clash with police in Paris," CBSnews.com, March 16, 2019,
Wilkerson's. You can re-prophesy the warning. You can keep decreeing it until it lands on ears that hear.
NOTE
1. The Associated Press, "Yellow vest protesters set life-threatening fires and clash with police in Paris," CBSnews.com, March 16, 2019, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/paris-riots-mother-child-saved-from-bankfire-champs-elysees-avenue-today-2019-03-16.
Chapter 10
WATCH AND PRAY
HILE the watchman is called to watch—hence the name watchman—he is also called to pray. Some say the watchman's job is complete after he releases what he sees. Nothing could be further from the truth. The watchman is called to be part of the solution, to be part of the prayer meeting. And at times, the watchman is the only one praying.
Yes, the watchman's life can be a lonely one at times. The watchman often watches alone and often prays alone. (Though he's not really alone, because the Holy Spirit is with him all the while.) The watchman often eats the scroll alone and then releases a warning that lands on deaf ears. The watchman often sounds the alarm to a sleeping church and makes intercession while the saints are snug in their beds without a care in the world. The watchman's burden in prayer is often severe.
Keep in mind that Ezekiel 22:30 was spoken to the prototype watchman. Consider Ezekiel 22:30 in its context and notice how Ezekiel is not only called to watch but also to pray in the midst of a land ripe for God's judgment. Let's start in verse 23 and go on to verse 31:
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, "Son of man, say to her: 'You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.' The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured people; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in
her midst. Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy people, and to get dishonest gain. Her prophets plastered them with untempered mortar, seeing false visions, and divining lies for them, saying, 'Thus says the Lord God,' when the Lord had not spoken. The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully oppress the stranger. So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads," says the Lord God.
You are probably the most familiar with those last two lines—"I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one." But understanding the context here helps you understand the connection between watching and praying, even when things seem helpless and hopeless. God is always looking for a man (or woman) to stand in the gap to avert disaster. God doesn't send warnings so we merely brace ourselves for what's coming. He sends us warnings so we can shut the
enemy out. Even in the midst of Israel's sin, God was looking for a praying watchman.
ISAIAH: THE TIRELESS WATCHMAN
We can learn plenty about the intercessory prayer function of watchmen by taking a glimpse into the lives of the watchmen in the Bible. The reality is, beyond the prophets who served as watchmen, most of the watchmen in the Bible are not named. We hear of the "young man who was keeping watch" (2 Sam. 13:34) and "the watchman [who] went up to the roof over the gate" (2 Sam. 18:24). We see watchmen reporting (see 2 Kings 9:20). But we can learn some key aspects of praying watchmen in Isaiah, Habakkuk, and Anna.
When you think of a watchman, your mind probably immediately runs to Ezekiel, who is perhaps the most striking example of a watchman due to the Lord's strong words during his calling. We'll be exploring Ezekiel plenty in the pages of this book as he is a prototype. But maybe you don't relate to Ezekiel. Maybe his testimony is a bit too bloody. Or maybe God is calling you to a different expression of the watchman.
While Ezekiel was known for prophesying and attentiongetting prophetic acts, Isaiah is perhaps better known for prayer. We gain insight into Isaiah's watchman ministry in Isaiah 62:6-7:
I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent, and give Him no rest till He establishes and till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
In prayer, the watchman will remind God of His eternal purpose. Beyond Isaiah 62:6-7, we read another passage that seconds the motion in Isaiah 43:25-27:
I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins. Put Me in remembrance; let us contend together; state your case, that you may be acquitted. Your first father sinned, and your mediators have transgressed against Me.
The watchman as intercessor has compassion and will plead with God for mercy. If this aspect is missing, the watchman is wayward, which means he's following his own inclinations and working against what God expects him to do. The job of the watchman to continue to ask God for His will—and for mercy in the face of judgment—is paramount.
Remember the cry of Habakkuk, another watchman, who wrote, "O Lord, I have heard Your speech and was afraid; O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy" (Hab. 3:2). A watchman who doesn't remember mercy is not serving the Lord's purposes. God wants to show mercy, but often we need someone to stand in the gap to request it.
In his role as a watchman, the prophet Isaiah prayed tirelessly. The Passion Translation of Isaiah 62:6-7 uses that very word:
Jerusalem, I have stationed intercessors on your walls who will never be silent, day or night. You "reminders" of Yahweh, take no rest, and tirelessly give God no rest, until he firmly establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of all the earth!
