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An Invitation to Fast and Pray

As a church, we are marking out a 21 day period at the beginning of 2024 to seek God together through corporate prayer and fasting. Fasting is simply saying “no” to something we want in order to say “yes” with more intention to what God wants for us. Throughout scripture, we see God using a time of preparation before initiating something new. Just as the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness at the beginning of his ministry, a period of prayer and fasting is one way we allow God to bring us out of our everyday routine and open ourselves to what God wants to do in and through us.

Find a Partner

To make the most of this fast, we encourage you to find 1 or 2 others who can be your partners and offer accountability and encouragement. With your partner, schedule time each week (at least once per week) to meet in person or over the phone. We suggest taking the time to read the scripture for the day, respond to the discussion questions, and pray together. If you need some help finding a partner, please reach out to Associate Pastor Brendan Dry at brendan.dry@lifechurchauburnhills.org.

Resources to Connect with God and Others

** Note: we are sharing these resources from the Four Square church. Though this is not our denomination, these daily guides are an excellent resource to use throughout the fast. If you would like a hard copy, you can purchase one through Amazon.

 

Ways to Fast

Fasting is simply choosing to say no to something we desire in order to create extra space for; pursuing a relationship with God. Fasting is unplugging to “plug in” to the source of life, God’s presence and power which fills and satisfies completely. There are many ways to fast, but two to consider are:

  • On 2 or 3 days each week, skip one meal and take time to pray
  • On 1 day each week, abstain from all food from sunrise to sunset. When you notice hunger pains, take a few moments to pray.
  • Choose a particular food to abstain from eating for the full fast. When you feel a desire for that food, take time to pray.
  • Abstain from using social media or watching TV for the duration of the fast. Use that time to pray.

Ways to Pray

 

Most of our prayers are spontaneous — whatever comes to mind. While this is a natural and good way of communicating with God, our prayer lives can be enriched by incorporating other forms of prayer like:

  • Repentance: naming a sin and asking for God’s forgiveness
  • Listening: quieting our mind and making space for God to speak
  • Praying scripture: repeating the words of scripture as our prayer
  • Intercession: lifting up specific needs, people, or issues