As cities across the world face spiritual decay and moral confusion, minister and author Micah Wood believes God is issuing a prophetic call for believers to rise as watchmen—vigilant intercessors burdened with heaven’s agenda.
In a recent episode of Joni Table Talk on Daystar Television, Wood shared insights from his book Or Cities Will Be No More, detailing a divine encounter that launched him into a sobering revelation about God’s heart for cities and the urgent need for spiritual accountability.
“God is looking for watchmen or cities will be no more,” Wood declared, recounting a dream where a holy whirlwind interrupted a church service and delivered this message through him. “I’m seeing in my mind’s eye, men and women of God, taking spiritual responsibilities for cities in the place of intercession.”
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But what does it truly mean to be a watchman?
Wood drew a sharp contrast between genuine watchmen and what he calls spiritual “watchdogs.”
He explained, “What do watchdogs do? They make a lot of noise about what they see. But they don’t give any counsel about what to do about it.” The difference, he emphasized, lies in the source of revelation. “Way too often as Christian leaders, we make a lot of noise about what we see. But it’s not releasing the counsel of the Lord that brings repentance.”
A watchman, on the other hand, operates from a place of intimacy with God. “As watchmen… we have to be rooted in the counsel of the Lord. Not our own understanding of the way things are working around us,” he said.
This calling is not reserved for pastors or prophets alone. Wood made it clear: “There is a watchman dynamic that God gives to every single one of us. And I say that because in Mark 13:37, Jesus says this to His disciples: ‘What I say to you, I say to all, watch.’”
The whirlwind in his dream, Wood believes, symbolizes the disruptive love of God. “The heart of God is forceful. The heart of God is disruptive… but ultimately, it’s affectionate behind it.” Citing Ezekiel’s vision of a burning whirlwind filled with the color amber, he added, “I believe the heart of God is a burning amber heart. It is filled with passion, and it is filled with love.”
This divine whirlwind, Wood warned, must not be experienced and then ignored. “They encountered the whirlwind, but they didn’t really allow themselves to be interrupted by the message… They experienced God, but they didn’t embrace the call that God gave them.”
His message is one of deep hope and serious responsibility. “We are a people of Scripture, we are a people of hope. Hope is the simple belief that things can change. So if we will take that hope and take it into the place of prayer, things will begin to shift in our cities and in our nation.”
The charge is practical. “Do we see ourselves as just living in cities without any sort of responsibility attached? Or do we see ourselves as living on assignment from God?” he asked. That assignment includes prayer for families, communities and cities. “When we begin to think as people of responsibility, I think that’s the first step to being watchmen for the places God has called [us] to be.”
Even moments as ordinary as a daily coffee run can become divine appointments. “I’m showing up to a coffee shop, not just to get coffee, but to be a watchman,” Wood said.
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He closed the broadcast with this powerful reminder: “Not only do our prayers matter, the absence of our prayers matter.” Echoing Ezekiel 22:30, he warned, “God says, ‘I sought for a man among them who would build up the hedge and stand in the gap before Me for the land so that I would not destroy it, but I found no one.’”
Today, the call is clear. God is looking for those who will watch, pray and stand in the gap.
“Are you praying for your city?” host Joni Lamb asked. “He has placed you in your city, and your nation to be a watchman.”
Now more than ever, the church must rise, not to shout, but to intercede.
James Lasher is staff writer for Charisma Media.
