kept looking for the man who had been in intercession because I knew that part of the breakthrough was for him to finish his travail. He had not been in the meeting that night, but right then he felt that he should leave his room and go to the meeting room. As he came over to us, the Spirit fell on him and he went back into travail.

When he did, things began to break loose. The speaker again called for men to come forward for ministry and they literally began to run forward. They were knocking over chairs to get to the front for ministry! There was a powerful anointing and this was no ordinary ministry. The speaker began to call men forward to be delivered from lust and pornography and other sexual bondages. For things that most men would not confess in private, they were literally running forward publicly for ministry. It looked like mass confusion. Grown men were falling on the floor, weeping and repenting. Demons were crying out as they left.

Then the men began to publicly testify. They began to tell of how they had been tormented for years and did not know how to get free, but that they literally felt something leave and knew that God had set them free. They said that for the first time they felt clean. They were crying and hugging each other. God blew the roof off! It was glorious! Isaiah 53 says that Jesus saw the result of His intercession and was satisfied. I believe the heart of God was satisfied that night. I know that mine was.

Appendix ii States that Have Implemented Watches

Many states have advanced because of the watch. Here are examples from New Jersey, Kansas, New Hampshire, Missouri, Indiana and New York.

We actually have a compilation of prayer focuses and histories for each state in our nation submitted by our State Coordinators. To review these you can go to http://www.glory-of-zion.org/states.htm. You can also subscribe to receive periodic prayer focuses on critical issues that face each state and warrant national prayer coverage by sending an email to join-pna@strategicprayer.net. For a compiled history of each state and the prophetic destiny over that state, you may purchase Releasing the Prophetic Destiny of a Nation by Dutch Sheets and Chuck D. Pierce by going to www.glory-of-zion.org.

The New Jersey Fourth Watch of the Night Prayer Initiative

This first report is from Sheryl Price. Sheryl and her husband, John, serve as the State Coordinators of the United States Global Apostolic Prayer Network for New Jersey.

After the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, New Jersey became a state mentioned daily in the news. It was reported that hidden terrorist cells within our borders housed the very men who caused the fatal attack. On top of this, anthrax laced envelopes were being sent out from Trenton, our state capitol, with the intent to kill innocent people and further push our nation into a state of fear. The praying people of NJ had their work cut out for them. The North East was in a virtual standstill. The spirit of fear was trying to paralyze our entire territory. While we had been gathering to pray as a state in different ways, we knew there was a missing element, a piece of divine strategy needed to break the momentum of this downward spiral into darkness. Little did we know that what the enemy had used to scatter us, God would use to forge us into the weapon of His choice. He began to prepare His army in New Jersey for a new type of warfare, a process that would take twenty months. As we gathered to pray, worship the Lord and encourage the Saints, a "corporate cry" was birthed. God heard that cry and responded by sending a prophet into our midst to further reveal His battle plan.

In June of 2003, during the "50 State Tour" gathering in New Jersey, Dr. Chuck Pierce prophesied these words:

"I would say to you there are vipers working in Jersey City and Newark. Find those vipers, so the vipers do not become snipers. Look carefully and watch for I would say I have found a nest and I am ready to break the eggs of that nest so they do not hatch out. I have raised up this time and released this anointing because you must watch and you must watch now. I am calling you into a night watch and I am saying as you watch in the night you will see what is wanting to break out and even be harvested in the day. Find the night watches that will be established in this state. Establish the night watches and watch these next two and a half months. Watch carefully, for you are playing a major part. If you will gather the state to pray for the first 21 days of August, one county per day, during the fourth watch of the night, I will break the power of the enemy from off of your state."

Immediately, small groups of intercessors within the NJ Strategic Prayer Network began to pray throughout the night season in their homes. In only a few days time, three young men were apprehended in the midst of planning a mass murder rampage in the community of Oaklyn, NJ!xxv Their arrest occurred at 3AM - the very time intercessors were gathering to pray! These vipers did not become snipers! Their eggs were crushed before they could hatch into the destructive force the enemy had planned for our territory.

While we continued to pray through the prophetic word given that day, we came across this scripture in "The Message Bible":

And have you ever ordered Morning, 'Get up!' or told the Dawn, 'Get to work!' So you could seize Earth like a blanket and shake out the wicked like cockroaches? As the sun brings everything to light, brings out all the colors and shapes, The cover of darkness is snatched from the wicked---they're caught in the very act! (Job 38:12-15)

We had just seen this scripture come alive before our very eyes! The wickedness planned by these three young men had been shaken out of our territory. The "light" released during the fourth watch delivered us! God responded to our prayer by snatching away their cover of darkness! At the same time, He supercharged our faith to believe for the impossible. When we saw the sun rising each morning at the end of our individual fourth watch prayer time, it was a prophetic picture of what God's response to our prayers looked like. Darkness could not stand before His light.

In spite of this initial breakthrough, we knew our job had just begun. The prophetic word also required us to bring the entire state into a corporate prayer initiative from 3am to 6am, for the first twenty-one days of August. We had to "see" this initiative with eyes of faith, and move forward in obedience. We chose not to rely on our human reasoning, for who, in the natural, could possibly schedule twenty-one consecutive early morning prayer meetings across the state like this? Truthfully, we were not sure we knew a ministry leader well enough, in every county, to ask to host such a gathering!

One afternoon, as we were praying for direction, the Lord "downloaded" twenty-one prayer sites into my spirit. The list was actually written in about 3 minutes. We called these churches to explain the strategy the Lord had given us. Each leader immediately agreed to host the prayer time at this unusual hour of 3 AM! In only three days time the entire 21-day schedule was completed, and it covered every county in our state. God had completed the forging process. We had become the weapon of His choice. Beginning August 1st through the 21st, New Jersey began "The Fourth Watch of the Night Prayer Initiative". Each of our 21 counties was assigned a day to gather from 3AM to 6AM for prayer and worship. The gatherings were well attended and a fire for "fourth watch prayer" was ignited corporately within the Body of Christ of New Jersey.

Much like the disciples in the books of Matthew, Mark & John, Jesus allowed us to experience a storm where we despaired for our very lives. This pressed us into praying during the fourth watch hours. However, just in like Bible times, during the "fourth watch of the night" Jesus came to New Jersey, walking upon the very waves that were tossing us. Corporately, Jesus was revealed to us in a way we had not recognized Him before. When the eyes of our spirit were opened like this, the Body of Christ broke forth into a new level of declarative worship. It was in this new place of worship that we supernaturally got "to the other side," and experienced an anointing for territorial deliverance like never before. The fruit was evident and published in our local newspapers.

To the Glory of God alone, right in the middle of this strategic prayer watch, on August 12, two British travelers were apprehended in the Newark Airport trying to smuggle in a surface-to-air missile and launcher, with plans to use it on commercial aircraft.xxvi God did not allow these vipers to become snipers! Their plan to hatch a new wave of terror within our state was uncovered! God answered our prayers once again and shed His uncovering light upon a destructive work of darkness.

What we have seen happen here in NJ is just the beginning. God is calling a people to meet with Him during the night season. When we gather with Him during these strategic hours, our territories will experience great deliverance and healing. We will shine with the light that breaks forth like the dawn. Hidden darkness will have no choice but to flee.

Prayer Watches from Kansas

Here are several examples of watches from Earl Pickard. Earl serves as our State Coordinator of the United States Global Apostolic Prayer Network (USGAPN) for Kansas. He also serves on the National Apostolic Council for the USGAPN. As you will read, Earl and the Kansas prayer network have employed numerous watches to see the Glory of the Lord established in that state.

We have done several prayer watches in the night in Kansas. We have connected with the Topeka House of Prayer several times for 24 to 50 hour watches, with a blend of worship, praise and prayer. Some have stayed through the night and others have taken the three hour watch shifts. In Wichita, we did a 24 hour Worship and Prayer Over the City during the Feast of Purim in March 6 - 7, 2004. This came out of our 50-State Prayer Tour in Kansas. We began and concluded the time with celebrative services with nearly 700 people. Then, the night watches had 25-50 pray-ers through the night, with people coming and going.

Another Night Watch, with the four watches from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., was during our statewide Passover Prayer Summons on April 14 &15, 2006. The entire Prayer Summons was 24 hours, including the four night watches. Then in the daytime we had prayer gatherings with teaching and intercession. We concluded with a three-hour Messianic Passover Seder.

Recently, to conclude the National Day of Prayer (May 4, 2006), on May 5 & 6, 2006 we had a major worship, praise and prayer gathering at the Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, KS. We met from 6:00 p.m., May 5, 2006 to nearly 9:00 p.m., May 6, 2006, with continuous praise and prayer through the night. We focused on the youth with one watch and the college age group on another. We opened and closed this over 24-hour time with celebrative services, with dancers and banner bearers – bringing several cultures together under the covering of the Lord.

On June 6, 2006 our Kansas Prayer Mission plans to be at the U.S. Geographical Center in north central Kansas for the Global Day of Violent Praise. We will have night watches, the four watches, along with all-day (24 hours) of praise and prayer at this key site, entering in with the nations from the center of the United States.

Night Watch Report from New Hampshire

Here is a night watch report from Allen Cook. Allen serves as our State Coordinator of the United States Global Apostolic Prayer Network (USGAPN) for New Hampshire.

Grace Ministries International has been conducting night watches since Good Friday of 2005. Since then, we have had at least one night watch per month, usually the last Friday of every month. We have joined with Mahesh Chavda's ministry, where over 500 churches have joined to have night watches on Friday nights.

The night watches have a certain protocol. Initially the protocol was derived from Mahesh Chavda Ministries, but has since taken on a life of its own. (Night watches begin at 9:00PM and go to 6:00 AM.) Our amended protocol is as follows:

Share something relevant out of God's Word or share prophetic words of well-known prophets. Suggest a corporate prayer focus. Open with prayer.

Have a time of corporate worship.

After worship, communion is offered.

We then come together and have a time of corporate intercession. This always occurs during the second watch of the night (9:00-12:00).

During the third watch, music is played and people worship and pray individually. Many times the Holy Spirit will bring a time of quiet for reading and individual times of prayer. Some people rest during this watch.

At the beginning of the fourth watch, the atmosphere changes. This is the time for serious intercession. This is the time that we press in for the remaining time of the watch (3:00pm-6:00pm).

The protocol has developed out of doing night watches for over a year. I believe the order has been set by the Holy Spirit and seems consistent at each watch. However, at each night watch, we dedicate the entire night to the Holy Spirit and He is given free reign to do as He wills.

At each watch, there is a watch leader and a scribe. The leader is responsible for following the Holy Spirit and leading the night watch in the way He wants to go. The leader is responsible for all music, leading in corporate intercession, and offering communion. The scribe ensures that there is a method for people to record what God is speaking to them during the night. Words that participants want to read during the night watch have to go through the watch leader first. We ask that personal ministry time be put off until the end of the watch. Someone who needs personal ministry is not ignored, but we keep the watch on a corporate focus.

Since the night watches started, the Holy Spirit has visited us in very different ways. There have been outbreaks of pure Holy Spirit joy; there have been times that the love of God has been so strong that one can hardly move around the sanctuary; there have been times when there is a burden of intercession that is upon all participants at once.

One very interesting thing that occurs at each watch is what happens when the fourth watch begins (3:00 AM). Some may be sleeping, some may be in quiet prayer or reading, but when the fourth watch comes, everyone knows it. You don't need to look at your wristwatch to know it is 3:00 AM. I have seen the Holy Spirit simultaneously wake multiple people up at the same time as well as infuse supernatural strength and refreshing in order to participate in this watch time. This is by far the most exciting time of the night and the time when He comes most powerfully. This is the time of night when there is the most freedom. This is the time when the burden for intercession is most strong. This is the time of the night where people will scream, shout, dance, run, sing, etc. This is the time when serious warfare through worship and intercession is waged on the power of darkness. It is said of this time, that it is the "dead of the night", where most murders and sins of darkness occur. Yet, when you participate in a night watch, He reminds us that He is Lord over the night, even the "dead of the night", and this time is near and dear to His heart.

