Forty Days of Prayer Day Fifteen - The Person of the Holy Spirit

WEEK 3 -SPIRIT EMPOWERMENT/FULLNESS

Having now turned from things that were grieving and quenching the Spirit, in this week we prayerfully welcome His fullness and power. May there be a sense of hunger and holy desperation as we pray for a fresh outpouring and infilling of the Holy Spirit on our lives and in our churches. Come, Holy Spirit!

DAY FIFTEEN - THE PERSON OF THE HOLY SPIRIT BY KRISY MAXEY

Mark. 1:8

“I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit”

The Holy Spirit is introduced in Genesis 1. Throughout the Old Testament we see the Spirit moving with power among God’s people. In the gospels, John the Baptist declared there is One more powerful who will come. “I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (Mk. 1:8).

In John 14–16 Jesus introduced the “Alongsider” (paraclete means “called to one’s side”), raising high expectations of the One coming after Him. After the Resurrection, Jesus spoke again about this promised gift. “. . . in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:4, 5).

But it wasn’t until Jesus had been gone for 50 days that the Holy Spirit blew through the small band of followers, baptizing them with miraculous dunamis (“power to do”). Acts tells compellingly of a new power for living the gospel—preaching, helping the disadvantaged, worshiping, praying, and healing. And when we meet Paul on his third missionary journey about 20 years later, he’s in the city of Ephesus with a group of believers. “Hey guys! Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? No? You haven’t even heard of Him? Let me introduce you!” (see Acts 19:1–6). And the Holy Spirit came with power just as Christ promised.

A thrilling expectation accompanies these introductions. The Holy Spirit flames uniquely before us in truth, advocacy, comfort, and power. Come! Meet this Person yourself; Jesus longs to baptize you.

PRAYER POINTS:

1. Reflect on how you first met Jesus. Thank the Holy Spirit for the hunger planted in you, and remember key growth points since that time. Then enjoy the memory of your “second baptism.” Spend time in gratefulness and joy.

2. If you don’t have a clear moment when you were filled by the Spirit, declare your desire to meet Him. Position your body to indicate your openness (open your hands, kneel, etc.).

3. Pray the following: “Come, Holy Spirit, as the transforming Alongsider promised by Jesus. Grow my capacity to receive all I need from You. Transform my comprehension; instruct me in truth; comfort and strengthen me; fill me with an ability to introduce You to others. I want to know You. I desire to be transformed by You. Come!”

Forty Days of Prayer Day Fourteen - God's Forgiveness

WEEK 2 - Repentence

This week, we will allow the spotlight to turn inward. As we pray, we will open our lives to a deep search and cleansing by the Holy Spirit. While repenting of our own sinful attitudes and behaviors, we will also pray prayers of repentance for our nation, which has turned away from God and His truth and has not valued the precious gift of life.

DAY FOURTEEN - GOD’S FAITHFUL FORGIVENESS BY JASON KIM

John. 1:9

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

As believers we experience two kinds of repentance: one that ushers the natural man from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of light and one that restores the sin-laden disciple to whiter-than-snow purity.

Many Christians live as though God’s forgiving grace applies primarily—if not only—to the “first” repentance—the act of justification at conversion. We offer eternal gratitude for this metamorphic act of salvation while often overlooking our desperate need for His daily mercy and forgiveness as we stumble into sin.

This verse brings two simple truths to light that are essential to our ongoing spiritual growth and renewal: (1) Christians—no matter how devout—continue to sin; and (2) God the Father, because of His boundless love for us, made allowance for our transgressions through His Son’s shed blood—the source of a vast flowing fountain of grace that washes away ALL our sins.

So, what should we do when we fall? John admonishes us to confess our sins to Jesus—who promises to forgive and purify. We simply need to trust in His faithfulness and take His promise at its word.

