Keep The Serpent Out!

March 18, 2025

The Hebrew words translated “watchman” are natsar, shamar and tsaphah. They mean to guard or protect by watching over. In ancient times they were also used to describe hedging around crops with thorn bushes to keep out encroachers.(1) The words include the concept of hiding or concealing something.(2) Watchmen, through intercession, create the Psalm 91 secret place of protection. 

Genesis 2:15 is the first time one of them is used in Scripture: “And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and to keep (shamar) it.” Adam was told to guard or “keep” the garden. From what? It had to be the serpent! I assert this firstly because it is much in keeping with the nature of God to have warned him. To have done otherwise would not have been consistent with God’s character. 

Second, neither Adam nor Eve seemed shocked when a snake talked to them. It evidently didn’t come as a total surprise. Third, what else could there have been before the Fall to guard, keep or protect the garden from? Only the serpent.

This is an important point – the first mention of watching or protecting in Scripture gives us the primary responsibility of the watchman: Keep the serpent out! Guard or protect that which God has entrusted to your care from the subtle encroachment of the serpent. Keep him out of your garden: your home, family, church, city, nation! Keep him out!

These three Hebrew words are also translated in several other ways. I’m going to list several of them, elaborating briefly, to provide a more well-rounded understanding of the concept. As you will plainly see, many pages could be written commenting on the symbolism and connection to prayer. For brevity’s sake I have not done so, but I would encourage you to think on each definition, allowing the Holy Spirit to bring insight to you personally.

1. Keep or Keeper

This is by far the most frequent usage of these three words, translated as such at least 250 times in the King James Version. Watchmen “keep” possessions, places, and individuals safe. They ensure against loss, theft or damage. They “keep” things intact, in possession.

2. Guard

Watchmen are guards. They protect possessions, places, and as the next usage demonstrates, people. 

3. Bodyguard

Watchmen guard and protect individuals, shielding them from danger and harm. They are the secret service agents of the Kingdom, guarding and protecting others.

When I pastored, intercessors in our fellowship were faithful to cover me in prayer. More than once I was told, “Pastor, I was up through the night praying for you.” Occasionally they asked, “Was something wrong?”

“No,” I always responded. They were a bit confused, thinking they had misheard the Holy Spirit, until I replied, “And your prayers are probably why! Keep praying; it’s working!” It was a comfort to know I had spiritual bodyguards. Ministers would be more effective if the body of Christ had more faithful watchmen.

4. Doorkeeper

This one is obviously similar to the next, so I will comment on both of them together.

5. Gatekeeper

Watchmen have the ability,  through prayer, to determine who or what enters their homes, their families’ lives, their churches, their cities, etc. They discern by the Holy Spirit what to allow in, and through prayer, open and close the door. They invite in the work of the Holy Spirit and reject the works of darkness, keeping enemies out. 

6. Preserve or Preserver

Watchmen preserve, keeping things from ruin and destruction. They preserve lives, anointings, moves of God and a host of other things by covering them in prayer. In their book, How to Pray for Your Family, Quin Sherrer and Ruthanne Garlock tell of four ladies who functioned as watchmen for their farms. These women walked the perimeters of the fields while the husbands worked, sometimes covering as much as six miles in a day.

They prayed for protection from insects, crop diseases, hail and drought. They asked God to give their husbands wisdom in farming and marketing and prayed for angels to be assigned to the efforts.

The results were amazing. It turned out to be one of their better years. No storm or insect damage, no unwise decisions and a good profit – while others around them had a difficult year with little profit.

We simply aren’t practical enough at times with our intercession tactics. These ladies, watching in intercession, opened the way for God’s blessing upon their families’ financial endeavors.(3)

7. Pay attention

Watchmen must be on the alert, paying attention. Though this is obvious, we often fail to do so. Like soldiers, God “calls us to attention.” Lives are at stake. The spiritual harvest fields must be guarded. Pay attention, watchmen!

8. Observe

Be observant. Quite simply, watchmen must watch! If they do so, they’ll observe what others fail to see. This involves the concept of discernment.

9. Behold

This usage is similar to observe, of course, but I list it because it intensifies the command to watch: Behold!

10. Beware

Watchmen must be vigilant, aware, on the alert. First Peter 5:8 warns us to be of sober spirit. Always beware, intercessor! Watch for satan, who roams about like a lion, seeking someone to devour. When you discern him at work, enforce Calvary's victory with your God-given authority. 