In our night watch there are people who regularly attend all night. When you participate regularly in night watches, I believe that your relationship with God becomes stronger. I have seen, in myself and in others that attend regularly, that we are becoming stronger and stronger in the Lord. After a night watch, it is actually hard to go back to everyday routines. There is such intimacy, such an infilling, such a desire to stay and be in His presence that going back to the daytime reality takes some getting used to. This is very hard to explain in words. I believe there is definitely a passion that the Lord deposits in people who regularly seek Him at night that wouldn't have been there otherwise. What starts out as something you don't know if you can even physically do, turns into something that you desire and need and can't wait for the next one to happen. It is amazing how even people with physical limitations have been able to get through an entire watch and even say, "I can't believe how good I feel". It is absolutely true that He gives the grace to the ones who are serious about seeking Him through the night.

The other thing that happens is that eight hours goes by so fast that it is hardly believable! Rarely is there a night watch where people are bored, looking at their watches, anticipating the end. The end of the watch usually sneaks up on you and actually surprises you on occasion.

There have been certain times where we have had a night watch prior to an event at our church. Last year, we had a night watch before the Global Day of Prayer, which is also Pentecost Sunday. The Holy Spirit moved powerfully during that service on Sunday, something that I attribute to the night watch. The night watch definitely paves the way for the Holy Spirit to move powerfully in other regular services. I even notice a difference in regular services after a night watch. Night watches definitely usher in the presence of God, which lingers long after the night has passed.

24 Hour Prayer Watches in Missouri

Here is a report on 24 Hour Prayer Watches from Regina Shank. Regina serves as our State Coordinator of the United States Global Apostolic Prayer Network (USGAPN) for Missouri.

We do 24 hour prayer watches regularly in Missouri. We choose 12 prayer targets with scripture focuses for each watch. We have a prayer leader and worship leader who work together for each two hour focus. By the time we are finished we have prayed for 24 hours, around the clock. When we go into a region, we gather several churches together for an initial meeting where we ask them to participate, and to pick the prayer focuses for their area. We gather worship leaders and prayer leaders from several churches to work with us for their 24 hour breakthrough prayer vigil. Each prayer leader and worship leader knows their time slot and prayer target a couple of weeks ahead of time, so they can prepare songs and scripture that zero in on the target. Others in attendance are encouraged to pray with a focus on the specified target. The microphone is open for those who choose to come up to pray. Sometimes the prayer leader instructs those in attendance to gather in groups of two or three for prayers of agreement on the prayer topic. Some prayers are sung as the worship team leads in prophetic song and proclamation. We have seen breakthrough many times.

In the city of Nevada, Missouri, we had five churches working together with Missouri Prayer for a 24 hour prayer watch. Following this event, two churches that had split several years earlier were brought back together and are now one. The church where we held the prayer watch experienced several salvations and powerful deliverances from drugs. One of the pastors who worked with us is now meeting with other pastors in that city regularly for prayer.

We use this focused prayer format to open up a city or region for more release of unity, prayer, breakthrough, and freedom in the Spirit. This has helped intercessors to stay focused until a prayer target is prayed through. If a region does not feel they can carry the 24 hours, we start with 12 hours and six prayer targets.

In an article written for the Morning Star Journal, 1994 Volume 4 No 3, called "The Nature of Revival" Winkie Pratney wrote:

"Revival is a divine attack on society….Israel's recapture of the Golan Heights from an entrenched Syria is a modern classic of military victory. The Syrian army was dug into three consecutive trenches in the top of the hill; they had planted over a million landmines between their position and Israel's position. Russian advisors had assured Syria their position was unassailable. While Israel's Air Force strafed the enemy trenches to minimize Syrian troop groundfire, Israeli farmers drove tractors in a straight line up the side of the hill. Driving directly behind each exploded tractor, another took its place, ploughing the ruins out of the way. Followed by Israeli troops, they cut a straight single line up the side of the hill. They called it "The Steel Punch," Israel took the Golan Heights."

The Lord showed us the breakthrough format using the warfare strategy that Israel used to break through the enemy ranks in the Six Day War. We did these 24 hour prayer events in St. Peters, Nevada, Lee's Summit, Harrisonville, Butler, Bolivar, Carthage, Springfield, and other cities.

22 Day "Key of David" Watch

Here is a "Key of David" Watch report from Sallye Burton. Sallye serves as our State Coordinator of the United States Global Apostolic Prayer Network (USGAPN) for Indiana.

After seeking the Lord for keys to victory, He gave us these three specific issues in our state:

Abuse of children (Indiana moved up to the place of number 1 in the nation).

Meth labs - Indiana moved from 6th place to 4th in the nation for number of meth labs.

The ACLU's victory in court to have removed any mention of the name of Jesus in prayer in the Indiana House Chambers.

He then gave me Lamentations 2:19, "Arise (from your bed), cry out in the night, at the beginning of the watches: pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord. Lift up your hands toward Him for the lives of your young children, who faint from hunger at the head of every street" (TAB) (also Isaiah 22:22). The Lord then spoke to me and said, "It's about the generations! It's about the Father-heart of God, Jezebel versus Elijah, warring over the seed, over the harvest! Jezebel and Elijah both war for the generations, for the seed. Jezebel wars against generational vision and mindsets, against the destiny of the generations! Elijah is all about the Father-heart of God, the true mantle of authority and power!"

After hearing from the Lord, this became our strategy: "Watchmen, arise and cry out"! These numbers also became quite significant to our watch times:

Five (the number for divine grace and for the five-fold governmental gifts) night watches: 6 PM, 9 PM, 12 midnight, 3 AM and 6 AM, making FIVE WATCHES,

Praying twelve minutes (12 is the number for dominion, divine authority and divine government) each time, makes one full hour. Jesus asked this question, "Could you not watch with me one hour?"

For twenty-two days! In Is. 22:22-23a, the Word says, "Then I will set the key of the house of David on his shoulder, when he opens no one will shut, when he shuts, no one will open. I will drive him like a peg in a firm place…" (NAS)

And we cried out for:

The children/youth, our seed and the seed of the righteous, and against the five enemies of our seed: drugs & alcohol, gambling, promiscuity, the occult and false religions, and health-related issues-obesity.

Families to be godly families, and for the family structure, for marriage to remain 'one man and one woman' joined together in holy matrimony, and for the family altar to be restored.

The government, for God's government to be in place - Isaiah 9:6

And we shouted for: grace, grace, grace, grace, and great grace!

We declared, "Indiana, shift into God's government, God's timing, God's positioning, with a godly generational vision and mindsets. We say there will be a fulfillment of destinies, wholeness (vs. fragmentation) in the Kingdom of God. No more fragmentation, Indiana! You are the Crossroads of America, you are the Lord's, the King of Glory's, the Lord Almighty's, the Lord of Hosts'" (Ps. 24).

The following is a testimony regarding this watch: A group from a church in northern Indiana ministers weekly at a Truck Stop on the Toll Road, Highway 80. They told the truckers about this watch and the truckers asked if they could do it with us! They were told they could, so we had truckers sharing this with other truckers and praying together as they drove across the highways of our nation!

You can check out the prayer initiatives we have done for the last year on our website, www.indianaspn.org; click on Call to Prayer and Fasting!

We would suggest you join with other (e.g. five) people, each taking one of the watches and rotating, or 22 people, each taking one watch for each of the 22 days. Allow the Holy Spirit to help you be creative; if He called for it, He will make a way! May the God of Elijah grant you the diligence, the strength and the vision you need!

Reports from New York

Here is a night watch report provided by Joseph Askins. Joseph serves as our State Coordinator of the United States Global Apostolic Prayer Network (USGAPN) for New York. He has asked several of his city coordinators to submit reports on their regions .

From Buffalo Apostolic Coordinators - Al and Deb Warner

March 31, 2006 marked a new chapter in our regional worship nights and we are taking it on the road to a variety of churches throughout the region. God put His stamp of approval on our efforts as nearly 175 came out to Word of Life Church in Niagara Falls. We experienced freedom to worship, release of a new song, and a high level of God's manifest presence.

Here is a quote from one of our key intercessors: "The Regional Prayer and Worship was awesome. I really sensed a breakthrough in the heavenlies. I felt like we could have continued worshiping for the entire night." There was, indeed, such freedom. I also believe we could have continued worshipping all night. What a breakthrough.

From another participant: "Steve, the worship leader, mentioned 'God having a secret.' One of my great weaknesses is scripture memory. I know the verses - but I can never remember where they are. I rarely have a scripture come to mind by verse reference. So it surprised me to find 'Jer. 33:3', rattling through my head. Not the verse - just the "address." I was fairly sure what it said - and it was the verse where God exhorts the prophet to ask of Him and He would reveal deeply profound secrets. This section goes on to describe the restoration of a nation. If we "ask" in unity and reverence, is this the time God is choosing to speak prophetically of renewal?"

Based on this, the pastors prayer groups in both cities prayed into Jer. 33:3-12 this last week. We believe God is releasing a word of restoration to our region. We prayed for Syracuse, NY as they had also called a regional worship night for the same evening. We are rejoicing that God is doing a similar thing throughout our state.

From Rochester Apostolic Coordinators - Al and Kasey Hauck

Our focus has been on bringing the apostolic, prophetic and intercessory giftings together to pray the way for the ethnos in Christ to link effectively to form the Church in the Greater Rochester Region. The ability to worship across Asian, Black, Hispanic, White, and generational lines is bringing a unity that commands the blessing of the Lord as we war for our region. A prophetic release in January, exhorting us to repair our sails in the next thirty days, preparing for fresh winds of the Spirit, saw record level winds blow through the region in fulfillment of the word of the Lord. As we heed the call released through the intercessors to mentor the generations in worship and warfare, the spiritual winds of transformation are beginning to blow through the region, and we are seeing the beginnings of miracles, signs and wonders. The intercession of the hour is going to defeat the religious spirit that has sought to quench the fire of the Lord's Presence in the Region.

We are learning to walk in intimate relationship with the Lord, know that the open door is from God; we boldly carry the fire of His Presence from our corporate gatherings to the places of our calling in Christ. The individual fires of the Lord's Presence are becoming a River of Fire flowing from His throne, initiating a unity by the Holy Spirit, not the efforts of man. This will bring specific, powerful anointings on the Church in Rochester. Although each individual fellowship may have its own special anointing, the unity will come when the Church takes the Kingdom of God to the streets, the schools, and the marketplaces, allowing the Holy Spirit to flow like a mighty river through our region. We are beginning to see the generations rise up to break the curses off the land and the people groups in our region. Forgiveness and the release of offenses will flow, and the Church will move forward in the compassion of Christ. In our last gathering, the Lord moved powerfully to release an anointing of compassion to do miracles. We are entering a "Nehemiah Season," a time of gathering the watchmen on the walls in righteous order to bring victory. We are calling the Prophetic Intercessors in the Region to monthly "Night Watch Gatherings" to take back the first part of the day. We will walk in the anointing of Christ to change the atmosphere over our Region through prayer, praise and worship.

From New York City Apostolic Coordinator - Jody Wood

We meet the first Friday of every month as a First Fruits offering to the Lord at the NY Divinity School located at the Lambs Theater in Times Square. (We also meet every month in Staten Island for worship and intercession to birth intercession to the rest of NYC.) Our focus is to set the course for the month as we offer up worship and intercession to a Holy God on behalf of our city. We move beyond just worship and intercession to Is.16:5: "In Mercy the throne will be established and one will sit on it in Truth, in the tabernacle of David judging and seeking justice and hastening righteousness."

