A Month of Prayer & Fasting

O God, You are my God. Earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You. My body yearns for You in a dry and weary land without water.Psalm 63:1

When John's disciples asked why Jesus' followers did not fast, Jesus said they would fast once the Bridegroom was taken away. We fast now not because we have never tasted Christ, but because we have, and we long for more of his presence and power among us. Let every hunger pang this month become a reminder to pray.

So rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the LORD your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion. And He relents from sending disaster.Joel 2:13

God called Israel to return to him with fasting, weeping, and mourning, then added: rend your heart and not your garments. Fasting without repentance is theater. Nineveh fasted and God relented; Saul fasted three days after Jesus confronted him on the road. Begin this month by walking in the light about your own sin.

How sweet are Your words to my taste—sweeter than honey in my mouth!Psalm 119:103

Jesus answered the devil's offer of bread with Scripture: man does not live on bread alone. A fast creates room; the Word is what should fill it. Pick a Gospel to read straight through this month, and let the time you would have spent eating become time at the table of Scripture.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and bless His name.Psalm 100:4

Jesus taught us to begin prayer with praise: hallowed be your name. Sunday is a day to lift our eyes from our needs to God's worth. Anna, at eighty-four, never left the temple but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer. Worship is where fasting finds its purpose.

Then Jesus said to all of them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.Luke 9:23

A disciple denies himself and takes up his cross daily. Fasting is a small, deliberate practice of self-denial that trains us for the larger ones. Jesus is Lord of our hearts, our possessions, our relationships, our time, and our purpose. Ask which of those you have quietly kept for yourself.

Since we live by the Spirit, let us walk in step with the Spirit.Galatians 5:25

Every baptized believer has received the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit teaches, guides, produces fruit, and prays in us when we do not know what to say. Fasting weakens the flesh's grip so the Spirit's voice is easier to hear; on this first shared fast day, let every pang turn you toward him. Ask for fruit, not just willpower.

Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up and slipped out to a solitary place to pray.Mark 1:35

Jesus was busy, yet he rose early and found a solitary place to pray. Daily bread was gathered daily; we cannot live on a weekly Christianity. Today, decide where and when you will meet God each day for the rest of this month, and build your prayers on the pattern Jesus gave.

…so in Christ we who are many are one body, and each member belongs to one another.Romans 12:5

We are one body, and each of us belongs to all the others. David fasted for the sick even when they were his enemies; how much more should we fast for our brothers and sisters. Get out the directory or your family-group list and pray through it, one name at a time.

…choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve… As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD!Joshua 24:15

Paul told married couples they could set aside even a good thing for a season to devote themselves to prayer, and he told older men and women to train the younger. Our homes are the first place discipleship is seen or missed, and they pass through seasons: newly married, raising little ones, launching them, and the quiet house afterward. Today we pray for our Marrieds, Young Family, and Empty Nester ministries, and for every home where only one spouse follows Jesus.

We will not hide them from their children, but will declare to the next generation the praises of the LORD and His might, and the wonders He has performed.Psalm 78:4

Jesus rebuked the disciples who kept children away and said the kingdom belongs to such as these. Timothy knew the Scriptures from infancy because someone taught him. Today we pray for our Children's Ministry and our Teen Ministry: for the kids in Kids Kingdom, for teens navigating school, friendships, and screens, and for the volunteers who show up for them every week.

…that all of them may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You. May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.John 17:21

The night before he died, Jesus prayed that his followers would be one so that the world would believe. There is one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God. Division is not a small thing. On this Lord's day, pray for unity that goes deeper than politeness.

In old age they will still bear fruit; healthy and green they will remain,Psalm 92:14

Paul honored the single life as a gift of undivided devotion, reasoned daily in the marketplace with whoever he met, and told Timothy to treat older men as fathers and older women as mothers. A healthy church needs every season represented and cared for. Today we pray for our Singles Ministry and our Campus Ministry, and for our fathers and mothers in the faith, whose gray hair is a crown of glory and who are still bearing fruit.

But it shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant… For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.Mark 10:43-45

Jesus said the rulers of the world lord it over people, but it shall not be this way among you. In his church there is one Chief Shepherd, and everyone else, staff, shepherds, those who serve on the board, and every family-group leader, is a servant and a fellow worker, given to equip the rest of us for ministry. Serving is heavy work: souls to care for, decisions to weigh, budgets to steward, their own families and faith to keep. Today, on our shared fast day, we pray by name for the brothers and sisters who carry that work for us.

“What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the pasture and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?Luke 15:4

Jesus described a shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine to go after the one. Some in our church are carrying burdens they have not told anyone; some have quietly stopped coming. Pray for them by name, and then pick up the phone.

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.James 5:16

James tells the sick to call for the elders, and promises that the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. David humbled himself with fasting when others were sick. Make a list today of every person in our church, and in your own family, who is ill, and pray for them as if their healing depended on it.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.Philippians 4:6

Jesus invites the weary and burdened to come to him and find rest. Anxiety, depression, exhaustion, and grief are not signs of weak faith; they are burdens Jesus told us to cast on him, and often reasons to also accept help from doctors, counselors, and friends. Pray for hearts to be guarded by God's peace.

