40 Days of Prayer
“Prayer is not simply something I’m allowed to do as a Christian,” Milton Vincent writes in his book A Gospel Primer; “prayer is actually one of the great purposes for which God chose to save me. … I was saved to pray; and whenever I come into God’s presence to behold Him, worship Him, or make request of Him, I am arriving at the pinnacle of God’s saving purposes for me.”
Vincent continues,
“God is radically committed to my life of prayer. He shed the blood of His Son so that I might be cleansed and rendered fit to stand before Him in love. He also permitted the brutal rending of His Son so that I might now have a way into the Holy Place through the torn flesh of Jesus. ‘Draw near’ He says in Hebrews 4; ‘draw near’ He says in Hebrews 10; ‘pray without ceasing’ He urges elsewhere. How can I not feel the infinite sincerity of these invitations, especially when considering the painful lengths that God endured so that I might enter His presence in prayer?”
Milton Vincent is right. God has saved us to enter His presence in prayer, and He has called us together as a church to be “a house of prayer for all peoples” (Isaiah 56:7).
On Wednesday, February 24th, we will begin our annual 40 Days of Prayer. Concluding on Easter Sunday (April 4th), this 40 day period is a time of focused prayer for our families, our church, our neighbors, our nation, and our world.
How can you join in?
Pick up the book. This year’s book that we’ll read together is Megan Hill’s very helpful, very practical book, Praying Together. Copies of this book will be available in the Welcome Center for $5.00 beginning this Sunday, February 21st. Read the book during these 40 Days as we seek to grow as a praying church.
Pray with us. Grab a copy of the 2021 40 Days Prayer Guide, available for free this coming Sunday. Keep it in your Bible and pray daily along with the church.
Pray for your one. Who is someone you know – perhaps a family member or a friend, a coworker or a classmate – who is far from God? Would you commit to pray daily for that person during these 40 Days leading up to Easter Sunday? Would you pray for an opportunity to share Christ with that person, and invite them to join us in-person or online on Easter Sunday, April 4th?
If you are at home and have not yet returned to in-person worship, you can stop by the office during the week next week (or any time during the 40 Days of Prayer) to pick up your copy of the 40 Days Prayer Guide and the book Praying Together. Additionally, we will email out a link to the church with a .pdf copy of the 40 Days Prayer Guide and, if you’d prefer, you can order your copy of Praying Together online from 10ofthose or Amazon.
The promises of God concerning prayer are rich and sweet. In his kindness, he has promised to hear and to answer, to be near and to comfort, to heal and to strengthen, to send out laborers for the harvest and to open the eyes of our hearts, all in response to the prayers of his people. So join with us as we pray together.
Bert Watts has served since December 2016 as the Senior Pastor at Mountain Creek Baptist Church, where he has been on staff since 2012.
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