Appendix iii 17 Day Prayer Focus to Release Covenant Victory Strategy

Dear Victors:

This has been a season of disciplined prayer focus. You will remember that we began the Roman year 2002 with a 58-Day Prayer Focus for Spiritual Breakthrough. We did a 21-day prayer focus, and a 10-day prayer focus. Most of you remember the 40-Day Prayer Focus to come out of the wilderness. Then the Lord led us in August on a 31-day prayer focus to gain wisdom over how to pray for the transference of wealth and provision for the advancement of God's Kingdom. Any of these prayer focuses can be found on the Glory of Zion website at www.glory-of-zion.org/news.htm. Disciplined prayer focuses bring us into an alignment with God's will in heaven. Therefore, our mind, which is in enmity with God (Romans 8), realigns its way of thinking with God's thinking. We begin to have the same vocabulary that God has in heaven. Consequently, our conversation on earth is aligned with His will. When we are in agreement with Him and confessing the will of God, the harmony of heaven is reflected in the earth realm.

UNDERSTANDING THE TIMES AND THE SEASONS

In 1 Chronicles 12:32 we find this verse, "The sons of Issachar, who had understanding of the times to know what Israel ought to do, their chiefs were 200; and all their brethren were at their command." This verse is listed in the context of describing the growth of David's army. Issachar knew that this was a season of changing governments. Therefore, they were at a decisive crossroad where the path they chose would determine their alliance in the wars ahead. The Tribe of Issachar's choice was to either move with the developing new government under David's reign or remain with the fading government linked with Saul. Saul had begun in the anointing of the Lord but ended by operating in the flesh and aligning himself with the power of witchcraft. David was entering into the third anointing season which released him into his full kingship. This gave him territorial covenant jurisdiction in the earth. This is a key apostolic "type" that we must understand today. The Lord is restoring David's tabernacle in the earth realm. This means we are entering into a new dimension of His Presence and worship. However, it also means we are entering into a new place of covenant conflict. When David entered into His third anointing, we find that the Jebusites were overthrown, the BREAKER ANOINTING was activated, and his rival, the Philistines, were finally bridled. We also find that his territorial boundaries (sphere of authority) were determined in the earth realm. These boundaries determined the area, the people, and the manifested blessings of God that he was to watch for and after. (You may read the story from 2 Samuel 2-8.)

IN TIMES OF WAR WE CAN ENTER REST

In September 2001, we saw the world shift into a new level of covenant conflict. We entered into the Jewish civil year 5762. Hebraic numbers have key prophetic meaning. When studying this particular year I found and wrote that it would be called THE BEGINNING OF WARS FOR THE NEXT SEVEN YEARS. The Spirit of God had me warn and alert the Body of Christ of the coming conflict and war ahead. We then saw the manifestation of the tragedy of the World Trade Center in September of 2001. The Trade Center was a defining sign of the conflict ahead for the next seven years. We are now in the seven years of training and confrontation. God is developing a "strong" people who will do exploits (Daniel 11:32). This season will cause a great release of covenant blessings. However, the Body has had a hard time shifting its mindset into "a paradigm for war to receive the covenant blessings ahead". Passivity and introspection must leave us and we must arise with a focus of victory and advancement! Our nation has professed to be a Christian nation. That means we are "grafted into the vine" of Abraham's covenant. This covenant was fulfilled and made available to us by the Lord Jesus Christ going to the Cross. This covenant is now being severely tested. The anti-Christ system is being seen by the world. This system hates anything to do with God's covenant people and those grafted into that covenant plan.

We then entered the Jewish civil year 5763 which was a year defined as "Sabbath Day Year". These two years seemed to be in conflict. How could we be in war and rest? How you entered into the year

5763 would determine the remainder of the seven-year season. This came to be known as the year the future order of God's covenant people was established. This year was also a year that we began to understand the first fruits' anointing which led us into a double portion. This was a year that God's giving, covenant people experienced double portions in power and wealth. But this was also a year of double judgment. We entered in by faith and declared 5763 to be a year of material and spiritual delight so that the desires of our hearts were purified before God so that we could then feel the delight of His presence around us (Psalm 37). This was a year to "be still and know", in order for us to triumph over our enemies. This was a year of a new dimension of faith rising in our midst and a year of praising God from day to day in the midst of adverse circumstances (Psalm 46).

EVEN IN TIMES OF WAR, REST!

The first prayer focus of the year was a 58-day prayer thrust for breakthrough using Isaiah 58. It is interesting that the last two verses of Isaiah 58 are about the Sabbath. Isaiah 58:13-14 says: "If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the LORD; and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the LORD has spoken." Ezekiel 20:12 says, "Also I gave them My sabbaths to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them." The last several words of this verse are

"ki ani YHWH m'kodshem"--because I am YHWH who sanctifies them (makes them holy). As you know, the first time the word "holy" is used is as a verb in Genesis 2:3: "Then God blessed the seventh day and SANCTIFIED it..." This made it holy, or "hallowed" it. One of the enemy's key strategies in warfare is to disrupt your abiding place. The Sabbath is linked with the abiding place of God. Therefore, if we get out of rest even in times of war we can make wrong decisions that can keep God's blessings from manifesting.

In Jewish culture there is a prayer called Havdala that is prayed at the end of Sabbath. It means "difference". The prayer distinguishes the difference between the sacred (Shabbat) and the profane (the other six days). During this prayer a cup is filled to overflowing with wine as a symbol that the Shabbat blessings will spill into the week. Another important aspect of this observance is breathing from a container of aromatic leaves or spices. This signifies that the aroma of holiness will follow into and sweeten the new week.

This was a Sabbath Day Year! That means the Lord wants a fragrance of Holiness and Blessing to arise in His people. He also wants to release the will and blessing of heaven for this generation into the earth realm this year. The enemy wanted to disrupt this fragrance of holiness. He also wanted to bring so much confusion into the earth realm this year that he confused and blinded our eyes to our covenant blessings that God wanted to flow into the earth realm. He hates the sweet fragrance of God's people. The enemy hates the thought of us obeying God's covenant plan of rest and walking in the Lord's blessings throughout the week. This is why he was and is attacking through evil anti-Christ systems in the earth. Shabbat is the heart of God's covenant plan. We find this in the 10 Commandments, and we find the principle of rest all the way through the New Testament.

WAR TO ENTER INTO REST

The Sabbath became a symbol of the heavenly rest to come (Hebrews 4:1-11). Actually, the number "58" in the Hebrew numbering system means, "nun" and "chet", which together spell "nach", a form of the Hebrew verb "To Rest". It is interesting that the name "Noah" means "58 or nun-chet". This is a time to build an ark of safety for the generation who will demonstrate God's blessings in days ahead. Hebrews 4:1-11 says, "Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: 'So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest,' 'although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: 'And God rested on the seventh day from all His works'; and again in this place: 'They shall not enter My rest.' Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, again He designates a certain day, saying in David, 'Today,' after such a long time, as it has been said: 'Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.' For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience."

SABBATH BLESSINGS DEFINED

In the New Testament, the habit of Jesus was to observe the Sabbath as a day of worship in the synagogues (Luke 4:16), but His failure to comply with the minute restrictions brought conflict (Mark 2:23-28; 3:1-6; Luke 13:10-17; John 5:1-18). This shows us that there is a time to be in rest but not to allow the law to hold back what God wants demonstrated in the earth. Therefore, conflict (war) in the midst of rest is permissible in a Sabbath Day Year because the conflict and confrontation can produce the rest that God is longing to manifest in the earth. God has a plan of covenant victory.

When I was ministering in Los Angeles during this season, we went up to the top of one of the studios in the center of the city to pray. As we were overlooking much of L.A., I heard the Lord say the following: "Wheels of change are beginning to turn that will realign nations. Two paths are being determined. One path will lead into destruction. The other path will lead into securing the portion of harvest release for the next five years. By moving forth in My timing you will secure the future. There is a coalition of nations forming. There is a covenant alignment that I am doing with the nations of the earth. Pray that the coalition that is forming align itself with My voice. Pray that My covenant will be exalted above the national pride in the nations aligning. Many snares will arise as the covenant conflict intensifies in the earth. Without Me being in the midst of the coalition of nations, they will fail. Pray for 17 days. DECLARE THAT THE VICTORY PLAN AND STRATEGY IS SECURED. If you have My covenant desire in your heart, you will go forth in victory."

VICTORY!

What is victory? This means final and complete supremacy in battle or war or a specific military engagement ending in triumph. This can also mean success in any contest or struggle involving the defeat of an opponent or the overcoming of obstacles. It is now time to move past the obstacles that would prevent you from succeeding in what God is asking you to do!

The primary biblical assertion is that victory belongs to God (1 Cor. 15:54-57; Rev. 7:10). This is succinctly expressed in the phrase 'the battle is the Lord's' (1 Sam. 17:47), i.e. victory belongs exclusively to the Lord: victory is His to bestow at will. Victory is only assured when we are operating in the will and timing of God in the earth realm. There are three special features of the Lord's victory. First, the Lord's victory is the exercise of holy sovereignty in the course of history. 'Victory' is another way of saying that the government of the world rests in the hands of a Holy God, who orders all things according to inflexible principles of morality, so that sometimes His holiness must be asserted against His people, and becomes 'His strange deed' (Is. 28:21). Second, this holy government and the power of victory are annexed to the holy rule of the only God. Therefore, there is no doubt who will ultimately win the war. Before long we will know His voice so well that He will speak, we will obey, and victory is assured (Ezk. 38-39; Rev. 19). Third, the people of God enter into victory by the obedience of faith. We experience victory in God's victory (Ex. 14:13-14; Dt. 28:1-14; Ps. 20; Eph. 6:16; 1 Jn. 5:4-5). Peace, righteousness, and salvation are associated with victory (Is. 41:3, Heb. Text) and are evidenced by the enjoyment of total well-being that victory brings. Victory through salvation is personal enlargement and deliverance (1 Sam. 14:45; Jdg. 6:14). Righteousness is the personal quality which guarantees victory (Is. 59:16-17). All these cluster in a unique way round the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, the supreme victory of God (Eph. 2:14ff.; Tit. 3:4-7) and His righteousness (Rom. 1:17; 3:21-27).xxvii, xxviii

OUR VICTORY IN THE WAR AHEAD IS DEPENDENT ON BEING IN GOD'S PERFECT TIMING

I have been encouraged to reiterate a dream that I had in 2001. In the dream, I was standing, looking at a huge lake. The lake was covered with a coat of thin ice. A puzzle piece would drop from heaven and I would very carefully walk out upon the icy lake and put the piece in place. Before long, I recognized the puzzle that was covering the lake was a map of the United States. I finally laid the last piece of the puzzle in place. It was the state of New Mexico. Once I did that, it was as if I ascended three levels into the heavens. The best way to describe this ascension was a staircase that would go up. At each floor there was a meeting room where I would watch a counsel convening and discussing their plans. I would then walk up to the next level. These meetings were governmental type meetings. I would watch these meeting as they occurred. On the third floor I was able to walk into the council and see all the key issues regarding the United States and its future. Because I was at a higher level, I could fully see the key places in the United States where the Church needed to reinforce itself. I could also see key cities that needed to be at "watch" carefully against the enemy's plan. It seemed as if I could also see the time frame that was necessary for the Church to intercede so that the wisdom of God could come into full maturity and be executed in the earth realm. While I was watching from this third floor, someone from the second floor began to approach the puzzle map that was in place upon the lake. I began to yell, "Not yet! Not yet!" He could not hear my voice and proceeded without caution, causing the ice to break and the entire puzzle plan to fall into the lake. I then awakened. In discussing this dream with Native Leaders who understand natural principles in the earth, I learned that the ice is thickest in mid-February. Therefore, I believe if we pray now, we can establish the course of ultimate victory. I believe the strategies are being established now. If God's people pray and set the right foundation even in the midst of the war ahead, we will have victory.

