CHURCHES across the UK have been called to reinstate the ancient practice of Night Vigils of Prayer following last week’s House of Commons votes on abortion and assisted dying, and the United States bombing of Iran.
The call comes from Pastor Jonathan Oloyede, Founder & Convenor of the National Day of Prayer and Worship (NDOPW). Since 2006, NDOPW has united thousands of churches across the four nations for local prayer, as well as in 2012, hosting over 32,500 Christians in Wembley Stadium for eight hours of prayer and worship.
In recent years, NDOPW has been developing a growing network of churches and intercessors who are passionate to pray and witness in their local communities. Over 1600 events took place as part of Shine Your Light 2024 with carol services and events going out onto the streets and into the marketplaces. NDOPW also hosts a weekly online prayer gathering of hundreds ofChristians, and a daily 7am and 7pm prayer Zoom with over 1,000 intercessors meeting regularly from across the Isles.
The vision for Shine at Midnight Vigils has been crystallising over the past year but triggered after last week’s vote by MPs to take away a woman’s criminal liability for an abortion up to birth, and the vote to back Kim Leadbeater’s Bill to assist those with a terminal illness to die.
In an open letter to the UK Church, published this week, Dr Jonathan Oloyede said his spirit has been stirred to make this call. On waking on Sunday to the news that the United States had bombed nuclear facilities in Iran – sending global leaders clamouring to meetings with their national military and security advisers, the pastor says he “sensed the time was right to call the UK church to focussed prayer.”
Dr Oloyede explained: “In the quiet hours of the night, when the world sleeps and darkness cloak the land, the heavens have often been torn open by the cries of praying saints. There was a time – not so long ago – when church halls across the UK would echo to the sound of earnest intercession through the night. Bonfires of Prayer lit up our spiritual landscape. The early Methodists, the Moravians, the Welsh revivalists—they all knew this holy secret: the power of night vigil prayer. But now, the wells are dry.”
Many churches, which once prayed through the night, now sleep through the crisis. “We have grown content with convenience, shortened services, and fast faith, but the call of God is thundering once again: “Reopen the wells!”— the ancient, powerful wells of night vigil prayer,” he says in his letter.
Prayer vigils are “the legacy we have forgotten,” he believes. “Centuries ago, Christians in Britain gathered through the midnight hours, not out of religious duty, but out of desperation for God’s presence. In 1727, the Moravians in Hernnhut (whose influence swept into England) began a 24/7 prayer chain that continued unbroken for over 100 years. John Wesley, whose Methodist movement transformed the spiritual life of Britain, was no stranger to night watches. He, and his band of brothers, often prayed until 3am, overwhelmed by the presence of the Holy Spirit. Why did they do it? Because they understood something we have forgotten there is power in the night watch,” he explained.
Dr Oloyede added: “The enemy does not sleep—and neither should our intercession. The darkness of our day—moral collapse, spiritual apathy, broken families, and a dying church—cannot be fought with lukewarm prayers and once-a-week gatherings. This hour demands watchmen and women on the walls. This hour demands vigils. Night vigils strip away distraction. They pierce the veil, and they tell God, “You are worth my sleep. You are worth my night,’ and heaven responds to such hunger.”
NDOPW believes that the old wells of night prayer are not permanently sealed. They are waiting. Waiting for a new generation that will dig again the ancient paths and say, like Jacob at Peniel: “I will not let You go unless You bless me.”
The prayer movement is urging all churches to reopen their doors through the night, and to “reopen the well of Fasting.” The Early Church, NDOPW says, understood the power of prayer with fasting and so should we. Households, they say, must turn their living rooms into altars. Youth groups must learn what it means to “travail in prayer until heaven moves.”
NDOPW is urging the UK church to return to these godly and powerful practices once again. “This is not about legalism,” Pastor Oloyede said, “it is about an Awakening! Households must turn their living rooms into altars. Youth groups must learn what it means to travail in prayer until heaven moves. Elders must take up the mantle of spiritual guardianship once more.”
The call from NDOPW has been described as a “call to arms., and a call to the night.” And the convenor explains: “A call to the place where history is shaped and destinies are birthed.” He concluded: “Let the cry go out: “We will not sleep while our nation dies. We will arise and pray. Let vigils begin in homes, in churches, in quiet corners and open fields. Let worship rise through the watches of the night. Let intercession shake the gates of hell and bring heaven to earth again. Let us reopen the wells of prayer – and let revival flow once more in our land.”
To help churches consider planning a Prayer Vigil, NDOPW is hosting its first online Shine at Midnight Vigil from midnight on Friday 4 July, until 8am on Saturday 5th July. Resources will be available via the NDOPW website for churches.
• To register your interest in setting up a Prayer Vigil in 2025, visit www.ndopw.com/shineatmidnight