PRAYER POINTS:

1. Using Psalm 139:33–34 as your prayer, ask God to help reveal your current sinful behavior.

2. Acknowledge and confess these sins, asking for Christ’s forgiveness.

3. Give thanks for His faithfulness and celebrate the purity He restores through His shed blood.

Forty Days of Prayer Day Thirteen - Unresolved Conflicts

WEEK 2 - Repentence

This week, we will allow the spotlight to turn inward. As we pray, we will open our lives to a deep search and cleansing by the Holy Spirit. While repenting of our own sinful attitudes and behaviors, we will also pray prayers of repentance for our nation, which has turned away from God and His truth and has not valued the precious gift of life.

DAY THIRTEEN - UNRESOLVED CONFLICTS BY KAREN GUSTAFSON

Romans 14:19 - Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.

Conflict can exist wherever there are people, and whether we like it or not, we all will face interpersonal tensions. When confronting difficulties in a relationship, as in any threatening situation, our initial reaction is often to fight or flee. Fighting can look like accusing the other person or group, attacking their character or motives while defending our own actions. Fleeing can look like withdrawing from interactions with the person involved or cutting them off emotionally. (Certainly in dangerous situations, safety may require distance.) These options, however, leave conflicts unresolved, relationships harmed or broken, and our own soul agitated or cold.

Jesus took unresolved conflict seriously and taught another way. He told us in Mark 11:25 that when we pray and hold anything against anyone, we need to forgive and also receive forgiveness. In Matthew 5:23–24, Jesus instructed us to seek out reconciliation when we go to worship while knowing someone has something against us. In both passages, Jesus links our prayer and worship with the need to resolve interpersonal conflict. No matter how the conflict started, Jesus wants us to take steps to make peace as far as possible (see Romans 12:18).

Not every relationship problem will end the way we desire, but the steps we take will open the possibility for resolution, bring peace to our souls, and give us joy in fellowship with the Lord. May we make every effort to promote peace in these difficult situations and build each other up.

PRAYER POINTS:

1. What conflict is still unsettled or causes unrest in my soul?

2. Who may be feeling that I have offended them (whether justified or not)?

3. What steps is the Lord asking me to take, making every effort to bring peace to these situations?

Forty Days of Prayer Day Twelve - Breaking Strongholds

WEEK 2 -Repentence

This week, we will allow the spotlight to turn inward. As we pray, we will open our lives to a deep search and cleansing by the Holy Spirit. While repenting of our own sinful attitudes and behaviors, we will also pray prayers of repentance for our nation, which has turned away from God and His truth and has not valued the precious gift of life.

DAY TWELVE - STRONGHOLDS THAT NEED TO BE BROKEN BY DAVID AND TY KING

Hebrews 12:1-2

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Strongholds usually begin with nothing more than a glance away from the face of Christ toward something or someone else. Over time this substitute (whether entertainment, relationships, money, approval, addictions, unforgiveness) becomes a controlling influence in our hearts, hindering our pilgrimage with Jesus. It grows like a spiritual cancer, killing the work of the Holy Spirit in and through us. It’s an idol on steroids, and the issue is always Lordship.

Use the prayer below as you sit in God’s presence to evaluate your heart and discern any strongholds. Remember, your Father is waiting with open arms. The ring and the robe are ready. Run home.

PRAYER POINTS:

Lord Jesus, I quiet myself in Your presence and choose to submit to You as my Savior and Lord. I ask that You open the closed-off places in my heart and expose them to the light of the Holy Spirit. Reveal all strongholds and heal me.

1. Where I am blind to my own sin, restore my sight, for only You can bring healing to the hidden places of my heart. (Pause and confess those things that the Holy Spirit brings to mind.)

2. Where I have allowed the enemy to steal Your work in my life, I now take my stand in Jesus’ name and authority, taking back the stolen ground. (Continue to pray as led by the Holy Spirit.)

3. I ask, Father, for complete freedom in every area of my life. Fill me afresh with the Holy Spirit so I will be strengthened to stand firm and become more like Jesus. Renew my hunger for Your Word and holiness.

4. I choose now to throw off the sin that has entangled me and once again fix my eyes on Jesus Christ, my only Lord. Amen (see Romans 6:19; Luke 15:11–31; Galatians 5:16; Isaiah 29:13; 1 Peter 2:24–25; Galatians 5:1; James 5:16; Hebrews 12:1–2).