17 DAYS OF PRAYER TO RELEASE COVENANT VICTORY STRATEGY

There is a key plan that God is releasing. This plan is falling piece by piece from heaven to secure the blessings today that will effect the next generation. This plan affects us individually, corporately, and nationally. The Church must find firm footing at this time in prayer. If the Church does not find their firm footing at this time, we will see civil government moving outside of God's timing. Daniel 7:25 says, "He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and the law." God is forming a perfect plan of Victory. The plan of Victory is maturing, but has not yet matured. If this plan is moved upon prematurely, God's plan of justice will be postponed. We must surround that plan in prayer NOW. In the next 17 days the Lord will be releasing key revelation to each one of us personally. This revelation will affect the manifesting of your covenant blessings for the future. For the next 17 days we must diligently seek God. When I looked up the number 17, I found that its meaning is victory. There will be a key unlocking and setting in place of our future over the next 17 days. How we pray in these next 17 days will help to determine our victory in the future. These next 17 days will also set us in God's perfect timing to advance.

HOW TO PRAY:

Day 1: Pray for the President and Cabinet of the United States to be patient to hear God (Romans 13). If they subject themselves to God's sovereign authority, they will advance in His timing and establish His security over this nation.

Day 2: Declare that God's plan of judgment against His enemies be established. May this plan overrule any of man's desires. The Lord sends forth judgment unto victory (Matt. 12:20).

Day 3: Declare that any unwarranted plan of destruction initiated by the anti-Christ system will be thwarted. Declare death and the grave will have no victory (1 Cor. 15:55).

Day 4: Pray for your personal vision and destiny (1 John 5:4).

Day 5: Review how you are moving forward and the resources you have (1 Kings 17).

Day 6: Ask God for a new stewardship plan (Luke 19, Proverbs 3:5-10).

Day 7: Ask the Lord for faith strategies (1 Sam. 17).

Day 8: Ask the Lord to remove hidden grief from past losses in your life (2 Sam. 19:2).

Day 9: Ask the Lord to break a spirit and shadow of death from you (Isa. 25:8).

Day 10: Put off a garment of defeat and put on a garment of victory (I Cor.15:54).

Day 11: Fast to gain the prophetic strategy that will properly position you for victory over the confederated enemies that are set against you (II Chron 20).

Day 12: Ask the Lord to reveal to you His building plan for the future. Praise Him for all that He has done in the past to get you as far as you have come (I Chron. 28, 29).

Day 13: Pray and memorize Jeremiah 33:3. Declare it over the government of your nation. Ask the Lord to open your eyes to revelation that has been hidden from you. Never think that you know more than Jesus about the redemptive plan for your life. (Jer. 33:3 Amp.).

Day 14: Read Psalm 20 out loud to the Lord. Let the Holy Spirit direct your prayers for yourself and your nation.

Day 15: Sing the song of the Lamb (Moses' Song). If you can't sing, read it loudly. It is key to understand right now! (Rev 15:1-5).

Day 16: Worship in a new way. Read your favorite three Psalms. Allow the Lord to raise up a song of victory in you (Psalm 98).

Day 17: Exalt Jesus as ruler of your life, your vision, your city, and your nation. Establish Him as victor. Declare Him as victor ( 1 Cor. 15:57).

Blessings,

Chuck D. Pierce

Appendix iv 25 Day Prayer Focus for Boldly Entering the Throne Room to Restore Covenant Blessings

Dear Patient Prayer Warriors:

This 25 Day Prayer Focus for Boldly Entering the Throne Room to Restore Covenant Blessings can be started whenever you receive this.

Day 1: Read Luke 11. Meditate on the Lord's Prayer. This is a season when the Lord's Prayer becomes a reality in our life. We must watch earth and heaven connect. We need to pull into the earth realm things that we have prayed in the past and that are stored in heavenly places.

Day 2: Read Genesis 22. Hallowed be Thy Name, Jehovah Jireh. Ask the Lord to allow you to know Him as Jireh. The testing of your faith unlocks provision.

Day 3: Read Exodus 15. Hallowed be Thy Name, Jehovah Rophe. Ask the Lord to have you experience Him as Rophe. Confess any murmuring or complaining as sin and a violation of trust. Ask the Lord to cleanse your spirit, soul, and remove any effects on your body.

Day 4: Read Exodus 17. Hallowed be Thy Name, Jehovah Nissi. Ask the Lord to teach you who He is as Nissi, His Banner Over You Is Love. Let Him be your warrior. Learn to do battle with your Amalekites. (You can read the chapters in The Future War of the Church on "The Modern-Day Ites" and "Dethroning Thrones of Iniquity" for more insight on this.)

Day 5: Read Judges 6-8. Hallowed be Thy Name, Jehovah Shalom. Let Him reveal Himself as Shalom, the God of Wholeness, as you go into your next war and recovery!

Day 6: Read Hebrews 9 and 10. God has a remedy for iniquity: the covenant exchange of blood. Confess that HE IS. Hold fast to your confession!

Day 7: Read John 20 and 21. Let Him show you His grace to release the forgiveness of sins. Forgive. Go forth and release! See the apostolic shifts in these chapters.

Day 8: Read Luke 10. Notice the apostolic shift. Also notice the ministry shift through the parable of Good Samaritan. Finally, notice the call to sit and glean the best!

Day 9: Read John 11. Do not fear. He is always on time. Let Him remove any death structure that is holding you captive.

Day 10: Read Numbers 33. There is a time to review your past. Review your journey and promises, and then accelerate.

Day 11: Read Deut. 1. There is an appointed time to shift. You have gone around the same mountain long enough! Determine to "turn up and outward."

Day 12: Read Deut 1:6-8. There is a time to take your next assignment. Take on your next war!

Day 13: Read Deut. 1:22-26, and Numbers 13 and 14. There is a consequence of not going forward and outward! Break any strategy of unbelief that has held you captive.

Day 14: Read I Kings 19 and Nehemiah 8. Do not let weariness make you run. When words come to us in the midst of our spent emotional seasons, we can react wrongly. Stop and let the Lord rebuild your strength. The joy of the Lord is your strength.

Day 15: Read John 4. Let the Lord confront you with a new way of worship. May your intimate worship turn outward.

Day 16: Read Matthew 9. Do not let past legalism and financial loss keep you from pressing through and gaining new power. We are in a season of breaking cycles. Let me refresh you on what a cycle is. A cycle is an interval during which a recurring sequence of events happens. A cycle can also be a periodically repeated sequence of events, something that happens over and over at a certain time. Sometimes this is impregnated with supernatural phenomena. A cycle can be linked with time or an event and orchestrated supernaturally so a repeating wound or injustice occurs from generation to generation. I am praying that every old cycle that would bring you or your family decrease or destruction in the future is being broken in your life.

Day 17: Read Esther 1-5. Fast as the Lord would lead you. (You can see notes on the Feast of Purim in the Three Key Dreams email at www.glory-of-zion.org/news.htm.)

Day 18: Read Psalm 37. Ask the Lord to unlock your future desire and realign your emotions so your desire is in line with His desire for you. A desire is to long for, ask for, demand or seek for what is most precious. Praise and delight are linked with desire. Spend 30 minutes praising Him. Break the power of any unrestrained desires that have led you into covetousness, presumption, dwindling vision and decay!

Day 19: Read Eph. 4:11, 1 Cor. 12:28, and 2 Cor. 10. God is setting in place His order for the future. Define your sphere of authority. You must build on a sure foundation.

Day 20: Read Matthew 9 and Zech. 3. This is not a time for patching but putting on a new garment. Let the Lord dress you for your future!

Day 21: Read Jeremiah 29. In the midst of your current positioning, praise Him that He has a plan!

Day 22: Read Jeremiah 30 and 31. Look at His future promises and praise Him that His plan is good!

Day 23: Read Jeremiah 32. Meditate and ask the Lord for your faith action. Stake your claim!

Day 24: Read Jeremiah 33:1-3, Proverbs 31, and Psalm 127. Call out and let the Spirit of the Lord reveal things you could never see! Memorize this. Ask the Lord to open your eyes so you watch for your future. This will be a year of WATCHING! The watchman anointing is maturing. To watch means to look out, to peer into the distance, to investigate or get a new scope on something, to see an approaching danger and warn those endangered, to review and evaluate your household, or to see so you can guard your future. I see Him restoring the actual WATCHES so we can see things we have never seen before. God is reordering our day this year so we enter into His timeframe and experience the power of the watch. Let Holy Spirit establish your WATCH!!!!! Watch for unusual things to happen.

Day 25: Read Isaiah 10:26-27, I John 2:20, Isaiah 9:1-4. Receive a New Anointing! Allow the anointing in you to be released in a new way! The anointing is Christ in us being released. This breaks every yoke set against His will. The anointing is like oil. Not only do you become fragrant, but you are able to slip passed the enemy. The anointing is also equated to fatness. You grow "fat" with His presence and authority from the inside, and every yoke on the outside breaks. For the issues that you gained victory in last year and with the cycles that were broken, let Him become your rearguard so the path ahead is secured for the year.

Finally, do not take yourself so seriously that you lose the ability to laugh. Laughter is the best medicine. Joy is our strength. Learn to laugh not only with your friends and family but at the enemies around you that are attempting to defeat you. When we do this, we will not miss seeing the simple things in a world of chaos. Read Psalm 2 and laugh with the Lord!

Blessings,

Chuck D. Pierce

Appendix v 21 Day Prayer Focus to Break the Power of Captivity

Dear Friends and Intercessors:

On March 31 – April 2, 2005 we held the National Prophetic Conference in Middletown, Ohio. This is the place the Lord chose for this national gathering. Middletown is halfway between Dayton and Cincinnati. The speakers addressed the halfway point that we seem to be embracing in our nation. Most decreed that we will press forward in such a way that we go on to the other side and fully get our feet planted for the future. Cindy Jacobs led us into a Freedom walk on the last night. Ray Hughes discussed how a new wind is blowing, bringing a sound of victory. Barbara Yoder gave an incredible message on how to advance. I activated a new prophetic dimension in the Body of Christ. To end the gathering, Peter Wagner and I demonstrated the relationship of apostle and prophet and how the two gifts interact.

Dutch Sheets was the most intense as he released how the courts must change. He read Isaiah 64 and Nehemiah 6. He decreed that we will stop listening to our enemies and move into God's plan. He explained how death and deception are holding us bound in a passive state, stopping us from entering into a revolution.

Sheryl Price, USSPN Co-Coordinator for New Jersey, saw a sign in the heavens as she and her husband, John, drove into the area of the conference. She took what she saw to Robert Heidler and said, "I think this is some kind of word from the Lord". The clouds had formed a unique formation in the heavens. After looking at her sketch, Robert began to decipher a Greek word: schizo! That word means "to rend" or "split," and is translated "opened," "rent asunder," or split as the heavens (Mark 1:10). The second letter that makes up this word is "X" (or chi), which actually sounds like "key" in Greek. When we align our thoughts with God's thoughts, the heavens open. We are declaring that every double minded force that is holding people in a place between two opinions will let go. We are decreeing the heavens will split and God's mind will be displayed to His

people in the land. Go outside and decree the heavens over you, your family, and your area will open up and you will receive the keys of revelation needed for your future.

New Songs Break Old Cycles!

