“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23

The start of a new year has no particular power in and of itself. There was no spiritual significance to that split second at midnight on New Year’s Eve when 2021 becomes 2022. And yet, that start of a new year is a special time. It is a time when all around the world people are looking to make a fresh start, to start new habits, to give up vices and to establish new routines. Which presents an opportunity for us to use this time of year, when there is so much openness to fresh starts, to make a fresh start in our spiritual life.

As we begin this season of prayer and fasting it is an opportunity for a fresh start. It is a chance to come afresh to the open arms of God our Father. It is a chance to embrace the new mercies he has for us every day. Maybe over the past year life has got in the way and you have grown distant from God. Maybe circumstances have been tough, and you have struggled to trust that He cares for you. Maybe something happened last year that knocked you for six. Maybe doubts have begun to creep in. Maybe you got out of the way of spending time with Jesus, you got out of the habit of coming to worship at church and your passion for God began to wane. But the good news is the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. 

This season of prayer and fasting is the chance for a fresh start. To draw a line under what went on in 2021, and to commit, as we start out in 2022, that this will be a year when you do draw close to God. That this will be a year when you crave intimacy with the Holy Spirit. That this will be a year when you prioritise your spiritual growth. That this will be a year of seeking to be copy the example of Jesus. 

As we go through these 3 weeks of prayer and fasting these devotions will be there to guide you in what prayer and fasting is all about, what habits you should seek to prioritise in this season, and what examples from the life of Jesus you should try to copy. There will be prayer prompts to spark your prayer time, and as you fast and make space in your day the devotions will be there to help turn your thoughts to God.

Prayer focus

As we start this season of prayer and fasting, ask the Holy Spirit to show you where you need a fresh start. Ask God for help in making this a year when you draw closer to Him and don’t let life get in the way. Pray for our whole church family as we start this time of prayer and fasting that each member of R8 would experience real intimacy and growth in their relationship with Jesus. 

“Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” And he said to them, “When you pray, say:

“Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.”” Luke 11:1-4

Through prayer we connect with God. At its simplest, prayer is conversation with God. Think about that for a moment. The creator of the universe, the one who made all that is, all that ever has been and all that ever will be desires to converse with us. He desires to listen to us. He has time for us. He never puts us on hold or makes us wait. We can come to Him at any time of night or day, and indeed He desires that we would pray without ceasing. 

Often we can think of prayer as bringing our requests to God, and while that is something we do get to do in prayer, it is only one part of what prayer truly is. We get to pray because we have a relationship with God. He is our perfect loving Father. Unlike any earthly father He will never let us down, hurt us or ignore us. And just like any earthly relationship, our relationship with God shouldn’t just be based on coming to Him with demands and requests. God will of course listen even if that is all our prayers consist of, but for us to grow deeper in our relationship with God He desires that there is more to our prayer life than that. 

In Luke 11 verses 1-4 Jesus gives us a template for what our prayer time should look like. There are four main elements, which can be remember with the acronym ACTS. It starts with Adoration, praising God for who He is, the holy Lord of all – “hallowed be your name”. Hallowed means to be revered and honoured. It means taking time to be still at the start of our prayer time, giving God the praise and glory He deserves rather than rushing in with our list of requests.  

The next element is Confession. This is where we acknowledge our sins, the times we get it wrong and ask for forgiveness, knowing that because of the death of Jesus on the cross we can be washed white as snow. 

Following this comes Thanksgiving. This is where we praise God for the blessings He has given us today, thanking Him for all that He has provided for us, thanking Him for our daily bread.

Finally, the last element we see in this model prayer is Supplication. Supplication is just a fancy word for humbly asking for something. It is when we bring our requests before God, asking Him to continue to provide for our needs and to lead us as we strive to follow Him.

It is important that we remember Jesus gave us this prayer as a model. It isn’t for us to ritualistically repeat without thinking, but to guide us as we pray and to remind us to include all these aspects as we pray. Maybe as you have been reading through today one element stood out as not being a major part of your prayer life. Resolve as we continue through this season of prayer and fasting to try and be intentional about taking time each day to include it in your prayers as we go through this season of prayer and fasting.

Prayer focus

Spend time today in adoration, confession, thanksgiving and supplication

“I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks.” Daniel 10:3

In the Bible we see people fasting for different lengths of time, sometimes fasting from all food, sometimes fasting from meat, sometimes fasting by themselves and sometimes with a group. 

The important thing about fasting isn’t what you fast, but why you fast. Fasting isn’t meant to be about dieting or skipping a Netflix binge so that you can get on top of the housework. Fasting is about clearing space to pursue intimacy with God. Fasting is about disconnecting from the things of the world, creating a space to listen to God.

You don’t have to start with a lengthy fast. This season of prayer and fasting is a three week focus on prayer and fasting within our church. You don’t have to fast continuously for these three weeks. Over the course of the three weeks you can gradually build up. Maybe start fasting a meal every few days and gradually build to every day. Maybe each week move your alarm wakeup slightly earlier and use that extra time in the morning for prayer. If you have tried fasting several times before maybe this year you want to take a step further and do longer fasts, or fast from more things, like social media or TV – fasting doesn’t have to just be about food. (If you are fasting from food, always remember to stay hydrated. Remember too that there can be seasons of life and health when fasting food for prolonged times is not advisable and it may be better for you to fast from alternative things such as media or the internet.)

