In the early days of my Christian walk, I was very much into works and didn’t understand the wonders of God’s grace. The Church I was saved in South Africa was Pentecostal and I loved the people, but they were very religious. The woman were encouraged to wear mantillas or hats on their heads and the men all wore ties. When I was first saved I was told off for wearing jeans to Church. We only sang from the redemption hymnal and the Elim songbook. The Church also taught that we had to keep the food laws and Sundays were definitely reserved for Church only with no sport, buying or selling and watching movies was frowned on any day of the week.
The first time I came back to New Zealand on holiday I went to Church with a friend and was shocked to see the minister preach with a Hawaiian shirt on and none of the woman wore hats. They are all backslidden. On top of that they sang songs from Scripture in Song and there were no hymns and to see a set of drums in Church was bordering on blasphemy.
Slowly but surely the Lord opened my eyes to the liberty that we have in Christ. For where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. While I was in New Zealand we went to an AOG church in Kaitaia and the minister spoke of the blessings he had received when praying in the middle of the night. He called his message the ‘Dew in the Night’. I really felt the Lord wanted me to spend more time with Him and started to get up in the night on occasions.
I wanted to stay in New Zealand but the Lord told me to go back to Africa, and said that He had something there for me. I came back on holiday a few times, but the Lord kept telling me that He still wanted me back there. I pastored a few Churches in Zimbabwe and once in Johannesburg but I was getting frustrated with having to stay in Zimbabwe with all its problems instead of being home.
It was all part of Gods plans for me and that was to die to self for the Kingdom of God. At the beginning of 1994 I decided to get up in the night and seriously wait upon the Lord. At first it was crying out to Him to change my situation but eventually it was that He change me.
I was learning to praise God even though I didn’t like what was happening. King David said that he used to praise God 7 times a day.
“I will praise you seven times a day because of your wonderful laws.” Psalm 119:164
I wondered what times that would be? I figured that it would be breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, Dinner and supper. That totals 6 times. What was the 7th time? He gives the answer in the same Psalm.
“At midnight I will rise to give my thanks to you for your good laws.” Psalm 119:62
King David also used to get up in the night and praise God and it says that he praised God for His laws. If he could do that back then, how much more should we do it under a far greater covenant with far greater promises? David was a busy King yet he still found time to get up in the night. I imagine they went to bed earlier in those days. The word ‘midnight’ in Hebrew means sometime in the middle of the night and not at the stroke of 12am.
At this time there was a new thing happening in the church worldwide called the ‘Toronto Blessing,’ and a minister came to town preaching on this anointing and was ministering in a local church and many were being touched. I went forward a few times but nothing happened for me, so I had a chat to him afterwards. He asked me if there was anything that I hadn’t surrendered to God. I said that I wanted to go home to New Zealand but God seemed to want me to stay here. He said that this most likely was the problem and prayed for me.
That night I told the Lord that I would be prepared to stay in Africa and even die here if He wanted me to, and I meant it. I had a great peace come on me.
I think it was the next night when I got up as usual and sat in the lounge waiting on God that something amazing happened. While my eyes were closed, there was a bright light and an anointing came on me that flooded through my body like an electric shock. It happened a few times, and when I opened my eyes to see if anyone was there, there was nothing. It was a very supernatural and exciting touch from God.
That weekend I was the visiting preacher in a Church and after this experience I was expecting miracles, but there wasn’t anything. I just felt different. I must say I was disappointed though. Over the next month I had that experience in the night over and over again.
I was preaching each weekend but nothing out of the ordinary happened during or after the service. What is going on Lord? I felt the Lord show me that He was changing me. I used to treat the Lord very much like a slot machine. If I did this and this God will do that. What I noticed was that I was falling in love with Jesus and the world was beginning to change. My spiritual eyes were being opened. I was praying the prayer of Paul in Ephesians 1:16-23 often.
I used to ask Him for His power, but He didn’t seem to be an any hurry to answer that prayer. In fact on one occasion He said to me. “Do you love me more than my power?” What can you say? “Yes Lord I do love you more than your power.” He said to concentrate on worshipping Him and meditating on His word and He will sort out the power.
My nights became the highlight of my day as I meditated on the beauty of the lord, and sat in His presence. I wasn’t begging Him to do something like before, but realising more and more that He had given me all things that pertain unto life and godliness – In Christ. The lights and shocks stopped but I know those touches kick started me onto a different path and I was now resting more in what He had done for me and was letting Him change me and I was beginning to know Him.
Jesus said that many will come to Him and say, ‘Lord I did miracles in your name,’ but He said ‘Depart from me for you never knew me.’ It’s possible to even have miracles in your ministry and yet not really know Him. Knowing God is highly prized by the Lord and this is what I was beginning to see. It was the great passion of Paul, the thing He sort after. That he might know Him.
I believe there is an anointing that we can experience in the night, which will accelerate change in your life. Psalm 133 says that the anointing is like dew, and we all know that dew falls at night. In this psalm it says that the dew is like the dew of Mount Hermon which was renowned for its copious amounts of dew.
Psalm 110:3 KJV says that Gods people will be willing in the Day of His Power.
“Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.”
I believe that in the matrix of the morning, this dew can refresh you and make you feel youthful.
Psalm 16:7 says that God used to instruct David in the night season.
“I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.”
I have found that when all is quiet and there are no distractions, God can speak to you. Many times He has dropped ideas into my head.
In the Song of Songs it speaks of the Lord knocking on the Bride’s heart telling her to get up and come and have fellowship with Him. He says that His head is filled with dew and His locks with the drops of the night.
“I slept but my heart was awake. Listen! My beloved is knocking: “Open to me, my sister, my darling, my dove, my flawless one. My head is drenched with dew, my hair with the dampness of the night.” Song of Songs 5: 2
There are so many scriptures about how the Saints used to get up in the night.
Psalm 119:148, Psalm 63:6, Mark 1:35, Isaiah 26:9.
I don’t find it a problem to get up in the night anymore, and can go back to sleep easily. Sometimes I only stay up for half an hour and just ‘Son bathe’, other times I have communion. It gets easier as you begin to understand the benefits of the night watch and having your eyes opened to who Christ is and all He’s done for you. Even if you only did it once a week and went to bed early, I’m convinced you’ll enjoy the 7th time and learn to praise Him for His word above everything else. I love this verse in the message.
“And me? I plan on looking you full in the face. When I get up, I’ll see your full stature and live heaven on earth.” Psalm 17:15
The more you worship Him without distractions in the night, using the word as your reference, the more the image of Him becomes clearer and your life begins to change. You are changed into the image you reflect. “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” May we be a mirror image of Him.