“For more than one hundred years, beginning on August 26, 1727, there was a Moravian brother or sister somewhere engaged in prayer, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Among the brethren this meeting was known as the ‘Hourly Intercession.’ There was literal prayer without ceasing for one hundred years.”
God is doing something big all over the world. None of us has come to the full understanding of what God is beginning to create throughout the nations. He has so much to teach us about prayer as we look at history.
It’s exciting, it’s radical, it’s exhilarating and at the same time, it calls for a deeper level of commitment than any of us have ever known before.
Day and night prayer is certainly possible. The way has been paved before us in the spiritual realm. As we arise in 24/7 prayer - or even consider the idea - it is important that we look at our historical roots. Understanding the historical beginnings of day and night prayer should challenge and give us courage for the future.
It has been done in a place called Herrnhut (meaning “on watch for the Lord”) in Germany. It can, therefore, be done in each one of our cities. In, fact, it is going to be worth more than we can right now comprehend, because it is of the highest value to God. This 24/7 prayer meeting started over 280 years ago and launched a worldwide missionary movement!
The results of the 24/7 prayer movement will shake the entire world and will reach from one nation to another. There will not be a place on earth that will not be touched dramatically by 24/7 prayer. Therefore, we must not give up the vision because of the difficulties. We must look forward with anticipation to what God is going to do through united prayer and fervent devotion.
The Moravian 100-Year Prayer Movement
“The very zealous Moravians had found a worthy leader in Zinzendorf. He was a man of serious devotion, fervent prayer, and was known for his commitment to radical holiness. In modern terminology, we would say that he had a tremendous hunger for God."
The Moravian, 100-year prayer meeting started in 1727 by Count Zinzendorf. He was a deeply spiritual man and traced his intense devotional life to one event on a single day when he visited an art gallery and saw a portrait of Christ wearing a crown of thorns on his head. At the bottom of the picture was written:
“All this I did for you, what are you doing for Me?”
Count Zinzendorf was only 19-years-old, but as he read this, he was so touched by the Holy Spirit that it completely changed his life forever. He could never live the carefree lifestyle of a European nobleman. He dedicated his entire life to the service of Jesus Christ. Count Zinzendorf gave inspirational leadership to this prayer movement through the love that he had for the church and for prayer. His acceptance of even strangers, his selflessness, and his great love for the Lord and people inspired others.
He had a powerful interest in prayer. He would set aside whole days and nights to fast and pray when he was a university student. This 100-year, non-stop prayer meeting began because of his steadfast faithfulness in prayer in his small corner of the world called Herrnhut. Doesn’t that sound familiar to some of us who feel like we are on the back seat of the desert in a tiny corner somewhere trying to start prayer?
The group of men and women Count Zinzendorf led in this 100-year prayer meeting were called the Moravians. The Moravians followed his example in living a holy and loving life. “In every detail of their lives - in business, pleasure, in Christian service, in civil duties - they took the Sermon on the Mount as a lamp to their feet.” Their powerful motto was “In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; and in all things, love.” Their testimony has spread all around the world but it began during one Communion service. This is what happened:
“The Holy Spirit fell on the group as on the day of Pentecost. Hearts were radically changed, and prayers were answered beyond expectations. Many more villagers began to set aside time for earnest prayer. Soon, prayer was going on 24 hours a day. Even the children organized prayer circles. This wave of prayer did not cease for a hundred years. So transformed was the village that John Wesley, visiting in 1738, called it the happiest place on earth!”
Shortly after this 100-year prayer meeting started, Count Zinzendorf felt strongly that they were to spread the gospel of Jesus to the unreached people around the world. The focus of fervent prayer became world missions. This became known as the Moravian mission movement. They all felt the call of the Great Commission. More workers were sent out to the foreign missions since the first century. Within 20 years, the Moravians sent out more missionaries than all Protestants in the previous 200 years!
The continuous prayer meeting that God is presently initiating around the world will have the same focus.
This is the season of harvest in every nation of the world. As we pray, we will receive the heart of God for the nations. We will receive the burden of the Great Commission and the anointing to reach our neighbors. We will no longer be able to contain or restrain the empowering and convicting force of the Holy Spirit. This is where we are now headed.