Remember that whatever you fast, what is important is that you use that time to focus on God. Spend it in prayer and for getting stuck into the Bible. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you use the time for reflection, for focus and for listening to God’s guidance. Ask God to be at work in your life during this season, strengthening you for the year ahead. 

Prayer focus

Ask the Holy Spirit for help in this season of fasting to disconnect from things of the world and to help you reconnect with God.

“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.” Matthew 6:16

Maybe you think prayer and fasting is for the spiritually ultra holy. Maybe you have never given it a go before. Or you have engaged half-heartedly, fasting from something that wasn’t really a sacrifice to give up. 

In a lot of sports the players on a team have very different roles. In rugby you have forwards and backs who are physically very different. In football you have different rules for different players with only the goalkeeper allowed to touch the ball with their hands. And in American football the entire team of players changes depending on whether the team is attacking or defending. In most team sports each player has their own specialised role. Each player approaches the game and the tactics differently. It can be easy to think of prayer and fasting as a specialised role, just something the really spiritual among us need to worry about. But prayer and fasting isn’t just for the professional full time Christians. It isn’t just for those who have a formal ministry role. This is for all of us.

We all need prayer and fasting. When Jesus talks about fasting to His followers He says “when you fast”. He didn’t say “if you fast”. He didn’t say “when the pastors and worship leaders fast”. He didn’t say “when those who are more spiritually mature than you fast”. He said “when you fast”. Jesus didn’t put any qualifiers on who should fast. He invites all His followers to fast. 

When we fast we disconnect from the world in order to connect with God. There is not one person who doesn’t need to disconnect from some of the unhealthy patterns of the world. There is not one person who won’t benefit from time spent connecting with God. We all need prayer and fasting. We can’t see it as a specialised role for just a few. We will all benefit personally through prayer and fasting, and as a church as we pray and fast we will be better able to reflect the love of Jesus into our community. Maybe this year is the year for us to embrace both prayer and fasting as something that we all need.

Prayer focus

Take some time today to pray for the people who make up our church as we undertake this season of prayer and fasting. Thank God for the different people He is using to build His church and the different roles we all get to play

“When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting,

    it became my reproach.” Psalm 69:10

There can be a lot of misconceptions when it comes to prayer and fasting. You may have dismissed it as something that is only for the ultra-holy, something that the really hardcore Christians do but the rest of us don’t really have to do. Or maybe you view prayer and fasting as a spare tyre in the boot of the car, something to turn to when all is going wrong and life has become a bit of a mess. 

Often we can view a season of prayer and fasting as a replacement for regular devotion time during the rest of the year. We can fall into the trap of thinking that we have stocked up enough “spiritual brownie points” to get us through the next few months. But what you don’t feed will soon wither and die. There is little point making a big effort to grow your relationship with God during our season with prayer and fasting if you are going to neglect it once these three weeks are over. The intent behind this season of prayer and fasting is that it is to be a kickstart to form habits and patterns that endure.

The purpose of prayer and fasting is to create space to be intentional about your relationship with God. That is the primary purpose. It isn’t primarily about trying to get something from God. It isn’t a transaction whereby if we pray and fast for several weeks He will owe us a miracle. It isn’t a magical formula that will get all our prayers answered the way we want. But what it will do is help us grow closer to God. 

Prayer and fasting is about humbling yourself and acknowledging your need for God. It is an intentional decision to say no to certain things in order to show that you desire God more than them. We can sometimes become prideful and boast about how much we have given up, or how long we have fasted, but if we do that then we have missed the point. This season of prayer and fasting is all about humbling our souls before God at the start of a new year and asking Him to be at work in you and in our church as we go through 2022.

These devotions are a tool to help you during this season of prayer and fasting, but they are only intended to be a starter. They aren’t the main course. The main focus of these weeks of prayer and fasting is that you spend time in the presence of God, spend time soaking in the Word, spend time letting the Holy Spirit revive and restore your soul. Don’t miss that opportunity.  

Prayer focus

Today take time to pray for your spiritual growth as we go through this season of prayer and fasting. Ask God to help each member of our church draw closer to Him through it

“All we like sheep have gone astray;  we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6

You may be wondering why as a church we do prayer and fasting. You might have questions as to why we make such a big deal of it and commit three weeks at the start of every year to prayer and to fasting. The reason we do it is because we know all too well the reality that Isaiah is writing about in this verse, that we all have a tendency to go astray. Our hearts are prone to wander, to get distracted and blown off course.

Often when you take your car in for a service they realign the wheels because over the course of time as you drive and go over potholes or just as you wear out some of the parts on the car the wheel alignment can become unbalanced. You won’t notice much initially, but if it doesn’t get corrected the tyre wear will start to suffer, fuel efficiency will reduce and you become at risk of a tyre blow-out. 

