On Monday, January 4th, 21 days of prayer and fasting begins, as we set the 1st part of the year to seek God wholeheartedly and all He has in store for us in the New Year.
DAILY PRAYER GUIDE FOR 21 DAYS OF PRAYER AND FASTING
We have received a great calling, to make disciples of Jesus (Matthew 28:19), to be Christ’s ambassadors, ministers of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:20). How do our prayers echo the prayers of those who heard this commission from Jesus (Acts 4:23-31)? They prayed for the impossible and for the supernatural, that his glory would be revealed for the purpose of bringing others to faith in Jesus. And they prayed for the removal of obstacles that would keep the church from doing what he had called them to do.
Lord, teach us how to pray.
We ask for you to teach our hearts to love the people of this city as you love them. We ask to shake us out of our self-absorption, to give our first attention and our greatest energies toward the things that are on your heart. We pray that we as the church would awaken and arise to lead and serve our communities. We pray for a release of your Holy Spirit to equip us and guide us in how we live and make decisions. We lean into your holiness and goodness, abandoning selfish desires, fears, and doubts. We choose to honor our relationships, preferring others (Ephesians 5:21), walking through life with people who are also on a journey to becoming more and more Christ-like. We need you, and we choose to walk in your power and the gifts of your spirit.
As we humble ourselves to fast and pray, we acknowledge you as first in our lives and thank you for all you have given us. We praise you from our position of dependence, for you have given us life and breath and everything else. We pray into the gifts that you have given us through your Spirit, that with wisdom we would know how to serve the world and demonstrate your passionate love for mankind. These are the things God has given us, the fruit of the Christian walk that you want to develop in us, and we believe that as we pray into these things they will enrich our lives, draw others to Jesus, and bring glory to God.
Day 1: January 4 - Love
Ephesians 3:17-18
We draw near to you to grow in our love for you, and we pray that we would each have a personal revelation of the love of the Father. We pray that your love would transform how we view ourselves and that it would teach us about ourselves and give us boldness. We pray that love would hold us close during seasons when we are hurting, that it would passionately pursue us when we are tempted to abandon our faith or our community or the things God has called us to, and that love would draw people who are far away from you into your family.
Day 2: January 5 - Joy
Nehemiah 8:10
We acknowledge a hurting world, often bitter and angry, often cynical and fearful. But we choose joy, genuine joy that calls out the goodness in everything you’ve given us and celebrates it. We ask that our joy would be a light on a hill that cannot be hidden, a source of warmth and refuge for people around us, that joy would be contagious and it would call people to you. The joy of the Lord is our strength, so we pray that people in our families and neighborhoods are strengthened by our joy.
Day 3: January 6 - Peace
Philippians 4:6-7, John 14:1, Psalm 23
We exchange our worries and our troubles for your peace, because you are greater than anything facing us. We pray for harmony in our church, among our families and friendships, our pastors and leaders. We pray for fear and anxiety to yield to the truth that you are with us. And we pray with faith for others in our lives and throughout the world who are experiencing true hardship, grief, loneliness, and lack that by some miracle you would rescue them and give them peace that passes understanding in the trial.
Day 4: January 7 - Patience
James 5:11
Everyone of us is shouldering a burden and fighting a battle. As your people, we set your cross before us as an example of endurance and patience, trusting in your timing instead of leaning on our own understanding. We ask for your strength to sustain us, that we would not sin in our weakness or accept substitutes for your best. We ask that we would be empowered to extend the patience you have had with us to others. We pray for your wisdom in seeing people’s needs, that we would be able to carry each other’s burdens (Galatians 6:2). Stronger together, we commit to helping each other stand up under our circumstances.
Day 5: January 8 -Kindness
Hebrews 13:1-3, Romans 12:9-13
Compassion drives intercession. We pray that we would recognize opportunities to show kindness, not just niceness or politeness, but the transformative power of being the hands and feet of Jesus in our neighborhoods, schools, and workplaces. We pray that every person that enters our church services would experience home and be cared for, no matter where they are coming from.
Day 6: January 9 - Goodness
Philippians 4:6-8
You are good. Help us to put our daily concerns in perspective and to dwell on the good. Help us to understand the suffering in our world without making apologies for you. Because you are good and sending your son was an expression of goodwill to mankind. Help us to live moral, healthy lives that also benefit those around us and improve our environment.
Day 7: January 10 - Faithfulness
James 1:22
In this new year, we dedicate ourselves anew to studying your word and listening for your voice with diligence and devotion. We pray that we would be faithful with the words God has given us, putting them into practice and sharing them in our testimony, so that there will be overflows of thanksgiving to God.
Day 8: January 11 - Gentleness
Ephesians 4:32, Colossians 3:12-14, James 1:19
We ask you to give us radical gentleness, an open heart to understand where people are coming from before rushing to judgment. We need you to humble us, to pull down our defensive walls so that we can experience the rich texture of the life you’ve given us, even when it doesn’t match up to our expectations. Teach us how to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, that we would model your character.
Day 9: January 12 - Self-control
1 Tim 4:12
We pray that we would be examples in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity. We crave your discipline, God, as our Good Shepherd, that you would make us more mindful about our words and our actions and the things we give our money, our focus, and our time to.
