Company, 1998), 239, 190.
1. Ruth Ward Heflin, Revival Glory (Hagerstown, MD: McDougal Publishing Company, 1998), 239, 190.
Chapter 8
PRACTICAL WAYS TO WATCH
Y watch starts at 4 a.m.—or technically about 4:20 after the caffeine wakes up my brain. I figure if Jesus rose up early in the morning to pray and saw what the Father was doing, it's a good strategy for me. We don't know what time Jesus got up, but we know it was still dark outside.
My advantage in this watch is that it's still, which is one of the keys to active watching. The psalmist said, "Early will I seek thee" (Ps. 63:1 KJV). Of course, there are many watches to which God can assign you. In some ways, I'd much prefer the night watch as I have a bent toward staying up late and getting up even later. But God graces us for the watch to which He calls us.
Beyond Habakkuk climbing into his watchtower to see what God would say, the Bible doesn't offer us much instruction on how to actually watch. But watching in the spirit has a practical side as well as a spiritual side. In some ways, you learn by doing. There's no particular formula for watching, but I have learned principles of practical watching over the years. Remember this—all watching starts and ends with prayer.
BUILD YOUR TOWER IN PRAYER
The concept of a war room was made popular by a Christian movie of the same name. I love the war room, but the war room is different from the watchtower. Every watchman needs his own personal, private watchtower. You
can't build my watchtower, and I can't build yours. You can't stand in my watchtower, and I can't stand in yours.
Like prophets, watchmen are not always the most popular ministry gift on the block because they are bold enough to release a word of the Lord that warns the local church of potentially unpleasant circumstances coming down the proverbial pike. In order to properly carry this mantle, genuine watchmen must build towers of prayer.
Watchmen may not win any popularity contests in the local church—or the Body of Christ at large—but they will sacrifice to make intercession. Building a watchtower in the spirit allows you to see the assignments coming against the church. Then you take that revelation and use it as spiritual mortar to make up a hedge in prayer against the assignment.
Prayer is the foundation of a watchman's ministry, and really the foundation of every Christian's relationship with God. It's through a strong prayer life that you connect deeply with God. The more you pray, the more sensitive to the Lord you're going to be. You have a gift, but you have to operate out of relationship, not just a gift or anointing. So build your tower in prayer. What does that mean? How do you build a tower of prayer?
Specifically, start by praying for God to show you what He wants you to see. Remember, even as a watchman you can only see what He allows you to see. You can't force your way into the spirit dimensions with God's blessing. Jesus is the Door, and if you are going to see in the spirit or discern operations of demons, it's by His invitation, grace, or gifts. There are illegal watchman operations, which are akin to divination. You can read more about divination in my book Discerning Prophetic Witchcraft.
Also ask for discernment, understanding, and wisdom. You want to discern rightly, understand what to do with what
you see, and possess the wisdom to share it in the right way, with the right people, at the right time. Finally, pray in the Spirit. That is, pray in tongues. Praying in tongues builds you up in your most holy faith (see Jude 20). Praying in the spirit helps you watch. You're sowing to the spirit and you will reap from the spirit (see Gal. 6:8). It's a prayer secret every watchman needs in his arsenal. You can read more about this in my book Your End Time Prayer Secret.
STAY FOCUSED
Did you know humans have 70,000 thoughts a day? It can be hard to stay focused, especially when you are not immediately seeing anything. There's a thrill in seeing and hearing, and it's not as exciting to wait until you learn how to wait with expectation. In my School of the Seers, I teach on seer focus, and this applies to the watchman as well.
In my mid-twenties, I enrolled in photography school. Previously trained as a journalist, I set out to add to my repertoire of skills by learning how to wield a camera as well as a pen. I figured covering a presidential race or a sporting event from a words-and-picture perspective would give me an edge in a competitive industry—and I loved the creative side of photography.
My photography training was old school. We worked in the dark room to process black and white film using three sets of chemicals—developer, stop, and fix. Although digital cameras and accurate auto-focus features existed, they were not yet mainstream.
Part of my education was to learn to focus manually and set the aperture for the appropriate depth of field. During my time in photography school, I learned one could have the perfect exposure and a head-turning, emotion-driving subject, but if the photo is out of focus it is useless. Even photos that were slightly out of focus would not appear in
newspapers or magazines. The focus had to be sharp, crystal clear, so the readers could truly appreciate the image I was capturing through the lens on my camera.
If you don't stay focused, you may miss what God is showing you. Or you may only catch a glimpse. You may miss part of the picture. Partial information can lead to disinformation. The biggest enemy to focus is distraction. The enemy will work to distract you from watching with thoughts, imaginations, itching ears, weary eyes, ringing phones, noisy neighbors, or anything else that works. Find a quiet place to watch and work to eliminate anything that will break your focus.