During the conference, the Lord fell upon LeAnn Squier, John Dickson and myself and released the song and sound from heaven for this hour. You must get this song, entitled This Means War, and then play it over and over and let the sound go deep into you. (Go to the GOZI webstore at www.glory-of-zion.org to order this song.)

Seven Year War Cycle Shifting!

We are moving through the seven year war season. At the beginning of the year 2005, I wrote that we needed to have a new war mantle resting on us by the halfway point of this seven year season. I believe that mantle is being released. In April 2005, I participated in the annual Watchman Conference at Christian International in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. The war mantle was the conference focus. The Lord is releasing revelation that will cause us to have the keys to unlock the enemy's plan at the gates of our cities and nation. Victory is waiting in the wings for you against your enemy. There is an enlargement that is coming. Things are turning and coming full circle. Be dressed properly for the remainder of this seven year war season which began in September 2001.

Passover Represents the Departure Out of Captivity

The word captivity refers to you being taken as a spoil of an enemy! Shout—"I am coming out and crossing over into my inheritance!" After rereading the story of the children of Israel ending up in Israel, the Lord quickened to me the following issues concerning captivity. Captivity can also mean you are confined to the present place you are in. The place might be good, but not God's best! If you are experiencing any captivity or wish to be enlarged, ask yourself the following questions:

How was your captivity initiated? Joseph shared his dream out of time and ended up in captivity.

Did God initiate my captivity or did I do something to cause this? Remember, Joseph's brothers were remorseful for allowing Joseph to end up in captivity. Joseph said later, "You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good." Therefore, your captivity can always turn to good.

Remember 70 people left Canaan, their Promised Land, and went into Egypt. There they prospered. "They became stronger than the Egyptians". You can prosper in your captivity. However, your prosperity is not always your place of promise.

Look for change of authority structures. "A Pharaoh who did not know Joseph came into government." Changes in authority are key signs for us to watch closely so that we can see our window of opportunity.

The midwives were ordered to kill the Hebrew children. However, they refused. Know that there are advocates on your path who will represent God's purpose to protect you.

Jochebed (Moses' mother) used resources that she had to protect Moses. While you are in captivity the Lord can show you how to use resources that will sustain you until you can move into your future.

God is always preparing a Deliverer. Moses was there at the right time.

Do not be afraid to confront the enemy. Moses did not know what he was doing when he entered into this supernatural realm. He took what he had (his rod) and began to use it to break an entire nation out of captivity. Just take what you have and let the Spirit of God breathe on it, and begin to move supernaturally in a new way.

Coming Full Circle, Being Released from Your Wilderness and Moving Toward Your Promise

Israel had to first complete the 400 years that was decreed by the Lord for them to be in captivity in Egypt. Sometimes we are destined to wait until God's perfect time of release. However, I do not believe it was God's perfect plan for them to wander in the wilderness. Even in wandering, there is a perfect time of release. When we miss one opportunity, the Lord brings us full circle to offer us the best again. We do not want to repeat our wanderings and go through the same cycle again. Moses recorded these wanderings in Numbers 33. He takes 36 verses to cover about 38 years. (Deut. 2:14 says that the time it took to go from Kadesh Barnea back to the plains of Moab, until the older generation died, was 38 years.) God is really speaking this 38 year cycle to me. We find the man at the Pool of Bethesda had been held in his infirmity for 38 years. I have been preaching on this from John 5.

The Purpose of this Prayer Focus is to be Sure OLD CYCLES are Broken!

Israel had to overcome several things to enter the Promised Land. This prayer focus will allow us to move forward into the fullness of God's plan for our lives. Before you begin this prayer focus, make a list of old cycles that you need to break out of. As you know, the Lord is having me declare VICTORY from month to month. Ask God for signs, wonders and miracles that will intervene in old cyclical structures of your life. Be secure in timing. This is a month to declare that everything in your past be repaired and restored so that your future can be unlocked. Look up and see the window of Heaven that is opening over you. This is a month that you will gain victory in strategic warfare. Do not be afraid of ascending in worship. Find times to fast during this month. This is a time to experience God's glory. Ask God to open your eyes so you can see His glory. Make a list of promises. Even make a list of stirrings that have been in your heart that have never come to fullness. I also want you to incorporate at least three days of fasting in these 21 days. Fast as the Lord would lead you.

Watch for an AMBUSH!

The Lord awakened me a couple of weeks ago and said: "Watch for an ambush." I began to pray for my family. I also prayed for our President. An ambush is where someone or a group is hidden, lying in wait to attack by surprise. As I meditated on this phrase, I saw that I could either stay on the defense or I could set an "ambushment against my enemies through praise." In II Chron. 20, as the people praised, ambushments were set. I also studied another definition of ambush: a military stratagem in which a body of men is placed in concealment to surprise an enemy unawares, or to attack a point when temporarily undefended. Jeremiah calls upon the Medes to "set up a standard against the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set the watchmen, prepare the ambushes" (Jer. 51:12). The Lord told me to ask for a new anointing to come upon the watchman so that we could stand on the wall around our nation, violently praise, and watch the enemy be exposed. As we participate in the following prayer focus, declare that the President will be surrounded. Also, declare a turning in the war in Iraq.

21 DAY PRAYER FOCUS (FASTING ENCOURAGED):

DAY 1: Read Exodus 1-3. Thank God that He has given you advocates that will help you on your path. Thank Him that He will protect your inheritance. Thank Him for preparing a deliverer for you.

DAY 2: Read Exodus 4-10. Tell the enemy to let you go, and that you are going to worship in new way. Tell him to let go of your supply. Ask the Lord for a supernatural anointing to confront every old structure that has been holding you. Stir up the gift of God in you. Call and pray with someone. Decree together that you are coming out and into a new place of victory. Declare that the covenant nation that we are living in will be set free. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

DAY 3: Read Exodus 11-14, and Hebrews 9. Ask the Holy Spirit to cleanse your conscience. Declare that every death cycle around you will let go.

DAY 4: Read 1 Cor. 5:7; John 1:29, John 19:32-36; I Peter 1:19; and Gal. 4:4,5. There is recorded only one celebration of Passover between the Exodus and the entrance into Canaan. It was primarily a commemorative ordinance, reminding the children of Israel of their deliverance out of Egypt. But it was, no doubt, also a type of the great deliverance wrought by the Messiah for all His people from the doom of death on account of sin, and from the bondage of sin itself, a bondage worse than Egypt. Declare that every strategy of captivity that is holding you will be exposed and broken.

DAY 5: Read the Faith Chapter - Hebrews 11. "Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them." Participate in communion. You may want to get with a group to do this.

DAY 6: Numbers 16-17. There was jealousy, rebellion, and accusation against leadership within the camp, brought by Korah and others. The earth opened and swallowed the people. God sent a plague. Ask the Lord to remove these deadly spirits from the body of Christ. We must always be careful in our attitude and actions toward leadership. We may disagree with leadership, but should do so in an appropriate way. Break all cycles relating to past broken relationships with leadership.

DAY 7: Read Numbers 20. There was much complaining against leadership within the camp. Moses got angry and struck the rock. This was the only instance after leaving Sinai where God did not judge the people for their complaining. Instead, He judged Moses so that he could not enter the Land. Ask the Lord to break old cycles of anger that have held you captive and kept you from crossing over into the fullness of God's plan. Moses' spirit became vexed, keeping him from revealing God's pattern from heaven. Ask the Lord to stop you from reacting wrongly.

DAY 8: Read Numbers 21. Declare a new well will spring forth. Break any strategy of impatience. Do not allow the following question to be yours: "Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?" Read Numbers 14. Declare that you will have a "different" spirit like Joshua and Caleb. Declare a new level of faith. In Numbers 21, the Lord supplies water in a new way. The leaders assembled and begin to sing, calling the water to spring up from the earth as they dug with their staffs. The new song was breaking an old cycle of complaining about lack of water. Listen to or sing a new song.

DAY 9: Read Numbers 22-25. Curses from outside the camp: Balak hires Baalam to curse Israel, but is unsuccessful. Instead Baalam blesses Israel and curses Balak. Idolatry and immorality occur from within the camp: Beware of seducing spirits. When Balak was not successful in placing a curse against Israel, he tempted them with idolatry and immorality. The older generation had not struggled with these issues after the golden calf. This was a new test for this generation and they failed. God sent a plague. Ask the Lord to deliver you from seducing spirits.

DAY 10: Read Numbers 31. Partial victory is not enough this season. God ordered Israel to wipe out those who had seduced them and caused them to agree with idolatry and immorality. Israel fought and won, but did not execute the full vengeance God had commanded. They took for themselves spoil and plunder which God had commanded to be destroyed. Moses made them execute the full vengeance of God. This is a time to understand the phrase "utterly destroy." There are certain things that the Lord is refusing to allow to go into our next phase. Choose to let go of all that the Lord is requiring you to leave behind.

DAY 11: Read Deut. 2, 8, 11, 28, and 34. This is the prophetic recap before Moses dies, and the account of how Moses, the deliverer of God's people from captivity, died. Read how the promises of God were reiterated. God gave a period of mourning. Israel had to overcome their grief to cross over. Let go of the past. Review what God has said. Purpose in your heart to cross over into all of His blessings this season.

DAY 12: Read Matthew 9; Mark 2; and Luke 5. Using a marriage-feast comparison, Jesus insists that fasting was not suitable for His disciples as long as He, the Bridegroom, was with them. Declare that new wine will begin to flow and new wineskins will begin to form. Declare that a Reformation will occur in the Church. Declare that any old death structure that is holding us captive will be broken. Ask the Lord to give you a special GRACE to press through. Have a celebration. Have dinner with a group or go out to eat. Rejoice over the changes that are beginning to happen. Ask the Lord to prepare you to fast at the appropriate time.

DAY 13: Read Isaiah 58. Going without food or water was not automatically effective in accomplishing the desires of those who fasted. In the prophet Isaiah's time, people complained that they had fasted and that God had not responded favorably. The prophet declared that the external show was futile. The fast that the Lord requires is to loose the bonds of wickedness, undo the heavy burdens, feed the hungry, shelter the poor, and clothe the naked. Ask the Lord to break old cycles related to religious spirits. Ask Him what your fast is to be from.

DAY 14: Read Jer. 36:6; Acts 27:9; II Chron 20; and Jonah 3. Fasting is going without food or drink voluntarily, generally for religious purposes. The expression used in the law is "humble your souls" (Lev 16:29-31; 23:27; Num 30:13), implying the sacrifice of the personal will, which gives to fasting all its value. Fasting, however, could also be done for other reasons. It was sometimes done as a sign of distress, grief, or repentance. This custom resulted in calling the day "the day of fasting" or "the Fast." Jehoshaphat called for a fast in all Israel when opposed by the Moabites and Ammonites. Reacting to Jonah's preaching, the men of Nineveh, at the king's order, fasted and put on sackcloth. Ask Him what your fast is to be about.

DAY 15: Read 2 Samuel 1; Nehemiah 1; Daniel 1 and 6. Fasting was often done by individuals in times of distress. David fasted after hearing that Saul and Jonathan were dead. Nehemiah fasted and prayed upon learning that Jerusalem had remained in ruins since its destruction. Darius, the king of Persia, fasted all night after placing Daniel in the lions' den. Ask the Lord to remove old cycles of grief. Ask Him to show you situations that are in decay (individuals, cites, families, nations, churches, etc.). Receive supernatural wisdom from the Lord. Ask Him to send angels in your captivity. Fast this day if you feel led.

DAY 16: Read Ezra 8 and Acts 23. Those about to return with Ezra from the Captivity fasted at the river of Ahava in the face of the dangers faced on the journey. Ask the Lord to lead you in a new way and to break every robbing spirit that is ahead on your path. Declare your children (physical or spiritual) will be protected. Fast if the Spirit of God requests this of you.

