Watchmen on the Hilltop

 

8 Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim. 9 And Moses said to Joshua, “Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.” 10 So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

14 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-LORD-Is-My-Banner; 16 for he said, “Because the LORD has sworn: the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.” Exodus 17:8-16

In this passage of Scripture, we find the story of Joshua fighting in the valley and Moses praying on the hilltop. As Joshua was going head-to-head with the Amalekites, Moses was holding a rod over the battle with his arms held high. As watchmen-priests, Aaron and Hur came to hold up Moses' hands when he grew weary. And as long as Moses' hands were lifted up high, holding the rod, Joshua would win down in the valley. The battle was both physical and spiritual. Joshua had to fight the physical battle with his troops in tactical deployment while Moses had to fight the spiritual battle. Moses prayed strategic prayers as he watched from the high place. The rod of God was the assurance to the troops fighting below that God's purpose would stand. God was watching over His armies through Moses, Aaron, and Hur. Everyone's role in this battle was significant and crucial for ultimate victory. Today we must cover our spiritual leaders with strategic prayer. It's dangerous in this day to be a leader without a team of faithful "armor-bearers" (intercessors) surrounding them. Intercession protects them and keeps their sword sharpened. There are some in the body of Christ who are called specifically to take a strategic position as personal intercessors for leaders in the church. We could call them the "Aaron and Hur Holding Company." They hold up the arms of the captains in battle. They're called alongside leaders to bless, encourage, uplift, and intercede. May this be the day of your commissioning! May the Mighty Captain of the Host give you the intercessory assignment to become like an Aaron or Hur of today!

BUILDING A PRAYER WALL

Every prayer, every groan, every cry is a part of hedge-making and wall-building so that others may stand against the enemy. We are to pray and work for the rebuilding of the moral and spiritual walls of protection around peoples and nations 

¹⁴ And one shall say,
“Heap it up! Heap it up!
Prepare the way,

Take the stumbling block out of the way of My people.” Isaiah 57:14 

Intercessors are the Ezras and Nehemiah's of today that are taking a bold stand for righteousness. With God's authority, our intercession takes a firm stance against the enemy and commands him to vacate strongholds and hiding places he has deceitfully entered. We have the authority to bind and loose by our prayers. Intercessors can crush the enemy's schemes before they are ever unleashed. Look out, devil! Here come God's end-time intercessors! With a militant, reckless abandonment they will stand for the Lord and for the lost! Are you ready to get radical for prayer? Intercessors must remind the Lord of His promises around the clock-never holding our peace until He establishes His righteousness on earth.

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,
⁷ And give Him no rest till He establishes

And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth. Isaiah 62:6-7 

We must know God's agenda and, like His secretary, remind Him of His appointments. Our prayers become a wall to keep out demonic hindrances. If ever our nation needed intercessors, it's now. The future belongs to the intercessors. It's time to pray! ⁶ For thus has the Lord said to me:
“Go, set a watchman,
Let him declare what he sees.”
⁷ 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.
⁸ Then he cried, “A lion, my Lord!
I stand continually on the watchtower in the daytime;
I have sat at my post every night.
⁹ 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.”
¹⁰ 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.
Proclamation Against Edom
¹¹ The burden against Dumah.
He calls to me out of Seir,
“Watchman, what of the night?
Watchman, what of the night?”
¹² The watchman said,
“The morning comes, and also the night.
If you will inquire, inquire;
Return! Come back!” Isaiah 21:6-12 

provides an interesting understanding of the "watchman ministry" of an intercessor. The Lord instructs Isaiah to post lookouts or watchmen who will be fully alert and at their post night and day: "Go, post a sentry and have him report what he sees! Let him be alert, extremely alert!" Intercessors have strategic assignments given to them by God to scour the spiritual horizons like air traffic controllers. In prayer, God will expose the strategies of darkness and show the enemy's cards that he intends to play ¹² Set up the standard on the walls of Babylon;

Make the guard strong,
Set up the watchmen,
Prepare the ambushes.
For the LORD has both devised and done
What He spoke against the inhabitants of Babylon. Jeremiah 51:12

Listen to what was asked of Isaiah, the prophetic seer, in 

¹¹ The burden against Dumah.
He calls to me out of Seir,
“Watchman, what of the night?

Watchman, what of the night?” Isaiah 21:11 

"Watchman, how much longer is the night?" People are looking to those who spend time with God to know what is ahead. The people are longing to know. Who has the heart of God for what is coming? They're asking, "Is the enemy near? Is there danger out there coming our way? When will this be over?" The church is crying out for the night to end and the dawning of the true day to come forth. The honest reply of the watchman is given in 

verse 12: "Morning comes, but night endures." 

