Purpose
To Reclaim the Night For the Lord
The night is particularly
filled with all
sorts of
unfruitful deeds
of darkness; our
cities are
filled with
murder, sorcery,
theft and
immorality
(Revelation
9:21).
We want the
night to belong
to the Lord.
Fragrance is
released as we
give Him our
love and our
devotion in the
night. This
changes the
spiritual
atmosphere over
our cities.
"Then Mary took
a pound of very
costly oil of
spikenard,
anointed the
feet of Jesus,
and wiped His
feet with her
hair. And the
house was filled
with the
fragrance of the
oil" (John
12:3). Mary is a
picture of
extravagant
devotion. While
extravagant
devotion is
costly, the very
mention of the
cost is utterly
despised (Song
8:7). The call
to the NightWatch is a
call to
extravagant
devotion. That
is what is meant
by, "Behold,
bless the Lord"
(Psalm 134).
Devotion in the
night can be
costly because
of the dynamics
of the NightWatch
lifestyle. It’s
the Lord’s
desire to raise
up a people who
will love Him in
the night. He
longs for a
company of
people who will
adore Him and
tarry with Him
through the
watches of the
night.
On the night of
His betrayal,
the hour of
judgment and
salvation, He
found none; but
in these final
hours of
history, in the
final hours of
the escalation
of judgment and
the release of
salvation, who
will tarry with
Him through the
night?
Prophetic
Significance:
A Prophetic
Indicator
The NightWatch
is a
historic
indicator of the
coming of the
Bridegroom
to and for the
Bride, the whole
Body of Christ.
The raising up
of the NightWatch all
over the globe
is a prophetic
signpost telling
God’s people and
those in Babylon
to come out and
to go out—to
come out of
Babylon and to
go out to meet
the Bridegroom
at His coming.
Babylon
represents the
influences of
the world that
hinder the
journey of love
with the Lord
Jesus. The Lord
helps His people
by giving them
historic
indicators to
help us discern
what hour of
history we are
living in.
The NightWatch
Lifestyle is a Form
of Fasting
The NightWatch
is a wilderness
for forerunners
(Matthew 25:6;
Isaiah 40:3).
The Holy Spirit
is raising up a
generation of
forerunners all
across the earth
to prepare the
globe for an
unprecedented
and historic
release of
divine activity.
Just as the Lord
led John the
Baptist into the
wilderness, we
believe He will
be leading a
large company of
people into the
wilderness of
intercession
throughout the
night. The NightWatch is
not the only
context in which
forerunners will
be raised up,
but it will be a
key component to
raising up a
voice. The Holy
Spirit allures
His people into
the wilderness
to encounter the
Bridegroom and
be transformed
(Hosea 2:14–16).
There are
various types of
circumstances in
which the
wilderness
reality can
exist. Some
wilderness
experiences take
place in literal
deserts. We see
this in the
lives of the
saints of old
like Moses,
David, John the
Baptist and
Saint Anthony of
Egypt. Some
wilderness
experiences
don’t take place
in the literal
desert but they
are considered
wilderness
experiences
nonetheless. We
can see examples
of this in the
life of Joseph,
Job and others.
In these cases
the wilderness
experience is a
season of
intense
pressure.
The wilderness
experience does
not have to be
any of the
previously
mentioned. The
wilderness can
be entered into
by embracing the
principles of
voluntary
weakness, like
fasting, giving,
prayer and
solitude. Many
people are
allured into the
wilderness and
they enter in
voluntarily,
while others
enter
involuntarily
(King David).
The basic
principle of the
wilderness life
is the
embracing of
weakness in
exchange for
divine strength.
Divine strength
is that which
sustains the
yearning and the
longings of the
heart. Divine
strength also
means the grace
or the anointing
to accomplish
more in the
Kingdom with
greater
effectiveness
and impact
(authority in
preaching,
healing the
sick, casting
out demons,
grace to lead
God’s people).
The Spirit of
revelation on
the life of a
believer is also
a form of divine
strength.
The NightWatch
calls for a
lifestyle change
that can make
life
uncomfortable;
it is a social
and physical
fast. Many
social dynamics
and
physical
tiredness are
hallmarks of
doing the NightWatch. If
we pay close
attention to our
bodies, we will
notice that some
of the same
dynamics
experienced
during a food
fast can be
experienced
during the
NightWatch. We
want to be
people who
embrace the
NightWatch as a
fast.
“Behold, bless
the LORD…” is a
call to the
contemplative
reality of
spending our
lives before the
Lord (Psalm
134:1; Luke
10:42). By the
contemplative
reality, we mean
deep communion
with God. Just
like everything
else in the
Kingdom, our
first call in
the NightWatch
is to love the
Lord. He is
calling us to
the “one thing”.
The one thing
needed means the
primary thing;
deep communion
with God is to
be our
preoccupation in
the night,
whether in
worship,
intercession or
service. There
are three "one
thing" passages
in Scripture:
• Psalm 27:4 —
desire defined:
The one thing
humanity desires
is to see
beauty, and the
only beauty that
will satisfy is
the beauty of
the Lord. We are
created with a
thirst for the
eternal. One
thing I desire…
• Luke 10:42 —
desire
satisfied:
Desire is
satisfied as we
sit at His feet
and let Him kiss
us with the
kisses of His
Word and unfold
the pleasure of
His divine love
to us (Song
1:2). One thing
I need…
• Philippians
3:13 — the
journey of
desire: The
journey of
desire calls for
the setting of a
marathon pace.
One thing I do…