January 7- 28, 2024

An invitation to fast & pray

 
This year we are inviting you to join us in beginning the new year by observing a special corporate season of fasting and prayer. We hope this will be an opportunity to intentionally seek the Lord together and allow him to do a transformative work in our midst. Please note that this is entirely voluntary. We encourage you to follow your own conscience and be mindful of your own health as we observe this spiritual season.
 
 

Prayer

Each of our weekly teaching messages, between Jan. 7th-28th, will be focused on prayer. We invite you to join us either online or in person as we seek to explore God’s Word together and what it can teach us about prayer. 

In addition to our focus on prayer each Sunday, our hope is to join together in praying  for the following each week:

  • Pray for spiritual awakening in our community, nation and world.
  • Pray for healing, whether physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual, to come in the lives of those in need.
  • Pray for wisdom, vision and revelation for our staff, leadership, and congregation for the year ahead.
  • In all things, pray His kingdom come, and His will be done on earth as in heaven!
 
If you would like to explore more resources on prayer you ma find these articles and prayer resources helpful:
 
 

 

Fasting

What Is fasting?

Fasting is denying yourself something for a period of time for spiritual reasons. Generally, it involves giving up foods. However, it is also possible to fast from social media, entertainment, sweets, activities, or more. Anything that you would potentially miss is “fastable.”

 

A few reasons to consider a season of fasting:

  • The primary purpose is setting a time apart to intentionally seek God and allow him to be your primary source of sustenance.
  • An intentional time of fasting and prayer has the potential to change us so that we are less distracted, less caught up in earthly things, and more ready to be with our God.
  • Fasting is a spiritual practice we see in both the Old and New Testament. For example, Moses fasted for at least two recorded 40-day periods. Jesus fasted 40 days and reminded His followers to fast. He said, “When you fast,” not, “If you fast” (Matthew 6:16).
  • Fasting can transform your prayer life into a richer and more personal experience and can result in a more intimate relationship with Christ.
  • Fasting and prayer can give us an opportunity to exercise self-control and focus on keeping our flesh subject to us and not the other way around.
  • Fasting can be a way to truly humble yourself before God. King David said, “I … humbled myself with fasting” (Psalm 35:13).
  • Fasting can enable us to hear God more clearly by shutting out the distractions.
  • Fasting can help us to see more clearly what God is doing and our role in that partnership.

Types of fasts

Complete fast- A complete fast means drinking only water or sometimes juice when fasting for an extended period. Juice fasts will provide you with more energy than water-only fasts and still lead you into the humbling experience of denying your desire for solid, chewable food.

Partial /selective fast-A selective fast is removing certain food from your diet.  For example, eliminating meats, eliminating sweets, or eating only bland foods.  The most common type of selective fast is called a “Daniel Fast.” This is described in the book of Daniel. For three weeks, Daniel, who was a prophet during a time when Israel lived in exile, abstained from “delicacies” and ate only fruits and vegetables.

Other fasts-  God may call you to abstain from non-food items such as social media, internet, activities, or entertainment.

 

Helpful tips when fasting from food

  • Drink plenty of water/liquids
  • Avoid a big meal immediately BEFORE or AFTER.
  • Limit or avoid caffeine.
  • Always be willing to cut a fast short if it becomes necessary.
 
 
If you would like more information and tips on fasting, you may find these articles from cru.org to be helpful: 
 
 
Fasting should be closely related to prayer and reading of the Word.
 During a fast, it is good to spend extra time in prayer and reading God’s word. We have prepared a few suggestions to help during this time.
 

Scripture

During the three weeks that we have set aside for this time of fasting and prayer, we are encouraging everyone to spend as much time reading the Bible as possible. One passage that you might find helpful is Matthew 6:5-18. In this passage we find words directly from Jesus about fasting and prayer.
 
Another area of scripture that we would like to encourage you to read is the entire book of Ephesians. There are multiple “prayer passages” within this letter from Paul that will help to inform our teaching messages over the course of this time. 
 

Worship

In addition to our weekly times of worship each Sunday morning, on Sunday January 28th, as we finish out this season of prayer and fasting, we will host a special night of worship and prayer. We are hopeful this will be an evening of praise and prayer, as well as an opportunity to share testimonies of how we have seen God at work in our midst.