Leaders pray together every midnight since March

Janet Mabie
Special to Spur Ottawa

Scripture commands believers to “pray without ceasing” and “give the Lord no rest”. In the last year, Isaac Gimba was inspired to take the Bible’s exhortations on prayer fairly literally, and the resulting midnight prayer initiative has grown beyond what he anticipated.

“For about a year I was terrified to even contemplate what I sensed the Lord was asking me to do, much less, to do it,” shares Gimba, president of International Pastors and Leaders Forum. “But on the 23rd of March, 2020, the fears and intimidation left. I now found myself in a position of strength and courage; much grace was poured into me.”

That very night, “Midnight Incense” was born. The vision was ambitious: to host an altar of prayer for pastors and leaders to unite in intentional and consistent heartfelt prayers, intent on triggering an outpouring of God’s spirit for revival. For the past 11 months, Gimba held prayer “at midnight, lasting one hour, every night, seven days a week, holiday or no.”

The intent, Gimba explains, is to model the prayer focus of Jesus.

What began with just one person now has multiple nightly attendees from different denominations, races, and cultures, praying for pastors and leaders across Ottawa.

“Jesus’ life was characterized by prayer. He lived, breathed, walked, and talked prayer. He would leave His guests or the crowd and withdraw into the place of prayer. Prayer was His access route to know the Father’s mind on every matter. He demonstrated the human side of His dependence on God.”

What began with just one person now has multiple nightly attendees from different denominations, races, and cultures, praying for pastors and leaders across Ottawa.

“We pray for them by name, including their families and leadership boards. Our prayer focus centres on the person, character, and nature of Jesus, to be enlightened and revealed in their lives, families, and ministries or churches.”

The group also prays for national and provincial matters, government affairs, and the welfare and growth of the Body of Christ.

“My strong desire is to see pastors and leaders grow and sustain a deeper hunger and passion for the presence of God.”

Yet, as the group expanded, so did their ambition. To accommodate a number of pastors’ schedules, they launched two new prayer altars in October and November 2020.

“It was as though Midnight Incense gave birth to a set of twins: 6:00 a.m. Morning Dew and 12:00 p.m. Noon Watch,” Gimba says. Morning Dew is a time of encouragement through sharing of God’s Word, equipping all for the day ahead. Noon Watch is a time to pray for apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, and leaders.

In addition to honouring biblical exhortations on prayer, Gimba says they have seen many people encouraged, strengthened, and “enjoying a more fulfilled living experience with Jesus as result of their encounter at the prayer meetings.”

One example is Leonard, an immigrant pastor from Nigeria. He came to Canada in support of his wife (a diplomat), but became discouraged in ministry and considered giving up and leaving Canada. Through participating in Midnight Incense, his passion was rekindled.

“My strong desire is to see pastors and leaders grow and sustain a deeper hunger and passion for the presence of God,” Gimba states. “It is an unstoppable quest that cannot be mistaken for mediocrity or indifference to the pursuit for more of Jesus in the place of prayer.”