Day 10: January 13 - Forgiveness
Colossians 2:13-15, 2 Corinthians 7:1
Thank you for the new life you’ve given us, for canceling our debt and for making us right with you. We realize more than ever that we need your forgiveness. There is no longer any condemnation from religion’s old way of rights and wrongs or from our miserable attempts at New Years resolutions. We know that when we intend to do right and to walk by your spirit, we falter more often than not. Help us to lean on you, because we are not perfect, but your grace is made perfect in our weakness. As recipients of grace, help us to forgive those who have offended us. Let us give a fresh start to our relationships.
Day 11: January 14 - Healing
James 5:15, Acts 4:30
Jesus told those he healed that it was their faith that healed them. God, we pray for an increase of faith, wherever there is illness or brokenness. We pray that from Swaziland to Honduras, from Mumbai to New York City, all would see your light and would know you as the God who heals. And we surrender to your process of bringing healing and wholeness to every part of our lives, that we could become ministers of reconciliation and peace and healing.
Day 12: January 15, Provision
2 Corinthians 9:17, Matthew 6:33
We seek first your kingdom, and we confess that every good thing that we have and we need and we desire comes from you. Teach us how to use the resources you’ve given us with wisdom, with gratitude, and with care, not being preoccupied with our financial situation and not being absent-minded, short-sighted, or wasteful either. We ask that you supply the energy and the focus to accomplish what you’ve asked us to do. With trust in your provision, we will not succumb to worrying about tomorrow, but will walk by faith.
Day 13: January 16 - Unity
John 15:11, John 17
Jesus’ prayer for us was for unity and relationship, that we would be one with him and one with each other. We pray for a spirit of combined focus and of like-mindedness in our church, even as we battle out our opinions and work out our faith together. Greater love has no one than this than he lay down his life for his friends. We ask that you would send healing and restoration to relationships that are broken, and that you would send divine solutions to answer our desperate cry for spiritual healing of the divisions caused by race and inequality, politics and nationality, religion and ethnicity in our city and in our world.
Day 14: January 17 - Deliverance [Restoration]
Joel 2:25-32
Our Father’s desire is to restore to us everything that we have lost, but more so, to restore a heavenly identity that he spoke over us at our creation. We pray for an open heart to say yes and to yield to what you have for us personally and collectively as a people of God. We ask for your words to speak life and restoration in all that we say and to elevate others in all that we do. Give us prophetic words so that we can speak over one another words that align with what you have spoken over us. Give us the faith to see the redemptive potential in people and situations.
Day 15: January 18 - Justice
Amos 5:24, Micah 6:8
We dream, as Dr. Martin Luther King did, that justice will flow down like a river and righteousness like a stream. We pray that our city would be known for its righteous dealings in business, in government, and for the way we care for the least of these. God, make our hearts sensitive to the call to show mercy. Answer the cries of the needy, and give us solutions as to how to make a difference in bringing your kingdom to earth.
Day 16: January 19 -Truth
John 16:13, Hebrews 4:12, 1 John 4:8
The Spirit guides us into all truth. Lord, we lay open the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts to the leadership of your Spirit. Help us to be honest with you, confessing our sins so we can be pure. We pray that we would not filter your word to fit our preconceived thoughts, but that you would reveal to us our blind spots. Please give us truth and revelation from your Spirit to help us understand our world and our personal struggles.
Day 17: January 20 - Gratitude
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Philippians 4:12-13
What God wants for me is a thankful heart in all circumstances. God, help me be a person with an impenetrable gratitude. Help me counteract the expectation that I deserve more than I’ve been given and help me avoid the bitterness of comparison. My situation doesn’t matter, because in Christ I have the strength to do anything. Thank you for my life. Let me live it well by choosing a grateful attitude.
Day 18: January 21 - Freedom
Galatians 5:1
We ask you to reveal anything that is binding us, holding us back from finding your truth. We pray for others who are enslaved body, soul, or spirit, that you would break every chain and lead them out. As our women and men gather next week at The Company and Sisterhood, we pray that you would speak into individual hearts, that each person would discover their identity as children of God and break out of harmful mindsets, because you love them and you see them and know them.
Day 19: January 22 - Empowerment
Acts 4:31, Romans 6:4, Romans 8:31-39
Daily as we commit ourselves to following Jesus, we also receive his power to overcome sin. We ask to be filled with your Spirit to give us new boldness and courage and freedom. We pray that we won’t be trapped in old habits, but will be overcomers who can lead the way to others overcoming.
Day 20: January 23 - Mission
Matthew 9:37-38, John 4:35, James 2:14-17
God, we ask that you set your heart before us. That your will would be done, even over what we want for ourselves. Open our eyes to see the harvest, and send us out as workers into the harvest field. Show us how to put our faith to good work and to make a difference not just a living.
Day 21: January 24 - Vision
Proverbs 29:18, John 4:34-38
Without vision, people perish, but vision and guidance from you can breathe new life and hope. Father, we choose to obey your commands to love, and we choose to follow the path set before us in your son, Jesus, so that we might walk forward guided by your vision. We pray for increased faith, hope, and love, to strengthen us and prepare us for the harvest. Fearlessly, we say yes to what you have in store for Liberty Church in our city and in our missions.
Fasting is an opportunity to open your eyes to see what to pray for, to be open to intercede.
Bible Reading Plan for 21 Days of Fasting from You Version
21 Days of Prayer and Fasting Participant Guide, Gate City Vineyard
Fasting: Types of fasts and basics, Church of the Highlands
Food List for the Daniel Fast, Lakewood Church
Quick Tips for Fasting, Jentezen Franklin
