August 20, 2014
Dear Praying Friend,
I'll never forget my first 40 day prayer and fasting journey with the Lord - it was the watershed moment of my Christian walk. Those 40 days in early 2006 changed everything for me, and it was simply an obedient response to a spark of desire God ignited in me after reading a little book entitled "First Love" by Dr. Bill Bright.
That initial spark lit the way for me to discover a depth of intimacy with the Lord I had never experienced before as the Holy Spirit illuminated His Word and it became
"a lamp to my feet and a light for my path" (Psalm 119:105). When His Word came each day I ate every portion He placed on my plate, and they became
"my joy and my heart's delight" (Jeremiah 15:16). I had tasted and seen how good the Lord is, and with every passing day my spiritual appetite grew stronger and stronger - my physical appetite disappeared quickly because nothing satisfied like His Word. I discovered the supernatural, sustaining, and strengthening power of His Word as I ate every tender morsel He placed on my plate. I couldn't wait to come to His banqueting table each day and enjoy the sweetness of the conversation He had to share. My ears had become tuned to the sound of my Shepherd and He satisfied and settled my soul with His gracious and compassionate words. The more He shared with me, the more I wanted to know, and my prayer life was completely transformed. When I prayed before, I was focused on the asking, now I was content with simply listening; and when I did ask, it was for deeper knowledge of God and His will and not for my own personal needs and desires. His desires had become mine and I was completely satisfied, yet at the same time I was hungering for more (Matthew 5:6). My heart, my soul, my mind had been consumed with the love of Christ. The Lord had opened His heart to me through His Word, and as I began to take on His heart, meal-by- meal and day-by-day, I found peace and contentment in the secret, abiding place of intimate fellowship with my Lord. And when the 40 days were coming to a close (the time went by so quickly!), I couldn't bear the thought of going back to my former ways. I didn't want this time to end and I wanted every believer to experience the sweet intimate fellowship with God that I had found.
During those first 40 days the Lord revealed, through my own personal journey with Him, a divine process which would become a helpful guide to lead other believers through their own personal 40-day period of consecration: A pattern of feasting at the bountiful banqueting table of the King of kings three times a day; trusting Him as our faithful Provider to nourish us spiritual meal-by-spiritual meal with His satisfying, sustaining and fulfilling Word; enjoying wondrous communion in prayer, and growing in increasing fellowship with our Savior and Lord day-by-day for 40 days to develop a disciplined life-style of dependence upon the Lord. The Lord had used that time to prepare me to birth a ministry which would provide the necessary guidance and spiritual nourishment for believers "when they fast". Under the Old Covenant, fasting was primarily utilized in times of crisis or national emergency (Esther 4:16; 2 Chronicles 20:3; Nehemiah 1:4), but under the New Covenant, Jesus said there would be a time for fasting:
"The time will come when the Bridegroom will be taken from them;
then they will fast."
(Matthew 9:15)
We live in the age of grace - a new era has been inaugurated by our Redeemer. We do not need to put on sackcloth and ashes to gain the attention of God. On the contrary, we are to "put oil on our head and wash our face" and live in joyful expectation of the return of our Bridegroom. The way we dress, eat, and live should express our whole-hearted devotion to our True Husband. We fast, not to get more out of God, but to get more of God into us. God cares about the interior life. He is concerned about our spiritual life and He deposited His Holy Spirit within us to help guide us in all the ways of holiness. He desires that we would be saturated with holy influences. When the disciples sought the Lord with prayer and fasting, they did so to submit themselves under the Spirit's influence in appointing new leadership. The Lord desires that we be wholly consecrated to His service and He gave us His Holy Spirit to be our faithful guide (Acts 13:2-3; 14:23). "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit," says the LORD Almighty" (Zechariah 4:6).
Forty days is God's redemptive time frame in history: He flooded the earth in Noah's day, and He relented and revived the people of Nineveh in Jonah's day. Forty days was God's chosen period of preparation in the lives of Moses, Elijah and Jesus to inaugurate a new era of commitment to God. I have personally witnessed what is possible in 40 days if we are simply willing to trust God. And I have heard testimony after testimony from believers all across this nation who have fanned the flame of passion in their hearts after walking through that door to feast at the table of the Lord (Revelation 3:19-20). When the Family Foundation of Virginia asked me to write the devotional for the 40-day call to prayer, fasting and repentance for marriage, the Lord spoke to my heart to write this journey in accordance with the pattern He had given me for every journey He assigned me to write these past seven years. The call to fast for marriage is a call to return to our First Love (Revelation 2:4-5). That trumpet sound has been echoing across the ages. "Return to Me,' declares the LORD Almighty, 'and I will return to you,' says the LORD Almighty" (Zechariah 1:3). He consistently calls us to deeper intimacy and dependence upon the Lord through His Holy Spirit. Our marriages are an echo of that greater more holy and sacred union of Christ and His Church (Ephesians 5:22-32). The Lord has been wooing His Bride back to her Bridal Chamber for a time of preparation and purification. We are His Bride, we have been wed to Christ, and we are to live as a faithful and devoted wife while we await His return. We are not married to this world - we should not be so enamored with it. Our heart is reserved for Christ alone. We should be feasting at His table daily, trusting in His promises whether in prosperity or persecution, and living holy and pure lives in complete devotion and dependence upon our Beloved Bridegroom. Our commitment and allegiance is to Him alone. He is a jealous Husband, and He will not share us with anyone (Deuteronomy 4:24). He will not tolerate divided affections. We were bought with a price and sealed for the day of His return (1Corinthians 6:19-20; 7:23). We should be living and working each day in anticipation of His return - desiring that He be glorified when He comes and finds a faithful, purified and prepared Bride. May we honor Him with our commitment today! May we finally respond to that trumpet sound! May our hearts be in anguish until we respond affirmatively to the cry of our Bridegrooms' heart! "Oh, my anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain. Oh, the agony of my heart! My heart pounds within me, I cannot keep silent. For I have heard the sound of the trumpet; I have heard the battle cry" (Jeremiah 4:19).
