DAY 01.
GOD, OUR FATHER “OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN…” So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received...
JANUARY 20TH-FEBRUARY 9TH
21 DAYS OF PRAYER & FASTING
Giving God the first fruits of our year through devotion to prayer.
Join us as we are doing this together as a church because we believe God is going to do great things in us personally and through us as a Church. We are using these early weeks in this year as an act of faith and our first fruits to say, “speak to us Lord, show us your will for me this year, my plans, my life and my year is Yours.”
HOW TO GET STARTED
Check in at lifecommunitychurch.com/3weeks daily. Each day we will post a short video, a blog and a link to a worship song to help you pray and mediate. Videos and devotionals will be on the Lord's prayer, which can be found in Matthew.
“This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’
Matthew 6:9-13
Each day will focus on a different part of the Lord's prayer and each week, we will utilize the Lord's prayer to focus on God & Me, God & my Family, and God & my world.
WEEK FOCUSES
WEEK 1: God & Me
WEEK 2: God & My Family
WEEK 3: God & My World
We know prayer and fasting, just those words can be overwhelming. Here's a breakdown of what that means. But MOST IMPORTANTLY, you need to spend some time asking the Lord how you should fast and what that looks like.
PRAYER
CREATING A LIFESTYLE OF PRAYER
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed.
MARK 1:35 NIV
Prayer is most effective when it isn’t something we just do every now and then, but when it’s a lifestyle we cultivate. To understand how to have a lifestyle of prayer, we can look at the example Jesus gave during His life on earth.
HAVE A CERTAIN TIME
Jesus got up early in the morning to spend time with His Heavenly Father. Make a daily appointment with God— whether it’s first thing in the morning, at lunch, or in the evening—and faithfully keep it.
HAVE A CERTAIN PLACE
Jesus had a specific place He went to pray. Having a designated place to pray helps us remove distractions and frees us to worship and pray out loud.
HAVE A CERTAIN PLAN
When Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, He gave them
a prayer outline. We call it “The Lord’s Prayer.” This outline, along with several other tools, is available in this guide. As we pray every day, our plan for our prayer time can vary. Whether it includes worship music, Bible-reading, or time to listen to God, it doesn’t always have to look the same. It just helps when we have a plan for connecting with Him regularly.
FASTING
The goal of fasting is to draw near to God, not to twist God’s arm, or lose weight. It hits the reset button of our soul and renews us from the inside out.
Fasting enables us to celebrate the goodness and mercy of God. It prepares our hearts for all the good things God desires to bring into our lives.
When deciding on a fast, we encourage you to seek God in prayer and follow what the Holy Spirit leads you to do.
Remember, your personal fast should present a level of challenge, but it is very important to know your body, your options, and, most importantly, to seek God in prayer and follow what the Holy Spirit leads you to do.
Scripture References • Matthew 6:6-18 • Matthew 9:14-15 • Luke 18:9-14 • Acts 27:33-37 • Nehemiah 9:1-3
Matthew 6:16-18
When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
TYPES OF FAST
Selective Fast
This type of fast involves removing certain elements from your diet. One example of a selective fast is the Daniel Fast, during which you remove meat, sweets, and bread from your diet and consume water and juice for fluids and fruits and vegetables for food.
Complete Fast
In this type of fast, you drink only liquids, typically water. Some add light juices, coffee, or tea.
Partial Fast
This fast is sometimes called the “Jewish Fast” and involves abstaining from eating any type of food in the morning and afternoon. This can either correlate to specific times of the day, such as 6:00 am to 3:00 pm, or from sunup to sundown.
Soul Fast
This fast is a great option if you do not have much experience fasting food, have health issues that prevent you from fasting food, or if you wish to refocus certain areas of your life that are out of balance.
For example, you might choose to stop using social media or watching television for the duration of the fast and then carefully bring that element back into your life in healthy doses at the conclusion of the fast.
3 WEEKS DAILY DEVOTIONALS
Each day from January 20th-February 9th, a daily devotional blog will be posted below.
WATCH THIS.
If you missed Sunday, January 19th, Pastor Tim shared more about how prayer and fasting positions yourself and your heart to connect with the Lord.
How Can We Pray for You?
Need some prayer? We're here. Send us a message and let us know how we can be praying for you.