DAY 17: Read Esther 3, 4, 5 and 9. Esther and the Jews of Shushan (or Susa) fasted when faced with the destruction planned by Haman. Find three days to fast. Declare that decrees of the enemies will be reversed.

DAY 18: Read Luke 2; Mark 2; Matt. 4; and Luke 4. Fasting also occurs in the New Testament. Anna at the Temple "served God with fastings and prayers night and day." John the Baptist led his disciples to fast. Jesus fasted 40 days and 40 nights before His temptation. Give thanks for the spiritual discipline of fasting, and for Jesus' faithfulness to complete His fast.

DAY 19: Read Acts 10, 13 and 14. Cornelius was fasting at the time of his vision. The church in Antioch fasted and sent Paul and Barnabas off on the first missionary journey with fasting and prayer. Paul and Barnabas prayed with fasting at the appointment of elders in the churches. Thank the Lord for the release of revelation and the consecration that can result from fasting.

DAY 20: Read Joshua 3 and 1 Cor. 7. Paul suggested that husbands and wives might abstain from sexual intercourse to give themselves to fasting and prayer. Do not fear crossing over. Ask the Lord to sanctify you. If you have not found three days to fast-----do so now!

Day 21: Read 1 Cor. 15; Hebrews 2; and 2 Tim. 1. The apostle Paul speaks of death as an enemy: "The last enemy that will be destroyed is death." In His resurrection, Jesus conquered death - physical, spiritual, and eternal. Through fear of death, men are subject to bondage. "Our Savior Jesus Christ...has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel". Demand that the shadow of death over you, your family, city, state, and nation be broken. Read Is. 25. Declare a death shroud to lift.

Spend three days praising and celebrating at the end of this focus or at the end of your fasting time. Declare every ambush of the enemy will be uncovered. Declare supply that the enemy has held up will be released. Declare you will see your desire upon your enemies. Memorize Acts 18:10: "For I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city." (NKJV) The power of celebration will break through all barriers. This is a major month of change. Declare new vision will develop.

Blessings,

Chuck D. Pierce

Appendix vi 40 Day Prayer Focus: Initiating Your New Season of Enlargement (Breaking Forth into the Year 5766)

Dear Prayer Warriors:

I am so excited about this next prayer focus. I have broken the 40 Day Prayer Focus into EIGHT PARTS. I have declared that when you complete all eight parts you will be initiated into your next new beginning. (Of course, eight means new beginning.) We are in the Hebraic Year 5766. If I could summarize the meaning of this next year in one sentence it would be: Watch For And Recognize Your Divine Connections! In 1986, when the Lord sovereignly gave me the vision recorded in The Future War of the Church about the church's changing structure for the supernatural war ahead (the one that we are now involved in), He said, "Know who you are connected to and warring with!" He then showed me how the Church evolves each ten years in the changing world. We have now entered the third ten-year season and the next three years of the war season ahead. This year is the year for maturing our connections for the future.

RIDING THE WIND of REVELATION!

Last year we entered the "Whirlwind Season." Many of you have felt the effects of winds of change all around you. For some of you they have been spiritual. Others have experienced these whirlwinds in a tangible, physical way. However, remember the Lord's will is for His wind to stir mightily in us causing us to roar victoriously!

Bless God for all you have experienced in this season. Since you are still here, He wants to use every experience to define you. Now is the time that we must CATCH ANOTHER WIND FOR 5766! We are moving into three more years where our faith dimension must rise. During this time, do not fear the wind and the waves. You have crossed the halfway point of this season of discipline. You will reach the other side. However, look for the Lord to come to you in some unusual ways. Learn the word "COME!" Jesus is going to teach us how to move forward on the waves of change around us. When He told Peter to get out of the boat and "Come," Peter's faith became buoyant. He was fine until he looked at his circumstances. This year remember when you hear the word "come" to keep moving and not look at everything around you. These next three years determine our future. Therefore, expect the Lord to move on your behalf.

1 (One) Day to Bless the Lord

So many times we want to enter a new season without blessing God for the last season - the good, the bad and the ugly. To bless is to salute, congratulate, thank, praise, or kneel down. To bless someone, you would kneel, and then speak forth and release an adoration or eulogy. Before you enter into this next season, spend a day doing that to the Lord. This will cause the Lord to bless, or grant you favor for the next season. Make a list of defining situations of the past year, then bless the Lord that He has sustained you in the midst of these situations. Watch Him as He completes one season and opens up another. Sing a song to Him, wave your hands before Him, and let Him know that you love and trust Him for your future. Here are some verses that will help you: Psalm 34:1, Psalm 103:1-3, Psalm 115:13, James 3:9, Psalm 145:1-2, Psalm 71:17.

7 (Seven) Days to Establish Your Mind and Heart for the Season Ahead

This Hebraic year is 5766, the year of SAMEKH VAV. The VAV is the connector phrase that connects seasons together. In Hebrew, the VAV would correspond to the English word "and". The VAV looks like a tent peg. Think of it as a spear of revelation that is being sent from the Throne Room to aid you in the midst of your days ahead. There are several key points to remember:

Day 1: This is a year that the generations must connect. Read Isaiah 59:14-21 and Isaiah 60:1-2. Let the Lord show you three generations that you are connected with. Declare that all three will prophesy the same thing.

Day 2: This is a year that your support will come through your key covenant connections. Therefore, the understanding of covenant is very important. Also, watch for your supernatural covenants. Read Genesis 12, Luke 6:38, Luke 8:4-18, and 2 Corinthians 8 and 9. Analyze your giving. Giving is always connected with covenant. Covenant giving releases your future provision. Give a special offering to those that enable you to advance on your path.

Day 3: This is a year to extend the borders of your sphere of authority and establish your covering. Read Isaiah 54, Zechariah 14:16-21, and 2 Corinthians 10.

Day 4: This is a year to establish your building plan for the future. Build with your covenant connections! Read Jeremiah 29 – 31.

Day 5: This is a year for you to look at an extended horizon and gain revelation for your future. Then allow that revelation to overtake your past. Do not keep looking back at your past, but allow the Lord's will for your expected end to take over what has happened in your past (Jer. 29). Expect miracles! Redeem your past so you don't repeat it! Gain strategies of fulfillment! This is a time to let go and let God start a new cycle for your life. Watch the Lord overtake your wasted years. Read Acts 17 and Philippians 2. Memorize Luke 1:45.

Day 6: This is a time that He has abundant POWER to release. You will represent the King as His son/daughter this year! Read John 1 and Ephesians 1 & 2.

Day 7: This is a year to drive a tent peg through the enemy's plan. Think Jael! Read Judges 4 and 5. Find your place in the warfare. Be like Jael. When the enemy comes near your tent, drive your tent peg through his head (that which he is speaking to you that is against God's plan).

3 (Three) Days for Love to Abound

LOVE CONNECTS! LOVE wants the best for someone and wants nothing to stop that individual from receiving the best that God has for their lives. That would be our prayer for you as you enter this next season (1 Cor 13, Luke 11-12).

Day 1: Respond to and LOVE GOD more than you have ever loved Him. Ask Him to invade your atmosphere and understanding with His character. Read 1 Corinthians 13, Luke 11-12 and 1 John 1. Study one of the names of God! (For instance, Gen 22, Ex 15, Ex 17, etc.)

Day 2: Gain a new hunger and love for His WORD. Don't rely on past knowledge or understanding that you have developed in your methodology of seeking God. Don't assume you know everything. Be teachable. Process God based upon present truth - not past wisdom. This will cause you to know the wiles the enemy has developed to defeat you from advancing. This will help you define your FIELD and sphere of authority and recognize who is in your FIELD that is spiritually above you. Also, as you connect know who you influence and who is influencing you! Read Luke 13, 14 & 15, and 1 John 2.

Day 3: This is a year to love God's people more than you have ever loved them. The Lord is developing a koinonia war fellowship mentality. The church is moving from just fellowship into a mighty army that will do exploits. We will find our strength multiplied and synergized as we stay connected and advance. I am glad that we are connected and are fighting the good fight together. Read 1 John 3, 4 and 5. Memorize Leviticus 19:18 and Matthew 5:43. Pray for those in your life that are hard to love.

1 (One) Day to Allow New Strength to Arise

Be STRONG! Strength means the ability to withstand your next attack. Let the Lord complete and fulfill various issues in your life that you have been waiting for. May you lack nothing. End or conclude this season and your projects with victory! Ask for all the supply that you need to finish strong! Declare that you are a mended NET! Declare that God's healing grace will bathe all of your wounds and you will be healed so you can draw in harvest. Be satisfied by Him! Maximize your resources so you are completely filled; then He will enlarge the place of your tent. Read Zechariah 4, Ephesians 6, and 2 Peter 2. Meditate on Isaiah 40:25-31. Stand up, raise your hands, and receive a new wind of strength. Let the wind blow! Those who have remained strong and faithful can expect to prosper in a new way. Seeds you have sown are beginning to sprout. RECEIVE NOW a new measure of strength and authority. Let His love overtake you. Allow faith to increase. Let a new wind blow upon you. Do not fear your next attack for the Lord is releasing strength NOW!

8 (Eight) Days to Develop A Mind For Enlargement

Because you have endured, receive great benefits! Though the FLOOD has attempted to overtake, GOD has come in like a flood. The LORD has raised up a new STANDARD on your behalf! Faith will now explode and create an atmosphere where things that could not happen will happen. The word enlargement is linked with testing. Your testings produce a testimony. Once you endure a test your testimony will develop in your spirit man. Your testimony overcomes.

Day 1: Do not fear testings! Read Psalm 66. Shout over every test you have and are encountering.

Day 2: Do not try to control your own time. Let your times be determined by the Lord. Read Exodus 34:24.

Day 3: Ask for and receive MERCY. Read Psalm 4.

Day 4: Extend mercy to others! Read Luke 10:25-37. Ask the Lord to make you like the good Samaritan.

Day 5: Put on your favorite praise song and sing in the midst of any barren structure that is trying to hold you. Re-read Isaiah 54:1-4, 11-14. Memorize Isaiah 54:17.

Day 6: Be open to change! Read II Corinthians 6:11-13. Make a list of places that you resist change. Acknowledge your fear, before the Lord, of situations getting out of your control.

Day 7: Allow your faith to increase! Read Luke 17 and 1 Cor 3. Memorize John 3:30.

Day 8:Receive authority! Meditate on Acts 5:12-16. Do not be afraid for the gift of God within you to begin to operate. Pray for the sick. Decree healing.

4 (Four) Days to Tear Down and Get Ready To Build Up

Jeremiah 1:9-10 says, "Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: 'Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant.'"

Day 1: Desire to prophesy. Memorize 1 Corinthians 14:1-3. Ask God to purify your speech. Let Him touch your mouth. Let Him purify your heart so you can speak forth His word. Believe that He can use you to be a mouthpiece.

Day 2: Ask the Lord to reveal your sphere of authority. It may be your home, your workplace, your ministry, your state, or even a nation(s). Read Psalm 2, Psalm 84, and Luke 9.

Day 3: Ask the Lord to take an axe to certain roots that would hold you tied to an old structure. Meditate on Psalm 94. Read Matthew 3:10-11. Declare certain roots cut.

Day 4: Define what you are building for the future. Decree that what you plant in this season will prosper in the seasons ahead. Read Isaiah 60.

12 (Twelve) Days to Initiate You into a Season of Enlarging!

