Attacks on the Watchmen

On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen; they will never be silent day or night nor give Him any rest until He establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth. ~Isaiah 62: 6-7

Never has it been more relevant to heed the words of Jesus in Mark 13: 35, “Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning.”

Yet much of the church seems to be asleep at the wheel.

A modern day parable occurred on October 7 when Israel’s watchmen were caught with their guards down. The Hamas terrorists broke through the barriers and fences and proceeded with a bloodfest, butchering innocent babies, children and adults on a sabbath holiday.

Israel will launch a major investigation on why the watchmen were not watching although there were plenty of intelligence reports that such an attack was imminent.

The call of a watchman is a divine call; the Lord is appointing many believers, all over the world, to be watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem. 

It is a most sacred call.

One of the Biblical meanings of a watchman is to be a guardian. 

We are to be guardians of the Lord’s holy and eternal purposes with Him, who is Shomer Yisrael, the Guardian of Israel. 

We are not passive – to be a watchman is someone who is active, foreseeing potentialities and guarding the Lord’s holy purposes in prayer.  We join forces with Him in watching and believing prayers so that His prophetic program is fulfilled in the Earth.

There are at least three main attacks on the watchman ministry. 

We need to learn from the Holy Spirit how to counter these attacks.

1.   Drowsiness, weariness.  Even when you are not really tired, an overwhelming desire to sleep is the most obvious attack.  We can make a covenant with the Lord to say, “I want you to invigorate me.”  After all, the Bible says that the same Holy Spirit that raised up Messiah Yeshua from the dead dwells in believers and quickens—enlivens-- our mortal bodies!   (Romans 8:11) Some intercessors actually watch when walking —physical activity counteracts the seduction of sleep.  

2.   Physical attacks--discomfort, pain, and sickness – one of the devil’s oldest tricks!  We need to serve the Lord when we feel like it and when we don’t feel like it! 

Our friends Peter and Vreni were involved in the ministry of Derek Prince in Switzerland. Vreni was in a prayer meeting when a supernatural manifestation occurred.  She was praying for her country, and after she finished her petitions, she could not open her eyes!  For 15 minutes no matter how hard she tried, she was unable to open her eyelids.  The Lord prompted her, “You must repent because I have called you to a prayer assignment for your country and you have not obeyed.” When she repented, her eyes were opened.  The Lord had called Vreni to a mission to visit all 26 districts (cantons) of Switzerland.  Her assignment, along with her prayer warrior husband, was to tear down forces of darkness and to build up the kingdom of the Lord in prayer in each canton.  This was an assignment to prepare the way of the Lord for revival in Switzerland.  The Lord sends his watchmen on many such assignments.

Some people mistakenly think that the activity of prayer consists only of petitioning God for blessings for people, for churches, for nations, etc.  But the other side of the proverbial coin--is that we must also be diligent to pray against evil, specifically the forces of darkness and the obstacles that Satan brings against the Gospel.  

What do you think happened to my Swiss friends?  Do you think the devil sat back and encouraged the couple?  No—the wife became sick!  Now that’s when we have to pass the test.  The watchers (angels) are watching, and we must always be aware that the Lord is watching our attitudes and the choices we make.  We obtain to higher positions when we pass tests of our faith.  Vreni decided to go forward despite the sickness. One of her legs swelled up like a balloon and the skin hardened.  But she continued to hobble all over her very hilly and mountainous country. With a lot of pain and effort, she traveled in the back of a van with her leg stretched out flat on a seat in front of her. It wasn’t until they had visited two-thirds of the cantons that the attack left her body.  The devil only relented when he saw that they were determined to persevere. 

Many times on our ministry’s outreaches and Jericho marches, team members have been physically attacked with infirmities.  I’ve said to them, “Now you’re going to have to make a decision – either you stay in bed and feel sorry for yourself, or you get up and demonstrate that you mean business.” It is in the going that the attack leaves. (What part of  “go ye” don’t we understand?)

When, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we organized a Jericho March in January 1999 in the city of Jericho, we accomplished by the grace of God seven days of marching.  According to the Biblical pattern, on the seventh day, we marched seven times around the ancient Jericho site before shouting the victory shout and blowing the shofars.  Jericho was to us like a parable. We believed for the overthrow of the principality ruling the Middle East.  This march and our subsequent marches in Jordan and in Istanbul were, we believe, major breaches in the spiritual wall holding more than a billion souls captive.  But immediately prior to the first round on the first day, two of the marchers approached me and said, “When so-and-so got off the plane, her hip went out of its socket and she’s limping.  Aren’t you going to pray for her?”  I said, “If she goes on the march, she’ll be healed.”  Sure enough!  Half way around, the pain left my friend, the hip slipped back into its socket, and she was healed because she persevered! 

Of course, sometimes we are tested on what we preach!  The evening before the third day of the march, I fractured amy nkle, and it became very swollen and painful.  It was absolutely daunting.  My associate Shirley Hughes of blessed memory was my roommate and she witnessed that I could hardly crawl out of my bed.  Because we had deferred to the older team members to occupy the more convenient rooms on the lower floors, we were sleeping on the top floor of our Jericho hotel, which had no elevator.  The devil suggested to me in the night watch, “You’ll never make it down all those stairs in the morning, let alone the Jericho March.  If anything, you’re going to need a wheelchair.”  I countered, “I’m leading the march tomorrow even if I have to crawl!”  This attitude of perseverance has to be the watchman’s constant attitude to pain, sickness and discouragement.  Hallelu-Yah! 

During the march the following morning, the pain and swelling left, and I was healed. I wore high heels the entire afternoon and evening just to discourage the devil!  We have to persevere against pains and discomforts that the enemy sends to keep us from our watchtower or assignment.

3.  Emotional attacks.  We must watch all the devil’s tactics.  Hurts. Slanders.  Whispers. Disappointments.  Discouragements. Misunderstandings.  A spirit of hopelessness.  He is always trying to throw us off track by woundings, or to tempt us to distrust the Lord and His faithfulness through hurtful circumstances.  The adversary ambushes us with many such things. 

We must learn to be the aggressor.  In the Six Day War, Israel bravely struck pre-emptively against the Egyptian Air Force.  If Israel had not acted pre-emptively, she would have suffered too many wounds later and could have been defeated.  Israel had to make a pre-emptive strike to ground the enemy, and this is what we need to do when we perceive the devil attempting to ground us with problems.  We must be overcomers.  When we train ourselves, despite circumstances, to rise up and offer the sacrifice of praise or a specific rhema word, this sends a mighty strike into the devil’s camp.

Like David let us proclaim, “All nations compassed me about: Verily, in the name of the LORD I will cut them off.” (Psalm 118: 10)

Watchmen, Arise!

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