For the year 2018, the PFWB is introducing a new theme called “The Power of We.” I often use an expression around our office that “we is better than me,” meaning we can accomplish a lot more and a lot better than just me by myself. The same is true of the PFWB. We can accomplish so much more for Him if we do it together. So, for the New Year each quarter of the year, we will be focusing on one of four key aspects.
- Jan-Mar: We Worship God
- April-June: We Share Christ
- July-Sept: We Make Disciples
- Oct-Dec: We Serve Others
In January, we’re asking all who will to make a commitment to read through the Bible in 2018. What better way to worship God together than by reading His word together. Enclosed is a brochure to guide you day by day through reading the entire Bible in any year. Also in January, we are asking all our ministers and church members to dedicate some time to prayer and fasting. The dates we’ve set aside for this are January 7-27, 2018. I want to call upon all who will to prayerfully consider practicing some sort of meaningful fast during those 21Days. What better way to start the New Year than by drawing near to Him in worship through prayer, fasting, and the reading of God’s word!
We Worship God Through Prayer and Fasting
“Is this not the fast that I have chosen to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, , and to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke” Isaiah 58:6
Jesus taught, in the Sermon on the Mount, that there are three Christian duties; giving, praying,and fasting. He said in Matthew 6; “when you give…when you pray…when you fast”. In other words, for Jesus, it was a given that Christians will be givers, will pray, and will fast.
Simply stated, Biblical fasting is refraining from eating food for a spiritual purpose. It requires a lot of discipline but yields tremendous spiritual benefits. If you sense God has more for your life, 21 Days of Prayer & Fasting is a great place to start. As you do this, you will start to see the power of Prayer & Fasting impact every area of your life. We hope you will join us on this powerful spiritual journey of 21 Days of Prayer &Fasting from January 7-27.
There are many ways to Fast. There are partial fasts where you refrain from eating certain foods or beverages at certain meals or on certain days. There are total Fasts where you deny yourself all foods for an extended period of time, perhaps an entire day each week or a particular meal each day. Some people prefer the Daniel Fast which involves only eating certain kinds of foods for an extended period of time. And then there are some who prefer what’s come to be called a “Soul Fast” which is not so much about refraining from eating food,but rather refraining from participating in certain activities, like not watching TV or not playing video games, or not participating in social media, and the list of possibilities goes on and on.
We encourage you to seek God about how and when you will fast. We just hope you’ll Fast! In fact, we’d love to know who’s participating with us, so why not drop me an email atrandy@pfwb.org and let me know your joining me on this 21 day spiritual journey of Prayer &Fasting or this 365 day journey of reading through the Bible! Below are several links with excellent resources to help you make the most of your 21 Days of Prayer & Fasting:
www.21days.churchofthehighlands.com/fasting
www.jentezenfranklin.org/fastingtips