This is a time to pray in a NEW WAY! Ask for and receive revelation for the next three years. I have been praying Psalm 118:25 for you: "Send Prosperity Now!" Another one of my favorite scriptures is Proverbs 3:5-10: "Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; reverently fear and worship the Lord and turn [entirely] away from evil. It shall be health to your nerves and sinews, and marrow and moistening to your bones. Honor the Lord with your capital and sufficiency [from righteous labors] and with the firstfruits of all your income; so shall your storage places be filled with plenty, and your vats shall be overflowing with new wine." (AMP)

This Scripture acknowledges the fact that the land and all its products were the gift of Yahweh to Israel, and in thankfulness for His bounty, all the firstfruits were offered to Him. By obeying and bringing our best to Him in worship at the beginning of each month, we will see and experience SUPPLY and HEALING released! For instance, an offering of firstfruits, brought to Elisha, was miraculously increased so as to feed one hundred persons (2 Kings 4:42-44). God will also meet His people in unusual ways this year to break old cycles. Notice the situation where the man at the Gate Beautiful was healed after 38 years of bondage (Acts 3). This healing created a great movement in God's people. This healing affected the civil government. We are on the verge of one of the greatest moves of God in the earth since the early church.

Here are some key points from Proverbs 3:1-14 that will help you. Read and meditate on this passage for 12 days. The number 12 means new administration. Please agree and ask the Lord to initiate or activate each one of these scriptures into your life. Ask for grace to be transformed.

Day 1: Pray in a NEW WAY! Ask for revelation for the next three years. When your circumstances begin to change, go with them. Do not rebel. They will set your future for the next three years.

Day 2: Remove any wrong emotion that would cause you to respond without the love of God! When your nerve endings are being stretched, let the love of God come in with GRACE! God will be breaking down thought processes and stretching to the limit, but that is the only way to expand.

Day 3: Break any mindset that agrees with lack or selfishness. When God says give, then give! Shut out all deliberate hypocrisy or falsehood. This will break selfishness. Do not expect something of someone else that you are not willing to do. That is hypocrisy.

Day 4: Find favor from God and from man. We must have new favor from new people to enlarge. We need favor from Him that will cause men to seek us out. The presence of God will cause men to favor us. Ask the Lord to position people on your path that you can connect with and be favored by. May you be SOUGHT AFTER!

Day 5: Faith works by love. Love is the only way we will come into a new dimension of faith. If we do not break into faith, we will not break into miracles. You won't break into miracles just by asking for them. You must create a faith atmosphere that is greater than the atmosphere you have been in.

Day 6: Receive health to your body and strength to your bones. The Lord wants a testimony about nerves being healed to manifest. Memorize Hebrews 4:12 and read Proverbs 3:1-14.

Day 7: The Lord also wants to deal with bones and structures. Structure is linked with ENLARGEMENT! God must rearrange the structure so you keep moving in what He is doing. Read Ezekiel 37:1-14 along with Proverbs 3:1-14.

Day 8: Let Him rearrange our time sequencing. Time is our biggest idol. Read and meditate on Psalm 31 along with Proverbs 3:1-14.

Day 9: May the Spirit of the Lord purify your blood this year. The Word has to get into your bone marrow. Quote out loud Hebrews 4:12. Read it in several Bible versions if possible.

Day 10: Honor the Lord from your wealth and from the firstfruits of all your income. We need to understand the firstfruits principle of God. This will cause your storage places (provision) to be filled with plenty and your vats to overflow with new wine (revelation). Give a special offering. Read Joel 2 along with Proverbs 3:1-14.

Day 11: Don't despise your discipline this year. Because He loves us, He is pouring out discipline (or teaching). Receive teaching for your future. Read Heb. 12 with Proverbs 3:1-14.

Day 12: Decree that your mind is being transformed. Read Rom. 12:1-2 with Prov. 3:1-14.

4 (Four) Days to Stake Your Claim for the Future

Future is an interesting word that means there is a "yet" time ahead. The concept is that we have an end that we are expected to reach. Many people are gripped by the fear of what they perceive lies ahead on their path. Many have regrets from mistakes made in their past and have a hard time believing that they still have a future. We, as God's children, should be filled with hope. To have a future means that you are attached by a Divine cord to the heart of God and He is giving you hope that your end will be greater than your beginning. We should be extending our hand to readily grasp what is ahead of us.

Day 1: Read Psalm 37. Meditate and memorize Psalm 37:37.

Day 2: Read Amos 9. Ask the Lord to give you revelation on the Tabernacle of David.

Day 3: Read Jeremiah 29 and Daniel 4. Thank God that He knows your path ahead and there is revelation and wisdom that He has kept sealed for you until now. This revelation will overthrow the enemy's plans and schemes against you.

Day 4: Shout! Read Jer. 29:11-13 and Jer. 33:3 out loud. Drive a stake into the ground and declare that your future is secure. Rejoice all day!

This is a year that the Lord is extending revelation from heaven that looks like a stake or tent peg. Reach up and wait expectantly to receive what you need for your end to be greater than your future. Stake your ground (your portion that the Lord has for you) and decree that the best the Lord has for you will manifest in the three year window ahead!

May all the blessings of the year be upon you!

Chuck D. Pierce

Appendix vii 31 Day Prayer Focus to Release Wealth

Dear Successful Warriors:

The Lord is about to break the Body into a new supernatural dimension. I believe this supernatural dimension will cause us to have a level of understanding that we have not had. Many of you have prayed through the 40 Day Wilderness Prayer Focus. If you have not, you can find that on my website at www.glory-of-zion.org/news.htm. We are coming out of the wilderness. But during our wilderness time the enemy has gained access to many, and hoarded what belonged to them. The strongman has it captured in his house, and as Jesus says, "It is time to plunder the rooms of the strongman." As the Lord brings us into this supernatural dimension of revelation, we will be able to unlock what has been taken and held in the enemy's camp. This includes strength stolen during our times of infirmity, wealth stolen during our times of disobedience and poverty, and keys to build what God would have built in our life at this time.

Releasing Wealth

Deuteronomy 8 should become a chapter that we fully understand. I feel the Holy Spirit has asked me to do the following 31 Day Prayer Focus to Release Wealth. Many prophecies have come forth through the years over the release and transfer of wealth. I do not know that we have ever tried to pray through and understand the release of wealth. I believe this is a key prayer focus. I've had much warfare over getting this developed so we can begin to pray in this particular dimension. I want to suggest that before you start this prayer focus that you read Deuteronomy 8 twice. Memorize verse 18: "And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you POWER to get WEALTH that He may ESTABLISH His COVENANT which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day." If we are really going to see the Kingdom advance, we must understand and enter into this type of praying and faith dimension.

The Year to Ride the Bull

If you will remember, at the beginning of the year Hebraic Year 5761, October 2000, the Spirit of the God spoke two things to me. First, that would be the year that we prepared for seven years of war. This war would be focused over God's covenant blessings being released. This started at Rosh Hashanah in 2001. The Lord also showed me that 2002 would be a year to "ride the bull". When God spoke this to me on December 31, 2001, going into the New Year, I knew this was related to the release of finance and wealth. I even shared that beginning in April 2002, we would see a shift in the financial world, and then we would begin to see a volatility related to finances in May, June, and July.

Here is the exact word that I shared: "This season, when mastered before the Lord, will cause great release of covenant blessings. What is a good picture to help you understand these times? I ended 2001 and began the year 2002 in Michigan. While I was ministering to a regional gathering, the Lord said to me, 'Get ready for the ride.' Then He showed me a BULL. He said, 'This year will be like a BULL RIDE.' Bull riding is one of the most violent sports. This will be a year of violence. This will be a year of intense learning. This will be a year of falling and getting back up. This will be a year to overcome fear. This will be a year to understand power. This will be a year to learn a different way of prospering financially. This will be a year of total dependence upon the Lord. A bull rider must keep one hand in the air as the attempt is made to master the power of the bull. I would suggest for you to throw your hand up and allow the Lord to grab hold of it for this coming year (Is. 41)."

August Is the Eighth Month

To ride a bull successfully, you must ride the bull for eight seconds. Since August is the eighth month, this will be our hardest month to endure the warfare related to financial release and provision for Kingdom advancement in the future. Things are shifting so much that we must understand what is going on in the world system to enter into victory. Great resistance will come this month over the release of wealth. The saddest thing in a bull ride is to endure all the violence for 7.8 seconds, and then fall off.

Transferring Wealth for Kingdom Advancement

Increase is a harvest principle. Increase rises through faith and follows deeds that are linked with faith. Increase comes through supernatural Kingdom connections so we enter into a multiplied, synergistic corporate measure. Increase is also a reward for obedience. Here is a fundamental question we need to ask ourselves: What is the wealth? There are several ways to look at wealth in the Bible. However, the Lord tells us in Deuteronomy 8:18, "it is He who gives you power to get wealth that He may establish His covenant that He swore to your fathers" (emphasis added). Power means vigor, strength, force, or capacity-whether physical, mental, or spiritual. Wealth means material substance, strength, and the spoils of war necessary to accomplish God's plan on earth.

The Bible has two basic attitudes toward wealth: one of blessing from God and one in which wealth is worshiped as Mammon. Wealth is acknowledged to be a blessing from God. All the patriarchs became very wealthy. Solomon's wealth was seen as God's favor. Job had wealth, lost it, and then regained a double portion. Jesus also admonished us to multiply whatever we have (Luke 19). However, He did warn us that the pursuit of riches and pleasure could keep our faith from maturing. Jesus viewed money or wealth as a spiritual power (Matt. 6:24), therefore warning us not to let it become a rival with God.

A Proper View of Wealth

The proper view that Christians should have toward wealth should only be for the advancement of God's Kingdom. With one of the greatest spiritual harvests ever witnessed by a generation on earth approaching, we need to begin seeing a transfer of wealth just as we read about in the book of Joshua. This is a season in history when wealth needs to be channeled into ministries that serve people and spread the gospel.

We must not fear the concept of wealth. We must not fear the concept of harvesting what God has given us to harvest. We must not fear multiplying and increasing. Money (in and of) itself is not bad. First Timothy 6:10 says the "love of money is the root of all kinds of evil." This does not mean that money is evil or amoral. The morality of money comes from the person using that money. One must never confuse money with the attitude of our heart. We must also resist the idea that to be poor is spiritual. This teaching has its roots in pagan thinking termed Docetism, which states that matter is bad and mind is good. Docetism has caused many problems in Christianity including the separation between sacred and secular.

We must also separate our personal worth from how much money we possess. Our worth is not linked with the money we have, but with our stewardship for God. Once these mindsets are overturned we are free to go forth looking at the harvest field that we are a part of and asking the Lord how we can harvest that field. This also gives us the vision and focus to overthrow anything that is set against the harvesting call that God has on our life for our field.

Avoiding the Traps

As we consider the issues of wealth, we need to be aware that there are very real traps we must avoid. When we go up against the enemy to fight for the transference of wealth into the Kingdom of God, we must guard ourselves against the love of money (1 Timothy 6:10). Philarguria refers to avarice, which is the insatiable greed for riches, and covetousness, which is to inordinately or wrongly desire the possessions of others. If we are not careful, this is the fruit that money can produce in our hearts. Also, deceitfulness of riches (Mark 4:19) is another issue to be aware of. This deals primarily with the perceived power that comes with money. This produces an attitude of heart, which seeks to manipulate through false pretenses and appearances. Money is good when it is a servant to us. However, when we become a slave to its dominion, we are in trouble. There were people in the Word who were cursed by wealth, or had impure motives to gain wealth such as Judas, Esau, Gehazi, Ananias and Sapphira, Lot, and Achan. They were trapped by impure desires. As we move forward against the enemy, we must renounce every issue of covertness that is tied to MAMMON.