It is the same with our spiritual life. We can easily gradually become unaligned as we get distracted by the busyness of life and start skipping quiet times and rushing through our Bible reading. We can start to prioritise things that aren’t necessarily evil or sinful, but aren’t the best for helping us grow closer to God. We can start chasing after career success or pursuing hobbies and interests that take our eyes off Jesus. And so a season of prayer and fasting is a chance for realignment. A chance to restore and revive our relationship with God. An opportunity for the Holy Spirit to do deep work in our lives and re-establish the habits and patterns we need to remain on course as we seek to not just survive but to thrive. 

This season of prayer and fasting is an opportunity, right at the start of a new year, to get realigned. If you have found yourself drifting from God over the last few months, it is a chance to put that right. If you have felt you have been slipping into cruise-mode, it is a chance to put down your foot on the accelerator and be more intentional about spending time with God. Wherever you are in your relationship with God, there will always be areas where we need realignment. So take advantage of this season to get things re-calibrated at the start of the year so that you are ready for all that God has planned for you personally and for us as a church in the year ahead. 

Prayer focus

Take some time today to repent of areas where you know you have gone astray, and ask God to highlight other areas to you where you may be blind to where you have been drifting away from Him

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Philippians 4:6

When we fast the intention is to free up time in our day. We don’t fast in order to lose weight or to sort out unhealthy eating habits. We fast to create time to spend connecting with God. So it is important we are intentional about the time that is freed up when we fast, to make sure that it gets used to help us grow in our relationship with God rather than the time getting consumed by other activities in the busyness of life.

There are a number of areas we need to prioritise and give particular focus to during this season, with the view to establishing habits and patterns that will remain even after this season of prayer and fasting has ended. And the first of those is prayer itself.

The last couple of years have had a number of challenges. There has been uncertainty. There have been disruptions and frustrations. Things haven’t gone the way any of us expected. There had been much that we could be anxious about. But when we prioritise prayer, we find a better way to go through life.

Rather than letting anxiety consume your thoughts, when we connect with God through prayer we find a peace that passes understanding. When we bring our requests to God rather than filling our time worrying about what tomorrow we find that He cares for us. When we prioritise prayer it enables us to go through life full of the hope that comes from spending time in the presence of our Father who deeply loves us. When we prioritise prayer it reminds us we don’t have to work everything out or manage it all ourselves but rather we get to surrender to the God who is in control.

When we prioritise prayer, we get to bring our requests to God. He is the one who placed the stars in the sky, the one who put breath in the lungs of every living creature, and He makes time to listen to our requests! He delights in hearing our prayers. He doesn’t want us to carry around anxieties and worries, He wants us to bring those concerns to Him through prayer.  Whatever worries and anxieties you are carrying today, spend some time bringing them to God in prayer and surrendering them to Him.    

Prayer focus

Prayer for our church as we continue this season of prayer and fasting. Ask the Holy Spirit to help us carve out time for prayer and make it our priority, both personally and as a church family.

“So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.” Ezra 8:23

Today we are going to be looking at the importance of prioritising fasting. Often when it comes to a season of prayer and fasting at church we can start off with great intentions about all the meals we are going to fast from, or the activities we will give up, and within a few days the enthusiasm has gone and we are back to eating what we did before, watching as much TV as usual and spending as much time (or maybe even more) catching up with social media.

Possibly fasting isn’t something you have done before. You might not have given it much thought prior to this season of prayer and fasting. Maybe you think fasting is just for the really holy. It could be that you have been at church for a few years and have heard fasting talked about, but never got involved personally. Be reminded today that throughout the Bible we see the entire community of followers of God fast. It wasn’t just something for the ‘famous name’ characters like Moses or Elijah. Fasting was, and still is, for all believers. Fasting is something we can all do, and is something we will all benefit from. 

It is possible to get through life without fasting. God does not place religious rules about when we must fast, what we must fast from or for how long we must fast. But God does make it clear that there are so many benefits to fasting that we would be foolish not to. 

Fasting reminds us of our need for God. It reminds us we cannot do it on our own strength alone. Fasting helps us stay firm in our faith. Fasting helps us remove the distractions and hear the voice of God more clearly. 

Fasting is a way for us to say that above all the appetites of our flesh, above all our desires for food, entertainment and pleasure, the greatest desire and yearning of our soul is for more of God. Fasting is an intentional turning away from the things of the world, and a turning to God. Fasting is an opportunity for us to disconnect from distractions and refocus our attention on what truly matters.

When we fast we are adopting a posture of surrender to God. We are acknowledging that He alone can provide what we most need. We are admitting the ways of the world will not bring us the peace we find by resting in His loving arms. Fasting is not there to burden us but to bless us, to help us grow in our relationship with God, and should be a priority for all of us.

Prayer focus

Spend time today asking God to show you any areas you need to disconnect from the world and rely more on Him.

“For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” Romans 15:4

As we pray and fast, one of the most important things you can do, the thing that will really set you up to grow in your faith this year and mature as a follower of Jesus, is to prioritise devotions.

Devotions are simply spending time with God in His word. You may have heard them referred to as ‘quiet time’. We must be intentional about reading God’s word, and not just reading it but also applying it.

