Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

pray continually,

• 1 Thessalonians 5:17

“This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from the evil one.’

• Matthew 6:9-13

He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”

• Matthew 26:42

Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

• John 8:10-11

“Returning to the revival in Herrnhut, we see a real-life picture of rebellious fidelity to Jesus through prayer. The unlikely spark of the revival occurred when Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf welcomed those forty-eight refugees, chopping up the family property into the village of Herrnhut. They dreamed of recapturing the radical potency of the early church. A few years in, disillusioned, they came to the sober realization that their shared agreement and collective willpower weren’t enough. Their vision was clean and inspiring off the eloquent lips of their leader but messy and ordinary in the context of relationship to one another.
“Confronted by their own weakness, they finally started to pray like monks. Forty-eight refugees committed to a disciplined rhythm of daily prayer. just five years into that commitment, a refugee village of thirty-two homes had inadvertently launched the greatest missions movement in world history.
“The prayer meeting that started with those refugees went on, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, for one hundred years—-a century of unceasing prayer. The Moravian revival was a hundred-year prayer meeting that transformed the tiny village of Herrnhut into the missional base of the eighteenth century and the catalyst of the modern missions movement.
“They weren’t fanatics; they were radicals (from the Latin radix, ‘root’).”

• Tyler Staton, Praying like Monks, Living like Fools

Rev. Staton had obviously mentioned Herrnhut before in the book.  Here he shows how continuous prayer for 365 days for 100 years led to an awakening, an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Note: This was in 1727, and this group of no more than 300 peasants spread the Gospel throughout the world.

What is the message here?  The people were obviously committed.  But until there was an outward showing of their commitment, the grand plan was falling apart.  When they did things on their own power with the thought that God would naturally want this done because it is a good idea… When they really sought God’s will, then things clicked.

I don’t know why I focused on this one little story.  Herrnhut basically translates from German to English into “Mr. Hat.”  That could easily be my nickname in German.  Herrnhut, Germany is in Saxony, Germany, just north of Czechia and south of Dresden, Germany. But no, I think it was the 365 days of continual prayer … for one hundred years. The organizers of the prayer vigil had long since passed away. And speaking of Count von Zinzendorf’s ‘eloquent lips’, he said, “I have one passion. It is He, only He.“

Have you ever been a part of a 24-hour prayer vigil?  The church I belong to now has had two 24-hour prayer vigils.  The first came when we had many millions of dollars bequest to the church from a member who was a bank president.  My wife and I had just joined the church when the announcement was made.  Everyone said it was a blessing, except me.  I thought it was a curse.  Too many people left when it was learned that the money could not do all the work and they were not getting a piece of the pie.  But the first prayer vigil was to determine what to do with the money.  About half of the graveyard hours were the hardest to fill, but after a couple tag-teamed their way through those hours, we made it.  My wife and I had two consecutive 30-minute prayer sessions.

What did people pray for?  God’s will?!  Heavens to Betsy, No.  I am sure most prayed for God to have everyone else consider their idea (the one praying) to be the direction the church went.

The second one was a little more nebulous.  I was all for God’s guidance in the second one, but it was more to do with spreading God’s Word and growing the church through the work of the Holy Spirit.  Maybe it was because this was doing Great Commission work or it was “spiritual”, but the organizers, a husband and wife, prayed for about six hours each to cover the twenty-four hours.  That couple left the church less than a year later, giving other excuses. And the church had about three times more people in which to draw prayer warriors than what they had in Herrnhut.

Even in the case of spending a lot of money, the prayer vigil organizers had to do some filling in, but when it was of a spiritual nature, the prayer vigil organizers did half the praying.

When you are assigned to pray for an hour, as my wife and I were on the second vigil, you can pray through everything that they provide for you to pray about two or three times.  You can sing a few psalms.  You can go through your personal prayer list that you think you never have enough time to go through, and you still have over thirty minutes left.  It is very hard to focus in such situations, no distractions, maybe a little soft instrumental music playing, maybe not.  Maybe a candle burning.  Maybe one or two lights on.

I have written about these vigils a few times.  A prayer vigil of this type throws you face to face in the mirror with yourself.  But in focusing on the subject at hand, when you run out of things to pray about, God sometimes answers your prayers, if you are ready for two-way communication.

But these people did not go for one 24-hour prayer vigil.  They were committed.  They had 365 consecutive 24-hour prayer vigils for one hundred years.  Consider it.  You sign up for midnight to one in the morning, and you never miss.  Forget what day of the week it is.  Forget vacations.  Forget getting sick. But when you die, someone else is eager to take your slot.

Our church could not easily pull off one 24-hour prayer vigil, that is “easily.”  How long would an 876,000-hour prayer vigil last?  Yeah, I did the math. But then again, add nearly 25 more 24-hour days for the leap years. Note: Leap year adjustments do not always occur every four years. The year 1700 or the year 1800 would not be a leap year (divisible by 100), but the year 1600 is a leap year (divisible by 400). Thus, you can make that an 876,576-hour prayer vigil.

And what was the result?  Not just success for their mission to build a community for refugees, but an outpouring of the Holy Spirit that spread from that village. Their revival spread over the entire world, and they were mere peasants. Nothing “mere” about it. When you trust God that much, there is no stopping you,

You never know what God can do, until you make a commitment to ask.

Lord, guide me. Give me the strength to keep praying and keep the communication lines open.  Lord, help me to expect an answer from You.  And if I do not hear the answer, prop me up, for I may just have to pray beyond my physical ability to remain standing or sitting.  Jacob wrestled until he was given a blessing.  He would not let go all night long.  Lord, forgive us for our weakness.  Make us stronger, but give us the desire to become stronger.  We need You now.  In Your name I pray.  Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.