What is a watch night?

There are no hard and fast rules for a watch night or as it is sometimes called, a ‘Watch of the Lord’. What I would like to put down here are some guidelines for this type of meeting.

We want to lay the a proper foundation for the Lord to flow unhindered in a watch night, everything should be subject to the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

(These guidelines are also worthy of consideration for other times of our Christian lives.)

A watch night contains all or some of the following:

• Worship
• Praise
• Thanksgiving
• Intercession
• Supplication
• Command
• Proclamation

Aims

The aim of the watch night is to:

Promote the purposes of God on earth

What we really want is to be blessed by a fuller release of the Holy Spirit to enable this aim to become a reality.

A ‘leader’ or ‘watch captain’ is really important, their role is to enable everyone in the watch to remain in the anointing through their loving leadership throughout the period of the watch night.

The ‘watch captain’ may not necessarily be a ‘born leader’, they need to be willing and able to be soaking in the Holy Spirit. The ‘watch captain’ must listen to the voice of the Spirit and keep the flow in the same vein.

A ‘watch captain’ may be selected because of a particular insight or ‘burden’, (a real desire to see God move on a particular issue).The leader may share fresh prophetic scripture and insights that are pertinent to the watch. However their role is that of directing the watch rather than ending up preaching or teaching.

Our experience has been that on a watch night a theme emerges given by God after we have waited on God and offered him our praise, worship and thanks. Often there is a significant level of proclamation of God’s greatness and power. There is a strong sense of needing to declare God’s glory and light in the hours of darkness, in order to push back the powers of darkness and their effect.

Another important role is a scribe, who is responsible for writing down the events that occur.

Habakkuk 2:1-2

I will climb up into my watchtower now and wait to see what the Lord will say to me and how he will answer my complaint.

Then the Lord said to me, "Write my answer in large, clear letters on a tablet, so that a runner can read it and tell everyone else.

Ezekiel 33:7

"Now, son of man, I am making you a watchman for the people of Israel. Therefore, listen to what I say and warn them for me.

1 Thess. 5:20-21

Do not scoff at prophecies, [21] but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good.

A designated notebook is good in order not only to ensure that things are written down, but that things can be weighed afterwards and also that we can look back at these often key events. A tape recorder is often very helpful.

Key things to record in some way are:

• Scriptures shared
• New prophecies
• Urgent prayer requests
• Prophetic songs
• Interpreted tongues
• Testimonies related to answered prayer from a previous watch

Some practical tips on running a watch night

1. Friday nights are good, because often people can rest (to a certain extent) the next day.
2. Drinks should be freely available, but not snacks, as people will have fasted in preparation.

Joel 1:13-14

Dress yourselves in sackcloth, you priests! Wail, you who serve before the altar! Come, spend the night in sackcloth, you ministers of my God! There is no grain or wine to offer at the Temple of your God. [14] Announce a time of fasting; call the people together for a solemn meeting. Bring the leaders and all the people into the Temple of the Lord your God, and cry out to him there.

I think that call to sackcloth is a cultural thing of the time our discomfort may be the counter cultural idea of setting aside time, especially food and sleep, for God.

1. People do not have to come for the whole session, they can come and go as they please or God directs them.
2. Feel free to ‘snooze in the anointing’ if you are tired.

Remember Gethsemane! Not a great example, but it happens to the best of us!

1. Worship is a key ingredient to the watch recipe.
2. It is good to focus on God and forego the usual fellowship and chit chat we may enjoy.
3. Our primary focus is to minister to the Lord, but it may be right to minister to others in need, especially if guided by God through prophetic ‘words’.
4. It is always good to break bread together and especially so during a watch night. There is great power in sharing the body and blood of Christ, to cleanse, build us up and unify us with one another and God.
5. It may be difficult at certain times for people to stay awake during an all night session. It may be a good idea to start with some people taking turns while others rest.
6. It is good to have a worship leader at the watch night, if possible others to support them or to take over in order to spread the load. Simple percussion instruments may help all to get involved with the worship.
7. It may take a while for the theme of the watch to emerge, don’t hurry this, we need to spend time loving God through our worship. God is gentle and generous.
8. A spirit of intercession may develop slowly or may ‘fall’ suddenly.
9. Space for dancing or a physical expression of worship or prophecy may be valuable.
10. The watch night is not to meet our personal needs but to, SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD. In seeking Him, our personal needs are being met supernaturally.

Matthew 6:33

he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.

As with anything, getting used to taking part in a watch night may take some people a little while.
They may expect an entire night of prayer and they might feel strange arriving ‘late’ or leaving ‘early’. Help others to understand what it’s all about. Explain all the different things that we can do in the presence of the Lord.

Through the watch night we are:

Developing our spiritual muscles
Developing our Bride and Groom relationship
Standing in the gap
Providing an opportunity for repentance
Providing an opportunity for refreshing

Common Themes

• Prayer for our area – street plans or pictures are helpful
• Prayer for the nations – maps are useful
• Prayer for other intercessors – a real sense of unity and purpose often emerges
• Prayer for specific issues in the church or community – but not a long list
• Prayer for leaders – present leaders or for those not yet released
• Prayer for children
• Prayer for the peace of Jerusalem

Rev. 16:15

"Take note: I will come as unexpectedly as a thief! Blessed are all who are watching for me, who keep their robes ready so they will not need to walk naked and ashamed."