Forty Days of Prayer Day Eleven - Secret / Hidden Sin

WEEK 2 - Repentance

This week, we will allow the spotlight to turn inward. As we pray, we will open our lives to a deep search and cleansing by the Holy Spirit. While repenting of our own sinful attitudes and behaviors, we will also pray prayers of repentance for our nation, which has turned away from God and His truth and has not valued the precious gift of life.

DAY ELEVEN - SECRET SIN/HIDDEN SIN BY TED KANG

1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins.

“Faithful” and “just”—isn’t it strange to find these two words in one sentence? I’d much prefer to have God’s faithfulness than justice when it comes to my sins. Divine mercy is a profound mystery. In every confession of our wrongs, a transaction takes place on that old rugged cross—a transaction where God keeps His end of the bargain to be faithful, while our Savior takes the blow of God’s ruthless justice. Confession is the Father’s gracious gift to His children. It is the key that unlocks every shackle of guilt and shame that separates us from God and from one another.

As children, my brother and I would play with an antique Omega watch that belonged to my late grandfather. One day, play turned into fight, destroying this family heirloom. I managed to convince my younger brother that he was responsible for this crime. Then I made him an offer he couldn’t resist. We put what was left of the watch back in the drawer and kept the transgression a secret. For the next several weeks, I turned him into my personal slave. When he refused to serve me, all I had to do was point at my wrist as a reminder of my mercy. This went on for weeks until he got so tired of being held hostage that he decided to come clean. He tearfully confessed to my grandmother that he had broken the watch. I will never forget what I heard that day. With a gentle smile, my grandmother said, “I know. I’ve just been waiting for you to tell me.” One confession set him free.

Our Father calls us to confession, not because He is ignorant of our wrongs, but because our shame and guilt keep us from coming to Him boldly.

PRAYER POINTS:

1. Let us each come clean before God today.

2. Let us pray that the Holy Spirit will restore the purity of His Church.

3. Let us pray that the Alliance family will be a light in spiritually dark places.

Forty Days of Prayer Day Ten - Unconfessed Sin

WEEK 2 - REPENTANCE

This week, we will allow the spotlight to turn inward. As we pray, we will open our lives to a deep search and cleansing by the Holy Spirit. While repenting of our own sinful attitudes and behaviors, we will also pray prayers of repentance for our nation, which has turned away from God and His truth and has not valued the precious gift of life.

DAY TEN - UNCONFESSED SIN BY KEN BALDES

Ezekiel. 36:26

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

I have often thought of unconfessed sin as like stepping on a garden hose that prevents the fast flow of water. How many times have you had to stop what you’re doing to remove the kink in the hose so more water could flow freely? Ezekiel provides another vivid picture of unconfessed sin in chapter 36. He contrasts a heart of stone with a heart of flesh. Take some time today to read Ezekiel 36:22–38.

In Psalm 51, David gives us helpful words in verse 2: “Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” As we begin 2021, would you prayerfully consider fixing any kinks in your life’s hose between your heart and God’s heart so the Holy Spirit can flow more fully in your life? A broken and contrite (repentant) heart (see Psalm 51:17) will produce a tender heart toward God and others.

Over time, unconfessed sin results in a calloused heart to the things that matter most to God. As we ponder this sobering reality, here are three questions to ask yourself (and perhaps discuss with your church’s leadership).

PRAYER POINTS:

1. What am I indifferent to that needs to be confessed? Have I, perhaps unknowingly, developed a heart of stone toward the unborn who die through abortion; the injustices around me that I remain silent about; or the marginalized people in my community whom I pass or forget about because they live “over there”? January 17 is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday and provides an opportunity in a few days to corporately repent for the sin of abortion.

2. What pride in my life or lack of dependence on God do I need to confess?

3. What step of obedience is being thwarted because of unconfessed sin in my life that may result in not clearly hearing the voice of the Lord?

Forty Days of Prayer Day Nine - Personal Examination

WEEK 2 - REPENTENCE

This week, we will allow the spotlight to turn inward. As we pray, we will open our lives to a deep search and cleansing by the Holy Spirit. While repenting of our own sinful attitudes and behaviors, we will also pray prayers of repentance for our nation, which has turned away from God and His truth and has not valued the precious gift of life.