WATCH THE NEWS
Many people remember me as the senior editor of Charisma magazine, but fewer know I was a secular journalist for 25 years before I entered full-time ministry. I worked for the New York Times, the Associated Press, major magazines, and other secular media outlets for decades. I am trained to pay attention to the news. In fact, to this day I review the news headlines every morning to see what God will say to me or how He may lead me to pray for what is going on in the world.
It's vital that watchmen know what is happening in society. I understand all too well that the secular media twists and even perverts the truth. That's why I read the headlines. I can see quickly by scanning Google News what media around the world are saying. I can see reports of earthquakes or major world events coming down the pike. I can see what's going on in my city. I can see the health trends, technology trends, and the like. Many times, that will spark a prayer assignment.
"All too often, Christians feel powerless and at the mercy of a very big world. Watching or reading of news events can feel like an exercise in futility and even worse, bring a sense of anxiety and worry into our lives. One way to deal with this is to shut yourself off from the world. Turn off the television news and unsubscribe to your daily newspaper. Doing so may provide temporary relief, but certainly does nothing to change the situation," says Dave Butts, founder of Harvest Prayer Ministries.
"There is a better way. It involves a commitment to change your world through prayer. It happens as you see God's commitment to prayer as a change agent. You begin to see yourself as a player on the world stage. Rather than passively watching and worrying, or ignoring and hiding, you begin to take significant action to bring God's power to bear on situations going on in the world. You pray!
"The Bible is filled with examples of God's people watching political and national events unfold around them, and then intervening through prayer to bring change. Sometimes a national leader, such as King Asa or King Jehoshaphat of Judah, prayed when faced with a crisis. In both cases, a military attack against the nation was overcome by the prayer of a godly leader."1
Consider this: Rees Howells prayed the news. When he got news of the Nazi's movements, it fueled his prayer. The key is to see the news from God's perspective so you can pray with His heart. Use His discernment to fuel your prayer. You can't pray over every headline every day. You are scanning and watching for a headline to stir your spirit. Stay
informed. You can't have your head in the sand and stand in your watchtower at the same time.
Wendy Griffith and Craig von Buseck, co-authors of Praying the News, wrote:
When people pray in sincerity and unity according to the will of God revealed in the Bible, things change; headlines change. The ancient words of the apostle James are just as true today as they were when he wrote them under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in the first century AD: "The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." …We have seen the truth of this scriptural admonition powerfully demonstrated in recent events that have affected every person living on planet Earth.2
CONSULT THE WORD
Watchmen should always carry their sword—the Word of God—into the tower. Savvy watchmen consult the Word often. It helps open your eyes, renew your mind, confirm what you are seeing, and instruct you on what to do with what you've discerned. The Word can bring comfort, confirmation, and consultation. Consult the Word as a watchman and you'll stay grounded no matter what you see.
PAY ATTENTION TO PROMPTINGS
We want to live and walk by the Spirit (see Gal. 5:25). That means more than being aware of what is going on around you but what is going on in you. We have to learn to discern the Holy Spirit's leanings and promptings. Prompt means to move to action or to incite. It's a spiritual
inspiration or spurring on to good works. You may see many things, but the Holy Spirit will lead you to look at specific things. Pay attention to the promptings.
One way the Holy Spirit prompts you is through peace, but the absence of peace can also be a signal that the Spirit of God within you is grieved. Likewise, an inner feeling of grief or despair can tune you into the emotions of the Holy Spirit. A sense of being on high alert can be a Spirit prompting. Maybe you feel there's something not quite right —is that the Holy Spirit prompting you?
Ultimately, we have to discern how the Holy Spirit leads or prompts generally but then also how He leads or prompts us individually. When something in the natural stands out to you above all its surroundings, that could be the Holy Spirit prompting you to take a closer look and to listen. An impression or a random thought could be the Holy Spirit's prompting to move in a certain direction to see more clearly.
Learning to discern how the Holy Spirit prompts you to watch, look, see, pray, and say comes with experience. Always test the spirits to make sure it's Him (see 1 John 4:1). Demons and your own mind will also prompt you at times. Always, always, always respond to the prompting of the Holy Spirit to watch and pray. Don't quench the prompting of the Holy Spirit in your watchman ministry or you could miss a critical message.
BREAK DOWN COMMUNICATION SILOS
Watchmen, prayer warriors, and intercessors need to come together. We must break down the communication silos. It's difficult in a busy world to get everyone together in person to share notes and pray.
Thankfully, there are online forums, group phone calls, Zoom, and other ways to share prophetic intelligence. We do this as part of my Ignite network (ignitenow.org). We
know in part, but when we come together to share and pray, we can tap into a corporate anointing that sets an atmosphere and opens the heavens so revelation pours out. (You can also join the Prophetic Intelligence Network at propheticintel.com.)
