It was time for Jesus to begin his earthly ministry. It was time to put away the carpentry tools. It was time to leave his mother and siblings behind. It was time to make the road his home. It was time to reveal the Savior and Redeemer. John the Baptist’s proclamation was the signal from the Holy Spirit that it was time. “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29 NLT
After Jesus’ baptism, Matthew records what was next on Jesus’ agenda. Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. Matthew 4:1-2 NLT
Forty days of fasting. We really don’t know much about what transpired during those long forty days. Sure, we know that Jesus was tempted in at least three ways from Satan, but what else took place in the wilderness?
But Luke records a telling simple sentence that gives us a clue… “Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power.” Luke 4:14 NLT I believe it is safe to assume those forty days were filled with an awful lot of prayer and seeking the Father’s will for the coming days as Jesus prepared to launch his ministry. Forty days of fasting, prayer and with purpose — then the Holy Spirit empowering work.
On January 9, we will be joining sister Christian & Missionary Alliance churches from all across the nation for a focused time of 40 Days of Prayer. Our Sunday services will be Christ-centric as we seek to rediscover and reawaken to the purposes of Christ for our lives and our church.
As we embark on this adventure, my prayer for our church family is that we would experience God in a fresh way. As we press in to who Christ is and his desires of us as his people, may we reawaken to his perfect calling within our lives. A life of holiness… a life with purpose.
40 Days of Prayer will provide daily devotions and prayer times, Sunday teaching times, small group opportunities and national lifestream events. Would you consider joining us for this adventure? Listen, if times like this were important to Jesus… then they probably should be to us too!
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