DAY NINE - PERSONAL EXAMINATION BY JEN SCHEPENS

Psalm 139:1, 7, and 23-24

1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me! 7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

Personal examination is a powerful tool to see where our lives don’t align with God’s holiness. It can highlight areas in which we can welcome the Spirit’s deep, transforming work. Psalm 139 highlights three truths to deepen our personal examination in prayer.

Read Psalm 139:1–6. You are known. No matter where you are in your faith journey, you have a history with God. He has been present in your story. He has searched you and is with you regardless of your circumstances.

Read Psalm 139:7–16. You are seen. God’s presence brings light, which illuminates what is hidden and reveals truth. When you truly see who God is, you are ready to see the truth of who you are—one He has created and knit together in the womb.

Read Psalm 139:17–24. Search me. Now step out in humility and ask for God’s scrutiny. He knows you, sees you, and has created you. Ask for His revelation as you personally examine anything preventing you from living out your identity as His creation.

PRAYER POINTS:

1. Welcome the Lord into this moment, this place, and acknowledge His presence. Trace your journey to this point and recall how God has been with you. Where have you seen Him before? How has He been present? How has He already worked in you?

2. Welcome the Spirit’s illuminating presence to bring light to the dark spaces in your soul. Using verse 14, take a moment to praise and worship your Creator.

3. Pray verses 23 and 24, asking God to reveal any offensive way in you. What came to mind as you prayed those words? Ask God to reveal what is hidden. Pray that the Spirit will show you areas that are not aligned with how God created you.

Forty Days of Prayer Day Eight - The Holy Spirit's Conviction

WEEK 2 - REPENTANCE - TURNING FROM OUR UNHOLINESS

This week, we will allow the spotlight to turn inward. As we pray, we will open our lives to a deep search and cleansing by the Holy Spirit. While repenting of our own sinful attitudes and behaviors, we will also pray prayers of repentance for our nation, which has turned away from God and His truth and has not valued the precious gift of life.

DAY EIGHT - THE HOLY SPIRIT’S CONVICTION BY LANTZIA C. THAO

1 Thessalonians 1:4-7

For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.

We live in a sinful world and have fallen short of God’s standard. As Christians, this reality affects us as it did the prophet Isaiah when he saw God and exclaimed, “Woe to me! . . . I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips” (6:5a). It is the work and conviction of the Holy Spirit that brings us to such a realization. In 1 Thessalonians 1:4–7 Paul shed light on this truth, describing how the gospel first came to the believers “with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction” (5a). Although they were suffering severely, the Holy Spirit helped them to welcome the gospel with joy. As a result, they “became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia” (7).

As the Body of Christ, we are now in great need of the Holy Spirit’s conviction in our lives, our churches, our districts, and the C&MA. He is our helper in convicting our community, our country, and our world regarding sin, righteousness, and judgment (see John 16:8). Therefore, let us spend time conversing with God, seeking His direction and conviction of our sins, or unholiness, in the following areas.

PRAYER POINTS:

1. Ask God to show you what He wants you to do regarding yourself and your church.

2. Ask Him to show our district superintendents what to do regarding our districts.

3. Ask God to show our C&MA president and his staff what to do regarding our denomination.

Forty Days of Prayer Day Seven - God's Mercy and Grace

WEEK 1 - THE HOLINESS OF GOD

Our focus during this first week is on the Person of God and His attributes. Our Triune God is perfect in holiness and in all of His other attributes. As we see Him for who He is, see Him in the fullness of His glory, may we be drawn to a posture of worship before Him. He is perfectly worthy!

DAY SEVEN - THE MERCY AND GRACE OF GOD BY GARY FRIESEN

The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities (Ps. 103:8–10).

God delights in extending mercy and grace to His deeply loved children. More than 20 years ago, I received a call from a friend in another state who was a chaplain in a juvenile prison. He was calling about a 22-year-old prisoner who, at the age of 16, had murdered a gang member who had threatened his life. While in prison, he had responded to the gospel and been discipled by my friend. Because the young man was sentenced as a juvenile, the law now required that he be released. Gang members threatened to kill him if he remained in the area. So, my friend called to arrange for the young man to stay with friends near my home.