11. Protect

In the same sense as guarding and keeping, watchmen protect. They build walls or boundaries of protection from the attacks of the devil. 

12. Maintain

Watchmen maintain things for other people and for the Lord. They are the maintenance crew. They may not build or plant, as some do, but they maintain what has been built, keeping things working well, preventing breakdowns.

Ask the Lord to strengthen you in your ability to watch and pray. Ask Him for sensitivity – the ability to sense in the spirit realm, being able to pick up and hear His alerts and warnings. Let’s do so now.

Pray with me:

Father, it is never Your will for the serpent to encroach on our “gardens.” He is subtle, but You have sent Holy Spirit to help us, alerting us to his attacks. Teach us to listen, to always be alert, paying attention to Your promptings. Fine tune us. We want to be watchmen for our families, friends, and leaders. 

We are also to be watchmen for our nation. Had we been alert, prayer would not have been removed from our schools, and the murder of babies in the womb would never have been the law of our land. Had we been paying attention and taking action, our government would not have been overtaken by those who dishonor You, our education system by unrighteous propagandists.  

You are giving us another chance to step into our role of protecting and preserving what You gave us. You are raising up an army of watchmen who refuse to allow our harvest and our inheritance to be stolen. Release boldness and determination to this army, enabling them to be fearless and unwavering. May we find ourselves faithful in this strategic and unprecedented hour. In Christ’s name, we pray, amen.

Our decree:

We decree that we have ears to hear and hearts to obey what God is saying. 

Portions of today’s post were taken from my book Intercessory Prayer, published by Baker Books.

Watch the video:

---

1. James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 8104.

2. Ibid., ref. no. 5341.

3. Sherrer with Garlock, How to Pray for Your Family and Friends, (Ann Arbor, MI: Servant Publications, 1990), pp. 152-154, adapted.

Now Is The Time

March 17, 2025

Signs and wonders will undoubtedly play a significant role in the coming great harvest. This is consistent with Scripture. In the book of Acts, immediately after the church was born on the day of Pentecost, miracles began occurring and were used to generate amazing numbers of conversions. As chapter 3 begins, Peter was used to heal a lame man at the gate called “Beautiful.” He had been lame from birth, completely unable to walk, and sat at this gate daily, begging for alms. Because of the prominent location, all of Jerusalem and many in Israel knew of this man, having seen him numerous times. 

Jesus Himself had no doubt walked by this man many times, and yet chose not to perform the miracle. Always led by the Spirit, He knew it wasn’t the right time (John 5:19, 30; 8:29; Luke 4:1). On this day in Acts 3, Holy Spirit moved upon Peter, letting him know this was the right time. He was used to work one of the greatest miracles ever performed, and as a result, 5000 people were born again.

What is incredibly fascinating is that the Greek word used in this passage for the name of the gate, Beautiful,” literally means “the right time” (horaios). How fascinating is that! The word does not mean beautiful in the sense of attractive or pretty. It is a “circumstantial beauty,” used to describe that which occurs when the right circumstances come together at “the right time,” creating something beautiful. 

God, in His sovereignty and foreknowledge, named this gate “The Right Time,” then made sure the lame man’s family chose this as the location for him to daily beg for alms. Then, He led Jesus to NOT heal the man, saving the miracle for “the right time,” when the newly birthed church would need a miracle of this magnitude to prove Jesus was alive and was the Messiah. The “right time” miracle at the “right time” gate! Isn’t God amazing!!!

Continuing in chapter 4 of Acts, miracles were once again associated with reaching people for Christ:

“And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.” (verses 29-33)

The church leaders prayed for boldness, healings, signs and wonders, then declared God’s Word. He responded by giving them great grace and power to demonstrate Christ’s resurrection, which resulted in multitudes being saved.

In the next chapter, Acts 5, “by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people… and believers were added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women… there came also a multitude out of the cities round about onto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and those who were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed everyone.” (from Verses 12-16)

It was clearly God‘s plan to use signs and wonders to confirm the truth of the gospel, producing “multitudes” of conversions to Christ. It will do the same today. 

By the time we get to Acts chapter 6, ministry in the early church had expanded from being done primarily by the apostles, to now taking place by deacons, also. This caused the growth of the church to go to a new level, multiplying tremendously. Verse 8 tells us “And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.”Acts 8:4-8 mentions the deacon, Phillip, doing the same:

“Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. And there was great joy in that city.”

