We're coming to the end of our fourth week on staff here at Gateway, and our third week of being on the night schedule. Jake had a heart for the night watch after having some really powerful times with God in the wee hours of the night in a small house of prayer in Vienna, Austria. But it wasn't just because of a passion for the night that we decided to totally revamp our lifestyle and schedule. For Gateway to continue to be open 24-7, there obviously needs to be someone there at night. Most of the night watches are hard to keep staffed and usually it's only by one volunteer who is completely alone the entire time. Basically, we saw that these sleepy hours were where the greatest need was and felt ready, able and willing to fill it. So, what does that look like? We typically show up to the h.o.p. around 11 p.m. and have an hour "briefing" time with our team (aka, Jake, me and our friend Brittany and maybe one or two other zealous volunteers) which usually includes talking about the prayer topics for the evening and having a short devotional time. Then at midnight we head upstairs to the prayer room and get started. We break up the night into hour long intervals, 12-1 being a devo time, 1-2 intercession, 2-3 another devo time, and 3-4 another intercession set. We've been trying to hit the same topics every week, including sex trafficking, the persecuted church, college campuses, government, Israel, youth, and regional transformation etc. Sometimes we have live music, like in the above picture, but most of the time it looks like this:
Mostly empty room with plenty of yawns :) It's been tough, but so good. My body has had a harder time transitioning and most nights I feel like the majority of my energy and focus is put toward staying awake and very little is left over to really press in to God. I know that in my weakness the Lord is still pleased with my feeble attempts, and my semi-coherent prayers are still heard by Him, but I am looking forward to a breakthrough in my energy level. I get excited thinking about what we're doing. We're getting to stand in the gap, and partner with God in prayer during the darkest hours of the night. It's a privilege to be able to join the prayer movement worldwide as our full-time job for this season. Before we started on staff, my heart would come alive when I heard a song written by Elizabeth Bedford who does the night watch down at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City.
Please don't ask me to stay as you draw away to pray
Count me worthy to see what you see
Why is your heart heavy and why do you tarry?
Acquaint me with what's going on on the inside
The lyrics are in reference to Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane in the middle of His darkest night as He stood alone. The thought of being able to stand with Him now, watching and praying and staying alert, is so exciting to me. I don't want to miss out on it!
Psalm 134
Behold, bless the Lord,
All you servants of the Lord,
Who by night stand in the house of the Lord!
Lift up your hands in the sanctuary,
and bless the Lord.
The Lord who made heaven and earth
Bless you from Zion!
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