Rizpah's watch and the call to keep praying for a generation

There is a woman in 2 Samuel 21 whose name most people have never heard. She has no long speech. She doesn't lead an army. She just sits on a rock and refuses to leave.

Her name is Rizpah, and her watch changed a nation.

The Story

Israel was in a three-year famine. When David sought the Lord, he learned it was tied to Saul's sin against the Gibeonites. To make it right, seven of Saul's descendants were put to death and left exposed on a hill. Two of them were Rizpah's sons.

Then verse 10 says this: "Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night."

From the barley harvest in the spring until the rains came in the fall. That's somewhere around five or six months. Day and night. On a rock.

The Cost of the Watch

Rizpah paid a price. She gave up comfort, sleep, and safety. She spent the hot days chasing off vultures and the cold nights chasing off jackals. Nobody asked her to do it. Nobody thanked her for it at first.

Real intercession costs something. It costs time we could spend on ourselves. It costs sleep sometimes. It costs tears. Anyone who has ever prayed for a prodigal knows exactly what that feels like.

The Commitment of the Watch

Rizpah didn't come for a weekend. She stayed until the rain came.

That's the kind of prayer that changes things. Not a prayer we try once and give up on when nothing happens. A prayer that keeps its post. Jesus told us to pray and not lose heart (Luke 18:1). Rizpah lived that before Jesus ever said it.

The Consequence of the Watch

When David heard what Rizpah had done, it moved him. He went and gathered the bones of Saul and Jonathan and gave the whole family an honorable burial (vv. 11 to 14).

Then the Bible says, "after that God was intreated for the land" (v. 14). God answered prayer for the land. The famine ended.

One woman on a rock stirred the heart of a king, and a nation was healed. Never underestimate what one faithful person keeping watch can do.

Who Is Keeping Watch Today?

I think about our young people. A whole generation is growing up in a world that is spiritually hungry and spiritually exposed. Paul described what life without Christ looks like: "dead in trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1). But he didn't stop there. "But God, who is rich in mercy... hath quickened us together with Christ" (Ephesians 2:4 to 5).

God still brings the dead to life. And he often does it in answer to someone who refused to stop praying.

We need some Rizpahs. Spiritual mothers and fathers. Grandmas and grandpas. Men and women who will take their place on the rock and say, "Not this one. Not on my watch."

Take Your Post

Here are a few ways to start:

• Name them. Write down the names of the young people you are going to pray for. Kids, grandkids, neighbors, the teenagers in our church.
• Pick your watch. Choose a time each day that belongs to them. Morning coffee, the drive to work, before bed.
• Stay until the rain. Don't quit when you don't see results. Rizpah didn't.

Our altar is open every Sunday at Issachar Church, and our prayer team would love to stand with you. You don't have to keep watch alone.

Pastor Josh

Join us Sundays at 10 a.m. at 501 S Main St in Sheridan. Plan your visit.