Note: This is part 2 of a series of articles on the Prayer Movement
I shared in part 1 how there is an unprecedented prayer movement sweeping the earth in our generation, specifically the emergence of tens of thousands of expressions of day & night prayer. This series takes a deeper look at what is happening and why. To give context to this discussion, I want to briefly look at the history of 24-7 prayer. As you will see below, there have been a handful of believers who have hosted day & night prayer throughout history. It is inspiring to discover these historical roots of 24-7 prayer, but it also reveals just how unprecedented the current prayer movement really is.
The Tabernacle of David
King David was a man of “one thing” (Ps. 27:4). Around 1000 BC, as an outflow of his heart, he commanded that the Ark of the Covenant be brought up on the shoulders of the Levites amidst the sound of songs and musical instruments to his new capital, Jerusalem. There he had it placed in a tent and appointed 288 prophetic singers and 4,000 musicians to minister before the L’ord, “to make petition, to give thanks and to praise the Lord” day and night (1 Chr. 15:1–17:27). This was unlike anything that had been done in Israel’s history, but it was God’s plan for Israel.
The Davidic Order of Worship
Although the tabernacle was replaced by a temple, the Davidic order of worship was embraced and reinstituted by seven subsequent leaders in the history of Israel and Judah. Each time this order of worship was reintroduced, spiritual breakthrough, deliverance and military victory followed.
- Solomon instructed that worship in the temple should be in accordance with the Davidic order (2 Chr. 8:14–15).
- Jehoshaphat defeated Moab and Ammon by setting singers up in accordance with the Davidic order: singers at the front of the army singing the Great Hallel. Jehoshaphat reinstituted Davidic worship in the temple (2 Chr. 20:20–22, 28).
- Joash (2 Chr. 23:1–24:27).
- Hezekiah cleansed and reconsecrated the temple, and reinstituted the Davidic order of worship (2 Chr. 29:1–36; 30:21).
- Josiah reinstituted Davidic worship (2 Chr. 35:1–27).
- Ezra and Nehemiah, returning from Babylon, reinstituted Davidic worship (Ezra 3:10; Neh. 12:28–47).
Learn more about David’s Tabernacle in my book on this topic.
The Early Monastic Tradition of 24/7 Prayer
For over one thousand years monasticism (the practice of taking vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience to one’s spiritual superior) held a key role in the development of theology and practice in the Church. From the fourth and fifth centuries, monks and nuns were an accepted part of society. Monasticism is the cradle from which laus perennis, perpetual prayer, was birthed in the church age.
One of the key leaders in this monastic tradition include Alexander Akimetes and the Sleepless Ones. Around 400 AD, he returned to Constantinople with 300–400 monks, where he establishedlaus perennis to fulfill Paul’s exhortation to pray without ceasing (1 Thes. 5:17). Driven from Constantinople, the monks established the monastery at Gormon, at the mouth of the Black Sea. This became the founding monastery of the order of the Acoemetae (literally, the sleepless ones). Alexander died here in 430 AD, but the influence of the Acoemetae continued. The houses were divided into six choirs rotating throughout the day, each new choir relieving the one before, to create uninterrupted prayer and worship twenty-four hours a day.
At Bangor in Ireland, Comgall instituted a rigid monastic rule of incessant prayer and fasting. Far from turning people away, this ascetic rule attracted thousands. Throughout the sixth century, Bangor became famous for its choral psalmody. “It was this music which was carried to the Continent by the Bangor Missionaries in the following century” (Hamilton, Rector of Bangor Abbey). Divine services of the seven hours of prayer were carried out throughout Bangor’s existence. However, the monks went further and carried out the practice of laus perennis. In the twelfth century, Bernard of Clairvaux spoke of Comgall and Bangor, stating, “the solemnization of divine offices was kept up by companies, who relieved each other in succession, so that not for one moment day and night was there an intermission of their devotions.”
Count Zinzendorf and the Moravians
August of 1727 is seen as the Moravian Pentecost at the Moravian community in Herrnhut, Germany. Its leader, Count Ludwig Zinzendorf said August 13 was “a day of the outpourings of the Holy Spirit upon the congregation; it was its Pentecost.” Within two weeks of the outpouring, twenty-four men and twenty-four women covenanted to pray “hourly intercessions,” thus praying every hour around the clock. They were committed to see that, “The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out” (Lev. 6:13). The numbers committed to this endeavor soon increased to around seventy from the community. This prayer meeting would go non-stop for more than one hundred years and is seen by many as the spiritual power behind the impact the Moravians had on the world.
From the prayer room at Herrnhut came a missionary zeal which has hardly been surpassed in church history. By 1776, some 226 missionaries had been sent out from the community at Herrnhut. It is clear through the teaching of the so-called father of modern missions, William Carey, that the Moravians had a profound impact on him in regard to their zeal for missionary activity. It is also through the missions-minded Moravians that John Wesley came to faith. The impact of this little community in Saxony, which committed to seek the face of the Lord day and night, has truly been immeasurable.
24/7 Prayer in the Twentieth Century
In 1973, David Yonggi Cho, Pastor of the Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, South Korea, established Prayer Mountain with night-and-day prayer. Prayer Mountain was soon attracting over a million visitors per year, as people would spend retreats in the prayer cells provided on the mountain. You can read more in Cho’s book Prayers That Bring Revival.
In the 1970s, Dick Eastman, founder of Every Home for Christ, established a 24-7 prayer room in a basement in California. Young adults interns called the “Prayer Corps” would come live in the house for a year and keep a watch of 24-7 prayer. You can read more in Dick Eastman’s book The Purple Pig.
Heading into the twenty first century, there was a notable increase of day & night prayer ministries, which I will discuss in future posts!