January 8 – 28 “First” Prayer Focus
This year we are starting with a new tone to this. Please be sure that you have considered the messages from January 1st and 8th before reading anything else here.
You will also find daily Prayer Prompts and supplemental Prayer Cards attached to this email.
At the beginning of every year as a church we are setting aside 21 days to be focused on God through prayer & fasting (trading your mealtime for prayer time on days of your choosing). We are choosing to go without normal food and entertainment so that we can start the year more focused on God than anything else.
It’s a conviction that starting a new year by seeking God brings us to right focus. As a church, we begin the New Year by setting aside a time of “sacred assembly” to dedicate ourselves to God afresh. As individuals, we set aside time for prayer & fasting to allow the Holy Spirit to deal with us personally (about our lives/homes/work) – to make sure that anything that should not be in our lives is cut out & anything that should be in our lives is put in.
The practice of fasting means – going without to focus on God. Setting aside time to focus on God is a perfect way to check your focus! Using the practice of “going without” is extremely helpful to that end. “This practice removes distractions, concentrates your life on God, cleanses your soul, deepens humility, intensifies prayer, feeds your faith, and it produces self-control.” – Pastor Frank Damazio
Biblical Fast – Going without food in order to focus yourself on God. You are trading your meal time for prayer time. You do not fast to obtain merit from God or to atone for sin. In contrast you are going without food, for a spiritual purpose. To this time of fasting you are adding prayer, meditation, Bible reading/memorization, and a seeking God for your life. Then prayer and fasting works something into you that prayer by itself would not. You do not fast to obtain merit from God or to get rid of sin. Fasting gets you ready for God’s answer. It brings you to a place of being able to truly say, “Not my will but your will be done”.
For best results, this includes changing your normal schedule and going without some of your normal activities so that you have more quality time for God. This may mean that you spend less time on the internet, watching TV/movies, playing games, or doing other stuff in favor of investing more energy into your spiritual life.
For each person this may be different. You may choose to go without certain activities, particular foods, or go without food entirely. Medical research actually shows that periodic fasting is good for your overall health and Hippocrates recommended medical benefits of fasting, including the fact that it slows the aging process. Recent research shows that giving your digestive system a break has many health benefits. Please consult your Dr. before making any changes to your diet.
Personal spiritual disciplines…are just that “personal spiritual disciplines”. Please consider making a plan for how you choose to respond to Jesus’, “When you pray, when you give, when you fast” (in Matthew 6). If this is a meaningful and personal commitment for you, it will mean something to God. If it doesn’t mean anything to you please don’t participate. How you choose to participate is personal, and yet you can benefit from the “water level” of your friends and family doing it at the same time you are.
Please consider joining us by starting your 2023 with three weeks (January 8 – 28) of being more focused on God than anything else. Pray and ask God what He would have you do during those three weeks. Please take time to write out a personal purpose for this time of prayerful focus.
Please consider writing down your answers to these questions:
- What do I want to be focused on?
- Why am I choosing to “go without” over January 8 – 28?
- What food, drink, activities, music, TV, will I be doing without?
- What will I be praying about?
- What days and times will I be in prayer and Bible reading?
Here’s an opening prayer:
God, you are more important to me than anything else in this world. Thank you for taking away the guilt of my sin through Jesus. This January 8 – 28 I’m going without ____. I am doing this because _____. I will be more focused on you than anything else. I choose to live for you. Please speak to me God. Thank you!
Here’s a few books to consider:
- Fasting – Jentezen Franklin
- 101 Reasons to Fast – Dr Bob Rogers
- Toxic Relief – Don Colbert MD
- The Jesus I Never Knew – Philip Yancey
- No Perfect People Allowed – John Burke
Practical To Do:
- Prepare spiritually. (You’re hearing from God and know that you’re doing it because you’re led.)
- Determine what kind of fast and how long. (Certain meals or food, number of days, full fast?)
- Write down why you are doing it and your fasting plan.
- Devote extra time to prayer & the Bible.
- Limit time spent with TV, internet, and social media.
- Be physically prepared: headaches, lightheaded, bad breath, more sleep, plenty of water.
Spiritual Keys to Fasting
- Fasting is an invitation. Not a requirement. (Breaking out of the routine of life, “You love me regardless, I am voluntarily giving this up, I am coming after you God.”)
- Fasting is a grace. Not gritting your teeth. There is a connection between the Holy Spirit and fasting. God gives you grace.
- Fasting is humbling yourself before God. “Lord I need you.”
- Fasting is an act of worship.
- Fasting is giving up something perfectly good, acceptable, so that you can have more of God.
- Fasting is a spiritual discipline that is a physical act.