Often we can fall into the habit of reading a verse or even a chapter of the Bible quickly and then moving on, content that we have ticked that off our to-do list for the day. But true devotion time goes deeper than merely reading a passage. When we prioritise devotions we won’t just read the Bible but we will spend time reflecting on it and thinking about how we can apply it.

A simple framework that can help you do a devotion is BREAD. 

Be stands for Be still- before you even get as far as reading from the Bible take a moment to incline your heart to God, to pause and leave behind the distracting thoughts and commit to focusing on what God has to say to you through His word.

R stands for Read  – start by reading a passage from the Bible. It doesn’t have to be long – in fact, often reading a shorter passage but really pressing into what God wants to say through it is better than trying to get through several chapters but not taking any of it in. It can be helpful to follow a reading plan to guide you in a structured manner each day rather than jumping in to random verses each day – as a church we are following a plan to get through the New Testament over the course of this year.

E stands for Encounter – what do you notice that stands out from what you have just read. This involves asking the Holy Spirit to speak to you through the word. It requires you spend time meditating and mulling over what you have read, reading it over again, maybe even underlining or highlighting things that stand out as significant.

A stands for Apply – taking what you have read and asking God to show you how it applies to the circumstances you find yourself in today, what you need to do to more faithfully follow Jesus in light of what you have read and observed in the Word.

Finally, D stands for Devote – devotional time should include time spent in prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to help you live out what He has spoken to you about in your time of devotion. 

As we prioritise devotions we will grow spiritually and get to know God better. Our faith will become stronger and better able to face the storms and challenges of life. We will gain a better understanding of the Bible, and we will become better at living out the application of what it teaches us. Most importantly, we will become more and more equipped for the plans and purposes God has for us in the weeks and months ahead.  

Prayer focus

Pray specifically for a couple of members of our church family, that as they do their devotions this week God would speak to them in a clear way

“Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!” Psalm 95:6

The main purpose of this season of prayer and fasting is to grow in intimacy with God and set you up for the year ahead. As we look at habits to prioritise to help us draw closer to God, today we are thinking about the need to prioritise worship.

As you fast through this season it should clear space in your day, and worship is a great way to fill that space. Worship is showing reverence and adoration to God. Worship allows us to refocus our thoughts on all that God has done for us. As we worship we lift our eyes upwards and are reminded that God is bigger than the circumstances we find ourselves in right now. Worship is the act of ascribing worth, of giving value. We worship God not just by singing songs but by giving Him our time, our focus, our hearts, our lives, our all.

When we reflect on all that Jesus did for us on the cross, taking the punishment for our sin, praise should always be pouring out of our lips. Worship is not just about thanking God when things work out well for us. Worship should occur in all situations, because no matter how our day or our week has gone, God is still good, the cross still covers our sin and Jesus’ blood still has paid for our freedom.  

In the context of this season of prayer and fasting, prioritising worship may look like making an intentional choice to switch out the playlists you listen to as you go about your daily routines, choosing to have praise songs as the soundtrack to your day rather than whatever is on the radio. It might look like opting to stick on a video worship session rather than watching the news as you have your breakfast.  Worship isn’t just for those with a talent for singing. We all have received good gifts from God, so we must all worship and thank Him for all He has done for us.

Prayer focus

Spend time today lifting up our worship team in prayer. Thank God for what He does through them each week to lead us in praising Him

“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:58

As we spend time in this season focusing on prayer and fasting it is important to remember that consistency is better than intensity. Often during a season of prayer and fasting we can become very intensely focused on prayer and fasting. That in and of itself is a good thing. However if we only focus on prayer and fasting during a season of prayer and fasting that is not a good thing. Think about a relationship with a friend. If you were very intense and spent a lot of time with them for several weeks and then neglected them for the rest of the year the friendship would soon wither. It is the same with our relationship with God. We can’t survive on short, intense bursts. We need consistency.

Sometimes what holds us back from doing anything to grow in our relationship with God is that in our mind we imagine we need to do something major and hugely significant. We think that for a quiet time to be worthwhile we need to get through five chapters of the Bible, And we know that with our schedule that just isn’t feasible. But the important thing to remember is that consistency always beats intensity. Getting up early in the morning for a 2 hour prayer session before work is great, however if it’s something that you can only manage to keep up for two or three days it would be much better consistently spending 5 to 10 minutes in prayer before work every day. What is consistently done for the Lord will never be in vain.

Think about an athlete training for a marathon. They don’t go out and run 26 miles on day one of their training. They gradually build up the intensity and cover more and more distance as they build from a place of consistently training each day. It is the same for us as we progressed through this season of prayer and fasting. This season isn’t about going flat out for three weeks and then stopping for the rest of the year. This season of prayer and fasting is about helping you establish patterns that you can consistently sustain throughout the year to help you maintain your intimacy with Jesus.

Rather than focusing on doing something really intense in this season of prayer and fasting, take time to consider how you can prioritise consistency that will endure throughout the year. Consider what might be feasible based on where you are starting from. Everybody is at different stages in their journey with God. What seems easy and achievable to you might be a real challenge to someone else. We are not called to compare ourselves to others. What we are called to do is to consistently draw near to God ourselves. We are called to run with endurance the race set before us. Just as each of us have different levels of baseline physical fitness each of us have different levels of baseline spiritual fitness. And so we must each consider personally what we can do to stretch ourselves that little bit further to grow that little bit deeper and to consistently spend time with God – not just in this season of prayer and fasting but throughout the year.

