How many of us remember the story of the Israelites being in the wilderness for 40 years and immediately feel a pit in our stomachs? It can be hard to wrap our heads around the fact that a journey that should have taken mere days lasted four decades.
However, we often ignore that those 40 years were crucial for the Israelites' development. Those years of waiting allowed the LORD to wean them off of what they'd learned during more than 400 years of living in Egypt. They needed to learn to trust God and obey Him, instead of resorting to what they knew from their past.
Many of us are equally walking around in the wilderness waiting to step into our promised land. The journey isn't fun and sometimes we wonder when it will come to an end so we can enjoy the promises and goodness we expect from God.
However, just as God needed to purge 'Egypt' out of the Israelites' system, He needs to purge things from our past out of us. He needs to teach us how to rely on Him solely for everything just as the Israelites had to lean on him for food, water, and safety in the desert.
Sure, we all think we've been in the wilderness for long enough. That is understandable because the wilderness is not a comfortable place to be in. As far as we're concerned, we're ready to step into the land of milk and honey. But are we?
Despite what we think, only God knows the appropriate time for each of us to step into His promises. He alone knows the processes we must go through to be properly prepared. And while He is working on us in the wilderness, it is best to submit to His will. We need to let Him mold us into the version of ourselves that best reflects His glory. That way, when we enter the Promised Land, we won't stray from Him. Instead, having been well-trained, we will walk with Him faithfully and consistently. And His glory will rise and remain on us as a result.
May the Lord wean us of what needs to go and be glorified so we enter and remain in the Promised Land well trained by His grace and to His glory, IJMN Amen.
From C - Heavenly Father we thank you for your faithfulness mercy and goodness. For all you’ve done Abba you’re God and forever will be, Lord i uplift into your arms the people of Palestine in this moment of grief and war, that peace prevails, that you cover them with your powerful and mighty hand, Lord Muslim, Christian or Jew I know that in your eyes they are your creation and their blood shed out of men’s greed isn’t Your will! Abba I lift into your heart all the orphaned children the widowed the parents left without their children and everyone affected by this war. We pray for peace and that you mighty God end this war in Jesus name Amen
From M78 - @FFJ I just want to sincerely say God bless you and make his face to shine upon you and grant you the desires of your heart. May you never lack any good thing and may God endow you with grace to endure and remain committed and faithful to him always in Jesus mighty name.
I wish I knew you personally because I can tell you are truly committed to the Lord Jesus. Matthew 7:16 says we shall know them by their fruit and your fruit is evident.
I completely resonated with your testimony in the altar call today. Every word you said is what I went through! A few years back I thought I knew what it means to be a Christian and that I was in good standing but I was deceiving myself. The devil and those working with him came swiftly to take me out. Worst spiritual warfare I've ever been in to this day. BUT GOD! The Lord saved me and every time I think of who I was and where I was before, compared to me today, I'm in tears and give him all the praise and glory!
Thank you for this encouraging word today. I mostly avoid this site to guard my eyes from the stuff I'd see but I've certainly been encouraged any time I pop in to your Praise & Pray sessions. I pray you never get weary in well doing so that you can reap a bountiful harvest.
From UNCG - Praising him with you!!!
From BI - Lord, I pray another pandemic will not arise again. I pray that love and not fear, go viral. You are a faithful Father who does not abandon His children. Breathe within Your children, breathe among Your children and around Your children. Protect them from whatever seeks to spread affliction. Uproot whatever You have not planted. Save Your people and bless Your possession IJMN Amen.
From AC- - El Gibbor, we turn to You during this hour of violence and conflict and pray over all innocent Christians, Jews, Muslims, Israelis, Palestinians, and foreigners in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank.
Please watch over Eli who has been called to fight for the IDF and my Palestinian friends and brothers in Christ in Bethlehem and their families, and cover them with Your protection, refuge, comfort, and strength. I also pray for the injured, those who mourn the loss of their loved ones, and all children facing the horror of violence and war. I pray for the safe return of all hostages and safe passage for the families who have been forced to flee their homes to the south of Gaza. I pray for world leaders and those in the region, that You may grant them wisdom and discernment and turn their hearts toward peace.
Please touch all sides in this conflict, pour out Your Shalom upon the Holy Land, and bring a new dawn of peace across the Middle East. May Your purpose be accomplished and Your will be done, for the sake of Your Kingdom. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen.
CLOSING PRAYER
Thank You God. The wilderness season is not friendly, but You have promised that for those who love You there are blessings and mercies coming. Your own love for us means that no matter the experience, You are with us. After all, the waters, the seas, and the fires cannot overwhelm us because You walk with us constantly. Hallelujah to the King of kings!
Almighty Father, may we remember that we are never alone in the wilderness. That it is a place to fortify us and improve us for Your purposes. You will get all the glory, Lord.
I thank You for those who participated today and call on You to cover them in Your grace and mercy. May they experience Your might and glory. May their hearts be encouraged and may they never forget that they serve the only true God. YAHWEH!
IJMN, I pray, Amen.