- Fasting is a time of Spirit-led self-examination. You will see God begin to do a deep internal work in your life.
- Fasting increases our sense of humility and dependence on God.
- Fasting allows us to set aside time for prayer.
- Fasting expresses our earnestness and urgency to God in prayer.
January Prayer Focus – Lent?
In the spring we will enter the ancient Christian calendar season of Lent, the 40 days leading to Easter. It’s good to learn from our history. Three major themes of this practice are self-control, prayer, and reflection. It certainly brings great joy in celebrating the resurrection of Jesus! It also honors the 40 days that Jesus spent in prayer & fasting, Matthew 4.
For the past few years we’ve chosen to not observe Lent directly. We follow the principles by starting the year with a prayer and fasting focus on Jesus (January 8 – 29). Then during the weeks leading up to Easter we set aside time to consider, reflect, and celebrate the Cross of Christ and the Resurrection of Christ.
Let’s make a fresh commitment to pray and act:
Pray
- Pray for things that are beyond your ability to make it happen, yet not bigger than your ability to believe.
- Pray with specific detail. If you are not specific enough you will not know what action you are supposed to take and you will not know when God has answered. It’s okay to pray prayers that have a timeline, or come to pass quickly. At times we pray these big specific requests in team and at times we pray them solo, but it’s helpful to write them.
Act
- Commit to activate your faith by taking action.
- Commit to approach God with boldness based on His goodness (past provision and promises).
- Commit to ask for the impossible.
- Commit to advance toward your answer.
- Commit to give God the glory.
Reminder: John 14:12-14, 15:7, 16, 16:23-24 Luke 19:26 Matthew 25:21 Exodus 33:12,15,18 & 34
- God loves you, time with you, and conversation with you. Prayer is for everyone.
- We can learn how to pray from Jesus’ words. This brings us into an active personal connection with God.
- “Trust in Him at all times. Pour out your heart to Him, for God is our refuge.” Psalm 62:8
- “Prayer not only teaches & strengthens one for work, work teaches & strengthens for prayer.” Andrew Murray
- “Prayer is the greatest of all forces, because it honors God and brings him into active aid.” E.M. Bounds
Types of prayer:
- Conversation – constant running dialogue (much of first 20 Psalms)
- Repent – confess and turn away from your own sin Psalm 51
- Devotional – daily with pattern , “Lord’s Prayer” Luke 11, Prayer of Jabez, Psalms
- Make Him Big – talking through all the ways He’s good Psalm 8,9,18
- Pray the Bible – using verses to communicate
- Remote Request – asking for others: intercession Acts 12:5-7 Peter jail release
- Healing – at times “face to face” with touch “laying on hands” Luke 13:10-13
- Community Change – ask God for change you want: Luke 13:34-35
Luke 11 “Lord’s Prayer” gives us a few patterns:
Learning to pray with Jesus’ words brings you into a relationship with God where you know that He hears you and answers you.
- Praise – prayer that lifts up God and describes Him
- Intercession – prayer that asks for Kingdom of God in our world
- Submission – prayer that puts His will above ours every day
- Daily request – prayer that recognizes Him as our daily source, making request
- Repentance – prayer that confesses sin, asking for grace and mercy
- Forgiveness – prayer that asks for help in forgiving others
- Protection – prayer that asks for help in avoiding temptation
- Deliverance – prayer that asks for protection from evil
- Priorities – prayer that declares “It’s not about me. It’s all about You God!”
We believe that prayer is for everyone. Talking with God and listening to God are vital to the Christian life. We want people to taste the real power of prayer.
Prayer Topics:
- Salvation of the dozens of people we’re relating to
- That we would all be taking next steps in following Jesus
- Peace in Baltimore City, reduction of violent crime, and record low homicides
- Economic development and new jobs open in Baltimore City
- Careers and new homes for the men in Aslan House
- Resources needed to help us serve pregnant teens, the homeless and mothers of murder victims
- Spiritual growth in our small group ministry
- That we would be a growing, soul winning, church displaying the love of Jesus
Lord please help us become a church:
- Loving Jesus in a way that people talk about.
- Where people find salvation and healing in Jesus.
- Helping people find careers and peaceful homes.
- Where everyone can find a place that they fit.
- Serving the city with love that works.
Lord please do the miracles we need to see (and show us what we must do to see) healthy relationships, peace, and joy in our families, neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, and city.
- In our families those miracles would be ___ .
- In our neighborhoods those miracles would be ___ .
- In our schools/workplaces those miracles would be ___ .
- In our families, help us to ___ .
- In our neighborhoods, help us to ___ .
- In our schools/workplaces, help us to ___ .