Isaiah wasn't just prophesying to the intercessors. Isaiah was one of those intercessors. As the one who receives the prophetic revelation, the watchman should be the first to open up in prayer and the last to utter "amen."
The praying watchman is so sold out to the purposes of God that he will give up life's fleeting comforts to make intercession.
HABAKKUK: A WATCHMAN TO THE NATIONS
Habakkuk was a high-level watchman. You've heard the phrase, "prophet to the nations." Well, Habakkuk was a watchman to the nations. Habakkuk 1:1 starts out talking about the burden the prophet Habakkuk saw. Listen to his conversation with the Lord:
O Lord, how long shall I cry, and You will not hear? Even cry out to You, "Violence!" and You will not save. Why do You show me iniquity, and cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before me; there is strife, and contention arises. Therefore the law is powerless, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; therefore perverse judgment proceeds (Habakkuk 1:2-4).
The Lord replied, "Look among the nations and watch— be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days which you would not believe, though it were told you" (Hab. 1:5). The conversation continues from there, but I wanted to emphasize how Habakkuk was a watchman to the nations. After continuing the conversation with the Lord through the first chapter of his self-named book, Habakkuk was determined to step into the fullness of his calling.
Habakkuk's words, "I will stand my watch and set myself on the rampart, and watch to see what He will say to me, and what I will answer when I am corrected" (Hab. 2:1). In response to this commitment, 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).
As a watchman to the nations, Habakkuk was given instructions to write down and publish what he saw. But that wasn't where his responsibility ended. After the Lord continued to share His displeasure with Israel in Habakkuk 2:5-20—citing woes against those who covet evil gain for their house, woe to those who build a town with bloodshed, woe to those who give a drink to his neighbor, and other woes—the watchman went into immediate intercessory prayer action in Habakkuk 3.
The entire chapter is essentially a prayer response and is too long to reprint here, but I encourage you to go read it for yourself. I'll give you what I feel is one of the most important parts: "O Lord, I have heard Your speech and was afraid; O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy" (Hab. 3:2). Through the pages of Habakkuk, we see the watchman prophet make calls for repentance, proclaim judgment on nations, and prophesy against the treachery of Jerusalem. But we cling to his watchman prayer: "In the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy."
ANNA: THE PROPHETIC INTERCESSOR
In the pages of the New Testament, we find Anna. Anna is an expression of Isaiah's prophecy is Isaiah 62:6-7:
I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent, a give Him no rest till He establishes and till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
This was the lifestyle of Anna. We read about her in Luke 2:36-38:
Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
Anna wasn't looking for demons. Anna was looking for the glory personified. Anna was looking for the Christ. The Anna anointing is an anointing for prophetic intercession. In her book The Voice of God: How God Speaks Personally and Corporately to His Children, Cindy Jacobs writes:
Prophetic intercession is the ability to receive an immediate prayer request from God and pray about it in a divinely anointed utterance. …Many times, such prayer requests come in the form of
prophetic words. The people praying may not realize this at the time and only later find out it was God speaking to them to pray prophetically. At times when I pray like this, it is not so much that God gives me a lengthy prophecy, but a name will come to me while I am praying. I then open my mouth to pray and trust God to fill it with the word of intercession He wants. Yet on other occasions, I will ask the Lord, "How do you want me to pray for this matter?" and He will give me the next instruction.1
OIL THE SHIELDS
"Arise, you princes, and oil the shields." These words from Isaiah 21:5 (MEV) struck my heart in a strong way one morning. "Arise, you princes, and oil the shields." Isaiah uttered these words in response to a "grievous vision" that sent him into travail, perplexed and dismayed him, and caused his heart to beat fast in overwhelming fear. The Bible says he trembled all night long (see Isa. 21:1-5). Imagine receiving such a prophetic vision from the Lord!
"Arise, you princes, and oil the shields." When Scripture leaps off the page, we need to pay attention to what the Lord is trying to show us. In this encounter with the written Word of God, verse 6 also spoke to my heart. It reads: "Go, station a watchman; let him declare what he sees" (MEV).
As watchmen, it's not enough to make petitions. We must also prepare for the spiritual battle in this season. We must step into the watchman's ministry in this hour so we can warn the Body of Christ of impending attacks that will surely come. We must oil the shields or, as another translation puts it, "anoint our shields."
Oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. The praying watchman needs fresh oil with which to oil our shields so we don't grow