We are living in strategic and pivotal days, and I believe the Holy Spirit is calling us once again to be properly postured in prayer. What does that posture look like? We find a key in 1 Peter 5:8: “Be sober, be vigilant.”
Or as other translations put it: Be on the alert!
This is the posture of a watchman. A watchman does not fall asleep on his watch. A watchman is awake, attentive, listening, and looking. We watch to see what the Lord is saying and doing, but we also watch so that we can recognize the activity of the powers of darkness and resist the enemy.
Peter tells us that our adversary walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Notice that Scripture does not say that the devil is a roaring lion. He walks about like one. His roar is intended to intimidate, create fear, and ultimately produce paralysis.
But we are not called to live paralyzed by fear. We are called to be vigilant.
There is an aggressiveness to this kind of spiritual alertness. It is not passive Christianity. As praying discerners, we are awake and paying attention. We are watching over our families, our neighborhoods, our cities, our ministries, our marketplaces, and our nations.
And when we recognize the activity of the enemy, we resist him.
The book of James gives us a simple pattern: Submit to God. Resist the devil. And he will flee from you. We first bring every area of our lives under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Then, from that place of submission, we exercise the authority we have been given to resist the powers of darkness.
This is part of being properly postured in prayer.
Isaiah 62 gives us another picture of this watchman calling: “I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they shall never hold their peace day or night.” We are called to watch, pray, and give the Lord no rest until He establishes His purposes in the earth.
I believe this is especially important in the days in which we are living.
This September 11 marks the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. At sundown that same day, we also enter Erev Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the observance of the new Hebrew year, 5787. We are standing at a significant hinge of time, and I believe this is a moment for the watchmen to be awake.
We must watch what is happening concerning Israel and the Middle East. We must pay attention to the growing pressures surrounding the Jewish people. But our discernment cannot simply come from headlines, political sources, or the ever-shifting news cycle.
As watchmen and intercessors, we must seek the heart and mind of God.
We pray according to His will, His Word, and His desires. We do not hide our heads in the sand and ignore the troubling issues of our day, but neither do we allow fear, anger, or human opinion to dictate our prayers. We listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit so that we can sound the right alarm at the right time.
James 5:16 reminds us that “the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” And I believe there is multiplied authority when the people of God come together in agreement.
This is a time for Mordecais and Esthers to arise. It is a time for watchmen and watchwomen to take their places. It is a time to watch carefully, pray fervently, and act wisely.
We are not ambassadors of the kingdom of darkness. We are ambassadors of the Kingdom of Light! We have been called to enforce the victory that Jesus Christ accomplished at Calvary. The blood of Yeshua—the blood of Jesus—is more powerful than all the powers of darkness.
So let us be properly postured.
Be sober. Be vigilant. Be on the alert.
Watch over your family. Watch over your city. Watch over your nation. Watch over Israel and the Middle East. Listen for what the Spirit of God is saying, and then pray with faith and expectation.
I believe that greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world. And I continue to believe that we are moving toward the greatest outpouring of the Holy Spirit—the greatest revival, awakening, and harvest the world has ever seen.
Watch carefully. Pray fervently. Act wisely.
For such a time as this.
Will you join me in praying the prayer below?
James W. Goll
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”
1 PETER 5:8 · NKJV
Father, in the name of Jesus, awaken me to be properly postured in prayer for such a time as this. Make me sober, vigilant, and alert. Give me eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart that discerns what Your Spirit is saying.
I submit myself afresh to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and from that place of submission, I resist every work of darkness. I refuse fear and spiritual passivity. Teach me to watch carefully, pray fervently, and act wisely.
Lord, awaken Your watchmen upon the walls. Give us Your heart for our families, our cities, our nations, Israel, and the Middle East. May we pray according to Your will, Your Word, and Your desires.
We declare that greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world. Let the victory of Calvary be enforced, and let the blood of Jesus speak a better word over the nations.
Father, release the greatest outpouring of Your Holy Spirit. Send revival, awakening, and a great harvest for the sake of the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Awaken us to be properly postured and alert for such a time as this.
Amen and amen!
