A CALL TO PRAYER
Hi New City!
We heard from our elders this past Sunday at our congregational meeting that we are all invited to join in a special season of prayer and fasting to draw near to God and seek His guidance and grace for our church in this time of great change. As a church family, let’s unite in this effort to grow spiritually, ask for His wisdom, and strengthen our bond as a community.
But what does it mean to fast and pray? The Bible emphasizes the spiritual significance of abstaining from food and sometimes other activities as a means of drawing closer to God. In the Scriptures, fasting is presented as a normative practice for God’s people, in all times and places.
Biblical fasting is not a way to earn God’s favor or manipulate divine intervention, but rather a disciplined pursuit of God’s presence, guidance, and transformation. It is a form of self-denial (Luke 9:23) that helps Christians shift their focus from the temporal to the eternal, and from physical sustenance to spiritual nourishment.
Prayer and fasting is a way of acknowledging our dependence on God and recognizing the need to identify areas of sin or spiritual weakness that require repentance and growth. Examples from the Old Testament include the following: Moses fasted 40 days on Mount Sinai (Exodus 34:28). King Jehoshaphat fasted before battle (2 Chronicles 20:3). Nineveh fasted in response to Jonah’s reluctant preaching (Jonah 3:5). David fasted in times of distress (2 Samuel 1:12). Nehemiah prayed and fasted over Jerusalem’s ruins (Nehemiah 1:4). In the New Testament, Anna fasted and prayed at the Temple (Luke 2:37). John the Baptist instructed his disciples to fast (Mark 2:18). Jesus fasted 40 days before facing temptation (Matthew 4:2). The Antioch church was fasting and praying when the Holy Spirit called them to set apart Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:2-3). Paul and Barnabas prayed and fasted for church elders (Acts 14:23).
Fasting and prayer, therefore, is an act of submission to God’s plan, an expression of our utter dependence on Him, and a voluntary act of worship that reflects a desire to align our hearts with His purposes. By intentionally setting aside physical comforts and engaging in focused spiritual practices, we can experience spiritual growth, increased intimacy with God, and a renewed sense of purpose in following Christ.
In this season of grieving, uncertainty, and anticipation, church, please join us in prayer and fasting to humbly seek divine guidance, discernment, unity, and grace. Click HERE to sign up to fast and pray between August 21 and September 30. You can sign up for as many slots as you’d like. Here is a brief guide to help unite us in praying together (you’ll also find this in the schedule when you sign up):
