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Throughout Scripture when people turn to God in desperation, it is often done with prayer and fasting (Jonah 3:7, Dan 9:3). Fasting is the discipline of refraining from food to demonstrate deep contrition for sin and a greater dependence on God. We want to demonstrate and cultivate that same attitude and are beginning the new year with 28 Days of Prayer and Fasting. I want to provide you with some options on how to participate. 

Prayer and fasting involves removing certain activities in order to make room for pursuing God. Consider what you might remove (fast) and what you might add in to pursue God (pray).

Fast: There are a variety of ways to fast. Some people fast food for multiple days, some have fasted on certain days (ex: Monday and Thursday), some fast certain foods for long periods of time (ex: sweets, dessert, meat, etc) or fast certain activities (ex: watching television, news, social media, etc).

Prayer: As you fast (remove things), also consider what you might add into your life to pursue God. Consider making time to consistently read Scripture and pray through what you read. If you are not consistently at church then consider what you might change to prioritize the gathering of God’s people. If you are not experiencing prayer and fellowship with other believers then consider what you might do to make room for it.

As you enter this time, be open to how God might work and pray for him to show you more of himself. 

 

Commitment Card. We are providing a commitment card as a way to express what you will do in this time of fasting (you can fill out at the church). Pray through what God is leading you to do and make a commitment next Sunday January 12. These cards are encouraging for the church to receive and see how people are participating, but we mainly do it as many have shared how helpful it is to make a commitment and hold themselves to it. 

You can check the boxes below that you want to follow or write in your own commitments for prayer and fasting. 

I commit to Fast (what and when)

  • Food all day on Monday and Thursday.
  • Refraining from television, social media for 28 days.
  • ____________________________________________
  • ____________________________________________

I commit to Pray (what and when)

  • 30 minutes everyday to read the Bible and pray.
  • ____________________________________________
  • ____________________________________________
  • ____________________________________________

 

If you need help getting started on reading the Bible then look at our recent blog post “Developing a Bible Reading Plan.”