(Mt 4:1–4) Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,

“ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”

1) The wilderness is a place of examination

Ex 16:1 They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. 2 And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, 3 and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

2) The wilderness is a place of revelation
“If you are the Son of God”

3) The wilderness is a place of foundation

(Dt 8:1–3) And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. 3 And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

That which has been fully tested can be fully trusted

UNITE714
Weekly Prayer
20 through 26 September

So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church. Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands. And the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.” When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. Recognizing Peter's voice, in her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. They said to her, “You are out of your mind.” But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, “It is his angel!”Acts 12:5-15 (ESV)

THE PRAYER

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the privilege and the power of coming before Your throne in prayer. We are also grateful for the transformative power released when even two people come before Your throne in unity and agreement. Today, we come boldly into Your presence, not as one person, or even a small group of people. We come before You representing thousands of people around the world from 179 nations. Today, with one unified voice, we ask that this prayer echo through the corridors of heaven and shake the gates of hell.

Lord, eradicate COVID-19, and heal our cities and nations from its ravages.

The early church was in a dire state. James had been brutally murdered. Peter was in a heavily guarded prison. He was hours away from death, and there was no natural hope for his deliverance. Surely the church was laden with sorrow and hopelessness. Yet, they rose up and earnestly prayed in the face of impossibility. Today, we need miraculous deliverance, too. We have been stalked by a brutal pandemic and are isolated from one another through quarantines and lockdowns. Our economies and cultures have been shaken. You are the only answer.

Today, we rise up out of hopelessness and despair, asking You, Heavenly Father, to miraculously deliver our world through a fresh outpouring of Your Spirit.

Peter’s deliverance is a testimony to Your greatness. The angel of the Lord appeared in Peter’s cell. His chains fell off. Until Peter got out of the prison and into the streets, however, he thought he was dreaming. If You can deliver Peter, You can deliver us—and those we love—from anything imprisoning them. United prayer is the key that unlocks prison doors!

Lord, free us from chains of despair, depression, and fear. Only You can set people free from their prisons of sin and death. Revive Your church, we pray, and embolden us to proclaim the gospel.

Heavenly Father, even though we are praying, it is often a battle to keep believing. We are encouraged by the fact that even when Peter was standing at the door of the prayer meeting, those inside praying did not believe it was him. Today, we cry out with one voice, “Lord, webelieve, help our unbelief.” We know that even in our weakness, You are strong. In the name of Your Son, Jesus, hear our prayers.

Lord, we desperately cry out for a revival that will awaken Your church and save millions. Heal our fractured nations. As we all turn to You in repentance and faith, reconcile our divisions.

#UNITE714