Prayer focus

Ask the Holy Spirit to increase your consistency in the year ahead. Pray that as a church we would remain steadfast and abound in the work of the Lord always

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,  not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Hebrews 10:24-25

Today we are reflecting on the need to prioritise fellowship. Fellowship is the habit of meeting together with other believers, and in Hebrews 10 it is clearly laid out why it is important for us to do so. When we meet together with other believers we get to encourage them, we get to build each other up, we get to be a source of hope and support to each other as we go through hard seasons, and we get to stir one another up to love and good works.

Due to the events of the past couple of years it has become easy to neglect fellowship. It can be tempting to just stick on a livestream of a service and stay in bed on a Sunday morning. But the Christian life is not meant to be lived alone. God designed us for fellowship, and we are stronger when we are together with other believers. 

If you have a fire burning with some logs and coal it can get pretty hot. But if you use a pair of tongs and pull one of the coals out from the fire that coal will soon lose its heat. The coals that remain in the fire will continue to burn and give off heat, but the coal pulled out and set aside by itself will not remain warm for long. It is the same with us. You might be able to sustain initially by yourself, but it is only by prioritising fellowship, by meeting with other followers of Jesus to share encouragement and support one another that we can remain fully ablaze with passion for God. There is so much we miss out on if we only watch a video of worship or download a podcast sermon.

As we journey together as a church through this season of prayer and fasting it is likely the Holy Spirit will be igniting or re-igniting your passion to grow in your faith this year. But that passion can all too quickly wither if we neglect fellowship. And just because you feel you may be able to stay strong in your faith without regularly getting together with other believers, we also need to remember that we don’t just benefit ourselves from fellowship – when we gather with other believers not only do we get encouraged and stirred up, but we get to encourage and stir others up. There are people who need you there to encourage them, even if you feel you don’t need encouragement from others right now. So resolve this year to prioritise fellowship, to make church a non-negotiable on your calendar and come expectant that not only will you be encouraged but that you will get to encourage and stir up others too. 

Prayer focus

Spend time today praying for our church family. Lift up Pastor Phil and all our various leaders, along with all those who call R8 their home. Ask God to strengthen our bond of fellowship this year

“Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” Matthew 26:26-28

When we take communion we are remembering all that Jesus did on the cross for us. As we pray and fast it is important we keep that act of remembrance central. We must not lose the sense of thankfulness and awe we get when we first had that moment of realising that Jesus endured all that pain and suffering for us personally. 

During lockdowns we often have not been able to celebrate communion as a church family, and it is important we remind ourselves of the significance of what it is and why it is such a special time to celebrate and remember all that Jesus has done for us. Communion is not a mere ritual or good luck charm. It is not just another part of the worship service. Communion is a moment of sacred pause, a reminder that by our own strength we are nothing, but by the broken body and shed blood of Jesus we have been redeemed and restored into a relationship with God our loving Father. Communion is a reminder to thank God for the free gift of forgiveness, a reminder that we are now known not by our mistakes, sins and failures, but as children of God, clothed in righteousness.

As we go through this season of prayer and fasting maybe you have been reminded of some patterns of sin in your life, either in the past or in the present. Maybe today you need to come afresh to the feet of Jesus and lay whatever it is down. 

As a church we make space every week for communion. As we take the bread we remember the body of Jesus, broken on the cross for us. As we take the juice we remember His blood, poured out to wash us clean. Communion is a moment of pausing and remembering we can’t do it ourselves. It is a reminder we need to rely on Jesus. Our own strength is not enough. We must rely on faith. Don’t rush the moment. Prioritise it. Reflect on it. 

Prayer focus

Spend time today thanking Jesus for all He has done for us. Also pray for some people in your life who have not yet received that gift of forgiveness of sins – ask that there would be a breakthrough in their lives

“Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 11:1

In his letter to the church at Corinth Paul gives them an instruction to imitate him as he tries to imitate Jesus. He is telling them they are to copy the example of Jesus, just as he is trying to copy Jesus himself. It is an instruction we still should be striving to follow. We are called to copy Jesus.

As we pray and fast we spend time in God’s presence. This season is all about drawing close to God. As we spend time in God’s presence we get transformed. We should become more like Jesus as the Holy Spirit is at work in us.

As we pray and fast we should seek to learn from the example of Jesus. Not learning for the sake of knowing trivia about how Jesus lived, but learning what Jesus did so that we can copy that example and apply it to our own lives, today. 

Lots of people have made a living out of sharing life tips for people to follow. Most children go through a phase of wanting to be an imitator of their favourite pop star or sporting hero (and most of us do eventually grow out of that phase…). Successful business owners write books on how you can copy their example in your work life. But the goal of our lives is that we should be able to say to people, like Paul did, ‘be imitators of me, as I am of Christ’.   