The Lord is giving us a wonderful opportunity with these 40 days to return to Him with all our heart. These are 40 holy days - sacred days that have been set apart for God's divine purpose. We have an extraordinary opportunity to not only transform our own lives, marriages, and families in 40 days, but also bring healing, wholeness, and unity to the Body of Christ which will in turn bring healing to our land - but each member must be willing to do his or her part. "Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful" (1 Corinthians 4:2). We all are vital members of His Body (1 Corinthians 12:18-20). We all need strengthening, refreshing, encouraging, and healing. It's time to reconnect to the Head, which is Christ Jesus, and let Him be our eyes, our ears, our mouth, and our mind these 40 days. Let us learn to be still and cultivate the silence in which God can be heard, and give the Holy Spirit room to breathe fresh life upon the Body of Christ these 40 days as He feeds and nourishes us in the wisdom and knowledge of Jesus Christ and sets our hearts on fire with His all-consuming love.
Whether we already have a deep, abiding, intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, or we are desperate for more of Him in our lives - this journey is meant to fill and refresh us for the journey ahead. The Lord is looking for those hearts which are fully yielded to Him so He can strengthen them in this hour (2 Chronicles 16:9). Whatever the outcome of this journey - only God knows - but one thing is for certain: We will have an encounter with Jesus Christ, and our lives will never be the same! The Lord wants to draw us into the depths of that more perfect union with Him and unite us together as His Body. These 40-days present a divine opportunity to bless our Bridegroom by giving Him what He desires most of all - uninterrupted, whole-hearted fellowship with His Bride. He loves us so much. Let us give back to Him a sacrifice of praise these 40 days, and worship Him with our whole bodies - and with the whole Body!
No time in history has the Church been able to gather together in one place at one time like they did when the Church was first born (Acts 2:1!). Until now! We have a divine opportunity in this technologically advanced era to be on the same page of the Word of God, and in the Presence of God in corporate prayer, every day for 40 days! "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will" (Romans 12:1-2). Pray that the Holy Spirit would reveal what He would have you to do, and who He would have you share these 40 Holy Days with. May He be glorified in our response!
40 HOLY Days to A More Perfect Union
August 27th through October 5th
1.
Register today for the Holy devotional email journey - click
HERE.
2. Invite your pastor, church, family and friends to participate - every member of the Body praying together is necessary to build a whole and healthy Body!
3.Day One - on August 27th you will receive the first of 40 daily devotionals via email. Each daily devotional will include 3 spiritual meals to help build a disciplined lifestyle of dependence upon the Lord as we seek Him morning, noon, and night just as Daniel did. May we have the devotion of Daniel, who not only resolved to not be defiled by the immoral world he was forced to live in, but he also made a conscious decision to live a life of holiness and prayer (Daniel 6:10). Take each day as it comes - one day at a time. You will want to have your Bible and a prayer journal with you, and you may also want to print out your emails (some "feasters" like to put them in a three-ring binder).
4. Day 39 - Encourage your church to become a House of Prayer for all nations on October 4th - The Day of Atonement - The Great Day of Intercession. God appointed one fast day a year for His people under the Old Covenant - the Day of Atonement - the holiest day of the Jewish year. At the end of this 40 day period of consecration, we are asking the Body of Christ to unite together in corporate prayer and fasting for this one day, to intercede, on behalf our communities, our country, and our world. [Recommendations and details for the Great Day of Intercession will be available on our online information page in the upcoming weeks].
5. Day 40 - on Sunday, October 5th, we are encouraging Pastors all across the nation to participate in Pulpit Freedom Sunday and preach God's message on Marriage (http://www.speakupmovement.org/church/LearnMore/details/4702 );
and to unite in prayer for the Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem.
(http://www.daytopray.com/Learn/about ) [More details about this Final Feast day will be available on our information page in the coming weeks].
"Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy;
without holiness no one will see the Lord.
See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root
grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is
sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau...You have not come to a
mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to
darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice
Speaking words that those who heard it begged that no
further word be spoken to them...But you have come to Mount Zion,
to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God.
You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful
assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are
written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men,
to the spirits of righteous men made perfect,
to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled
blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
See to it that you do not refuse Him who speaks....
now He has promised,
"Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens."
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken,
let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,
for our "God is a consuming fire."
(Hebrews 12:14-16, 18-19, 22-26, 28-29)
Open wide your hearts!
(Psalm 24:7-10)
Traci Alexander
Trumpet and Torch Ministries
Questions about the Family Foundation 40 Days of Prayer, Fasting and Repentance for Marriage email Roger@FamilyFoundation.org
Questions about the 40 Day HOLY devotional email journey and/or fasting email traci@trumpetandtorch.org or click HERE
