Join Us Here for the Next 40 Days Starting March 17, 2011

Visit us here each day during the next 40 days for guidance and suggestions. We'll post a short passage along with a few questions to prompt your heart and mind as you seek the heart of Jesus.

Feel free to share your thoughts here too. We'd love to hear what the Lord is teaching you, how He's guiding and leading you during this time. Post passages that He's using in your life, quotes from authors, or blog posts that particularly encourage you as you worship and pray. You can comment as often as you'd like, and you can follow others on their journey too.

Remember to involve others in your 40 day journey - your ministry teams, families, roommates, ministry partners, small groups. We want to encourage you to worship Him in community.

Preparing for 40 Days of Worshiping the Lord Together

Seeking the Heart of Jesus March 17 - April 25

We'd love you to join us in worshiping the Lord together in the coming weeks. It is our desire to encourage you to take additional time, in the midst of your full schedules, to worship and seek the heart of Jesus in a more focused way.

As we approach this special time together, we encourage you to take this opportunity to turn your attention to God and prepare your hearts. This is not about us, it's not about what we have done or not done. It is all about seeking the heart of Jesus.

Let's take the next week to allow the Lord to speak to and prepare us to pray in unity all across the U.S. Ministries beginning on March 17. The writer to the Hebrews points us in the right direction for our first week of heart preparation:

Therefore then, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who have borne testimony to the Truth], let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us,

Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]. He, for the joy [of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:1-2 Amplified Version).

Let's spend the time doing exactly what is suggested in Hebrews:

• What encumbrances need to be thrown aside?
• What sin clings to and entangles you?
• Consider what distracts you from Jesus?
• Worship our risen Lord seated at the right hand of the throne of God!

During our 40 Days of Worship, we'll provide resources right here, on this page, to act as a catalyst for worship. Come back each day and we will highlight a particular passage from scripture and will provide questions to help you seek the heart of Jesus. You can interact with others through Facebook comments on the bottom of the pages on our site.

Feel free to use whatever motivates you and your friends, team, or ministry to seek the Lord during this time. You can join with staff and volunteers, friends and family from around the nation and use these resources in whatever way best suits your needs.

So, please, take some time and ask God how He'd have you use the 40 Days of Worshiping the Lord Together in your family devotionals, with your roommate, or alongside your ministry team.

In addition, consider seriously this opportunity to fast. You don't have to necessarily fast only from food, but from anything that distracts you from a complete focus on Jesus. Perhaps the Lord would have you fast from different forms of media or regular activities. The purpose for any kind of fast is to free you up and sharpen your focus, either mentally or physically, on Him. Take note that fasting isn't about getting God's approval, but rather clearing hearts, minds, and schedules for Him.

Read 7 Steps to Fasting if you're interested in learning more about food fasts.