Several days later I picked him up from the airport and brought him home. Over dinner that night he told the remarkable story of his conversion and shared how God had miraculously arranged for him to take an internship, working with youth at a church in a nearby city. This young man’s experience of God’s grace was tangible. He knew that he deserved a lifetime in prison, not a new life, a new job, and freedom.

And this is true for each of us. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). Like this young man freed from a prison sentence he fully deserved, we all live in the undeserved freedom of God’s grace and mercy provided through Christ.

PRAYER POINTS:

1. Thank God for specific ways He has extended His grace to you.

2. Ask God to reveal to you where you can share with others the grace God has extended to you.

3. Pray for those close to you who desperately need to daily experience His mercy and grace through our Lord Jesus.

Forty Days of Prayer Day Six - God's Unchangeableness

WEEK 1 - THE HOLINESS OF GOD

Our focus during this first week is on the Person of God and His attributes. Our Triune God is perfect in holiness and in all of His other attributes. As we see Him for who He is, see Him in the fullness of His glory, may we be drawn to a posture of worship before Him. He is perfectly worthy!

DAY SIX - THE UNCHANGEABLENESS OF GOD BY JEN ASHBY

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows (Js. 1:17).

At the end of the high ropes course at a camp I was attending, the final task was to leap from a platform about 30’ high and grab a swinging trapeze bar with both hands. When I jumped, I made contact with the bar but didn’t get a grip. I felt the safety harness jerk and was suddenly upside down, feet in the air, slowly swaying and twisting. To say I was disoriented would be an understatement, and I had no idea how to right myself or this situation. The young camp staffer on the platform called down to me, “Ma’am, put your feet down.” I did so and was instantly flipped upright before being lowered to the ground. Soon my feet were on solid ground again.

Change is constantly coming our way. Earlier in this passage, James says that just as the blossom withers, worldly riches fade (verse 11). He mentions the heavenly lights, sun, and moon, whose shadows are constantly shifting (verse. 17). Sometimes change, especially if unexpected or unwanted, feels like a jerk on the safety harness, leaving us upside down, feet in the air, and disoriented. This passage is a call to “put your feet down” on the One who does not change. He is the Father, Creator of the heavenly lights, and He does not change. He is immutable. Nothing jerks Him upside down, and when we are, we can “put our feet down” and find ourselves standing on solid ground again. We do this by continually placing our faith in the truth of who God is, confident in His consistent, unchanging character and promises.

PRAYER POINTS:

1. Acknowledge to God any ways that change or other circumstances have left you feeling disoriented.

2. Ask God to show you if you’ve been looking for stability or security in anything other than Him.

3. “Put your feet down” by praising and thanking God for being the solid ground that does not change.

Forty Days of Prayer Day Five - God's Omniscience, Omnipotence, and Omnipresence

WEEK 1 - THE HOLINESS OF GOD

Our focus during this first week is on the Person of God and His attributes. Our Triune God is perfect in holiness and in all of His other attributes. As we see Him for who He is, see Him in the fullness of His glory, may we be drawn to a posture of worship before Him. He is perfectly worthy!

DAY FIVE - THE OMNISCIENCE/OMNIPOTENCE/OMNIPRESENCE OF GOD BY CRAIG SMITH

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Ps. 139:23–24).

Psalm 139 celebrates God’s attributes—His omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence. Affirming these realities, the psalmist models for us how to pray in alignment with them.

Based on God’s omniscience, he opens himself to God’s all-knowing scrutiny. Such an intimate review of any of us can reveal deep, hidden secrets that are already fully known to Him. The psalmist subjects himself to such scrutiny with a heartfelt willingness to repent as needed, knowing God’s omnipotence makes Him the only One who can fully forgive and deliver us from sin. He is powerful enough not only for our needs but also the needs of all others for whom we pray.

