In my Christmas Parallels series which is now a book, I mentioned the Consolation of Israel story from Luke 2 in the midst of the Christmas season.

In prayer today the Lord brought this back to me because of many factors today which are pertinent. The Consolation of Israel was a aspiration which God was to restore the fortunes of Israel under occupation from the Romans. We see Anna the prophetess almost living in the Temple for 84 had a routine of prayer and fasting and was living through the most turbulent times of history. In that time whilst Anna prayed Herod came to demolish Zerrubabel’s temple and build his own, which took 46 years to build. In the midst of the building work, there Anna continued to pray.

In the place Anna persevered in prayer so she received in that same place the manifestation and fulfilment of her prayers in the Person of Jesus.

My question today was where did Anna pray? The Temple! Where did Jesus appear as a baby? The Temple. I began to see what God was deciphering to my finite mind His purpose. The place we stay for prayer is the very place God will come to us…with His answer. It may not come in the form we expect. Jesus was a baby, yet Anna with the experience of her prayer walk, her journey, she was able to see past the baby to the reality of who He really was!

The Consolation of Israel was to prepare for Jesus’ first coming, the Consolation of the Church is God’s new aspiration to us for His next coming to His Church!

The Lord made me see that the Consolation of Israel was a spiritual one not a warfare or political one, just that the Jews did not recognise it. I believe that Jesus is wanting to come again, not His final appearing as Scripture points to, but we have reached a point in the nations where a radical return to prayer is needed, where we NEED TO CONTEMPLATE LIVING IN THAT PLACE OF PRAYER. It took Anna 84 years to see her prayers answered. We do not know how long it would take. The Hebrides Revival of 1948 in Barvas, took 5 months to pray down a visitation to a Church of Scotland company, two ladies in a cottage, and 5 men in a barn. The Glory came when they received revelation from God’s Word.

We have come to a crossroads as a global society of tech and the current pandemic, political unrest, social unrest. Unless the CONSOLATION OF THE CHURCH is not prayed through we will see major judgment.

What will this new radical return to prayer look like?

I believe that we cannot have Church as usual. We cannot continue to preach bless me messages as we have always done. We need to preach the Word as it is. We need to train people to enter into a work of intercession and prayer, making prayer a lifestyle. We need to mark TODAY: TODAY I WILL GET A HOLD OF GOD IN PRAYER FOR HIM TO GRANT TO US THE CONSOLATION OF THE CHURCH. I WILL NOT GIVE UP IN MY WALK OF PRAYER, EVEN IF THE WALLS AND DOORS ARE DEMOLISHED AROUND ME, EVEN IF ARMIES COME TO OCCUPY MY CITY, MY NATION, I WILL PRAY THROUGH FOCUSSING ON THE CONSOLATION OF THE CHURCH.

I have made that commitment. Are you ready to answer this call?

Shalom!

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