Getting Into Night Prayer Vigils

For years, God has been training me to get out of bed in the middle of the night for a few hours at a time to pray. I believe Christians should not only fast, but those who are particularly in good health should make this sacrifice of praying at night. Not only is the church in great need of purification, but there are numerous lost souls that need to be saved. The body of Christ needs to pray for salvation of souls!

Recall when Jesus said in Luke 10 verse 2:

He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field". (New International Version)

God desires that the lost be saved, and it is the duty of all believers to pray for the light of the gospel to shine into the hearts of people everywhere, and for people to come to the knowledge of Christ.

I have suffered sleep deprivation for over forty years, so to get up in the middle of the night to pray sounds crazy. I should be dead well and truly from over exhaustion, but I am alive only because it is Gods’ Will. God performs miracles all the time and it is time we learn to trust Him.

I remember when I first started to realise how powerful prayer was and that God listens to all of us, including me. My mother and I started with ten minutes a day in prayer and we were overjoyed by it, thinking we were pretty good doing that much. Little by little God increased it until it became hours a day.

So if you are not use to praying, choose some prayers that touch your heart and start saying them for as long as you can. Don’t forget to just chat to God as a beloved child to a Father he adores too. That warms your heart up and gives you strength to obey Him in what He is calling you to do. If you are very new at it, don’t be shy about it and do not hesitate. Just do it anyway and I can guarantee you will feel close to Him by doing this. That was my experience when I first tried it.

If you cannot get up in the middle of the night to pray, try to go to bed an hour later or get up an hour early, and use the extra hour to pray. When Jesus was at the Garden of Gethsemane when it was close to the time of his crucifixion, he took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He asked them to stay there to pray (See Mark 14: 32 - 38). This is the account from Mark 14 verses 37 - 38:

37 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? 38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (New International Version).

This demonstrates that praying for at least one hour should be the norm. The Bible also tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:16 to "pray without ceasing". In essence, whether night or day, we should pray. Several Christian authors have written about the power of praying at night. In his book, Prayers That Move Mountains, Apostle John Eckhardt explains the power and benefits of praying at midnight.

We must start praying for our church, country and for the lost. I read a prophesy ages ago and Jesus was saying if we knew what was coming in the future we would be down on our knees day and night praying. I don’t mean to scare you, but prayer is one of the weapons God has given us to stay strong and overcome the enemy. Remember we win this war, so don’t be afraid.

We must learn to appreciate everything God has done for us and praise Him as often as we can. It keeps the relationship with Him alive. We don’t want to be lukewarm and be spewed out of His mouth (See Revelations 3:16). Please give it a go.The church is in great need of revival itself before it can be effective saving others. Prayer is so important that Jesus taught His disciples how to pray. Always remember that as a Christian, you are a disciple of Jesus Christ.