Corporate decrees send the enemy packing. You've heard about the concept of corporate prayer and corporate worship, but corporate decrees kick it up a notch. You can build a flight team through corporate decrees. What is a flight team? We find this concept in Leviticus 26:8, "Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight, and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword" (MEV).
We first see this concept in Deuteronomy 32:30: "How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight" (MEV), and later we see another witness to its power in Joshua 23:10: "One man from among you can make a thousand flee, for it is the Lord your God who wages war for you, as He told you" (MEV).
KEEP A JOURNAL
Remember when Habakkuk was standing at his watch? The Lord answered him and said:
Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry (Habakkuk 2:2-3).
God told Hosea to write down what he saw. You may forget it if you don't write it down, or at least forget significant details that could later inform prayer. If you don't
write it down and you may leave an important element out of the warning. The Message puts Habakkuk 2:2 this way: "Write it out in big block letters so that it can be read on the run. This vision-message is a witness pointing to what's coming."
Even if no one listens to your warning, when events unfold according to the words you released it will justify you. Maybe they will listen next time. Hopefully, visions of evil will not come to pass because intercessors will pick up the warning and war against it even if others reject the warning. Keeping a journal is not a way to prove your accuracy later, but to be accurate in what you release now so intercessors will hear a clear word and respond with a loud cry. A journal also helps you track your own accuracy privately so you can gain confidence or ask the Lord how you missed it if you missed it.
WHEN YOUR EYES ARE EXHAUSTED
While sharing this message at a roundtable of prophets in Windsor, England, one young prophet asked me this: "How do prophets and watchmen deal with exhaustion, especially exhaustion that's rooted in disappointment— spiritual exhaustion?" This young man said, at times, he felt what he could best describe as exasperation.
Indeed, being a watchman can be exhausting and exasperating. How did I answer him? The best answer from the Bible is found in Isaiah 40:29-31:
He gives power to the faint and weary, and to him who has no might He increases strength [causing it to multiply and making it to abound]. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and [selected] young men shall feebly stumble and fall exhausted; but those who wait for the Lord [who
expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired (AMPC).
Sometimes, we just need to rest. Other times, exhaustion is a sign of spiritual attack. Witchcraft, a force of the enemy that watchmen encounter, can leave you exhausted. If the enemy can't attack you by day, he'll often attack you at night and weaken you from lack of sleep. Don't you know it's so much more difficult to work with one hand and battle with the other when you are physically exhausted?
If you've slept eight hours, had a tall cup of coffee, and you still feel like you've been run over by a truck, witchcraft could be attacking you. This is one of the ways witchcraft comes after me. I've learned not to give in by laying down for a nap that turns into four or five hours of witchcraftinduced sleep. If you are eating well, sleeping well, exercising well, and living well—and if you are generally healthy—you shouldn't feel like you're walking through quicksand. This could be a witchcraft attack.
LEARNING TO CARRY PRAYER BURDENS
If you don't know how to carry a prayer burden, it can also be exhausting. The enemy can cover you with oppression as a form of retaliation in the very act of intercession. Intercession, for all intents and purposes, is an act of war. You are often standing between the people and the promise as you work to push back darkness trying to overshadow God's glory. As intercessors, though, you have to learn to discern between enemy oppression, your emotions, and a true prayer burden.
I wrote this on my Facebook page many years ago:
Intercessors, as we move deeper and deeper into the things of God, it's increasingly vital to learn to divide soul from spirit. When the burden of the Lord comes upon you, you may feel the weight of oppression, hear the enemy's accusations, or experience various negative emotions seemingly out of the blue. That's not you! Learn to quickly discern the call to pray against a thing rather than coming up under it.
You may be asking, "What is a prayer burden? Didn't Jesus say He would take our burdens, not give us burdens?" A prayer burden is not like a care of the world that keeps your soul in turmoil. A prayer burden is a spiritual load. A burden is something you carry, but with a prayer burden you are not carrying it alone. The Holy Spirit helps you carry it. When you have no idea how to pray, the Holy Spirit helps you (see Rom. 8:26-27).
A prayer burden is a God-assigned duty or responsibility to make intercession. The prayer burden will not lift until the assignment is complete—until heaven has heard and answered the prayer. You may see no evidence in the natural that the prayer is answered, but it's a done deal in heaven. It's important to recognize a prayer burden, first and foremost, so you can pray. It's also important to recognize when a prayer burden lifts so you can move on to the next assignment. All told, we must learn how to carry prayer burdens.
In his classic book The Necessity of Prayer, E.M. Bounds wrote:
Without desire, there is no burden of soul, no sense of need, no ardency, no vision, no strength,