There is nothing wrong with achieving great things as an athlete or a musician or a business owner. There is nothing wrong with sharing your baking or cleaning tips with your social media followers. But those things aren’t the ultimate goal for our life. The chief aim for our lives is that we should be imitators of Jesus, glorifying God and enjoying Him forever. That is what we should want people to see and be inspired to copy from our lives. Our love for Jesus should shine through whatever we do, and show people that we have a hope, a joy, a peace that they want to imitate.

 As we pray and fast we are desiring to press in deeper and grow in our relationship with God. And as we do that we must not just chase after the emotional highs, but must, like Moses did in Exodus 34:29-35, come down from the mountain moments of encounter with God and let people see how we have been changed. We must live out the example of Jesus in our day to day life so that people can see how the Holy Spirit is working in us, transforming us and shaping us. We must let people see we aren’t just attending church on a Sunday but are genuine and serious about imitating Jesus and sharing the good news of God’s love with the world around us.

Prayer focus

Pray for our church today, that we could become people who are resolved to copy Jesus each day. Pray that we would be a church who live out our faith every day, not just on Sundays

“And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he [Jesus] departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” Mark 1:35

Jesus made it a habit to begin his day with prayer. Early in the morning he sought out a place of quiet where he could be alone with God the Father in prayer. If Jesus needed to start his day with prayer, how much more do we?

As we pray and fast we seek to be transformed more and more into the image of Jesus (see 2 Corinthians 3:18). If we are becoming more and more like Jesus we will do more and more of the things He did. And one of the things we see him do is get up early to pray. He woke while it was still dark and went to a quiet place to pray. Jesus knew the importance of starting the day with prayer. Before doing anything else, before others were even awake, Jesus prayed.

We aren’t all wired the same way. Some of us don’t really wake up until the third cup of coffee kicks in. We aren’t all naturally morning people. Some of us are out of bed at the first ring of the alarm, while others of us need to set 4 or 5 alarms to make sure we actually get up in the morning. But all of us need to copy the example of Jesus and spend time in the morning in prayer. We might not be able to have a two hour prayer session in the morning before starting our day. But we all need to start our day with prayer. Even if it is a quick, short prayer as you get out of bed, or a few moments spent asking God for the strength to face all that will come your way that day as you shower, it is so important we start our day not by turning to the news or to social media, but by copying the example of Jesus and beginning our day with prayer.

Jesus went to a desolate place to pray – he went somewhere where he could be alone, undisturbed. he went somewhere where there would be no distractions. Maybe the step you need to take today is leaving your phone in another room while you pray. Maybe you might find it helpful to go out for a walk and get away from everything in the house. If the devil can’t keep us from praying, he will try to distract us while we try to pray. So do what you can to minimise the distractions. Find your desolate place where you can be alone with God and focus on Him. 

Prayer focus

By the time you are reading this it may be too late for today, but resolve that tomorrow you will set that alarm extra early and copy the example of Jesus by rising very early in the morning for a time of prayer.

“But he answered, “It is written…”” Matthew 4:4

In Matthew 4:1-11 we see Jesus fasting in the wilderness when he is tempted by the devil. Three times the devil comes to Jesus and puts a temptation down in front of him – first to turn stones into bread, then to throw himself from the top of the temple and let God send angels to catch him, and finally to worship the devil in return for gaining all the kingdoms of the world.

Each time the devil tempts Jesus Jesus has the same response “It is written”. Jesus responds to the temptations of the devil with the Word of God. Jesus knew the word of God and was able to use it to fight back against the attacks of the devil.

We need to be aware that it was when Jesus was fasting that the devil came to tempt him. When we fast we press in deeper in intimacy in our relationship with God. When we fast we mature as followers of Jesus. When we fast our faith strengthens and we become more equipped to take a bold stand and live out our faith. That is like a red flag to a bull for the devil. The devil will do all he can to derail that. The devil doesn’t need to worry about us if we are being passive and not taking steps to strengthen our relationship with God. But as soon as we do take those steps, as soon as we begging to grow, as soon as we start fasting and seeking God’s face then we become a threat to the devil. So we should be aware as we go through this season of prayer and fasting that it is likely that the devil will try to attack us, just like he tried to attack Jesus. It is likely he will tempt us, just like he tempted Jesus.

And if we are aware that just like Jesus was targeted by the devil while he was fasting, we can learn from how Jesus responded. Jesus responded to the temptations with the Word of God. He knew the Word deeply. He knew the truths of what was written so he could use them to rebuke the temptations of the devil. We need to copy that example. We need to know what is written, not only for our encouragement but so that we can use it to defend us when the devil tries to tempt and attack us. We need to know the promises of God. We need to stand firm on what is written, trusting that God’s word is faithful, trusting that it is alive and active, a lamp for our feet, useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, training and equipping us for every good work.     

Prayer focus

Ask God to speak to you and to the rest of our church as we spend time this year getting deeper into the Word

“And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”” Matthew 26:40-41

Shortly before his crucifixion Jesus goes with three of his closest disciples to pray in the garden of Gethsemane. It is late at night, and Jesus knows the time for his arrest and death on a cross is approaching. He wants to spend some final time in prayer, surrendering to the will of the Father. And he brings Peter, James and John with him. However as Jesus prays they fall asleep. Jesus wakes them and begins praying a second time, and again the disciples fall asleep. Jesus again wakes them, and for a third time begins to pray, and then for a third time finds the disciples sleeping.