Because God is everywhere, the psalmist can trust Him to lead him in paths that He ordains for him because He is already there. God’s omnipresence closes the distance gap between us and those we are interceding for, even if a world apart. Oceans may separate us from our international missionary force or from family living miles away. Regardless, God is right there with us as we pray—and with those we are praying for! This allows for intimate, productive praying that reaps results.

PRAYER POINTS:

1. As we pray, let’s begin with full surrender to God’s scrutiny of our lives. Opening ourselves up to an all-knowing God does not provide Him with new information! Such transparency welcomes Him to cleanse, fill, and empower us for holy living.

2. God is capable of doing exceedingly above all we can ask or think. Knowing this should embolden us to pray with divinely inspired confidence. Affirming God’s omnipotence in prayer moves His hand in the lives of those we intercede for, as much as it does in our own.

3. May God’s omnipresence encourage our hearts and move us toward deeper intimacy with Him and those we are interceding for, regardless of distance. His omnipresence will offer those we pray for the strength to endure until the answer comes.

Forty Days of Prayer Day Five - God's Omniscience, Omnipotence, and Omnipresence (Copy)

WEEK 1 - THE HOLINESS OF GOD

Our focus during this first week is on the Person of God and His attributes. Our Triune God is perfect in holiness and in all of His other attributes. As we see Him for who He is, see Him in the fullness of His glory, may we be drawn to a posture of worship before Him. He is perfectly worthy!

DAY FIVE - THE OMNISCIENCE/OMNIPOTENCE/OMNIPRESENCE OF GOD BY CRAIG SMITH

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Ps. 139:23–24).

Psalm 139 celebrates God’s attributes—His omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence. Affirming these realities, the psalmist models for us how to pray in alignment with them.

Based on God’s omniscience, he opens himself to God’s all-knowing scrutiny. Such an intimate review of any of us can reveal deep, hidden secrets that are already fully known to Him. The psalmist subjects himself to such scrutiny with a heartfelt willingness to repent as needed, knowing God’s omnipotence makes Him the only One who can fully forgive and deliver us from sin. He is powerful enough not only for our needs but also the needs of all others for whom we pray.

Because God is everywhere, the psalmist can trust Him to lead him in paths that He ordains for him because He is already there. God’s omnipresence closes the distance gap between us and those we are interceding for, even if a world apart. Oceans may separate us from our international missionary force or from family living miles away. Regardless, God is right there with us as we pray—and with those we are praying for! This allows for intimate, productive praying that reaps results.

PRAYER POINTS:

1. As we pray, let’s begin with full surrender to God’s scrutiny of our lives. Opening ourselves up to an all-knowing God does not provide Him with new information! Such transparency welcomes Him to cleanse, fill, and empower us for holy living.

2. God is capable of doing exceedingly above all we can ask or think. Knowing this should embolden us to pray with divinely inspired confidence. Affirming God’s omnipotence in prayer moves His hand in the lives of those we intercede for, as much as it does in our own.

3. May God’s omnipresence encourage our hearts and move us toward deeper intimacy with Him and those we are interceding for, regardless of distance. His omnipresence will offer those we pray for the strength to endure until the answer comes.

Forty Days of Prayer Day Four - God's Sovereignty

WEEK 1 - THE HOLINESS OF GOD

Our focus during this first week is on the Person of God and His attributes. Our Triune God is perfect in holiness and in all of His other attributes. As we see Him for who He is, see Him in the fullness of His glory, may we be drawn to a posture of worship before Him. He is perfectly worthy!

DAY FOUR THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD - MATT COHEN

Few topics have produced more theological debate than the doctrine of God’s sovereignty. But long before it was a subject of debate, it fueled the fire of worship among Christians. In the original Greek, Ephesians 1:3–14 is a long sentence with one big idea: Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

But why? Why should we glorify God with our lips and our lives? Let’s look for a moment at all the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has done, by His sovereign grace, for all who are in Christ. God “has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ” (verse 3b). God “chose us in him before the creation of the world” (verse 4). In love, God “predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will” (verse 5). Because of the riches of God’s grace, “we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins” (verse 7). God “made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ . . . to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head” (verses 9–10). God “predestined [us] according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will” (verse 11). God sealed us with “the promised Holy Spirit . . . guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession” (verses 13–14). And God did it all to the praise of His glory.

