Ezra 1 - Praying God's Word

Please read Ezra 1.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/ezr/1/1/s_404001

Meditate on these phrases from verse 1.

In order to fulfill the word of the LORD…

the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia…

Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in 586 BC (2 Kings 25:8-9). In 539 BC, the LORD appointed King Cyrus of Persia to decree the rebuilding of God’s house. Israelites exiled to Babylon were given permission to return to Jerusalem to do the work, and their non-Jewish neighbors were commanded to support them with silver, gold, and other valuables. King Cyrus even returned all of the temple articles that Nebuchadnezzar had taken and put in his temples for his idols.

Amazingly, Cyrus was a pagan who did not know the LORD. His role in God’s plans was prophesied 175 years before he was born (Isaiah 45:1-7), and He was used by God to accomplish what God desired.

Be encouraged as you read Ezra. The LORD will accomplish His plans, and He will use whomever and whatever He chooses. Despite what is happening in your world, the LORD is in charge; His desires cannot be thwarted.

Pray Ezra 1:3 and 5 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, the God of heaven, _________ and I are Your people;

God be with us!  Stir our spirits to go up and rebuild Your house.

In Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL 2 ~ Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Judges 21 - Praying God's Word

Please read Judges 21.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/jdg/21/1/s_232001

Meditate on verse 25.

In those days there was no king in Israel;

 everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

The Israelites made a rash vow not to let their daughters marry a Benjaminite. This created a problem. If no one would marry into the tribe of Benjamin, eventually the line would cease, and they would be missing from the twelve tribes of Israel. So they made a plan to kill the people in Jabesh-gilead for not coming to an impromptu sacrifice, allowing 400 of the Jabesh virgins to live and be given to the men of Benjamin. They executed the plan, but still needed more women. Blaming God for Benjamin’s problems, they advised the men of Benjamin to kidnap the daughters of Shiloh after they danced at one of the LORD’s feasts. The Benjaminites took the advice and carried off the women. Unbelievable! Sin takes people to such pathetic places!

Judges ends with the Israelites still not consulting God before making decisions, still doing what was right in their own eyes, making worse and worse decisions, and cycling deeper and deeper into sin’s pit.

Ask the LORD to help you remember the lessons from Judges, and pray the opposite of Judges 21:25 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, You are the King of _______ and me.

We will do what is right in Your eyes.

Because of You, King Jesus~”

The Watchman on the Wall 2 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Judges 20 - Praying God's Word

Please read Judges 20.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/jdg/20/1/s_231001

Meditate on verse 7.

Behold, all you sons of Israel, give your advice and counsel here.

Israel was in the middle of sin, and the results were deadly. Shocked to their senses by a murdered woman’s body parts, the men of Israel sought their own counsel and decided to punish the murderers. Only after making their plans, did they ask God for a little advice (v. 18). God was not pleased to be consulted after plans were made, and He allowed 22,000 men to be killed (vs. 18-21). The sons of Israel were dismayed and wept before the LORD (v. 23). Afterwards, 18,000 more men were killed (v. 25). “Then all the sons of Israel and all the people went up and came to Bethel and wept; thus they remained there before the LORD and fasted that day until evening. And they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD. The sons of Israel inquired of the LORD ...” (vs. 26-27).

God taught His people important lessons, and He wants you to learn them, too. Seeking human counsel before getting God’s counsel displeases the LORD and results in defeat. Here are the steps that bring God’s plans and blessings (vs. 26-28):

1.     Remain in God’s presence                 

2.     Fast                                                          

3.     Confess sins                                           

4.     Accept God’s forgiveness

5.   Seek His advice

6.   Cease fighting 

7.   Let God deliver you

Pray Judges 20:26-28 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, may _______ and I remain before You,

 fasting and offering ________ before You. 

We inquire of You concerning ________.

Tell us if we should go out to battle or cease fighting.

 Deliver us, LORD.

In Your name, Jesus~”

The Watchman on the Wall 2 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Judges 19 - Praying God's Word

Please read Judges 19.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/jdg/19/1/s_230001

Meditate on verse 30.

All who saw it said, “Nothing like this has ever happened or been seen

 from the day when the sons of Israel came up from the land of Egypt to this day.  Consider it, take counsel and speak up!”

