meetings. Jesus said, “I will build my church (not my denomination) and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” The more people you have praying in unity, the greater the anointing.
God said in Leviticus 26:8,
“Five of you will chase a hundred and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand! All your enemies will fall beneath the blows of your weapons.”
Did you get that? The more the believers, the greater number of the enemies they will pursue. And He also gave the assurance that the enemies will fall for us. Praise God!
National Prayer Meetings in the Bible
In the bible, national prayer meetings were variously called to seek the face of God or His intervention in the affairs of the people. We will mention just two of them because of limited space:
When three nations Moabites, Ammonites and the Meunites declared war against Judah, King Jehoshaphat quickly summoned a national prayer meeting at the Temple in Jerusalem. God heard their prayers, fought and defeated their enemies. “Jehoshaphat was alarmed by this news and sought the LORD for guidance. He also gave orders that everyone throughout Judah should observe a fast.
2 Chronicles 20:3-4.
And in the book of Esther, the people of Israel found themselves in a very precarious situation. An irrevocable death decree was hanging on them, not because of any crime, but for the envy of their enemies. Please can we just read the story? It is indeed an interesting one:
“Then Haman approached king Xerxes and said, ‘there is a certain race of people scattered through all the provinces of your empire. Their laws are different from those of any other nation, and they refuse to obey even the laws of the king. So it is not in the king’s interest to let them live. If it pleases you your majesty, issue a decree that they be destroyed, and I will give 375 tons of silver to the government administrators, so that they can put it into the royal treasury.
“The king agreed, confirming his decision by removing his signet ring from his finger and giving it to Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite – the enemy of the Jews. ‘Keep the money,’ the king told Haman, ‘but go ahead and do as you like with these people.’
“On April 17 Haman called in the king’s secretaries and dictated letters to the princes, the governors of the respective provinces, and the local officials of each province in their own scripts and languages. These letters were signed in the name of king Xerxes, sealed with his ring, and sent by messengers into all the provinces of the empire. The letters decreed that all Jews – young and old, including women and children – must be killed, slaughtered, and annihilated on a single day. This was scheduled to happen nearly a year later on March 7. The property of the Jews would be given to those who killed them. A copy of this decree was to be issued in every province and made known to all the people, so that they would be ready to do their duty on the appointed day. At the king’s command, the decree went out by the swiftest messengers, and it was proclaimed in the fortress of Susa. Then the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa fell into confusion.”
Esther 3:8-15
This was the situation of the people of God. They were to be killed – their young and old, women and children. All their properties were also to be confiscated after the planned genocide. What did the Jews do? Mordecai tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes. Other Jews joined him. They fasted, wept and wailed.
God started the deliverance process by visiting the king Xerxes in the night. The king could not sleep again because fiery petitions of the people of God were bombarding His throne. The decree against the Jews was reversed, their archenemy hanged and his properties were handed over to the Jews. Praise God!
When a people, a nation or citizens of a state gather to pray and cry to God, the effects are always penetrating. The condition of your people or your nation can be changed if you would bring them together to seek the face of God today.
Individual Prayers in the Bible
Prayers done by individuals also have tremendous results. Moses, Jesus, Joshua, Daniel, Nehemiah etc, are some of the people who have changed the course of their people through prayers. As a prayer warrior; especially of the midnight stock, you should not only affect yourself, your family, but you have the capacity to affect the destiny of your people, your nation and even the entire world. Jesus’ prayers and activities still affect the world till today. Moses’ prayers saved the entire nation of Israel. Daniel’s prayer set the stage for the deliverance of the Israelites from Babylon.
Let us take the cue from Nehemiah. He stood in the gap for his people. Hear him,
“They said to me, ‘Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been burned.’
“When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven. Listen to my prayer! Look down and see me praying night and day for your people Israel.”
You already know the tremendous result of that Nehemiah’s prayer. God intervened. The falling walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt. And the worship of God was restored. God can also do such with you. And remember, there is a reward that will always come after you have prevailed.
In Joshua 23:10, the bible says that,
“Each one of you will put to flight a thousand of the enemy.”
One person to chase away a thousand enemies? You can only do this supernaturally through praying. Your prayer can bring tremendous results. Yes, your prayer. And also know that when you prevail, God says you will receive a crown and He will make you a pillar in His house. A pillar and a crown reward from God? That will be wonderful!
Rev. 3:12.
Please, let’s move over to praise.
PRAISE
Chapter Five
Praise
Paul and Silas also sang praises in the dungeon that night. With fresh wounds all over their bodies, chains on their hands and legs and in the usually dark underground prison cell, they sang praises to God. Praise and worship are some of the most powerful tools given to the believers by God. I mean spirit-filled praise and worship. There is great power in praise and worship. They are tremendous weapons of our warfare and the devil knows that. That is why he would do everything possible to stop or at least, corrupt them.
When we praise God, we bring down His presence and glory.