With my experience in the 24/7 House of Prayer movement, I notice that we are beginning to move into more prayer for the nations and for the lost. In an early Sunday prayer meeting at our church almost every prayer was concentrating on the lost. As we were praying Scripture, there was a harmonious direction in prayer towards the harvest and towards lost souls. God is directing our intercession. His heart is towards the lost and the nations. This prayer meeting was very powerful, and I believe it is because God is saying something.
He seems to be showing us that it is time for all of us to open our eyes and look onto the fields, for they are ripe for harvest (John 4:35). He is beginning to focus us onto the lost just as he did with the Moravian prayer movement.
Ways to Apply the Moravian Example
Let the Moravian example challenge you to rise up higher in prayer than you have ever been before. The following quotes taken from the Moravian prayer movement are ways you can apply this in your prayer meetings.
“He dedicated the rest of his life to the service of Jesus Christ” - Pray that those in your prayer meeting will grow in an intense personal devotional life. Expect God to deepen everyone’s dedication to the point of sacrificial living.
“The Lord gave the entire community a burning desire to see sinners come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ” - Open your heart to those who do not know Christ. Be a witness and shine God’s light outside of the prayer meeting.
“The Lord gave the entire community a renewed call of the Great Commission, to go into all the world and preach the gospel” - Incorporate times to pray for the lost and for the nations. Be willing to reach out to the lost where you live.
“This resulted in the greatest concentration of Christian workers being sent out into foreign missions since the first century” - Expect that God will call some from your prayer meeting to go to the nations. Be willing to go or to send as God directs.
“This fueled young Zinzendorf’s fire for evangelism” - Expect God to burden those in the prayer meeting for evangelism and for your city. Cry out to God for your city. The Moravians had a burden for the lost.
“He was a man of serious devotion, fervent prayer, and was known for his commitment to radical holiness” - Expect God to move those in your prayer meeting into radical holiness. There is no room for sin in one who is hungry for holiness. Confess all known sin on a daily basis.
“In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; and in all things, love” - Let unity and harmony be a high priority in all of your prayer meetings. Do all things in love.
“In every detail of their lives - in business, pleasure, in Christian service, in civil duties - they took the Sermon on the Mount as a lamp to their feet” - Live out the Sermon on the Mount as best you can as a group and individually. Let your life shine for Christ in the marketplace.
“Prayers were answered beyond expectation” - Expect God to answer your prayers. Look forward with anticipation for the answer to your united prayer. Expect souls to come to Christ in your city.
“I have one passion; it is he and he alone” - Narrow your life down to a passionate pursuit of Christ.
Is your passion for Christ? God’s first priority is that we love Him with all of our heart (Matthew 22:37-38). It’s the First Commandment and it’s a wonderful foundation for all of life. In giving God extravagant devotion, we make a great impact on the world around us. There is sustaining power if we make Him our foundation. It takes time and effort to prioritize our lives towards God and the prayer movement. It goes against the world system.
But it’s dynamic - It’s refreshing - It’s absolutely life transforming - It’s the highest and greatest lifestyle.
Life is becoming very pressurized because of constant change and stress. God wants to teach us to live without fatigue and sweat. There is purity in being devoted to Christ and the devil knows it. He aims to get us off track and confused (2 Corinthians 11:3). But God wants to show us the highest way to live. Our primary calling is internal. When we are energized by intimacy we will be able to sustain spiritual intensity throughout our life. God is searching the earth to find those whose hearts are loyal to Him (2 Chronicles 16:9). He is searching for those who will pray.
Are you willing to pay the price to seek Him, not only for yourself, but for your own city? It’s time to lay the foundations for 24/7 prayer in all the cities throughout the earth. Let’s change the history of His church worldwide. Let’s adopt Zinzendorf’s motto personally and corporately: “I have one passion; it is He and He alone.”
We just relocated to Kansas City, and today I was praying at the International House of Prayer. They are in the 11th year of non-stop prayer. A few hundred passionate intercessors were there praying. You are invited to pray with them at anytime day or night at http://www.ihop.org/Publisher/Article.aspx?ID=1000058181.
"Zinzendorf’s motto, ‘I have one passion; it is He and He alone,’ would fan into a movement that God would use to change the history of His church.”
By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise
deb@intercessorsarise.org
http://www.intercessorsarise.org
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