Why Prague

Prague is a “gateway” (threshold) city in Europe. This region has a prophetic destiny and we believe this includes birthing a new way of ministering to God in intercessory worship. Prague is the capital of the Czech republic and Bohemia and Moravia have a unique spiritual heritage.

After the Battle of White Mountain in 1620, many, including Comenius, fled the regions, but small groups of persecuted believers referred to as the “hidden seed” remained behind and continued to meet in secret. A young man named Christian David journeyed from Moravia to Silesia (present day Saxony in Germany) looking for work. During a long illness he found “saving faith” while being cared for by a Lutheran pastor. He returned to Moravia many times preaching the message of faith and eventually met Count Nicholas Louis Von Zinzendorf, owner of a large estate in just across the border in Germany. Zinzendorf offered to help these persecuted believers find refuge on his land in 1722. Almost immediately they began to build about a mile from the village in the area they named ‘Herrnhut’ or ‘the Lord’s Watch’ (The name is clearly recorded in historical accounts as “the Lord’s Watch”. However the literal translation is “the Lord’s hat” which also could refer to “the Lord’s covering” or “the Lord’s protection”). During the next five years a steady stream of emigrants came from Moravia and Bohemia, some escaping from prison or leaving hiding places in the forests.

As Herrnhut attracted more believers from more diverse backgrounds, many arguments and divisions arose. Seven years later the community was on the verge of destroying itself. Zinzendorf drafted 42 community statutes that regulated most aspects of everyday life. He discovered Comenius’ teachings were very similar to his ideas. He also discovered a prophesy of a “hidden seed” coming to life in 100 years (Rick Joyner, Three Witnesses [Charlotte, NC: Morningstar, 1997] p. 8-9. Mike Bickle has also taught on this but we have not discovered it to be well documented.). The 100 years had come to pass as the first arrivals came to Herrnhut. Zinzendorf caught Comenius’ vision for resurrecting the Brethren Unitas Fratrum Church (the Church became known in the west as “The Moravians”).

That very year revival began! The unity of the community was restored and as a result they initiated a “prayer watch” of hourly intercession. This 24-7 prayer watch lasted 100 years! In addition to intercession, songs and hymns were a large part of their expression of their faith. The Moravian understanding of the joyous nature of the relationship between the believer and the Savior enabled them to develop education and the arts in His praise. As a result, they sponsored schools and produced exceptional musicians and artists. One of the most noted fruits of the Moravian revival was the number of missionaries sent into the most remote parts of the world. In laying foundations for Christian missions (the Moravians inaugurated the modern missions movement), they laid down their lives in vast numbers. This would be an entire article in itself.