God’s sovereignty is the fuel that lights the fire of His people’s praises. God has saved us by sovereign grace. Let us praise Him!

PRAYER POINTS:

1. Begin your prayer time by praising God for the spiritual blessings God has lavished upon you in Christ (Ephesians 1:3–14). Consider rewriting this passage as a prayer of adoration and thanksgiving.

2. Confess any ways that you’ve lived in “functional unbelief” about God’s sovereignty and goodness. For example, “Father, I confess I’ve been giving in to fear because I haven’t trusted You to work all things according to the counsel of Your will.”

3. Ask the Father to give you strength to comprehend “how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ” (Eph. 3:18). Pray this for yourself, your family, church, community, and our world.

Forty Days of Prayer Day Three - God's Love

WEEK 1 - THE HOLINESS OF GOD

Our focus during this first week is on the Person of God and His attributes. Our Triune God is perfect in holiness and in all of His other attributes. As we see Him for who He is, see Him in the fullness of His glory, may we be drawn to a posture of worship before Him. He is perfectly worthy!

DAY THREE - THE LOVE OF GOD - THOMAS GEORGE

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love (1 Jn. 4:7–8).

The word “love” seems so common. People want it, proclaim it easily, and lose it just as quickly. It seems to be everywhere and nowhere, and its definition varies widely. Scripture, however, is very specific in its use of the word. God is particular in using the word “agape” when talking about Himself. Agape is a defining characteristic of God—what He does comes out of who He is.

Below are three characteristics of agape love.

Agape is unchanging: It is commitment-based love. God does have feelings for us, but agape love is not based on a feeling. It is much stronger and more robust, a higher order love with no expiration date. He does not get bored or change His mind. He does not fall out of love with His creation or His people.

Agape is not transactional: God was not waiting for us to perform to His standards to love us. His love is not based on your earning potential or goodness. God declares you valuable and good.

Agape is active: His love is not just talk. He sent His Son to die for us. He is not distant; He is in our messes. He is forming, shaping, rescuing, restoring, growing. He is patient, long suffering, committed, self-sacrificing, and altruistic, even when we are stubborn and resistant.

God is creating agape love inside of you for Him and for others.

The “I Am” is Agape.

PRAYER POINTS:

1. How does this kind of love affect my life?

2. How can I love others this way?

Forty Days of Prayer Day Two - God's Holiness

WEEK 1 - THE HOLINESS OF GOD

Our focus during this first week is on the Person of God and His attributes. Our Triune God is perfect in holiness and in all of His other attributes. As we see Him for who He is, see Him in the fullness of His glory, may we be drawn to a posture of worship before Him. He is perfectly worthy!

DAY TWO - THE HOLINESS OF GOD - JESSIE RITCHEY

Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed (Rev. 15:4).

While growing up, I was surrounded by adults who often coupled God’s holiness with an emphasis on His otherness. Stories relating to His wrath and destruction seemed to further underscore a distance from humanity. In a young child’s mind, this boiled down to an oversimplified and inaccurate formula: holy = far off.

Therefore, it was a delight to mature into the understanding that while God’s holiness is irrevocably linked to His eternal power and glory, it permeates all He is and does. This is not a characteristic that exists solely to be displayed and admired from a distance. Rather, His holiness is linked and compellingly displayed in a sustained posture of leaning toward His creation in pursuit of relationship with us. He is not a holy God who stands far off but one who:

• Comes down in the cool of the evening to walk in the garden and talk;

• Speaks to Moses from a burning bush and completely redirects his life;

• Leads, accompanies, and protects the Israelites in the form of fire and cloud;

• Sends detailed artistic instructions for the tabernacle and comes to dwell with His people;

• Takes on the limitations of a human body to assure us He is indeed acquainted with our grief;

• Provides His Holy Spirit to lead us into the pursuit of deeper relationship with Him;

• Empowers us to pattern our lives after His holiness; and

• Chooses us as conduits of His holiness as we connect with those around us.

