40 Days of Prayer 2024

40 Days of Prayer

December 24, 2023

Happy New Year and welcome to 40 Days of Prayer 2024! Our theme this year is now. pray. This is appropriate since, as The Christian and Missionary Alliance, we are engaged in the now. strategy. As we’ll see, now is a word and concept that appears in Scripture. The word now can communicate our current reality—what we are now. It can also communicate a sense of urgency—what we need to do now. We’ll see both of these aspects of the word now surface during these days of focused prayer

Wake Up Now - Stop Pressing The Snooze Button!

December 31, 2023 • Pastor Gary Barber • Romans 13, Philippians 3, Hebrews 11

Welcome to The Oaks Community Church. We are glad you have chosen to worship with us as we join thousands of members of the Christian and Missionary Alliance around the United States in our annual series called “40 DAYS OF PRAYER.” This is a six-week series and this year’s theme is NOW. Today Pastor Gary Barber is preaching from Romans 13, Philippians 3, and Hebrews 11. His sermon is titled “Wake Up Now - Stop Pressing The Snooze Button!” Download our app to view weekly videos and devotionals for the 40 Days of Prayer series. May God richly bless you and give you a greater understanding of His love for you and His plan for your life. Be sure to open the Worship Guide by pressing the link below. You can also download and print it if you wish. And press the link “I Am Watching Today!” and it will open your messaging app. We would love to know you are watching with us. Send us your name and email address. And if you have any questions or need prayer press that link also. It will send a text that will be given to one of our pastors/ministers and be kept private. Be sure to give us your name so we can contact you for follow-up. God bless you.

Week 1 Devotionals

December 31, 2023 • Romans 13:11

Every day, we wake up and go through our day full of tasks. In Romans 13:11, God calls us to spiritually wake up now: “Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.” Each day that passes is a day closer to when we will experience the culmination of our salvation as we are with our Savior for all eternity. As we begin our 40 Days of Prayer, let’s take time to prepare ourselves spiritually through activities we experience on a daily basis. We begin our day with opening our eyes to His reality around us and surrendering ourselves anew to all He has for us. So, as we go throughout our week, let’s wake up now to the reality that salvation is near.

Pray Now - Stretching Out In Prayer Together

January 7, 2024 • Pastor Gary Barber • Acts 12

Welcome to The Oaks Community Church. We are glad you have chosen to worship with us as we join thousands of members of the Christian and Missionary Alliance around the United States in our annual series called “40 DAYS OF PRAYER.” This is a six-week series and this year’s theme is NOW. Today Pastor Gary Barber is preaching from Acts 12. His sermon is titled “Pray Now - Stretching Out In Prayer Together.” Download our app to view weekly videos and devotionals for the 40 Days of Prayer series. May God richly bless you and give you a greater understanding of His love for you and His plan for your life. Be sure to open the Worship Guide by pressing the link below. You can also download and print it if you wish. And press the link “I Am Watching Today!” and it will open your messaging app. We would love to know you are watching with us. Send us your name and email address. And if you have any questions or need prayer press that link also. It will send a text that will be given to one of our pastors/ministers and be kept private. Be sure to give us your name so we can contact you for follow-up. God bless you. NOTE: If the live stream freezes and does not restart in seconds (or when you press/click on the play icon) then close your browser or the app and reopen it.

Week 2 Devotionals

January 7, 2024 • Luke 18:1

Always includes now. Jesus’ prescription for whatever we’re facing right now is prayer. There should always be this sense of urgency within us to seek the Father for His help, direction, and power. James echoes this when he writes, “Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray” (James 5:13a). Prayer should be our first reaction, not our last resort. That is part of what the Lord wants to teach us as we begin another year in prayer as the Alliance family. In the face of challenging circumstances, we’re all apt to shift immediately into problem-solving mode, trying to bring our resources to bear on the issue, only to find ourselves overmatched. As we ask the Lord instead, we turn our attention and faith to the unlimited resources of our Almighty God. “Lord, teach us to pray!”

Week 3 Devotionals

January 14, 2024

God created us to be His possession and for His glory. However, sin separated us from the holy God, and all of us fall short of His glory. But through God’s grace, we have been justified freely through the redemption that came through Jesus Christ. Because of what Jesus did on the Cross, we are now reconciled with our Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ. As joint heirs with Christ, we share the “glory of Christ,” which God the Father gave to Jesus. Hence, we are now His! We are His chosen people, royal priesthood, holy nation, special possessions, sheep, messengers, and masterpieces.

Worship Now - Why and How We Worship

January 21, 2024 • Pastor Gary Barber

Welcome to The Oaks Community Church. We are glad you have chosen to worship with us as we join thousands of members of the Christian and Missionary Alliance around the United States in our annual series called “40 DAYS OF PRAYER.” This is a six-week series and this year’s theme is NOW. This Week the theme is WORSHIP NOW, and Pastor Gary Barber is preaching. His sermon is titled “Why & How We Worship.” Download our app to view weekly videos and devotionals for the 40 Days of Prayer series. NOTE: If the live stream freezes and does not restart in seconds (or when you press/click on the play icon) then close your browser or the app and reopen it. May God richly bless you and give you a greater understanding of His love for you and His plan for your life. Be sure to open the Worship Guide by pressing the link below. You can also download and print it if you wish. And press the link “I Am Watching Today!” and it will open your messaging app. We would love to know you are watching with us. Send us your name and email address. And if you have any questions or need prayer press that link also. It will send a text that will be given to one of our pastors/ministers and be kept private. Be sure to give us your name so we can contact you for follow-up. God bless you.

Week 4 Devotionals

January 21, 2024

The Lord desires hearts that authentically worship Him. Whether it be in song, conversation, prayer, or art, worship is an expression of gratitude, thankfulness, and love towards God, our Father. He is seeking people who worship Him with sincerity and authenticity, and in order to do so, our hearts must be surrendered completely to Him. We are called to fear the Lord, serve Him, and hold fast to His promises and truth (Deut. 6:13). Everything we do—really, all we are—should flow out of an abundance of praise and worship to the Lord. Let us surrender together, in humble submission to the Lord Jesus, and worship Him in spirit and in truth.

Family Now

January 28, 2024 • Pastor Kelli Mireles

Welcome to The Oaks Community Church. We are glad you have chosen to worship with us as we join thousands of members of the Christian and Missionary Alliance around the United States in our annual series called “40 DAYS OF PRAYER.” This is a six-week series and this year’s theme is NOW. Today Minister Kelli Mireles is preaching and her sermon is titled “Family Now.” Download our app to view weekly videos and devotionals for the 40 Days of Prayer series. NOTE: If the live stream freezes and does not restart in seconds (or when you press/click on the play icon) then close your browser or the app and reopen it. May God richly bless you and give you a greater understanding of His love for you and His plan for your life. Be sure to open the Worship Guide by pressing the link below. You can also download and print it if you wish. And press the link “I Am Watching Today!” and it will open your messaging app. We would love to know you are watching with us. Send us your name and email address. And if you have any questions or need prayer press that link also. It will send a text that will be given to one of our pastors/ministers and be kept private. Be sure to give us your name so we can contact you for follow-up. God bless you.

Week 5 Devotionals

Families are important for growing, celebrating, enjoying, finding love, communication, safety, and a sense of belonging. However, many forces in the world seek to tear families apart. Similarly, there are competing forces that aim to separate the family of God, even though we share the same Father. In these troublesome yet encouraging times, as brothers and sisters in Christ, we must now safeguard and strengthen the Body of Christ. Let each one of us continue to grow strong and thereby grow together as the family of God serving out the purposes of God.

Evangelize Now

February 4, 2024 • Pastor Jose Doniz • Matthew 28:18–20

Welcome to The Oaks Community Church. We are glad you have chosen to worship with us as we join thousands of members of the Christian and Missionary Alliance around the United States in our annual series called “40 DAYS OF PRAYER.” This is a six-week series and this year’s theme is NOW. This week Pastor Jose Doniz is preaching on Matthew 28:18-20 and his sermon is titled “Evangelize NOW.” Download our app to view weekly videos and devotionals for the 40 Days of Prayer series. Look for “The Oaks Bakersfield” in your app store. May God richly bless you and give you a greater understanding of His love for you and His plan for your life. Be sure to open the Worship Guide by pressing the link below. You can also download and print it if you wish. And press the link “I Am Watching Today!” and it will open your messaging app. We would love to know you are watching with us. Send us your name and email address. And if you have any questions or need prayer press that link also. It will send a text that will be given to one of our pastors/ministers and be kept private. Be sure to give us your name so we can contact you for follow-up. God bless you. NOTE: If the live stream freezes and does not restart in seconds (or when you press/click on the play icon) then close your browser or the app and reopen it.

Week 6 Devotionals

Queen Esther risked everything to go before the king to help bring salvation to her people. There was a point when she said it was time to act. Her mentor, Mordecai, said, “Who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14). In our world today, people are desperate for rescue from empty lives and fears that plague them. 2 Corinthians 6:2 says that the time of God’s favor and the day of salvation is now. Let’s pray powerful prayers asking God to use us for such a time as this in our society to share His salvation, that people will receive His love for them