In this interaction we see something significant. It was late at night, as evidenced by the fact that the disciples kept falling asleep. Jesus knew he was about to be crucified. He knew his time was short. And in those final hours Jesus prioritised prayer. Jesus sacrificed sleep. He sacrificed the comfort of a warm bed to kneel on rough ground in a garden. He knew he only had a few precious hours of freedom before Roman guards would seize him, and he sacrificed all he could have done with those final moments in order to pray and spend time submitting to the will of God the Father.

The disciples chose sleep, while Jesus chose prayer. He was prepared to sacrifice to create more time and space to pray. He was willing to give up on rest so that he could spend more time in the presence of his Father. Jesus didn’t just pray when it was convenient or when it fitted his schedule. He prioritised prayer. He sacrificed other things so that he could pray. 

There are times when it is easy to pray. There are days when we happen to have lots of free time, and plenty to thank God for. But there are many other days when life gets busy, when we can find ourselves drowning in work or family pressures, when there seems to be storm after storm hitting us and we can barely find time to breathe, never mind pray. However those are the days we most need to carve out time to pray, to be still and remember that God loves us and cares for us. As we continue through this season of prayer and fasting, resolve in those difficult days to copy the example of Jesus and sacrifice in order to pray. Whether it means getting up early, staying up late, switching off your phone for half an hour or unplugging the Wi-Fi router, make the sacrifice and spend time surrendering to the will of our good and perfect Father. 

Prayer focus

Ask the Holy Spirit to show you the things that get in the way of your relationship with God, and ask for help in making the necessary sacrifices in order that you may prioritise your walk with Jesus in the year ahead.

“And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.” Matthew 4:2

In Matthew chapter 4 we read about Jesus fasting. He went into the wilderness and fasted for 40 days right at the start of His time of ministry. Jesus valued fasting. He knew that prayer and fasting was vital for His ministry. If Jesus needed to fast, if He saw the importance of it, then how much more do we need it?  

There are a number of reasons for fasting. It is a way of disconnecting from the things of the world. When we fast we are signifying that we are not controlled by whatever we have fasted from. It is a reminder to us that what we need most is time with God.

Fasting can also be a time of cleansing, of repenting of sinful patterns and turning afresh to God. It is an opportunity to make a fresh start, to let go of harmful habits and turn back to God’s ways. 

When we disconnect from the world through fasting we find it can be a time of preparation. As we spend time specifically focusing on our relationship with God, He can use this time of fasting to be at work in us and prepare us for the next season.

If you fast from food it can leave you feeling physically weak, low on energy. It is a reminder to rely on God for our strength. It is a reminder that we do not live on bread alone, but also on the word of God.

After Jesus fasted for 40 days He would have been physically weak. It was in that moment that the devil came to tempt Him. And we learn two important lessons. Firstly – Jesus gives us a model for how to resist the temptations of the devil. It isn’t by relying on our strength or talent but by relying on the Word of God. We resist the enemy’s temptations by reminding ourselves of the true promises of God. Secondly, we see Jesus in a place of weakness. He can identify with the weakness we experience every day. Jesus is giving us a realistic example to copy. We worship a God who humbled Himself to walk in our shoes. As the writer of Hebrews put it “we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15)

Prayer focus

Ask God to increase your reliance on His word as you continue through this season of prayer and fasting

“And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching…the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken from her.”” Luke 10:39,41-42

As Jesus travelled through Israel preaching and ministering on one occasion we see him stop off at the house of two sisters, Martha and Mary. When Jesus arrives Martha gets busy with all the work that needs to be done to serve her most special guest. She is rushing around cleaning and cooking and doing all she can to be a good host for Jesus. However her sister Mary doesn’t seem to be pulling her weight. She sits at the feet of Jesus, listening to his teaching, taking it all in, not wanting to miss a moment of the opportunity to learn directly from the Son of God.

Often we can relate with Martha. We are busy people. There is always so much to do, at work, at home and in church. Especially if you volunteer on any of the teams in church it can feel like there is always something to be doing on a Sunday. And often like Martha we can feel anxious and troubled. There is so much in life that can leave us feeling anxious. Particularly over the past few years there has been almost an almost unrelentless bombardment of news that can leave us feeling troubled. But thankfully there is an antidote.

As we look at the life of Jesus we learn that what is most important is the doing. It isn’t getting tasks done. What is necessary is what Mary chose to do – we must spend time resting and sitting at the feet of Jesus.

That’s what this season of prayer and fasting is all about. It is about pressing pause on some of the things that distract us and instead using that time, like Mary, to sit at the feet of Jesus. It is about letting Him restore us as we rest at His feet. It is about handing over our burdens, our concerns, our fears and our heartbreaks to him, learning from him, for he is gentle and lowly in heart and he gives us rest for our souls. Jesus is full of compassion for us and longs for us to cease labouring and bearing heavy burdens by ourselves. He desires that we would come and sit at his feet, come under his teaching and allow him to renew and restore us.