No doubt there was! We who are involved in the Healing Summits believe it is “the right time” for many signs and wonders to occur throughout the world. We realize miracles have never completely stopped, but we also believe there are seasons when they increase dramatically, and feel we are entering one of those seasons. This is why we are doing the summits. 

Join us April 4th in Middletown, Ohio, if you can. (Registration is required due to a limited seating capacity.) We will pray personally for every person desiring prayer. If you are unable to attend in person, please join us online at Oasiswired.org. Many have been healed while doing so in previous summits. Entire congregations, home groups and families will be watching, agreeing with us and praying for one another. If you let them know at the Oasis Church (oasiswired.org) that your church is doing so, they will list your church’s name and address so people in your region can be aware of it. Join your faith with ours for miracles to occur that night, both for yourself and for others. And also, pray with us for the release of this great movement of signs and wonders around the world. 

And the following is very important: If you lead a congregation or are associated with a network of churches, consider doing your own healing service that night or later in the month of April. Our desire is multiplication, not one large event!!! I realize that would not leave much time to prepare, but these do not have to be elaborate gatherings. Simply have a time of worship and begin praying for people to receive healings. If you do so, Holy Spirit will honor it. 

The month of Nisan (March 30 through April 28) is the Hebrew “month of miracles.” God chose this window of time in which to work profound miracles for Israel, and this was also the month He declared He was “the Lord our Healer” (Exodus 15:26). Obviously Holy Spirit is not limited to this timeframe in order to work miracles, but we can honor what He did and said then, using it as a point of reference to agree for a fresh season of the supernatural. 

It is time. 

Pray with me:

Father, we often think of ourselves as working FOR You, while You think of us as working WITH You. Co-laborers. Partners. Family. We know, of course, that You are in charge, the Ruler of the universe. You are all-powerful, infinitely wise, ever-present, uncompromisingly holy, and eternal. Yet You wanted and created family, sons and daughters filled with Your Spirit and nature, capable of partnering with You. We are truly in awe of this.

As we move into the great revival that will bring a billion or more souls into Your family, we are beyond excited to work with You to accomplish this. As Your ambassadors we will release Your authority; as Your evangelists we will declare the good news of Christ; and as Your healing agents we will heal the hurting and set captives free.

Just as Christ was moved with compassion and healed the sick, we, His body, are as well; we are passionate to see them healed. We also know miraculous signs must be performed at “the right time,” pointing people to Christ. We believe we have moved into one of earth’s “right times,” and we ask for the release of Holy Spirit’s gifts and power in order to produce these signs. Give us signs and wonders we pray, in Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Our decree: 

We decree that at this right time, we will see an increase of signs and wonders throughout the earth.

Watch our video:

A Critical and Time-Sensitive Opportunity

March 14, 2025

“…the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits” (Daniel 11:32). I am pleased to be associated with a company of believers that do more than just talk about their faith. They practice it, doing exploits for the Lord. And they don’t limit those actions to the four walls of a building on Sunday mornings; they are the church all week! 

As far as these warriors are concerned, gone are the days when they stay out of the culture war, leaving government, education, media, and other segments of society to the antichrist spirit. It truly is a new day. 

Because of this mindset, those praying and working toward turning America around experienced great victories in the 2024 elections. As a result, much progress is now being made. The borders are closed, the mutilation of our children is being curbed, waste and fraud involving hundreds of billions of dollars has been discovered, our military is being rebuilt, DEI is being removed, wokism is dying, and we are just getting started. 

However, we must remember that satan is always roaming about looking for opportunities to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10; 1 Peter 5:8). In Colossians 4:2, we are exhorted to: “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving” (NASB). The first warning issued about satan in Scripture was regarding his cunningness or craftiness (Genesis 3:1). He, and those aligned with him, are always looking for openings through which to take advantage and attack. As the verse in Colossians instructs us, we must remain alert.

I want to make you aware of a contest satan would like to keep the church ignorant of, which might allow him to stop the wonderful progress being made. This situation has definitely been under the radar. It involves Wisconsin. Yes, you heard that correctly. An upcoming election in that state holds critical, national consequences that could impact all of America. Let me explain. 

Wisconsin has become extremely critical in recent national elections; it was actually one of the most pivotal states in the past three presidential elections (2016, 2020, 2024). The Wisconsin Supreme Court controls key elements of its election process. Currently, the Court is liberal, after only one seat flipped in 2023. Because of that one seat, the court undid voter ID requirements, made drop-boxes legal again, and more to influence the outcome of their elections. 

Now, there is great concern that they will gerrymander the state’s districts, in order to flip a couple of U.S. House seats from Republican to Democrat in 2026. (For those of you who don’t know, gerrymandering is redrawing the boundaries of districts in order to control the outcomes of votes.) The U.S. House of Representatives is so close now that a two-seat flip would give control back to the Left. This would be catastrophic, severely hindering the President’s and Congress’s ability to make the needed and essential changes. 

But we have a tremendous window of opportunity: on April 1, less than three weeks away, Wisconsin will vote on a Supreme Court seat. A win for the conservative candidate would turn the court back to a conservative majority, which would espouse more biblically driven values. And the ripple effects would very likely influence the future of the entire nation! This election is so critical that national organizations on the Left are pouring tens of millions of dollars into it!

We can help determine the outcome. The voter turnout for this election has historically been low. That means engaging even a small percentage of the Christian voter population becomes very significant. If we influence like-minded individuals to vote, it could turn the tide. But time is running out, and we must act quickly. Whether you live in Wisconsin or not, you can participate in this important effort. Here’s how we can help, beyond simply praying: 

1. Write Now – This is a unique and easy letter-writing campaign designed to encourage likeminded, registered voters in Wisconsin to head to the polls and vote their values. Over 160,000 Give Him 15 listeners participated in this activity for swing states during the 2024 elections, and we made a HUGE difference. The process is:

   • Easy – Million Voices provides the content of the letter, and the names and addresses of like-minded voters. You provide a bit of your time, the printing, envelopes, and stamps. You can do as little as 10 or as many as you’d like.

   • Effective – Handwritten letters have been shown to boost voter turnout by an amazing 57%. Your participation can truly make the difference!

   • Rooted in Prayer – As you pray over the letter, every word you write will be anointed to inspire and mobilize others, guiding them with purpose. 

2. Call Now – For those who would like to, you can make calls to like-minded voters, urging them to get out and vote. Million Voices gives you the names, numbers, and the script. Mostly, you would be leaving messages. But history has proven the effectiveness of these calls.

3. Click to Share – You can use Million Voices’ system to send their Wisconsin Supreme Court Voter Guide to those you may know in Wisconsin.

How easy, and yet so effective. With early voting starting soon, we must act NOW. All of the above plans can be accessed through one website, which is: MillionVoices.org/WI.  There you will find videos that further explain these options. Give Him 15 listeners, we did exploits for the Lord in 2024; let’s do it again in this Wisconsin Supreme Court election. Time is short. Let’s do our part to help Wisconsin and in doing so, help the entire nation.

And while I know some of you will not be able to do this due to time constraints, we can all participate in the prayer aspect of this. Whatever effort you make and role you play, please know that God appreciates all of our partnering with Him. First Corinthians 3:9 tells us “we are labourers together with God.” And Hebrews 6:10 assures us: “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.” He won’t forget.

Pray with me:

Father, we are moved by the thought of being Your co-laborers. What a staggering truth! You have made us partners in Your great cause of releasing Christ’s redemption throughout the earth. Whether it be writing a letter, making a phone call, or offering up prayers, we are honored to work together with You. Please breathe upon this effort in Wisconsin, and give us a more biblically based Supreme Court there. We ask You to thwart the efforts of those who work against Your principles and ways. 

We continue to pray for those in our national government whom You are using to bring reformation. Give President Trump, his Cabinet, and legislators great wisdom as they develop and implement strategies. Continue to expose the rampant theft and fraud that has taken place. Open the file cabinets and expose the hidden files, as You have said You would do. Continue to awaken the American people – bring this nation to its senses!

And lastly, You told me years ago that the third great awakening in America would begin with the young people. This has now begun – You are pouring out Your Spirit on campuses throughout the nation. We ask that this not only continue but intensify, and that no effort from satan to defile it would succeed. Guard it jealously. Throw more oil on it, causing it to burn with holy fire and great intensity. Bless the endeavors of those You are using; give them provision, anointing, and great success. All of these things we ask in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, amen.

Our decree:

We decree that the good work God has begun in our nation will continue and not be thwarted.

As a reminder, go to MillionVoices.org/WI for instructions and more information.

Our video: