Restore My Soul – 40 Days of Intimacy with God

When you hear 40 days in the bible you usually think of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness and Moses waiting and experiencing God on Mt Sinai. Both Jesus and Moses experienced testing and time alone with God which resulted in both of them being prepared to step out into their callings.

When I studied the life of the prophet Elijah I came to the scene where he was completely exhausted. He had ran in fear for his life from Jezebel, felt completely alone in his stand for God and prayed, “I have had enough, Lord,” asking that he might die. It was at this point that he too had a 40 days experience with God.

One commentator said that God gave Elijah a six week vacation. That got me thinking. What did Elijah do in that time? What did he experience? Did this time change him?

A few months ago I could have said the same thing, “I have had enough, Lord.” It was at that time that He graciously gave me my own 40 days of Intimacy with Him.

He took me from the circumstances that had been consuming me and placed me in a situation where I was given time to rest, renew and become restored.

During his 40 day experience Elijah had to learn to quite his heart and mind to hear God. The Lord sent a great and powerful wind that tore the mountains apart and shattered rocks, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. Elijah heard it.

Just like Elijah I needed time to quite my heart and mind so that I could hear what God wanted to say to me. It took time and each day was a gift. I became eager to know what God would say to me each new day and day by day the weight of anxiety lessened and I began to feel peace and restoration.

I’m going to share the messages I received each day with you and I pray that they will encourage you and help you to seek God daily to have your own time of intimacy with Him.

My Prayer

Dear Lord, Thank you for blessing me with time alone with You. Thank you for helping me hear Your gentle whisper and experience the restoring of my soul. I pray for others who have had enough Lord and need a time out with You. Help them to quiet their hearts and minds and know that You love them and eagerly desire to lead them by still waters and restore their souls. In Jesus’ name, amen.