A Changing of the Guard…

In my recent prayer times with the Lord, I have been sensing a seismic shift in the Spirit, and as I have been praying, I have been hearing these words,

“There is a changing of the guard in My Church.”

As I was asking the Holy Spirit what this means, I heard Him say,

“I am leading My people back into intercession. I am removing the distractions and the unnecessary works; I am leading My Church to be a people of prayer once again.” 

I began to see a vision of a church service, where I was looking up close into one congregation which I knew represented His people across the earth. I saw about one hundred people in this gathering, and there was something strikingly different from the regular church services we are used to in the Western Church. The entire body of people, both men, women, and children were on their knees, even sprawled out flat on the ground, and they were each uniquely gripped in prayer. Gone was the typical and expected church

‘service’

that one might be used to, for the entire Church was in the grip of intercession, crying out in accordance with the cries of the Spirit of God. All I could think was,

“This looks like the Church of Acts.” 

I could then see the Holy Spirit; He appeared like a large and mighty eagle hovering over the congregation. With wings outstretched wide over His Church, He was beating His wings as He hovered just above them. With every movement of His wings, a new wave of intercession would be birthed across His people, and I realized, the wind of His wings was releasing wave upon wave of intercession, prayers that were in accordance with His heart. Travails of prayer could be heard in unison with every beat of the eagle’s wings. It was then that I noticed something was happening in the atmosphere around the congregation.

A fresh wind was beginning to pick up, a bit like a tornado, around them, but it was not destructive. It reminded me of the burning bush with Moses—a burning fire that didn’t singe one leaf on the tree. This tornado was beginning to form around the people through their intercession, yet, it was not causing any destruction in their midst, but rather, I noticed, their intercession grew wilder and more powerful. I then saw in this vision, an expanded bird’s eye view of the streets around the church. I noticed the Church was positioned in the middle of a dark and poverty-stricken neighborhood, the streets looked

‘war-torn’,

covered in trash and run down. 

At first, I noticed these winds of intercession remained around the people in the building, however, as their cries continued to increase, and their prayers continued in travail, the wind began to move outside of the four walls and pick up momentum within the streets. Again, the wind was not destructive, but I began to see physical demons hiding in the shadows of the poverty-stricken streets, and at first, they could only hear the sound of the wind and it sent them into a wild panic. Then, as quick as the sound came, the wind soon followed. I saw these demons and recognized them as stronghold principalities over this particular region I was witnessing in the vision. They began to shriek in terror, running to and fro trying to escape the forces of this intercessional wind. I even saw one demon try and hold onto a trash can, desperately clinging to its ‘

territory’,

to no avail. The wind swept it away, and along with every other principality, they were blown into a chaotic tornado until each of them was no more. 

At this moment, I could still see the Church, in ongoing prayer, and I could see the mighty eagle of the Holy Spirit, continuing to beat His wings as He hovered over His people. Each beat of His wings, continued to release a new wave of prayer, followed by a new wind that at first swirled around His people, and then went forth into the communities around them. This was a wind that was setting all things right again, exposing darkness and unseating principalities. At that, the vision ended.

“For behold, He who forms mountains and creates the wind

And declares to man what are His thoughts,

He who makes dawn into darkness

And treads on the high places of the earth,

The Lord God of hosts is His name.”

Amos 4:13

There is a Changing of the Guard.

Pondering over this, I kept thinking about the phrase I have been hearing in my spirit,

“A changing of the guard.”

When I was a girl of just five years old, my parents and I visited the United Kingdom, and the highlight of our trip for me was visiting Buckingham Palace, where I was hoping I would get to see the Queen. While I didn’t get a sighting of the Queen as I had hoped, we happened to arrive at the exact moment when we got to witness the Ceremony of the Changing of the Guard and I’ll forever remember it. According to the Royal Family website,

“The Changing of the Guard ceremony marks the moment when the soldiers currently on duty, the Old Guard, exchange places with the New Guard.”

I believe we are about to see a new guard of intercession grip the hearts of God’s people across the earth, as the Lord is leading His people back into their positions as people of prayer. I believe this will come suddenly, where Pastors and leaders will become seized with the unction to lead their people into repentance and prayer. The religious spirits will be in an uproar because the Church is about to change guards, it won’t be

“service as usual”,

our gatherings will shift into a supernatural dimension where I can hear the people of God crying out in unison,

“Holy Spirit, have Your way.”

There is a new guard, a new order, and a shift that we are about to step into the throes of, and I encourage you, don’t resist this changing of the guard. To Church leaders and Pastors, I encourage you, to prepare for what the Spirit of God is doing—and be open to going where He leads—for it is not going to look anything like you had planned. The Holy Spirit is looking for a people He can rest upon in this hour, for a people who will be open to lay down their will and their plans, for a people He can birth this new wind of His Spirit through.

“The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:8

There is a sound coming, and it is about to break every sound barrier before it. There is a wind coming, and it is going to violently topple religious thinking and mindsets, it will unseat demon principalities and expose the hidden workings of darkness. He is longing to release this sound through you, His people. Are you ready? Are you willing? Are you surrendered? Don’t hold onto your plans tightly, be willing and pliable to surrender to His will and His way, for in this hour, there is a changing of the guard, and I can hear His wings beginning to beat.

“Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.” Acts 2:2