Luke 12:15 says this: "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for ones life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses." Covet means to have a strong desire for. This sin is linked with uncontrolled, inordinate, selfish emotional desire. That is why the enemy loves to lead us into illicit forms of idolatry. Idolatry misdirects our desires from a holy God to flesh-filled, demonically-inspired forms of lasciviousness. This is what James says in James 4:1, "Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?"

We must detect any patterns in our own lives that are listed above. We must stay in God's covenant timing. When you get God's wealth out of God's time and way, you will get the curse that is on that wealth. Much money has curses attached to it. Therefore, if you don't know how to break the curse before you get the money, you will get the curse that comes with the money. As Malachi 3 tells us, one way to break the curse off of money is to tithe and give offerings. We must pray for the Body of Christ in this area. The 31 Day Prayer Focus follows:

31 DAY PRAYER FOCUS

Day 1: Pray Mt. 12:25-29. Bind the strongman that has robbed, plundered and taken your spoil. Jesus said this was the first step. Many times we try to enter into a new dimension of supply without operating in Jesus' "first" commands.

Day 2: Pray Eph. 1:17-20. Ask God to give you revelation over how the enemy has stolen from you. Wisdom and revelation dismantle demons.

Day 3: Pray Eph. 6. Ask God to give you the grace to stand against the enemy that has robbed from you.

Day 4: Pray Is. 42:21, 22. Cry RESTORE! Ask the Lord to bring His restorative plan into your life over wealth. Even declare that all the enemy has stolen through your generational bloodline will be restored to you.

Day 5: Pray Mal. 3:8-10. Declare that the generational curse of "GOD ROBBING" will be broken out of your bloodline. This is one of the four major generational curses.

Day 6: Pray 2 Cor. 10:3-6. Tear down mindsets of poverty. Poverty has a voice which says, "God is not able." There are philosophies in your life that have developed wrong mindsets over wealth. Dismantle unbelief over provision.

Day 7: Pray Prov. 13:18. Ask God to remove rebellious spirits of the past that have caused you not to heed instruction and discipline.

Day 8: Pray Prov. 14:23. Bind a spirit of fantasy that is linked with divination. Ask God to bring you into a reality of the vision He has for your life so you have the proper supply for the right vision.

Day 9: Pray Prov. 20:13. Bind a spirit of laziness and excess sleep that keeps you from spending time with the Lord and missing your window of opportunity for provision.

Day 10: Pray Ps. 115:14-16. Read 2 Chron. 20. Ask God for increase. Ask Him to give you a mind for increase. Ask Him to open your heart to any prophetic word that will bring you success and cause you to be able to rake in the spoils that the enemy is holding.

Day 11: Pray 2 Cor. 10. Ask God for an increase in the sphere of authority you are aligned with.

Day 12: Pray Neh. 8:10. Ask God for an increase in joy which produces strength. Strength enables you to gain wealth.

Day 13: Pray Prov. 10:22. Bless God and honor Him that gives wealth as a blessing. Wealth is a blessing from God.

Day 14: Pray Deut. 7:12, 13; Prov. 3:9,10. Declare that you will obey Him in any request. Sometimes these requests are very simple.

Day 15: Pray Prov. 8:18, 21. Wealth is a reward for wisdom. Ask God for a new dimension of power.

Day 16: Pray Prov. 10:4, 12:24, 14:23. Wealth is a result of enterprise and useful work.

Day 17: Pray Prov. 13:22; Eccles. 2:26. Wealth is taken away from the sinners and given to those who please God.

Day 18: Pray Prov. 22:16. Read Dan. 6, 7. Ask the Lord to expose any oppressive spirit that is stopping a release of your next level of wealth. Wealth is imperfectly distributed in this world, and it is sometimes gained through oppression and injustice. Many times there is a network or confederation of leaders set against wealth.

Day 19: Pray Amos 2:6, 4:1, 8:4-6. Pray that the wealth held by oppressive leaders will be released for God's Kingdom.

Day 20: Pray Prov. 23:4, Eccles. 4:8. Pray for clear vision. Provision is linked with vision. Wealth is not an end in itself.

Day 21: Pray Eccles. 5:10,13, Mt. 6:24, Luke 16:13. Ask God to reveal the snares of wealth to you. Wealth is a potentially dangerous snare.

Day 22: Pray 1 Sam. 2:7; Ps. 69:33; Rev. 2:9. Acknowledge God's sovereignty, and declare His favor on you for wealth

Day 23: Pray Prov. 14:21, Eph. 4:28, Jas. 2:15, 16, 1 John 3:17. Wealth is to be shared with the needy. Ask the Lord to define your responsibility to those who are less fortunate than you.

Day 24: Pray Luke 12:33, 18:22. Wealth is sometimes to be given away completely. Be willing to give in abundance. God cannot fill our hands if we are tight fisted.

Day 25: Pray Ps. 82:4. Declare deliverance from the hand of the wicked who has tied up any of your wealth.

Day 26: Read Ps. 22, 103, 145; Luke 1:33, 10:9, 11:2, 11:17, 12:32, 18:16, 22:30. Ask God for a Kingdom mentality.

Day 27: Pray 2 Cor. 8:2. Declare that out of your poverty you will abound in the riches of liberality. Declare that any trial of affliction will bring you into a greater abundance.

Day 28: Pray Mt. 4:8-11. Do not fall to the devil's trap to operate in haste over wealth. One of his biggest snares is to offer you promises that God has planned for you out of God's timing. Meditate on verse 11. Always remember that Satan watches for an opportune time to trap you.

Day 29: Read and pray the book of Haggai. Declare all discouragement, disinterest, disillusionment and deferred hope to break from you. Be willing to build again.

Day 30: Pray Zech. 8:12,13. From obedience God will strengthen your hands and cause everything your hands touch to increase.

Day 31: Declare Malachi 3:10,11. "Prove Me NOW" says the Lord! Look up and see the windows of blessings that He wants to open up. Watch Him overcome your devourer.

I have one prayer for all of us, LUKE 16:8. I am asking God for a level of wisdom to be released to us that will make us wiser and shrewder than the sons of darkness.

Blessings,

Chuck D. Pierce

Return to Table of Contents

Go to Beginning

END NOTES

i

Cindy Jacobs, The Voice of God (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1995), pp. 180-181.

ii Alfred Edersheim, The Temple: Its Ministry and Services (http://philologos.org/%5F%5Feb%2Dttms/), accessed May 17, 2006.

iii Martha Lucia and Dana Millar, The Watchman (Santa Rosa Beach, FL: Christian International Ministries Network, 2002), pp. 37-38.

iv Dutch Sheets, Watchman Prayer (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2000), pp. 29-30.

v Ibid, p.61.

vi Joy Parrott, Watchman, Watchman, What of the Night? (Auburn, WA: Glory Publications, 2005), pp. 14-15.

vii Dutch Sheets and Chuck D. Pierce, Releasing the Prophetic Destiny of a Nation (Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image Publishers, Inc., 2005), pp. 46-51.

viii Jim W. Goll, The Seer (Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image Publishers, Inc., 2004), pp. 21-24.

ix Robert Heidler, The Cycles of God (Denton, TX: Glory of Zion International Ministries, 2006), p. 23.

x Ibid, p. 25.

xi The New Unger's Bible Dictionary. Originally published by Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois. Copyright (c) 1988.

xii Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1991 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.

xiii Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright (c)1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers.

xiv Candi MacAlpine, Take Back the Night (Lake Mary, FL: Creation House, 2005), p. 1.

xv The New Unger's Bible Dictionary. Originally published by Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois. Copyright (c) 1988.

xvi International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, Electronic Database Copyright (c)1996 by Biblesoft.

xvii http://www.everythingunderthemoon.net/moon-phases.htm, accessed May 26, 2006.

xviii Chuck D. Pierce and Rebecca Wagner Sytsema, The Future War of the Church (Ventura, CA: 2001), p. 72.

xix Chuck D. Pierce and Rebecca Wagner Sytsema, When God Speaks (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2005), pp. 70-75, 94-96.

Note: Some excellent resources for interpreting symbols include Ira Milligan, Understanding the Dreams You Dream (Shippensburg, PA: Treasure House, 1997) and Every Dreamer’s Handbook (Shippensburg, PA: Treasure House, 2000); Jane Hamon, Dreams and Visions (Ventura, A: Regal Books, 2000); Kevin J. Conner, Interpreting the Symbols and Types (Portland, OR: City Christian Publishing, 1999); and Ed F. Vallowe, Biblical Mathematics: Keys to Scripture Numerics (Columbia, SC: Olive Press, 1995).

xx Chuck D. Pierce and Rebecca Wagner Sytsema, The Future War of the Church (Ventura, CA: Renew Books, 2001), pp. 62-65.

xxi Chuck D. Pierce and Rebecca Wagner Sytsema, Possessing Your Inheritance (Ventura, CA: Renew Books, 1999), pp. 83-91.

xxii Ibid, pp. 95-98.

xxiii John Crowder, The New Mystics (Homer, AK: Sons of Thunder Publications), p.133.

xxiv Don Finto, God’s Promise and the Future of Israel (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2006), pp. 32-34.

xxv “Shooting Spree Foiled”, by Scott Anderson, Courier-Post, Monday, July 7, 2003; “3 Oaklyn Teens Charged After Attempted Carjacking”, by Jason Laughlin and Alan Guenther, Courier-Post Staff

xxvi “Arms Dealer Held Without Bail in Missile Case”, by Richard Lezin Jones with David Johnston, The New York Times, August 13, 2003.

xxvii J. Pedersen, Israel, 1-4, 1926-40, Index s.v. ‘Victory’

xxviii J.J. von Allmen, Vocabulary of the Bible, 1958, s.v. ‘Victory’

Other books by Chuck D. Pierce

God’s Now Time (Regal Books)

With Rebecca Wagner Sytsema

God’s Unfolding Battle Plan (Regal Books)

Interpreting the Times (Charisma House)

One Thing: How to Keep Your Faith in a World of Chaos (Destiny Image) with Pam Pierce

Possessing Your Inheritance (Renew Books)

With Rebecca Wagner Sytsema

Prayers That Outwit the Enemy (Regal Books)

With Rebecca Wagner Sytsema

Protecting Your Home from Spiritual Darkness (Regal Books)

With Rebecca Wagner Sytsema

Releasing the Prophetic Destiny of a Nation (Destiny Image)

with Dutch Sheets

Restoring Your Shield of Faith (Regal Books)

with Robert Heidler

The Future War of the Church (Renew)

With Rebecca Wagner Sytsema

The Worship Warrior (Regal Books)

with John Dickson

When God Speaks (Regal Books)

With Rebecca Wagner Sytsema

Table of Contents

Chapter One: God is Reordering Our Days

Chapter Two: The Watchman Watches!

Chapter Three: The Four Watches

Chapter Four: A New Day Dawns

Chapter Five: Ushering in the Presence of the Lord by Robert Heidler

Chapter Six: Time to Wake Up, Worship and Move to Your Next Glory Realm

Chapter Seven: Praying for the Peace of Jerusalem by Lindy Heidler and Martin & Norma Sarvis

Appendix i: Guidelines for Establishing a Prayer Watch with Linda Heidler

Appendix ii: States That Have Implemented Watches by John & Sheryl Price, Earl Pickard, Allen Cook, Regina Shank, Sallye Burton and Joe Askins

Appendix iii: 17 Day Prayer Focus to Release Covenant Victory Strategy

Appendix iv: 25 Day Prayer Focus for Boldly Entering the Throne Room to Restore Covenant Blessing

Appendix v: 21 Day Prayer Focus to Break the Power of Captivity

Appendix vi: 40 Day Prayer Focus to Initiate Your New Season of Enlargement

Appendix vii: 31 Day Prayer Focus to Release Wealth