God’s holiness can flow through every area of our lives as it motivates, propels, discerns, convicts, reaches, and impacts.

PRAYER POINTS:

1. Show me what aspects of my life are far off from Your holiness.

2. How would You have me serve as a conduit of Your holiness and to whom?

3. Remind me of Your holy and faithful posture of leaning toward me.

Forty Days of Prayer Day One

WEEK 1 - THE HOLINESS OF GOD

Our focus during this first week is on the Person of God and His attributes. Our Triune God is perfect in holiness and in all of His other attributes. As we see Him for who He is, see Him in the fullness of His glory, may we be drawn to a posture of worship before Him. He is perfectly worthy!

Day One - THE ETERNALNESS OF GOD - MITCH KIM

The promises of God are guaranteed by His own eternal name. When Moses doubts God’s promise to bring Israel out of Egypt, God guarantees His word by saying, “I will be with you” (Exod. 3:12a). He then signs that promissory note with His name, “I AM WHO I AM” (Exod. 3:14). He is an eternal God—not an “I WAS” of the past nor an “I WILL BE” of the future but the great “I AM”—always present in our every area of need. No wonder “I AM” becomes the personal name of God in the Old Testament, the Lord.

Obstacles to God’s promises are opportunities to draw on His guarantees and learn new facets of His name. When Israel faced bitter water and cried out to the Lord, He sweetened the water and revealed Himself as “. . . the Lord, who heals you” (Exod. 15:26b). When they are overwhelmed in battle and lifted up in prayer, they overcome and realize, “The Lord is my Banner” (Exod. 17:15). When the Israelites sin with the golden calf and plead for mercy, they are forgiven and discover “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness” (Exod. 34:6). Every challenge they faced became a fresh encounter with new facets of the Lord’s name.

Therefore, we do not fear our challenges. Instead we cry out to the Lord, the eternal God, who is big enough for our problems. Because God is eternal, the riches of His resources never run dry for our troubles. We do not only look forward to seeing His deliverance but also to learning more fully new facets of His name. What new facets of the Lord’s name will He reveal through your challenges today?

PRAYER POINTS:

1. Praise God by speaking His names.

2. Thank God that problems are opportunities to encounter new facets of His presence.

3. Commit your problems to Him today so you may see His deliverance and experience more of His presence.

Thank You For Subscribing to Forty Days of Prayer!

Thank you for subscribing!

Your daily devotional and prayer guide will start arriving in your inbox on Monday at 6:00 AM and will arrive daily for forty days.

If you know anyone else who would like to receive these daily posts, please forward them this email!

Forty Days of Prayer is a new campaign with daily devotionals, guided prayer, weekly messages, and a corresponding study in our Adult and Student Equip classes which meet every Sunday at 9:20 AM in-person and online.

Subscribe to CCC Blog

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

Last Name

Forty Days of Prayer Starts January 4th! Subscribe Today!

Forty Days of Prayer is a new campaign with daily devotionals, guided prayer, weekly messages, and a corresponding study in our Adult and Student Equip classes which meet every Sunday at 9:20 AM in-person and online.

If you would like to receive the daily devotionals and prayer guides, please subscribe to this blog to receive the posts in your email inbox, or check back at this page to see the new, daily posts!

Subscribe to CCC Blog

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

Last Name

Bible Reading Plan - Week of December 14th

These passages will prepare you for this week’s sermon which will be preached on Sunday, December 20th. This Sunday we will continue our Christmas message series “Light of the World”.

 Monday - Luke 1:26-38

Tuesday - Luke 1:46-56

Wednesday - Luke 2:22-40

Thursday - Romans 13:8-14

Friday - Philippians 2:12-18

Bible Reading Plan - Week of December 7th

These passages will prepare you for this week’s sermon which will be preached on Sunday, December 13th. This Sunday we will continue our Christmas message series “Light of the World”.

 Monday - Matthew 1:1-17

Tuesday - Matthew 1:18-25

Wednesday - John 1:1-18

Thursday - Hebrews 6:13-20

Friday - Hebrews 10:1-25