LAST 10 MINUTES
Did you read today's message? Take a second to think of what the Lord may be weaning you off of. For one person, it's the desire to steal, for another it's lust. It could be lying. It could be the incapacity to let God lead. God had to wean the Israelites off the leeks, fish and onions they'd come to love during their enslavement. He had to show them that they could no longer create idols. They had the God of gods as their Father.
God is doing the same for us in the wilderness. Let's pray about it together -
God, thank You for being so mindful of us. Thank You for taking responsibility for us, whereby You will not allow us to go through life without Your discipline and guidance.
Thank You for taking the time to keep us in waiting as You know it is for our good. Thank You for using that season to wean us off the things from our past that compete with You. Everything that could potentially create distance from You.
Heavenly Father, help us as we walk with You in this weaning season. As You purge us of what needs to go, please hold our hands and comfort us. Fill us with Your strength and keep us in Your constant embrace. Only You can get us through to the promises You have waiting on the other side of the Jordan River. Thank You God, IJMN we pray, Amen.
From BI - Lord, I pray another pandemic will not arise again. I pray that love and not fear, go viral. You are a faithful Father who does not abandon His children. Breathe within Yiur children, breathe among Your children and around Your children. Protect them from whatever seeks spread affliction. Uproot whatever You have not planted. Save Your people and bless Your possession IJMN Amen.
From AC - El Gibbor, we turn to You during this hour of violence and conflict and pray over all innocent Christians, Jews, Muslims, Israelis, Palestinians, and foreigners in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank.
Please watch over Eli who has been called to fight for the IDF and my Palestinian friends and brothers in Christ in Bethlehem and their families, and cover them with Your protection, refuge, comfort, and strength. I also pray for the injured, those who mourn the loss of their loved ones, and all children facing the horror of violence and war. I pray for the safe return of all hostages and safe passage for the families who have been forced to flee their homes to the south of Gaza. I pray for world leaders and those in the region, that You may grant them wisdom and discernment and turn their hearts toward peace.
Please touch all sides in this conflict, pour out Your Shalom upon the Holy Land, and bring a new dawn of peace across the Middle East. May Your purpose be accomplished and Your will be done, for the sake of Your Kingdom. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen.
Heavenly Father. I come against every act of the devil against Your children. You are the God who protects His own. Jehovah Sabaoth!
Lord, let the words in Psalm 53:5 remain the portion of all who contend with Your anointed - Terror will grip them, terror like they have never known before. God will scatter the bones of your enemies. You will put them to shame, for God has rejected them (New Living Translation).
Lord, as Your children walk through the wilderness with You, help them to remember that there is nothing You cannot do.
God, You showed the Israelites Your power regularly. The plagues, the parting of the Red Sea. The transformation of bitter water to sweet at Mara. You are the God who brought water out of a rock at Rephidim. You came down and spoke to them, causing the mountains to tremble in Your presence.
I pray for the eyes of Your children to be opened to see all that You are doing. May their eyes be opened to hear You moving in their midst. Heal all tendrils of disbelief, and may the evidence of Your works be clear for them to rely on even when it is tough.
For the devil seeks to use fear to make people think that there are limits to what You can do. But, You are the God who literally raised the dead and continues to do this in our day and age. You continue to heal the sick. You continue to lift the spirit of lack from people.
Your children will declare that when there is a casting down, for them, there is a lifting up because the God of impossibilities is at work in their life.
IJMN, Amen.
From sis FJ -
I come before You to pray for Your children.
The Bible confirms that You want them to be saved, and that whatever I ask according to Your will will be granted.
Father, Your word says "all who were appointed for eternal life believed" (Acts 13:48), and that "the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable". So Abba, I pray that You will rescue Your sheep and bring them all into Your fold. I know You care for Your children, because, Your word says "Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ... you are worth more than many sparrows" (Luke 12:7). So Lord, please "protect them from the evil one" in Jesus mighty name. amen.
From sis BI - Lord, lay Your healing hands on JO, MM, D, DM, IS, sis @AlexisColby, sis @Blossoms2, sis @ketys, sis @MamaFatCheeks and anyone else connected to this prayer platform in need of healing. I pray that You will visit them with Your supernatural peace and divine healing. Deliver them from all infirmities so they can function the way You created them to. Calm their hearts and quiet their fears. Lord, strengthen and uphold them. Assure them of Your great love and faithfulness. Mercifully and miraculously restore them to perfect health and may we return to rejoice in their testimonies IJMN Amen.
Step into the lives of Your children in a new way, Lord. In Isaiah 43:19, you told us, See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
Where others saw impossibility, You are creating possibilities for Your children. Open eyes to realize that in a time of shifting, there will be discomfort but You are doing a new thing that will benefit those who nest under Your mighty wings, IJMN, Amen.
From sis FJ - “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. -- romans 8:28
From BI - Thank You Lord for all You are doing in the lives of the people around me. Thank You for JO as You continue to breathe life into him. Thank You for all the testimonies I heard recently. You are the same yesterday, today and forever. Faithful and loving You are, full of mercy and compassion. Thank You El ROI!
PRAYER TIME
Time to turn our focus to prayers. Let us lift up others before the Lord. Pray for nations, pray for families, pray for your neighborhood, pray for your church.
