[Music] my name is Estelle Brink and I'm with Jericho walls international prayer Network I want to welcome you to a new series that we're going to do about Watchmen on the wall for the next few weeks we will look at what it means to be a Watchman and what is the differences between a Watchman and a gatekeeper what are responsibilities the deities of Watchmen how do you know that you are a Watchman what are the struggles that all Watchmen will face and what are the attacks they will face and so much more so let us start what does it mean to be a Watchman now I've heard people use several different words and names to describe what they understand to be a Watchman this can cause you to wonder what exactly is the difference between someone who prays someone who intercedes and someone who is a Watchman in short you can say that everyone is called to pray without exception or excuse I'm quoting three places where Jesus himself spoke about prayer and he never said that only certain people are to pray and we read of that in Matthew 6 6 where he says but you when you pray go into your room and when you have shut your door pray to your father who is in the secret place and your father who sees in secret will reward you openly secondly we read in Matthew 6 7 and when you pray do not use vain repetitions as the Heathen do for they think that they will be heard for their many words and thirdly Matthew 6 9 in this manner therefore pray Our Father in heaven Hallowed be your name it is true however that as we grow in our personal relationship with the Lord that the Holy Spirit trains us as individuals in different areas of prayer over time we learn that certain matters require persevering prayer until we see a breakthrough a once of prayer is just not enough this means that in many situations more intense and prolonged persevering prayer is needed we generally call such prayers intercession intercession is more than just casually asking the Lord for something and we will look at all these in more depth then there are those individuals in whom the Holy Spirit puts a specific desire to pray for a certain city or a nation or people group or government for them whenever something happens for example in government they would be the first ones to tell you about it they are always keeping an eye on the news and on the matters of the day and we can call them Watchmen on the war as they keep watch for example over governmental issues in the nation now before you start to feel guilty remember not everyone receives the same prayer burden from the Lord if you desire to be used of the Lord in prayer you can ask him to put his burden in your heart and to teach you to pray effectively for that specific matter this means that there is nobody who has a heart for everything but the Lord lays something special to present before him in prayer and everyone's heart you never need to compare yourself with anyone else in what you pray for or how you pray Andrew Murray said all of us are in the School of prayer and the Holy Spirit leads us in every prayer we all have to start somewhere and only just in one year from now you will be so surprised at how much you have learned in that regard all of us are called to be Watchmen in prayer so the question may arise in your mind right now what is the difference between a Watchman on the wall and a gatekeeper and I think it's a very important question so although their duties are differently they have distinct separation in their function so what is the difference between a Watchman and a gatekeeper now a related team for the word um Watchman is that of gatekeeper a Watchman is someone who is set to watch especially one of guards a building or the streets or of a city by Night a gatekeeper is a person who guards or monitors A Passage through a gate or an entrance a Watchman will usually be set on a high point from where he can monitor or see in the distance a gatekeeper is a person standing on the ground monitoring exactly what comes in and goes out a Watchman will watch over a city or a place for evil and will warn the gatekeeper that evil is coming in the same way a Watchman will let The Gatekeepers know if a friend of the king is coming and then the gatekeeper will make sure he gives preference to that friend when he enters the gate and discernment is very important in both cases we see an example of this in second Samuel 18 26 where it says then the Watchman saw another man running and the Watchman called to the gatekeeper and said there is another man running alone and the King said he also brings news now a Watchman over a nation or a town or a city will have a general General overview and knowledge of what's taking place in that Nation or city such information will then be given through to those who guards the gates in a nation a city or a town Gatekeepers of Education or agriculture or social justice Gatekeepers of Law and Order and so on both of these positions carry great responsibility to earnestly pray to what the Holy Spirit shows them the this brings us to the end of the session today but I want to focus in the next time to show more about scriptures pertaining to Gatekeepers and scriptures pertaining to Watchmen may the Lord Place you