Week of Prayer and Fasting
Church, the elders are inviting you all to join us in a week of prayer and fasting from February 25th - March 2nd. This is not a command, but rather a strong encouragement to join us.
There are many Scriptural examples for the following of this kind of focused spiritual discipline. In the Old Testament, God’s people fasted as a means of confessing and repenting of sin (Daniel 9:3-5), of mourning over their sin (Joel 2:15-16), as a way to seek protection and direction from the Lord (Ezra 8:21), and as a time to mourn over events in their land (2 Samuel 1:12).
In the New Testament, we see the church fasting as they were selecting elders and sending missionaries (Acts 13:2-3), as a normal act of devotion (Matthew 6:16-18), and as an act of worship while they await Jesus’ return (Matt 9:15).
We are calling for this time of prayer and fasting as we seek to engage in evangelism in 2024. God has called His people to make disciples (Matthew 28:19) and has given the promise of His presence for those follow him in this (Matthew 28:20). Jesus assures us that when we fast and pray, the Father who sees in secret will reward us (Matthew 6:6, 6:18). And the great reward we long for is to know Him and love Him more.
To this end we are asking you to join us in a week of prayer and fasting. May God grant us favor as we seek to engage in evangelism together this year.
About Prayer
We are asking people to set aside an hour each day during this week to pray. These times of prayer can be individual or with other brothers and sisters in Christ. To aid you in your times of prayer, we will be publishing daily prayer prompts for the week that includes Scripture and related prayer focuses. Do not feel restricted to these prompts, but use it as much as it is helpful to you.
You can also click the photo above and find a guide to help give you some prompts for prayer throughout the week.
If you have specific areas of prayer you would like the elders to be lifting before the Lord, do not hesitate to email the elders directly, and we will pray for you.
About Fasting
Fasting will look different for each of us during the week. Most will fast from food in some form or fashion. You may choose to fast from all the meals during the week, one meal a day, or a single meal. This is between you and the Lord.
If any of you have medical concerns, then please feel free to fast from something other than food, or please check with your doctor before making changes to your diet.
You may also choose to fast from things such as TV, sports, Social Media, or whatever else might normally consume your time.
The purpose of fasting is to deny yourself of something so that you can give focused attention to seeking the Lord in prayer and Scripture reading. Use the time you would normally be preparing or eating food to be praying / feasting on God’s Word.
As you get hungry, you can pray something like, “God, as my body hungers for food, make my soul hunger for making you known”, or “God, as I feel my need for food, make me more aware of my need for You as I seek to share the gospel.”
Here are some resources you might find helpful:
Introduction to Fasting from Desiring God
The Heart Behind Fasting from John Piper