Why are we Praying and Fasting as a church?
Easter is fast approaching where we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. After His crucifixion, death and burial, three days later He arose from the grave. In doing so, He conquered death and redeemed us from sin if we believe in Him. We often don’t do enough to prepare for Easter/Resurrection Day or use it as a discipleship opportunity.
Two vital acts that connect us directly with God are Prayer and Fasting. Through joining as a church on this journey, we position ourselves before the living God in an intimate way to know Him and His will better.
Starting on February 26, 2023, NLCC will begin six weeks of focused, intentional church-wide prayer and fasting that will culminate on Easter Sunday, April 9th. The purpose of the initiative is to help people hear God’s voice, follow Him daily, and develop the spiritual discipline of fasting.
What is Fasting?
Most of us probably know what prayer is (and there are resources below to help and encourage us in our prayer lives), but fasting may be new to you. Fasting is taking something highly significant to us and deciding to lay it aside or postpone it temporarily for a spiritual purpose. It is purposeful and there is an end in mind. the most important benefit of fasting is time spent listening to the Holy Spirit to reflect on God’s purposes, time in God’s Word, and time in prayer with the God of the universe! So, fasting is not to get something or even win favor from God. It is simply obedience-based discipleship.
What are my next steps?
Commitment Card:
If you haven’t done it already, complete the Commitment Card. Whether you are joining us in week 1 or farther down the road, you are welcome! Read the Commitment Card here and click on the button to submit your commitment.
Introduction Video to Prayer and Fasting
As we embark on the next forty days of prayer and fasting together as a church, we encourage you to start here with an overview of why we are doing what we are doing. Catch the vision of what it means to practice a spiritual discipline. No matter if this is your first time fasting or you are a regular at prayer and fasting, take a moment to watch Brett’s introduction video.
Go Deeper with the Prayer and Fasting Guide
To help you along this journey, Brett Andrews and Dale Spaulding developed the Prayer and Fasting Guide. The Guide walks through the basic principles of fasting and prayer. Plus it give practical tools to practice these spiritual disciplines. Included in the guide are six devotional studies to use during the six weeks of the fast. The devotions are designed to focus our prayer and fasting for that week. You can download the Guide here.
Not Sure How to Pray?
Prayer is a conversation with God. It doesn’t take special words, a particular place, or even a specific position (although all three of these are modeled in the Bible). Sometimes, whether you are new to prayer or been praying for a long time, we aren’t sure where to start. Following are four approaches to help structure your prayer time. Find a quiet place and watch one of the videos praying along with the guide. Click on the name of the prayer tool to watch a video guiding you through that type of prayer. You will also find more prayer resources in the Additional Resources section.
ACTS 
This simple acrostic is used as the guide to elements and priorities of prayer.
A – Adore/Admire/Acknowledge
C – Confess My Sins
T – Thank God
S – Submit to God
The Lord’s Prayer
Found in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4, Jesus gives His disciples an example of how to pray.
Conversational Prayer
Do you struggle to pray in a group setting? Explore five tips and examples that can help you overcome the insecurities of group prayer.
The Prayer Wheel
Spend an hour praying five minutes at a time using this prayer tool. You can download a copy of the Prayer Wheel to use with the video and in your group or personal prayer time. This video timer with prompts is helpful to keep you focused on prayer and remind you of the next topic.
Additional Resources
Fasting
When God Says No
Michelle Eagle of Renew shares her experience with fasting in difficult situations. If your fast has been challenging or you have not seen God working the way you thought He would, check out this video for encouragement.
Fasting Defined
This practical overview of fast from Renew.org will help you understand what fasting is. It takes time to define fasting, explain methods of fasting, and has a list of characteristics of a biblical fast. Click here to download the ebook.
10 Tips for Successful Fasting
The tips in this article are practical whether this is your first fast or your hundredth fast.
Prayer and Fasting
Renewing and the Spirit
Podcast that focuses in on the power of prayer and fasting in making movements. The excerpt featured here between Shodankeh Johnson and Jason Henderson is from the 2018 Renew Gathering.
How to Fast and Pray – Important Steps
Part of the How to Study the Bible series at crosswalk.com, this helpful post has detailed information on fasting with practical steps to help you fast. In addition, there is a section devoted just to prayer as well.
Fasting with Diabetes
This link provides medical advice for how to fast with diabetes.
For Mentors:
Prayer and Fasting Podcast
Designed for leaders, a podcast by Michael Eagle and David Roadcup
For Group Leaders:
Prayer and Fasting Group Discussion Guide
Click here to visit the Renew.org webpage and watch a helpful video on leading your group through Prayer and Fasting. Click here to access just the guide.