Sadly, the gruesome details of this chapter are not merely facts from over 3,000 years ago; they are eerily similar to today’s disturbing local, national, and international news. The woman raped and ravaged by a gang of homosexuals, cut into twelve pieces, and her body parts sent throughout Israel was a sign for the people of the land to wake up. Enough was enough. Doing what is right in one’s own eyes is disgustingly horrible! God gave the command: “Consider it, take counsel, and speak up!”

This is God’s command to you. Consider what is going on around you. Take counsel from His Word and speak up about what God says.

Pray Judges 19:30 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, nothing like this has ever happened or been seen before in our land.

Let _____ and me consider it, take counsel, and speak up!

For the sake of Your Word, Jesus~”

The Watchman on the Wall 2 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Judges 18 - Praying God's Word

Please read Judges 18.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/jdg/18/1/s_229001

Meditate on verse 20.

The priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod

and household idols and the graven image and went among the people.

Observe Micah’s priest:

·      He told the evil Danites what they wanted to hear, lying that God approved of the way they were going (vs. 5-6).

·      He kept silent as the Danites stole from Micah (vs. 18-19).

·      He was glad at the thought of being priest to the tribe of Dan instead of only one man (vs. 19-20).

Can you relate to this priest? Do you find yourself telling people what they want to hear instead of what God’s Word says? Do you give others the false notion that their sin is okay with God? Do you keep quiet about sin instead of speaking up for righteousness? Are you willing to do sinful things in order to be popular? Are you so glad to be part of a group that you are willing to compromise your Christian integrity?


“Every man did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6). Ask God to give you His eyes to see sins’ consequences and the courage to take His stand against it.

Use the words from Judges 18:5-6 to inquire of the LORD about the way you are going.

“God, let ______ and me know whether our way on which

 we are going is actually Your way, so it will be prosperous. 

Then, let us go in peace because Your way

 in which we are going has Your approval.

In Your name, Jesus~” 

The Watchman on the Wall 2 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Judges 17 - Praying God's Word

Please read Judges 17.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/jdg/17/1/s_228001

Meditate on verse 6.

In those days there was no king in Israel;

every man did what was right in his own eyes.

Observe every man doing what was right in his own eyes, yet evil in the eyes of God:

·      Micah’s mother asked God to bless her son after he stole from her (v. 2).

·      She dedicated the stolen silver to the LORD then gave it back to Micah to make idols (v. 3).

·      Micah made a shrine for the idols and kept them in his home.  He made one of his sons a priest to serve his idols (v. 5).

·      A Levite, willing to stay anywhere, lived in Micah’s house of idols (vs. 9-11).

·      Micah thought the LORD would bless him because he made the Levite his personal priest (vs. 12-13).

There are staggering parallels from Micah’s story with people today. Parents bless their disobedient, rebellious children with more and more toys and gadgets instead of disciplining them, admonishing them in the fear of God. Money is used to buy things that detract from time and devotion to the LORD. Children are encouraged to serve those idols instead of serving God. The LORD is not consulted about where to go and what to do. In the midst of their idolatry, people call on the name of the LORD to invoke His blessings on them. “LORD, convict us!”

Pray the opposite of Judges 17:6 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, be King in my family! 

Let us stop doing what is right in our own eyes

and do what is right in Your eyes.

In Your name, Jesus~”

The Watchman on the Wall 2 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Judges 16 - Praying God's Word

Please read Judges 16.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/jdg/16/1/s_227001

Meditate on verse 21.

Then the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes,

and they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze chains,

and he was a grinder in the prison.

Samson had a problem with women, often succumbing to ones he saw and doing with them what was right in his own eyes. By the end of his life, his enticement by the visual became his undoing. His last woman, Delilah, betrayed him to the Philistines. These enemies seized him and gouged out his eyes (v. 21). He no longer sinned with that part of his body.

Jesus preached a lot about eyes. He said, “The eye is the lamp of the body; if your eye is bad, your whole body is full of darkness. Is your eye envious? Take the log out of your eye, and tear out your eye if it makes you stumble” (Matthew 5:29; 6:22-23; 7:5; 20:15). Jesus wanted his followers to understand that doing what was right in their own eyes was sinning.

God wants you to understand these truths. Seek to do what is right in His eyes rather than what is right in the eyes of the world.

Use the words from Judges 16:28 to pray over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“O LORD God, please remember _________ and me,

 and please strengthen us again this time.

O God, may our eyes not be the cause for vengeance.

Let us see with Your eyes, LORD Jesus~”

The Watchman on the Wall 2 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell