I. The Tabernacle of David

King David was a man of "one thing" (Psalm 27:4). Around 1000 BC, as an
outflow of his heart, he commanded that the Ark of the Covenant be
brought up on the shoulders of the Levites amidst the sound of songs
and musical instruments to his new capital, Jerusalem. There he had it
placed in a tent and appointed two-hundred and eighty-eight prophetic
singers and four thousand musicians to minister before the Lord, "to
make petition, to give thanks and to praise the Lord" day and night (1
Chronicles 15-17). This was unlike anything that had been done in
Israel's history, but it was God's plan for Israel.

A. The Davidic Order of Worship

Although the Tabernacle was replaced by a Temple, the Davidic order of worship
was embraced and reinstituted by seven subsequent leaders in the
history of Israel and Judah. Each time this order of worship was
reintroduced, spiritual breakthrough, deliverance and military victory
followed.

• Solomon instructed that worship in the Temple should be in accordance with the Davidic Order (2 Chronicles 8:14-15)
• Jehoshaphat defeats Moab and Ammon by setting singers up in accordance
  with Davidic Order: singers at the front of the army singing the Great
  Hallel. Jehoshaphat reinstitutes Davidic Worship in the Temple (2
  Chronicles 20:20-22, 28)
• Joash (2 Chronicles 23-24)
• Hezekiah cleansed, reconsecrated and reinstituted the Davidic Order of worship in the Temple (2 Chronicles 29, 30:21)
• Josiah reinstituted Davidic worship (2 Chronicles 35)
• Ezra and Nehemiah, returning from Babylon, reinstituted Davidic Worship (Ezra 3:10, Nehemiah 12:28-47)

Historians have also speculated that around the time of Jesus, in their search to
find communion with God, the Essenes of the Judean wilderness
reinstituted the Davidic order of worship as part of their life of
prayer and fasting.

II. The Early Monastic Tradition of Night and Day Prayer

For over one thousand years monasticism (the practice of taking vows of
poverty, chastity and obedience to one's spiritual superior) held a key
role in the development of theology and practice in the Church. From
the fourth and fifth century, monks and nuns were an accepted part of
society. Monasticism was the cradle in which laus perennis, or
perpetual prayer, was birthed in the church age. Some of the key
figures from this tradition are:

A. Alexander Akimites and the Sleepless Ones

Born in Asia Minor and educated in Constantinople, Alexander became an
officer in the Roman army. Challenged by Jesus' words to the rich young
ruler from Matthew 19:21, Akimites sold his possessions and retreated
from court life to the desert. Tradition states that he set fire to a
pagan temple after seven years of solitude. Upon arrest and
imprisonment Alexander converted the prison governor and his household,
and promptly returned to his abode in the desert. Shortly thereafter he
had the misfortune to fall in with a group of robbers. His evangelistic
zeal however could not be contained and he converted these outcasts
into devoted followers of Jesus. This group became the core of his band
of monks.

Around 400 AD, he returned to Constantinople with
300-400 monks, where he established laus perennis to fulfill Paul's
exhortation to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Driven from
Constantinople, the monks established the monastery at Gormon, at the
mouth of the Black Sea. This became the founding monastery of the order
of the Acoemetae (literally, "the sleepless ones"). Alexander died here
in 430, however the influence of the Acoemetae continued. The houses
were divided into six choirs which rotated throughout the day, each new
choir relieving the one before, to create uninterrupted prayer and
worship twenty-four hours a day.

John, the second abbot of the Acoemetae, founded another monastery on the eastern shore of the
Bosphorus, referred to in many ancient documents as the "great
monastery" and motherhouse of the Acoemetae. The library here was
recognized for its greatness throughout the Byzantine Empire and indeed
was consulted by several Popes. The third abbot established a monastery
in the capital under the royal consul, Studius, who dedicated the new
monastery to John the Baptist. Studion became a renowned center of
learning and piety, the most important monastery in Constantinople.
Studion continued until 1453 when the Turks captured Constantinople.

The lasting impact of the Acoematae has been their worship and their
contribution to church liturgy. The monasteries, which numbered into
the hundreds and sometimes thousands, were organized into national
groups of Latins, Greeks, Syrians and Egyptians, and then into choirs.
In addition to laus perennis, which passed into the western church with
St. Maurice of Agaune, they developed the divine office of the literal
carrying out of Psalm 119:164, "Seven times a day I praise You, because
of Your righteous judgments." This became an integral part of the
Benedictine rule of the seven hours of prayer—prime, tierce, sext,
none, vespers, compline, matins and lauds.

B. Agaunum

Around 522, Abbot Ambrosius brought attention to a small monastery founded in
Switzerland. Legend has it that around 286 AD, a Theban Legion under
the command of Maurice de Valois was sent to suppress a rebellion by
Gauls in the North of the empire. On their way to Gaul, the Coptic
Christians were encamped at Agaunum (present day Switzerland) where
they were ordered to sacrifice to Roman gods and to the Emperor in
petition for victory. Maurice and his Theban Legion refused. The Roman
Emperor, Maximian, ordered a "decimation" of the legion of seven
thousand; one in every ten men were killed. When Maurice and his men
continued their refusal, a second decimation was ordered, followed by
another and another ... the entire seven thousand Egyptian Christians
were eventually martyred.

Although the veracity of the story has been called into question, the legend of the martyrs at Agaunum spread
far and wide. Between 515 and 521, Sigismund, King of Burgundy,
lavishly endowed the monastery established at the site of the martyrdom
to ensure its success. In 522, the abbot at St. Maurice's instituted
laus perennis after the tradition of the Acoemetae. Choirs of monks
would sing in rotation, with one choir relieving the previous choir,
continuing day and night. This practice went on until around 900 AD,
impacting monasteries all over France and Switzerland.

III. Comgall and Bangor

The "Mappa Mundi," the most celebrated of all medieval maps, contains
reference to a place on the edge of the known world: Bangor, Ireland.
Why was this small out of the way place, now a dormant coastal town
fifteen miles from the Northern Irish capital of Belfast, so important
in medieval times?

A. St Patrick and Vallis Angelorum

Monasticism in Britain and Ireland developed along similar lines to those of the
Desert Fathers of the East. St. Patrick's mother was a close relative
of Martin of Tours, a contemporary of St. Antony, the father of
Monasticism. It is no surprise that the same type of asceticism which
accompanied the monastic lifestyle in Egypt was also found in Ireland.

In 433 AD, just as the Roman Empire was starting to crumble, St. Patrick
returned to Ireland (after having been enslaved on the island
previously) with a view to preach the Christian message to the Irish.
He was followed by a number of other ascetics—Finnian, Bridgid and
Ciaran, all of whom established monastic centers throughout the island.
While Christianity in much of the empire had been founded upon bishops
overseeing cities and urban centers, Ireland had never been conquered
and had no urban centers. The fall of the empire therefore had little
impact on it, making it relatively easy for monasteries to become the
center of influence in Irish society.

According to the 12th century Anglo Norman Monk Jocelin, on one of Patrick's many journeys,
he came to rest in a valley on the shores of the Belfast Lough. Here he
and his comrades beheld a vision of Heaven. Jocelin states, "they held
the valley filled with heavenly light, and with a multitude of heaven,
they heard, as chanted forth from the voice of angels, the psalmody of
the celestial choir." The place became known as the Vallis Angelorum or
the Vale of Angels. The famed Bangor Monastery would begin its life
here, approximately one hundred years later; from this spot heaven's
song would reach into Europe.

B. Introducing Comgall

Bangor's founder, Comgall, was born in Antrim in 517. Originally a soldier, he
soon took monastic vows and was educated for his new life. He is next
seen in the Irish annals as a hermit on Lough Erne, however his rule
was so severe that seven of his fellow monks died. He was persuaded to
leave and establish a house at Bangor (or Beannchar, from the Irish
"Horned Curve," probably in reference to the bay) in the famed Vale of
the Angels. The earliest Irish annals give 558 as the date of Bangor's
commencement.

C. Bangor Mor and Perpetual Psalmody

At Bangor, Comgall instituted a rigid monastic rule of incessant prayer
and fasting. Far from turning people away, this ascetic rule attracted
thousands. When Comgall died in 602, the annals report that three
thousand monks looked to him for guidance. Bangor Mor, named "the great
Bangor" to distinguish it from its British contemporaries, became the
greatest monastic school in Ulster as well as one of the three leading
lights of Celtic Christianity. The others were Iona, the great
missionary center founded by Colomba, and Bangor on the Dee, founded by
Dinooth; the ancient Welsh Triads also confirm the "Perpetual
Harmonies" at this great house.

Throughout the sixth century, Bangor became famous for its choral psalmody. "It was this music which
was carried to the Continent by the Bangor Missionaries in the
following century" (Hamilton, Rector of Bangor Abbey). Divine services
of the seven hours of prayer were carried out throughout Bangor's
existence, however the monks went further and carried out the practice
of laus perennis. In the twelfth century, Bernard of Clairvaux spoke of
Comgall and Bangor, stating, "the solemnization of divine offices was
kept up by companies, who relieved each other in succession, so that
not for one moment day and night was there an intermission of their
devotions." This continuous singing was antiphonal in nature, based on
the call and response reminiscent of Patrick's vision, but also
practiced by St. Martin's houses in Gaul. Many of these psalms and
hymns were later written down in the Antiphonary of Bangor which came
to reside in Colombanus' monastery at Bobbio, Italy.

D. The Bangor Missionaries

The ascetic life of prayer and fasting were the attractions of Bangor.
However, as time progressed, Bangor also became a famed seat of
learning and education. There was a saying in Europe at the time that
if a man knew Greek he was bound to be an Irishman, largely due to the
influence of Bangor. The monastery further became a missions-sending
community. Even to this day missionary societies are based in the town.
Bangor Monks appear throughout medieval literature as a force for good.

In 580, a Bangor monk named Mirin took Christianity to Paisley, where he
died "full of miracles and holiness." In 590, the fiery Colombanus, one
of Comgall's leaders, set out from Bangor with twelve other brothers,
including Gall who planted monasteries throughout Switzerland. In
Burgundy he established a severe monastic rule at Luxeil which mirrored
that of Bangor. From there he went to Bobbio in Italy and established
the house which became one of the largest and finest monasteries in
Europe. Colombanus died in 615, but by 700 AD, one hundred additional
monasteries had been planted throughout France, Germany and
Switzerland. Other famed missionary monks who went out from Bangor
include Molua, Findchua and Luanus.

E. The End of Greatness

The greatness of Bangor came to a close in 824 with raids from the
marauding Vikings. In one raid alone, nine hundred monks were
slaughtered. Although the twelfth century saw a resurrection of the
fire of Comgall initiated by Malachy (a close friend of Bernard of
Clairvaux, who wrote The Life of St. Malachy), it unfortunately never
had the same impact as the early Celtic firebrands who held back the
tide of darkness and societal collapse by bringing God to a broken
generation.

IV. Cluny

In the ninth and tenth century, Viking raiders and settlers were forging a
violent new way of life in Europe. Feudalism was taking root and the
monastic way of life was shaken—not only by the physical attacks as
Bangor experienced, but subsequent to the raids, many houses were
subject to the whims of local chieftains. In reaction to this movement,
reform came about in several ways, one being arguably the most crucial
reforming movement in the Western Church: the Cluniac order.

In 910, William the Pious, the Duke of Aquataine, founded the monastery at
Cluny under the auspices of Abbot Berno, instituting a stricter form of
the Benedictine rule. William endowed the abbey with resources from his
entire domain, but more importantly gave the abbey freedom in two
regards. Due to the financial endowment, the abbey was committed to
increased prayer and perpetual praise, or laus perennis. Its autonomy
from secular leadership was also important as the abbey was directly
accountable to the church in Rome.

The second abbot, Odo, took over in 926. According to C.H. Lawrence, he was "a living embodiment of the
Benedictine ideal." His reforming zeal meant that the influence of the
Cluny expanded widely during his leadership. Known for its
independence, hospitality and alms giving, Cluny significantly departed
from the Benedictine rule as it removed manual labor from a monk's day
and replaced it with increased prayer. The number of monastic houses
which looked to Cluny as their motherhouse increased greatly during
this period, and the influence of the house spread all over Europe.

Cluny reached the zenith of its power and influence in the twelfth century;
it commanded 314 monasteries all over Europe, second only to Rome in
terms of importance in the Christian world. It became a seat of
learning, training no less than four Popes. The fast growing community
at Cluny also meant there was a great need for buildings. In 1089, the
abbey at Cluny began constrution under Hugh, the sixth abbot, and was
finished by 1132. It was considered one of the wonders of the Middle
Ages. More than 555 feet in length, it was the largest building in
Europe until St. Peter's Basilica was built in Rome during the
sixteenth century. Consisting of five naves, a narthex (or
ante-church), several towers and the conventual buildings, it covered
an area of twenty-five acres. However, even before these great building
projects, it is interesting to note that the decline in spirituality
led to the ultimate demise of Cluny's influence.

V. Count Zinzendorf and the Moravians

A. Zinzendorf's Early Years

The Reformation of the sixteenth century saw much needed reform enter the
European Church, which also caused the closing of many monasteries that
had become spiritually dead. The next great champion of Night and Day
prayer would not appear until the start of the eighteenth century—Count
Nicholas Ludwig Von Zinzendorf.

Zinzendorf was born in 1700 to an aristocratic but pious family. His father died when he was only six
weeks old. The young boy was therefore brought up by his grandmother, a
well known leader of the Pietist movement and friendly with the
established leader of the Pietists and young Zinzendorf's Godfather,
Phillipp Spener. Growing up in the midst of such passion for Jesus,
Zinzendorf speaks of his early childhood as a time of great piety. "In
my fourth year I began to seek God earnestly, and determined to become
a true servant of Jesus Christ."

