21 Days of Prayer & Fasting
At Journey, we have set aside 21 days from January 4-21 as a season of prayer and fasting. When combined together, these two practices help eliminate distractions, refresh our spirit, and reconnect us with God more purposefully. I know I need a refresh after all the celebrations around the holidays. As we embark on a new year, may we start with God, acknowledging our total dependence on Him.
I am asking each of you to pray and consider how God is calling you to participate in this season with your Journey family. In addition to praying on your own, I encourage you to join us at Journey on Tuesday nights for our 6pm prayer time. Here are prayer points and recommended resources to guide you in your prayer and fasting journey...
Prayer Points
Additional Prayer Resources to Consider
WHEN TO PRAY?
In every situation, we should pray before we act. People often act first and then want God to bail them out of that situation, but prayer should be our first response, not our last resort. Simply understanding the necessity of prayer is not enough. For prayer to become part of our daily life, it needs to become something we look forward to. When you discover the beauty of daily conversation with Him, you’ll experience the presence of God in a way that will change your life! Pray first! Pray daily!
HOW TO PRAY?
We don’t have to follow a specific formula to talk with God, but practicing different ways to pray can help us find a deeper purpose and connection to Him. Suggestions to make your prayer time even more meaningful - take notes, or write down your prayer requests; play worship music in the background. The most important step is committing to regularly entering God’s presence each day. To understand how to have a lifestyle of prayer, we can look at the example Jesus gave during His life on earth: “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed.” Mark 1:35 NIV.
Here is a basic outline to help you get started:
ADDITIONAL PRAYER RESOURCES
Prayer Starter Kit | Cru
Prayer Has Its Reasons - Focus on the Family
How to Pray: 11 Creative Ideas for Teaching Kids - Ministry Spark
Fasting
WHY FAST?
The goal of fasting is, to the best of my ability, to disconnect from the world and draw nearer to God. Biblical fasting always has to do with eliminating distractions for a spiritual purpose; it hits the reset button of our soul and renews us from the inside out. Remember, your personal fast (whatever you choose to give up or abstain from) should present a level of challenge, but it is very important to know your body, your options, and, most importantly, to seek God in prayer and follow what the Holy Spirit leads you to do.
WHEN TO FAST?
As a church, we have decided to do a 21-day period of fasting in conjunction with prayer to start off the year. This is intended to be a season of focused prayer as a church family. You may also choose to fast at other times during the year for your own spiritual development. It’s very typical to fast a single meal, a whole day, or three days or more consecutively. The timing of your fast is not as important as the strength of your focus on God as you fast.
HOW TO FAST? (Types of Fasts)
Additional Fasting Resources
7 Steps to Fasting | Cru
Personal Guide to Fasting | Cru
Praying with you and for you as we embark on this journey together.
Pastor Adrian
I am asking each of you to pray and consider how God is calling you to participate in this season with your Journey family. In addition to praying on your own, I encourage you to join us at Journey on Tuesday nights for our 6pm prayer time. Here are prayer points and recommended resources to guide you in your prayer and fasting journey...
Prayer Points
- For Journey to fulfill its mission to help people find and follow Jesus. Ask the Lord, “How do I help people find and follow Jesus this year?”
- For Journey to fulfill its three vision points in 2026:
- Equip people with a biblical worldview
- Serve as a house of healing and prayer
- Build stronger marriages and families
- For new commitments to Jesus and more disciples made in 2026.
- For more of God to be revealed in my life, in my church, my family and in this city.
- For clarity and vision for my life, for my church and for my family
- For direction and provision for future expansion of Journey Church, so we can reach more people for Jesus.
Additional Prayer Resources to Consider
WHEN TO PRAY?
In every situation, we should pray before we act. People often act first and then want God to bail them out of that situation, but prayer should be our first response, not our last resort. Simply understanding the necessity of prayer is not enough. For prayer to become part of our daily life, it needs to become something we look forward to. When you discover the beauty of daily conversation with Him, you’ll experience the presence of God in a way that will change your life! Pray first! Pray daily!
HOW TO PRAY?
We don’t have to follow a specific formula to talk with God, but practicing different ways to pray can help us find a deeper purpose and connection to Him. Suggestions to make your prayer time even more meaningful - take notes, or write down your prayer requests; play worship music in the background. The most important step is committing to regularly entering God’s presence each day. To understand how to have a lifestyle of prayer, we can look at the example Jesus gave during His life on earth: “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed.” Mark 1:35 NIV.
Here is a basic outline to help you get started:
- Have a specific TIME. Make a daily appointment with God and keep it!
- Have a specific PLACE. Jesus had a specific place He went to pray. Having a designated place to pray helps us remove distractions and frees us to worship and pray out loud.
- Have a specific PLAN. When Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, He gave them a prayer outline we call “The Lord’s Prayer” (Matthew 6:9-13).
ADDITIONAL PRAYER RESOURCES
Prayer Starter Kit | Cru
Prayer Has Its Reasons - Focus on the Family
How to Pray: 11 Creative Ideas for Teaching Kids - Ministry Spark
Fasting
WHY FAST?
The goal of fasting is, to the best of my ability, to disconnect from the world and draw nearer to God. Biblical fasting always has to do with eliminating distractions for a spiritual purpose; it hits the reset button of our soul and renews us from the inside out. Remember, your personal fast (whatever you choose to give up or abstain from) should present a level of challenge, but it is very important to know your body, your options, and, most importantly, to seek God in prayer and follow what the Holy Spirit leads you to do.
WHEN TO FAST?
As a church, we have decided to do a 21-day period of fasting in conjunction with prayer to start off the year. This is intended to be a season of focused prayer as a church family. You may also choose to fast at other times during the year for your own spiritual development. It’s very typical to fast a single meal, a whole day, or three days or more consecutively. The timing of your fast is not as important as the strength of your focus on God as you fast.
HOW TO FAST? (Types of Fasts)
- Complete Fast: In this type of fast, you drink only liquids, typically water (light juices are optional).
- Selective Fast: This type of fast involves removing certain elements from your diet. One example of a selective fast is the “Daniel Fast”, during which you remove meat, sweets, and bread from your diet and consume water and juice for fluids and fruits and vegetables for food.
- Partial Fast: This fast is sometimes called the “Jewish Fast” and involves abstaining from eating any type of food in the morning and afternoon. This can either correlate to specific times of the day, such as 6:00 am to 3:00 pm, or from sunup to sundown.
- Soul Fast: This fast is a great option if you do not have much experience fasting food, have health issues that prevent you from fasting food, or if you wish to refocus certain areas of your life that are out of balance. For example, you might choose to stop using social media or watching television for the duration of the fast and then carefully bring that element back into your life in healthy doses at the conclusion of the fast.
Additional Fasting Resources
7 Steps to Fasting | Cru
Personal Guide to Fasting | Cru
Praying with you and for you as we embark on this journey together.
Pastor Adrian
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