The morning of new opportunity is coming to the earth. Yet a night of calamity is also coming. The watch until it was completed and another gate-keeper would come and take their place.

⁶ For thus has the Lord said to me:
“Go, set a watchman,
Let him declare what he sees.”
⁷ 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.
⁸ Then he cried, “A lion, my Lord!
I stand continually on the watchtower in the daytime;
I have sat at my post every night.
⁹ 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.” Isaiah 21:6-9

The night would usually be divided into four watches of three hours each. Mark's Gospel speaks of the "fourth watch of the night" 

⁴⁸ Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by. Mark 6:48

 Jesus still comes to His people in the watches of

the night. But where are those who are looking to hear from Him? Are there sentries on duty in our city watching over our churches and the needs of others? Let us put out the welcome mat for the Holy Spirit to invade our cities. We need to be possessed for prayer 

¹⁸ Their heart cried out to the Lord,

“O wall of the daughter of Zion,
Let tears run down like a river day and night;
Give yourself no relief;
Give your eyes no rest.
¹⁹ “Arise, cry out in the night,
At the beginning of the watches;
Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord.
Lift your hands toward Him
For the life of your young children,
Who faint from hunger at the head of every street.” Lamentations 2:18-19

The Greek word for watch means "to be vigilant, alert." This is our responsibility in prayer: to be vigilant and alert. Eleven times in the Gospels, we are told to watch and be alert! Paul also tells us to "be faithful to pray as intercessors wo are fully alert and giving thanks to God" Colossians 4:2. 

It is time to restore the watch of the Lord. Intercessory watchmen must arise and take their place on the walls of our cities. As we stay awake all night long, the enemy will not find an entrance. If there is but one on duty, we can catch him red-handed!

THE WATCHES IN SCRIPTURE

· The morning watch, which includes warfare

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. ²⁵ And He took off their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians.” Exodus 14:24-25

· Watching over the city all night-

⁸ Early I will destroy all the wicked of the land,
That I may cut off all the evildoers from the city of the LORD. Psalms 101:8

· Waiting and watching for a visitation- 

⁵ I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
And in His word I do hope.
⁶ My soul waits for the Lord
More than those who watch for the morning—
Yes, more than those who watch for the morning. Psalms 130:5-6

· Specific hours of prayer in the early church-

¹ Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. Acts 3:1

· Morning, afternoon, and evening prayer- 

¹⁷ Evening and morning and at noon
I will pray, and cry aloud,
And He shall hear my voice. Psalms 55:17

· Give Him no rest-

⁶ 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,
⁷ And give Him no rest till He establishes
And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth. Isaiah 62:6-7

. Cry out day and night-

​¹ Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, ² saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. ³ Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ ⁴ And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, ⁵ yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’”
⁶ Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. ⁷ And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? Luke 18:1-7

Watch and record the vision-

¹ 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.
² Then the LORD answered me and said:
“Write the vision
And make it plain on tablets,
That he may run who reads it.
³ 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 2:1-3

· Watching, listening, and waiting on the Lord-

³⁴ Blessed is the man who listens to me,

Watching daily at my gates,
Waiting at the posts of my doors.
³⁵ For whoever finds me finds life,
And obtains favor from the LORD; Proverbs 8:34-35

· Staying alert and praying at all times-

¹⁸ praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— Ephesians 6:18

. Watch with a sober Spirit-

⁷ But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. 1 Peter 4:7

. Be alert, resist the devil, and stand firm-

⁸ Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. ⁹ Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 1 Peter 5:8-9

· Wake up and bring life out of death-

² Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. Revelation 3:2

· We are tempted, but prayer is a key to escape -

⁴¹ Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:41

· Watching in prayer clothes us with power-

¹⁵ “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.” Revelation 16:15

· Watching in prayer for the Bridegroom-

⁴² Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. ⁴³ 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. ⁴⁴ Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Matthew 24:42-44

· The prayer-chain that binds up the serpent -​

¹ Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. ² He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; ³ and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while. Revelation 20:1-3

RESURRECTION POWER RELEASED THROUGH OUR PRAYERS

The reality God has planned will always manifest itself first in the prayer life of His intercessors.When you hear from God and then pray His Word, you're impacting the unformed essence of life with the Spirit of God Himself! Thus, God calls us not only to know His Word, but also to pray it. We must go from intellectualizing God's Word to being impregnated by it. For everything good and holy that we see manifested in people, churches, and life is first conceived and then birthed in the womb of prayer. As you look around you, you will begin to see answers to prayer being birthed everywhere.

Pray this today: God, We're overwhelmed by your love for us. Your grace has brought us to a place of intimacy within. We give ourself to you. We accept every prayer assignment you have given us as a joyous way to see you work in answer to our prayers. You are awesome, God! Amen.

Index