Cover your friends in prayer. Cover your coworkers. Cover your classmates.
We act as intercessors standing in the breach for others.
Glory to You our Redeemer! You are Jehovah Kadosh - The Sacred God.
We can never praise You enough Abba Father but we take this opportunity to lift our voices, wave our hands, stamp our feet and speak in agreement that You are our great and wondrous King.
Father be forever glorified!
Thank You, for You are the Lord who changeth not.
2 Timothy 2:13 - If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself. (NKJV)
Malachi 3:6 - I the LORD do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.
Ecclesiastes 3:14 - I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.
Steadfast God! We praise Your Holy Name!
From BI - Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory
Honor and power
To the Lord, our God
For the Lord, our God is mighty
The Lord, our God is omnipotent
The Lord, our God
He is wonderful!
From AC - Thank You sis for today's lesson, because this struggle in the wilderness is too real right now :Cry Just when I think I have made it to the Promised Land, it appears not to be so. It's so hard and has me questioning many things (about me).
May God give all of us the strength to trust in His timing and walk in The Spirit as He leads us. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Luke 1:46-47 - “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
Hallelujah!!!
Thank You, Father, for being my God. The One in whom I can rejoice. The One who gives me reasons to smile and laugh and dance. Thank You, so much my King.
I give You all the glory, Jehovah. The God who makes a way when there is no way. He who foils the devices of the crafty and puts every enemy to shame.
Hallelujah!!!
From BI - Lord, Thank You for all that You do for me. Thank You for being my ever-present help. My rock, my strength and my deliverer. A million thanks will never suffice. Glory be to Your Holy Name forever and ever Amen
From AC - Thank You Abba for this beautiful Tuesday morning in late October. The sky is so clear today and as I sit in silence and listen to the birds chirping outside my window, while the sun shines through, I marvel at all of Your creation and I am in awe your Your glory, sovereignty, and splendour. You can never be praised enough, for there are no boundaries to Your greatness. Thank You for Your goodness and love that chases after us, even when we wander and stray away from You and thank You for the grace You lavish upon us when we falter and stumble in the wilderness. May You grow our faith in You alone and give us the strength to trust and believe in Your invisible power. In the name of Jesus, our risen Saviour, Amen.
PRAISE TIME
Glory be to God in the highest. Block every distraction. Ignore the pain and the pressure. Let us turn our eyes to the Lord as we worship Him and pray for others.
I know it isn't easy and the things going on around us conspire to keep our attention on everything else but Him, but the Lord will give You the grace to seek Him. Just ask.
With that said, let's get into praising the Lord for the next 25 minutes!
Please share what you are grateful for. Share your choice of praise music and let us fellowship together.
From CD - Thank You God for development! Thank You God for not giving me the things I ask for when I want them, but that You give them to me when it is best for me to have them! Thank You God for placing me in a circle of Christ-Followers who earnestly love You and seek to do Your will.
Family, I also ask that you join me in lifting up our amazing Sister @FFJ because I don't know if you all have given any thought to it or realize that as we are consistent in interceding in prayer for others (intercessory prayer), the enemy begins to target / attack us and / or our family in an effort to discourage us from being about our Father's business.
So Heavenly Father I come thanking You and asking for your continual coverage and protection, not only for the good Sis @FFJ, but for all who serve in the this ministry of prayer. IJN!!
From EC - Amen and good morning ladies!
From M22 - Thank you Abba for another beautiful fellowship day. We bless your name mighty God. We give you honori and Glory Abba. Amen.
Thank you so much for today's word sis @FFJ . You are always right on time. Today's message really resonates with me. When the year started, I was eager to leave the wilderness season but as time went on and I reflected on my life, I realized it was neccesary for me to let God do his work and not interfere in any way. I am reminded that even in the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil. I have realized that if God is not done working, I am not done waiting. I know external circumstances and seeing others grow can make us question why we are still in our wilderness season but like God reminded us in Isaiah 55:8-9, he's always intentional. I pray God will continue to humble us so when that time comes to cross into the promised land, we won't forget all he taught us in the wilderness. IJMN amen.
From BI - Thank You Lord for breathing life into me. Thank You for Your love, so great nothing can ever separate me from it. Thank You Abba Father for Your light that shines in the darkness and darkness cannot overcome it. Thank You for Your forgiveness and a chance for salvation. Thank You Almighty for protecting me and allowing me to dwell in Your Shadow. For all that You have done, all You are doing and all You are going to do in my life and destiny, I say Thank You Lord.
Thank you for today's word sis @FFJ. I always have to remind myself that when I fall back into sinful habits, all I am doing is prolonging my wait for answers and evidences. I know Abba disciplines and corrects out of His great love for His children. It is comforting to know that through our journey in the wilderness, God remains with us. May we be more attuned to the will of God and follow His path for our lives. Help us Lord to submit to You completely trusting in Your faithfulness. Thank You for being the God that makes a highway in the desert. When we reach our promised land, may we never put the gift before the giver. May Your perfect will be done in our lives IJMN Amen.