From the age of ten, Zinzendorf was tutored at the Pietist school of Halle under the watchful eye of
Augustus Francke, another leader of the Pietists. There he formed a
school club which lasted all his life, The Honourable Order of the
Mustard Seed. After several years at Halle, Zinzendorf's uncle
considered the young Count too much of a Pietist and had him sent to
Wittenberg to learn jurisprudence, so that he might be prepared for
court life. Soon the young Count was accepted in various circles of
society in Europe. He kept these connections for the rest of his life,
however his position in the Dresden Court and future plans for Saxon
Court life as Secretary of State would not be fulfilled.

B. The Moravians and Herrnhut

In 1722, Zinzendorf bought the Berthelsdorf estate from his grandmother
and installed a Pietistic preacher in the local Lutheran church. That
same year Zinzendorf came into contact with a Moravian preacher,
Christian David, who persuaded the young Count of the sufferings of the
persecuted Protestants in Moravia. These Moravians known as the Unitas
Fratrum were the remains of John Huss' followers in Bohemia. Since the
1600s, these saints had suffered under the hands of successive
repressive Catholic monarchs. Zinzendorf offered them asylum on his
lands. Christian David returned to Bohemia and brought many to settle
on Zinzendorf's estate, forming the community of Herrnhut, "The Watch
of the Lord." The community quickly grew to around three hundred. Yet
due to divisions and tension in the infant community, Zinzendorf gave
up his court position and became the leader of the brethren,
instituting a new constitution for the community.

C. The Hundred-Year Prayer Meeting and Subsequent Missions

A new spirituality now characterized the community, with men and women
being committed to bands or choruses to encourage one another in the
life of God. August of 1727 is seen as the Moravian Pentecost.
Zinzendorf said August 13th was "a day of the outpourings of the Holy
Spirit upon the congregation; it was its Pentecost." Within two weeks
of the outpouring, twenty-four men and twenty-four women covenanted to
pray "hourly intercessions," thus praying every hour around the clock.
They were committed to see that "The fire must be kept burning on the
altar continuously; it must not go out" (Leviticus 6:13). The numbers
committed to this endeavor soon increased to around seventy from the
community. This prayer meeting would go non-stop for the next one
hundred years and is seen by many as the spiritual power behind the
impact the Moravians had on the world.

From the prayer room at Herrnhut came a missionary zeal which has hardly been surpassed in
church history. The spark initially came from Zinzendorf's encounter in
Denmark with Eskimos who had been converted by Lutherans. The Count
returned to Herrnhut and conveyed his passion to see the Gospel go to
the nations. As a result, many of the community went out into the world
to preach the gospel, some even selling themselves into slavery in
order to fulfill the great commission. This commitment is shown by a
simple statistic. Typically, when it comes to world missions the
Protestant laity to missionary ratio has been 5000:1. The Moravians
however saw a much increased ratio of 60:1. By 1776, some 226
missionaries had been sent out from the community at Herrnhut. It is
clear through the teaching of the so-called "Father of Modern
Missions", William Carey, that the Moravians had a profound impact on
him in regard to their zeal for missionary activity. It is also through
the missions-minded Moravians that John Wesley came to faith. The
impact of this little community in Saxony which committed to seek the
face of the Lord day and night has truly been immeasurable.

VI. Night and Day Prayer in the 20th Century

In 1973 David Yonggi Cho, Pastor of the Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul,
South Korea, established a Prayer Mountain in night and day prayer. The
Prayer Mountain was soon attracting over a million visitors per year,
as people would spend retreats in the prayer cells provided on the
mountain. Cho had a commitment to continuous prayer, to faith and to
establishing small discipleship cells in his church. Perhaps as a
result, Cho's church rapidly expanded to become the largest church
congregation on the globe, with membership now over 780,000.

On September 19, 1999, the International House of Prayer in Kansas City,
Missouri, started a prayer and worship meeting that has continued for
twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week ever since. With a similar
vision to Zinzendorf, that the fire on the altar should never go out,
there has never been a time when worship and prayer has not ascended to
Heaven since that date.

At the same time in 1999, a movement of continual prayer erupted in Europe known as 24-7 prayer (www.24-7prayer.com). This movement of ceaseless prayer has seen 24-7 prayer rooms emerge in many nations. Right now the prayer and worship movement is reaching unprecedented levels globally. This is not hype, but a widely acknowledged reality being orchestrated by God for the salvation and healing of the nations. On the Global Day of Prayer over 250 million people gathered on one day to pray for global harvest. There are currently night and day prayer rooms in many major cities across the earth from Jerusalem to Seoul to Washington, D.C.

Now through a series of clear words from the Lord, the Fredericksburg Prayer Furnace is being developed to facilitate sustained, creative, effective prayer and worship with a missional focus in the Fredericksburg region!