“And he said, "Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel.”
Isaiah 7:13-14 ESV

Immanuel - “God With Us"

Mary was the first to experience Emmanuel… Before it was God with us, it was God in her.

“In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!" But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?" And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God." And Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.”
Luke 1:26-38 ESV

3 Things Mary Said Yes to that we don’t sing about

She said yes To Ridicule

She said Yes To Rejection

Mary was the first person persecuted for having Christ living on the inside.

She said Yes To Ruin

Mary would have had it no other way

“And Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word."
Luke 1:38 ESV

Her Yes changed everything…

Because of the Ridicule I have Reward

Mt 5:11–12 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven

Because of the Rejection I have Refuge

39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be[g] a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

(She found refuge with Elizabeth)

The Lord gives us a circle to run in… those who will understand what is growing within us, because they two have something supernatural growing within them

Because of the Ruin I have Revival

Mary was the first person to carry global revival in her womb. She had to guard that precious seed… through ridicule, rejection, and ruin… enemy tried to kill it, but she guarded him.

Likewise, you carry a life altering event within you!

UNITE714
Weekly Prayer
22 through 28 November

Blessed be the Lord, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me when I was in a besieged city. I had said in my alarm, “I am cut off from your sight.” But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy when I cried to you for help.Psalm 31:21-22 (ESV)

And the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: On what do you rest this trust of yours? Do you think that mere words are strategy and power for war? In whom do you now trust, that you have rebelled against me?’”...“Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there, or come before it with a shield or cast up a siege mound against it. By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, declares the Lord. For I will defend this city to save it, for My own sake and for the sake of my servant David.”And that night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians… 2 Kings 18:19-20, 19:32-35 (ESV)

THE PRAYER

We feel besieged on every side, Lord, like the psalmist above. It is easy to feel cut off from Your sight when we are stalked by a relentless pandemic and face shattered economies and fractured social structures. If this situation was not dire enough, many of our precious brothers and sisters around the world are facing hunger, persecution, and even war. Yet, we choose to believe that You will hear our cries for mercy.

Heavenly Father, in the midst of the siege warfare being waged against us, please show us the miraculous wonders of Your love. You have heard our cries for mercy. Even as You have mitigated COVID-19, we now ask You to eradicate it, for nothing is too difficult for You.

Lord, when the armies of Assyria were preparing to besiege Jerusalem, all hope for God’s people seemed gone. The devil’s strategy has not changed. He is still mocking us for trusting in Your Word. Your answer has not changed, either. Even as You destroyed the armies of Assyria, You will destroy the besieging forces arrayed against us now.

Lord, we renounce the enemy’s lies. Your Word is the most powerful strategic weapon of war in history. When we speak Your Word, the enemy trembles. When we pray Your Word, the gates of hell are shattered, and Your Kingdom advances. We come before Your throne as a mighty army, washed in the blood of the Lamb. May the war cry of this prayer resound throughout the courts of Heaven; may it pierce the darkness which blinds our world. Lord, shatter the dark forces that besiege us, grant us a fresh outpouring of Your Holy Spirit, and heal our shattered nations. In Jesus’ name. Amen.