A 100-year Prayer Meeting
This date in history: On August 27, 1727 the German nobleman and Christian leader, Count Nikolaus Von Zinzendorf, was instrumental in starting a prayer revival that lasted 100 years. Volunteer members of his community of about 300 believers committed to praying around the clock. Each person would pray at a different hour of the day, for one minute each. The large group was known as Herrnhut, which meant, “under the Lord’s protection.”
The reason for the unusual prayer vigil was to ask God to heal the divisions among Christians in their community and around the world. They knew that they (and the Christian church at large) could not successfully reach out as long as they were plagued by internal strife.
The 100-year prayer watch was a great boost to the mission of the church. During that century the Herrnhut group sent out hundreds of missionaries to the islands of the Caribbean, Greenland, North America, and Africa.
Count Zinzendorf was known for his strong faith and intense love for the Lord Jesus Christ. “I have but one passion,” he said, “It is He, it is He alone.” Concerning sharing Christ, he said, “The world is the field and the field is the world; and henceforth that country shall be my home where I can be most used in winning souls for Christ.”
Even from youth he believed. As a boy he wrote letters to God and held them outside of his upstairs bedroom window, letting the drafts carry them away. He believed God would read the letters, borne by the wind to heaven.
Another unique feature of his faith was his commitment to keeping the Sabbath on Saturdays. He did not practice this out of any legalistic duty, but as a celebration of God’s goodness. He taught that the Sabbath was a benefit to all, a gift from God at creation. He pointed to Genesis 2.3:
“And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.” He said, “… I have employed the Sabbath for rest many years already, and our Sunday for the proclamation of the gospel, that I have done without design, and in simplicity of heart.”
The example of this zealous missionary inspired countless others. Today the gospel is known almost globally, thanks to him and many others.
By Barry Kimbrough
Pastor, Gold Beach, Brookings, and Cave Junction Seventh-day Adventist Churches