In one sense, we are all called to be watchmen. We are to be alert in watching over our lives, families, workplaces, friends, children, neighborhoods and so on. A watchman keeps a close eye on God first and foremost and alerts others based on what they perceive. A watchman is also alert to the wiles of the enemy, ready to warn others about any perceived snares or traps set by our adversary.

About three years ago, during a worship service at my local Church, I was dramatically thrust into the world of the watchman (hence the name of this blog). This began a journey of soul-searching and fact-finding for me. I never really got what it meant to be a watchman. The scriptures I read from Ezekiel only served to scare me with the perceived weight of responsibility that came attached to the call.

It wasn’t until a few months ago that a series of events led me to understand the role of a watchman. The primary function of a watchman is that of prophetic intercession. Sounds like a mouthful but the job description is quite straightforward. Find out God’s heart for a particular person, people, city, nation, family etc, and stand in the gap on their behalf, praying back God’s heart to Him.

I shared one example of this a couple of months ago, when I described how a bomb was defused in an academic institution in Nigeria, preventing the loss of innocent lives. That was the first bomb to be defused successfully since the terrorist attacks began in Northern Nigeria. That intervention from God required watchmen across the country tuning in to God’s frequency and praying exactly what He wanted. For the little role I played in all that,   the word “defuse” was impressed strongly in my spirit and I was privileged to have a mental picture of Jesus Himself defusing those bombs. Remarkable, given that at the time, that word was barely taken into consideration. The bombs were going off uncontrollably. They couldn’t be found let alone defused. About three days after that prayer, the incident occurred almost exactly as was shown me during prayer. How did I know it would be an academic institution? How did I know it would be defused? I didn’t. God did.

It takes time and determination to enter into the fullness of the call of a watchman. There will be misses along the way but be determined to carry on. I will never forget an experience I had a year ago. Nigeria was yet to experience the spate of terrorist attacks that have now plagued her as a nation. All seemed fine on the surface but trouble was brewing underneath. Thousands of miles away, I was making my way to Cambridge from London. That two-hour drive became my fondest times with God. During one of those intense moments of prayers on that drive, I saw a bomb explode and a date was impressed in my heart. I remember making an entry in my journal it as soon as I parked my car. I also recorded the date that was impressed in my heart. I didn’t know the slightest thing to do with what I had just received. God had warned one of His watchmen but I kept the warning to myself, afraid of how I might be perceived.

A few months later, a bomb went off in the United Nations building in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. Many innocent lives were lost and that was the first major attack that sowed the seed for many more to follow. Interestingly the date that was impressed on my heart was a couple of days just off the exact date the bomb exploded. I remember when I heard the news of what had happened, I immediately recalled what God has shown me a few months earlier. I felt deeply convicted but God encouraged me not to despair but to be diligent in learning more about what it means to be a watchman.

Based on that background, I would like to introduce those who are interested in learning more about this call, to one of the resources that have really helped shed more light in this area. Prophetic Intercessor by James Goll has been a real blessing to me. Packed with scriptural insight, real-life testimony accounts and practical applications, this book is just awesome!

Watchman Rating 9.5  out of 10.

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