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Immediately the Spirit impelled Jesus into the wilderness, and He was in the wilderness forty days. MARK 1:12-13
The life and ministry of Jesus on the earth was spectacular. Had He a ministry newsletter, it would have read: “the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them.” But before Jesus “returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit” (Luke 4:14), the “Spirit impelled Him to go out into the wilderness” (Mark 1:12). Between the transitional moment of His public commissioning and His public ministry, there was a 40-day wilderness of fasting and prayer. Before God manifests His power, He first “impells” His Body into this same wilderness.
From the First and Second Great Awakenings in the 1700 and 1800’s to the Jesus Movement of the 1970’s, every great move of God has been preceded by great movements of prayer and fasting. God has impelled His people into this wilderness throughout church history, and they came forth in His power.
Historically, universities have been ground zero for such seasons of revival. In the words of Jonathan Edwards, “it all began with the young people.”
So it is true in our day. Before there can be any Jesus movement, there must come first a Jesus fast. As the Holy Spirit impelled Jesus into the wilderness, may the Lord impel us in this season of prayer and fasting.
Pray for more grace for fasting. Pray for believers on campus to get a vision for extended seasons of fasting and prayer to contend for breakthrough and revival. Pray for the Holy Spirit to give grace to students to grow in the discipline of fasting.