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;1 Corinthians 6:19

Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, bought at a price. Paul disciplined his body like an athlete so that he would not be disqualified. Fasting is one form of that training. Pray for self-control with food, sleep, screens, and substances, and for rhythms of rest that honor God.

The LORD is near to the brokenhearted; He saves the contrite in spirit.Psalm 34:18

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted. Some among us have buried parents, spouses, children, or friends this year, and Sunday can be the hardest day. God comforts us so that we can comfort others. Pray for the grieving, and ask who needs a card, a meal, or simply your presence this week.

Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.Galatians 6:9

Jesus said that whatever we do for the sick and the least, we do for him. Many in our church care for aging parents, children with special needs, or spouses with long illnesses, and many work as nurses, doctors, aides, and therapists. Pray that they would not grow weary in doing good.

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.John 8:36

The fast God chooses, Isaiah says, is to loose the chains and break every yoke. Addictions, compulsions, and secret sins bind believers too, and they rarely break in isolation. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed. On this shared fast day, let your own hunger remind you how strong an appetite can be, and pray for freedom, for honesty, and for the courage to ask for help.

But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me.2 Corinthians 12:9

Paul asked three times for his thorn to be removed and received grace instead. Some in our church live with chronic illness, disability, or pain that will not go away this side of heaven. Pray for them to know Christ's power in weakness, and for us to include and honor them fully.

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us,Ephesians 3:20

Paul prayed to the God who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. The ideas from dream and visions night are not the finish line; they are seeds. Commit them to the Lord, ask him to establish the ones that are his, and to gently close the doors on the ones that are not.

Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.Matthew 9:37

Jesus looked at the crowds and saw harassed, helpless sheep, then told his disciples to pray for workers. Southern Connecticut is full of people who have never heard the gospel clearly explained. Write down three names of friends, coworkers, or neighbors, and pray for them every day until the month ends.

…pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.Colossians 4:3

Paul asked the church to pray that God would open a door for the message. Movie nights, service projects, community events, and the relaxed worship evening we hope to hold in November are doors only if someone walks through them with the gospel. Pray for the events we are planning to become real bridges, and for us to make the most of every opportunity.

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.Acts 2:38

When the crowd was cut to the heart, Peter told them to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit, and about three thousand were added that day. On this Lord's day, pray for everyone currently studying the Bible with us, and for the Lord to add to our number.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.2 Corinthians 9:8

The Macedonian churches, in deep poverty, pleaded for the privilege of giving, and God is able to make all grace abound so that we can be generous on every occasion. Our dreams for ministry need funding, and so does the mission beyond our walls: our Special Missions contribution sends the gospel where we cannot go ourselves. Pray for the fundraising ideas, for brothers and sisters to ask the organizations they belong to for support, and for open-handed, cheerful hearts.

Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction.2 Timothy 4:2

Paul charged Timothy to preach the word and be prepared in season and out of season, and to entrust what he had learned to faithful people who could teach others as well. We feel that gap. We need more disciples who can open the Bible with a friend, lead a study, and preach the word when it is convenient and when it is not, and we need to know who among us has proven faithful and is ready to be trusted to make disciples. The church in Antioch was worshiping and fasting when the Spirit set apart Barnabas and Saul. On our final shared fast day, ask God to raise such disciples from among us, and to make you one of them.

Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers for the truth.3 John 1:8

John praised a church for sending traveling teachers on their way in a manner worthy of God, and called the church fellow workers for the truth. That is us. Through our Special Missions contribution we partner with the European Mission Society, and we support two traveling teachers, Gilbert Kimeng and Carlos Santon, who carry the Word to churches we will never visit. Today, widen the lens: pray for them, for our fellowship of churches worldwide, for persecuted believers, and for our nation and its leaders.

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and do not forget all His kind deeds—Psalm 103:2

Samuel set up a stone and named it Ebenezer: thus far the Lord has helped us. Forget not all his benefits. Go back through this month's prayers and write down every answer, every change of heart, every conversation God opened. Share one of them with your family group.

Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will come quickly. Your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.Isaiah 58:8

Isaiah promised that when we fast the way God chooses, sharing bread, sheltering the wanderer, and loosing chains, our light will break forth like the dawn and the Lord will answer when we call. Jesus said the Father who sees what is done in secret will reward us. One day of the fast remains, and the reward is only beginning. Carry the light into tomorrow, and into Sunday.

Then Nehemiah told them, “Go and eat what is rich, drink what is sweet, and send out portions to those who have nothing prepared, since today is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”Nehemiah 8:10

The last day of the fast. When Ezra read the Law aloud, the people wept, and Nehemiah told them to stop grieving: go eat what is rich, drink what is sweet, and send portions to those who have nothing prepared. A fast that God chooses ends in feasting and generosity, not in gloom. Break the fast tonight with thanksgiving, set a good table, and remember the neighbor with nothing prepared. Then come tomorrow ready to remember Jesus together.

Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’Luke 10:9

Jesus sent seventy-two disciples ahead of him with one message and one method: heal the sick, and tell them the kingdom of God has come near. Today, on the first day of the week, we gather to worship and break bread together, proclaiming the Lord's death until he comes. Then we scatter. The kingdom arrives in the towns where we live and the community where we meet the way it arrived in Galilee: through a neighbor who is known and loved, a meal delivered, a hand laid on the sick, a coworker who hears plainly that Jesus is Lord. We have fasted through the month. Now we announce.