The Hundred-Year Prayer of Herrnhut

In 1727, a small community of Moravian refugees living on Count Nikolaus von Zinzendorf's estate in Herrnhut, Germany, was fracturing. Czechs, Germans, and Poles — all fleeing persecution — bickered over doctrine and worship styles. They had been called together, but they could barely stand one another.

Then, on August 13th, during a communion service at Berthelsdorf church, something broke open. The Holy Spirit fell on that fractious little congregation so powerfully that participants later compared it to Pentecost. Enemies wept and embraced. Former rivals covenanted to pray together — not for a week or a season, but continuously, in shifts, around the clock.

That prayer vigil lasted one hundred years.

From that sustained faithfulness flowed astonishing fruit. The Moravians became the most prolific missionary community in Protestant history, sending workers to the Caribbean, Greenland, South Africa, and the American frontier. They lacked wealth, status, and institutional power, yet they lacked no spiritual gift. God enriched them with everything they needed — courage, endurance, unity, and an unshakable sense of calling.