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4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted[a]by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” 4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’[b]” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’[c]” 7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’[d]” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” 10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’[e]” 11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
This week we are looking at the life of Jesus and how he prayed. We have passages like the Lord’s Prayer where we see HOW to pray, but have you ever studied what Jesus modeled as He prayed?
That’s our goal this week, to set aside parts of our life to be intentional when it comes to prayer and fasting. And this is something that Jesus modeled for us. Luke writes in 5:16, “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”
We see again in Mark 1:35, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” We see Jesus throughout the Gospel make time to meet with and pray to God. Even in Matthew 4, we see this and then Jesus being tempted. I don’t want to focus on the temptation right now, but I want to focus on the intentionality of Jesus.
Jesus modeled that intentionality is vital to the life of a believer. My heart's cry for you over the next 21 days is that you take this time to be just as intentional as Jesus was here on earth.
I want to encourage you to sacrifice. Not just a sacrifice to sacrifice, but a sacrifice of devotion to your savior. Make time to pray every day. You see it’s the intentional time with God that prepares you for what the future holds.
Over these next three weeks, let’s go all out with our intentional prayers.
God we thank you for your goodness today. We thank you that you sent Jesus so that we could live. God over these next 21 days would you change in my heart how I approach you. Would you grow in me a desire to be intentional in prayer, in the pursuit of your word, and in the discipline of fasting. Would you use these next 21 days to take my relationship with you deeper. Would you remind me of your love and your compassion. Father I ask that you would move not only in me but in my church as well. For your glory, and for our benefit. Amen.