NIGHTWATCH FOR EUROPE: week beginning Sunday November 12th 2006
‘Could you not watch with me for one hour?’ (Mtt26: 40)
WELCOME TO THE NIGHT WATCH FOR EUROPE
Thank you again all you faithful watchers. Thanks especially to all of you that prophetically placed a stone on a war memorial this weekend. We want to be part of that stone ‘uncut by any human hand’ that brings down the strongholds of empire. While we honour the memories of those that died in Europe’s imperial wars, we do not commemorate those wars; rather we regret them, repent of them and repudiate the empire spirit behind them.
As Steve Lowton and the team of prayer walkers prophetically modeled this same stone as they entered the ancient imperial seat of Constantinople (Istanbul) this week. So once again in support and partnership with them we mark our desire to come in the opposite spirit to the spirit of empire that has been so destructive of church and society in our continent. This week we will pray into some of the insights they gained as they walked and continue to pray into the strategic vision of the end of empire that is the subject of the book of Daniel.
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IF YOU ARE A REGULAR YOU CAN SKIP THE NEXT 2 PARAGRAPHS
If you are receiving this material unexpectedly it is because someone has suggested that you may be interested to join in. If you do not want to keep receiving it please inform us immediately and we will stop sending it to you. We want to let those of you who are newcomers know that we are very pleased to have your partnership in this watch. We are simply asking for a commitment of an hour a week some time between 9pm and 6am whatever time zone you are in.
We will send you a brief outline for prayer each week according to the prophetic direction coming from the contemporary prophetic movement in Europe. You will not always agree with everything in the watch material. Go with what you can and trust the Lord to help you with the rest. We are looking to carry on for another two years, while realising that some can’t commit right now for as long as that. We are pleased for you to enlist for as long as you can. If you have to miss an occasional watch it’s OK as the rest of us will carry it. A six-month commitment is probably a good start.
THE CONTENT OF THE WATCH FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING SUNDAY NOVEMBER 12TH 2006
1. TAKE 20 MINUTES TO PRAY OVER THE FINAL REPORT FROM THE PRAYER WALK INTO ISTANBUL
Paul, one of the walkers, reports on the final stage of the walk:
“Whether it is still the 'City of the World's Desire' or not, Istanbul was a major focus for these few days, sitting where Europe ends and Asia begins, where East meets West and on the major sea route from Russia down to the Mediterranean. As we approached we felt the tremendous squeeze on the city between Eastern and Western powers, if a city of some 18 million inhabitants that spreads for 80km could be called 'squeezed'.
Here is the funneling of the spirits of war and capitalism into the Middle East and the spirit of Islam into Europe, and the nation of Turkey not knowing whom to align with. The cost of misalignment has been high in the past. So our call to the city was not to align with any empire, but to align itself as a gateway with heaven. As empires are shaken there is danger that, with rival empires preferring to live with each other rather than be crushed by the Kingdom that comes down from heaven, Istanbul could stand for many unholy alliances.
To illustrate this, at the heart of the old city stand the Haghia Sophia, once the cathedral of the Eastern Roman empire, and the Blue Mosque, mimicking one another's massive squat domes fringed with sharp towers. How little difference there is between religions aligned with empire. We passed through the broken down Topkapi gate in a blizzard and took refuge in a cafe while we waited for our hosts to meet us. 'Otherside' by The Red Hot Chili Peppers was playing and the words struck us with prophetic impact "...once you know you can never go back, I've got to take it on the otherside".
Carrying with us the squeezes of unresolved situations at home, we knew that there was to be such significance in not stopping here in this squeezed city but pushing through, taking what we carry to the 'otherside', the opening out into the unknown beyond of Asia.
Pray for Istanbul and for the Christians there to play their part to keep the city as a place of non-alignment between the powers of empire, east or west. Pray that rather than be squeezed between competing powers it will become a broad place where Peter’s admonition to Christians in the Roman Empire can be fulfilled for the good of everybody.
“Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bond-slaves of God. Honour all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honour the emperor.” (1Peter 2:16-17)
Pray for Steve Lowton and the teams of prayer-walkers as they plan to continue their walk onwards to Jerusalem next year.
(2) TAKE 40 MINUTES TO READ REFLECT AND PRAY OVER DANIEL CH7
It may help you to remember before we begin that the book of Daniel is an apocalyptic book. This means that the dreams and visions in it are not intended to have only one literal meaning and reference point. They are tools to use prayerfully to understand and apply to the situations in which we find ourselves.
Notice that the vision contains nine descriptions of Daniel ‘looking’, ‘contemplating’ or we could say ‘watching’.
WHILE DANIEL IS WATCHING IN THE NIGHT (verses 2,6,7,8) he sees 4 empires again, like in Nebuchadnezzar's dream in Chapter 2:
1. Like a lion with eagle’s wings
2. Like a bear
3. Like a leopard with four wings of a bird
4. Dreadful and terrible and extremely strong with large iron teeth, ten horns with an eleventh horn, a little one with eyes like a man and a mouth uttering great boasts that uprooted three of the horns.
Most people agree that the four empires that Daniel saw refer the empire of the Assyrians, the empire of the Medes and the Persians, the empire of Greece and the Empire of Rome. This would mean that the Roman empire was the fourth, in which the stone of Jesus and his church hit the feet of the image (ch2) or where the battle comes to an end and the Lord gives the kingdom to the saints here in verse 27. The empire of Rome has so shaped Europe, many would say that it is only now finally coming to an end. Pray that God will bring the empire way of doing things to an end in our time and prepare a church that is a precious stone in his hand for the task. (8 minutes)
WHILE DANIEL KEPT ON WATCHING the activity of the little horn, he saw thrones set up (verses 9, 11). The Ancient of Days took his seat, a river of fire flowed, multitudes attended him and stood before him while a court sat, books were opened, the verdict was given and the fourth beast was destroyed and the rulership of the others removed.
Pray that as we keep on watching we will see that God’s rule is totally different to human rule, that he gives his judgement on our empires and destroys and removes them. Pray for grace for us all to so watch and see and pray that we will understand enough to play our part with God like Daniel. (8 minutes)
AS DANIEL KEPT WATCHING IN THE NIGHT VISIONS (v13) he saw one like a son of man (i.e. someone who looked like a human being, which we now know was fulfilled in Jesus) presented to the ancient of days and given the kingdom that would never be destroyed. Think of situations in your own life, church and nation where authority acts like the little horn that became bigger than the rest, boastfully thinking it is somebody great and knows it all, uprooting others and waging war on the genuinely humble people of God. Then begin to lift up the name of Jesus and declare his Lordship over them. (8 minutes)
DANIEL ASKED A WATCHING ANGEL CLOSE BY WHAT WAS GONG ON (v16) and he was told that the beasts were four kings, like in ch2 as we have said, but as in the former dream, the saints of the most high will receive the kingdom forever. Where there are situations that you don’t understand, ask God for understanding and ask him to send you angelic help like he did Daniel. Begin to declare verse 27 over all those situations. (8 minutes)
DANIEL WANTS TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE FOURTH BEAST SO HE GOES ON WATCHING (v21) and sees that there is a battle between the final power (the little horn) of the fourth beast and the saints of God that rages until the Lord passes judgement in their favour. The watching angel explains it more clearly still until the end of the vision. Daniel feels pretty worried and worn out!
Notice that Daniel has to work some things out for himself as he maintains his watch, and other things he gets supernatural revelation about. Pray for perseverance for us all to keep watching and praying. Pray for supernatural revelation. Pray for deliverance from both anxiety and exhaustion for us all! (8 minutes)