Like Mary, we must resolve to spend time at the feet of Jesus. It might mean saying no to some opportunities that come our way. It may mean there will be tasks we don’t get done. We need to remember there is one thing that is necessary, and we must choose to pursue those moments of intimacy with Jesus rather than just getting more work done. 

Prayer focus

Ask Jesus to give you a heart like Mary’s – a desire to spend time sitting at His feet. Pray for our church, that we would not get so busy with the work that we miss the opportunity to encounter Jesus.

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Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”” Matthew 28:19-20

The purpose of prayer and fasting is to equip us to better live out the calling Jesus left for us as his disciples – to help others come to know God and find freedom by sharing the good news of the gospel with them. It isn’t just so that we can get a nice spiritual high for ourselves. It isn’t so that we can feel good about our discipline and self-control. It isn’t about losing weight through giving up unhealthy food. It isn’t even about how many prayers we manage to say or how many chapters of the Bible we get read. What prayer and fasting is all about is drawing closer to God, deepening our faith so that we can make a difference in the world around us by living out that faith and fulfilling the plans and purposes God has in store for us in the weeks and months ahead.  

Just before his ascension back to heaven Jesus gathered his disciples and gave them one final instruction, an instruction that has come to be known as the great commission. It was to be the overarching plan for the rest of their lives, and is the overarching plan for each of us too. We are called to go and make disciples, to point others to Jesus. Above all, that is the purpose of our lives. No matter what we do, that should be the desire we have – to see more people come to know God and find the freedom we have because of the cross. 

As we have been praying and fasting it is likely you will have been asking God to give you guidance and direction for the year ahead. It is natural at the start of the year to set goals, to dream and consider what you want to achieve in the months ahead. And it is right and appropriate to ask God to help shape those goals and dreams. But we need to remember that He has already given us the overall plan for our lives. We are to go and make disciples of all nations.

The outworking of that will look different for all of us. For some of us it may mean full time ministry work, but for most of us it won’t. What it will mean however, is that in whatever we do we seek opportunities to sow seeds and make disciples by inviting others to come to know Jesus. As James teaches us, faith without works is dead. As we have drawn closer to God through this time of prayer and fasting we need to live that out and make a difference in the world around us by not keeping our faith to ourselves but always being ready to share the hope we have when the opportunity arises. 

Prayer focus

Pray today for our church, that we could live out this commission from Jesus. Pray for the various outreach initiatives we have such as our Compassion team, our youth, our groups and the work we support in Costa Rica, that through it all Jesus would be made known in Portadown and all nations

“When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.” Exodus 34:29

This season of prayer and fasting has hopefully been something that has really helped you. Hopefully you have been able to use this time to clear space and prioritise time with Jesus. Developing a habit, a depth of relationship with God to sustain you throughout the year ahead, whatever comes your way. But what matters most isn’t really how these few weeks have gone. Regardless of if you have struggled to fast or if you have spent more hours in prayer than at any stage in your life so far, what really matters is what happens next. 

The purpose of a season of prayer and fasting isn’t to get fired up and then go back to normal for the rest of the year. You don’t fill up your car with fuel at the start of the year and then hope that that will do you for all your journeys for the rest of the year. You have to keep filling it again and again. 

It is the same with the habits we have developed during this season of prayer and fasting. Taking time to pray, prioritising time in the Bible over time bingeing box sets and being intentional about drawing close to God are all good things, but doing them for three weeks isn’t going to be enough. No matter how much you have put in during this season, your spiritual tank will soon be empty again. We need to keep filling it. 

When Moses was on the mountain with God He had to come down to bring the Law to the people. It was only when He came down that they saw the difference time with God had made to him and they saw that his skin shone. A few verses later we see that it wasn’t a one time thing. Moses continued to go before God and speak to Him again and again. He didn’t rely on a one-time experience. He continued throughout his life.

What is of vital importance is that you don’t see the end of this season of prayer and fasting as the end of the need to focus on these things for another year, but rather the end of the beginning of your journey of faith for the year ahead. This season of prayer and fasting is meant to kickstart the year and set you up to continue well as you build on the foundation laid in this season. It isn’t meant to be a one-off prayer-binge to cover you for the rest of the year.     

It is likely if you have been praying and fasting that the Holy Spirit will have been at work, igniting new passions in your heart, deepening your intimacy with God and renewing you more and more by the transforming of your mind as you have spent time in the presence of Jesus. Keep feeding that as the year continues. Continue to take time to listen to what God has to say to you each day. Continue to pause and open up the Word, letting it speak to you. Continue to prioritise prayer, fasting, devotion, communion and fellowship. Continue to copy the example of Jesus and live out your faith boldly in the year ahead. Don’t put the practices of prayer and fasting away for another year but seek ways to continue weaving them into your daily life. Don’t forget the lessons God has taught you during this season.

Prayer focus

Ask God to move in mighty ways in the remainder of the year. Ask Him to do even more than you could ask or imagine, and ask that the people of our church would remain fired up and passionate about spending time with Jesus each day.