Thank you for engaging in this power practice to start off the new year. Prayer and fasting in combination, serve the powerful purpose of eliminating distractions so we can reconnect with God more purposefully and refresh our spirit man. I know I need a refresh after all the celebrations around the holidays. As we embark on a new year, may we start with God, acknowledging our total dependence on Him.
I would encourage each of you to pray and consider how God is calling you to commit and patriciate with the Journey family. May the following resources be an encouragement and guide for you this year.
Prayer points to consider during this time:
Commit to joining the Journey Tuesday night prayer service at 6PM.
Additional resources to consider:
WHEN TO PRAY? In every situation, we should pray before we act. People often act first and then want God to bail them out of that situation, but prayer should be our first response, not our last resort. Simply understanding the necessity of prayer is not enough. For prayer to become part of our daily life, it needs to become something we look forward to. When you discover the beauty of daily conversation with Him, you’ll experience the presence of God in a way that will change your life! Pray first! Pray daily!
HOW TO PRAY? We don’t have to follow a specific formula to talk with God, but practicing different ways to pray can help us find a deeper purpose and connection to Him. Suggestions to make your prayer time even more meaningful - take notes, or write down your prayer requests; play worship music in the background. The most important step is committing to regularly entering God’s presence each day. To understand how to have a lifestyle of prayer, we can look at the example Jesus gave during His life on earth: “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.
Here's a basic outline to help you get started:
Have a certain TIME. Make a daily appointment with God and 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 “The Lord’s Prayer” (Matthew 6:9-13).
Using this outline is just one resource. I’ve listed a few more below and encourage you to search out what works for you.
Prayer Starter Kit
Prayer Has Its Reasons
How to Pray: 11 Creative Ideas for Teaching Kids
WHY FAST? The goal of fasting is, to the best of my ability, to disconnect from the world and draw nearer to God. Biblical fasting always has to do with eliminating distractions for a spiritual purpose; it hits the reset button of our soul and renews us from the inside out. Remember, your personal fast (whatever you choose to give up or abstain from) 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.
WHEN TO FAST? As a church, we have decided to do a 21-day fast to start off the year. We begin on Sunday, January 7, and continue through Sunday, January 28. This is intended to be a season of focused prayer as a church family. You may also choose to fast at other times during the year for your own spiritual development. It’s very typical to fast a single meal, a whole day, or three days or more. The timing of your fast is not as important as the strength of your focus on God as you fast.
HOW TO FAST? (Types of Fasts)
Complete Fast: In this type of fast, you drink only liquids, typically water with light juices as an option.
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.
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.
(Matthew 6:16-18; 9:14-15, Luke 18:9-14, Acts 27:33-37, Nehemiah 9:1-3)
Additional Fasting Resources:
7 Steps to Fasting | Cru
Personal Guide to Fasting | Cru
Praying with you and for you as we embark on this journey together.
Pastor Adrian
I would encourage each of you to pray and consider how God is calling you to commit and patriciate with the Journey family. May the following resources be an encouragement and guide for you this year.
Prayer points to consider during this time:
- Clarity and Vision for my life, for my church and for my family
- Completion and provision for the Camas slices building and Journey’s impact in the community.
- New commitments to Jesus. More disciples made in 2024.
- How do I help people find and follow Jesus
- More of God to be revealed in my life, in my church, my family and in this city.
Commit to joining the Journey Tuesday night prayer service at 6PM.
Additional resources to consider:
WHEN TO PRAY? In every situation, we should pray before we act. People often act first and then want God to bail them out of that situation, but prayer should be our first response, not our last resort. Simply understanding the necessity of prayer is not enough. For prayer to become part of our daily life, it needs to become something we look forward to. When you discover the beauty of daily conversation with Him, you’ll experience the presence of God in a way that will change your life! Pray first! Pray daily!
HOW TO PRAY? We don’t have to follow a specific formula to talk with God, but practicing different ways to pray can help us find a deeper purpose and connection to Him. Suggestions to make your prayer time even more meaningful - take notes, or write down your prayer requests; play worship music in the background. The most important step is committing to regularly entering God’s presence each day. To understand how to have a lifestyle of prayer, we can look at the example Jesus gave during His life on earth: “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.
Here's a basic outline to help you get started:
Have a certain TIME. Make a daily appointment with God and 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 “The Lord’s Prayer” (Matthew 6:9-13).
Using this outline is just one resource. I’ve listed a few more below and encourage you to search out what works for you.
Prayer Starter Kit
Prayer Has Its Reasons
How to Pray: 11 Creative Ideas for Teaching Kids
WHY FAST? The goal of fasting is, to the best of my ability, to disconnect from the world and draw nearer to God. Biblical fasting always has to do with eliminating distractions for a spiritual purpose; it hits the reset button of our soul and renews us from the inside out. Remember, your personal fast (whatever you choose to give up or abstain from) 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.
WHEN TO FAST? As a church, we have decided to do a 21-day fast to start off the year. We begin on Sunday, January 7, and continue through Sunday, January 28. This is intended to be a season of focused prayer as a church family. You may also choose to fast at other times during the year for your own spiritual development. It’s very typical to fast a single meal, a whole day, or three days or more. The timing of your fast is not as important as the strength of your focus on God as you fast.
HOW TO FAST? (Types of Fasts)
Complete Fast: In this type of fast, you drink only liquids, typically water with light juices as an option.
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.
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.
(Matthew 6:16-18; 9:14-15, Luke 18:9-14, Acts 27:33-37, Nehemiah 9:1-3)
Additional Fasting Resources:
7 Steps to Fasting | Cru
Personal Guide to Fasting | Cru
Praying with you and for you as we embark on this journey together.
Pastor Adrian