All In Prayer Booklet: Welcome & Fasting
WELCOME
A NOTE FROM BRIAN
Thank you for
going “all in” with us for the next 40 days to seek the Lord’s direction and
provision for the future of Calvary Baptist Church. As we praise God for over
80 years of His faithfulness, we are uniting to seek Him for the next chapter
of our ministry. Beginning on March 5, we are asking you to set aside time each
day to pray and fast on behalf of your church. (For some fasting ideas, please
see the next page.)
What
will the next 40 days hold? What spiritual fruit will be produced over the next
5 ½ weeks? God knows. But I read something recently that moved me.
“There is nothing magical about forty days, but
there is something biblical about it. That’s the number of days Jesus spent in
the wilderness fasting and praying. It marked a critical chapter in His life -
the transition from His earthly father’s business to His heavenly Father’s
business. Jesus was tested like never before, but this experience set the stage
for His greatest victories over the enemy. The war against sin and Satan may
have been won on Calvary’s cross, but a key battle happened in the wilderness
three years earlier. When Jesus returned to Galilee, He wasn’t the same
person.”
In
this booklet, you’ll find the Sundays are formatted to be devotional and
thought provoking, while Monday through Saturday will have specific requests
for you to pray about. The quotes, Scriptures, and model prayers are simply
meant to be a guide.
What
if miracles that will happen decades from now, trace their origin back to this
season of prayer? What if God is just waiting
to show us His glory in a way like we’ve never seen before? What if the next 40
days change everything?
In Christ,
Pastor Brian
FASTING
FASTING
A Quick Guide
Many
of us have medical or practical reasons that make fasting a bit of a challenge.
We would ask that this not become a legalistic burden, but an act of
self-denial as a sign of humble desperation to hear from God. Here are some
ideas of how to approach a fast:
A Regular Fast: Traditionally, a regular fast means
refraining from eating all food. Most people still drink water or juice during
a regular fast. When Jesus fasted in the desert, the Bible says, “After fasting
forty days and nights, he was hungry.” This verse does not mention Jesus being
thirsty.
A Partial Fast: This type of fast generally refers to
omitting a specific meal from your diet or refraining from certain types of
foods. Daniel 10:2-3 says, “At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. I
ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at
all until the three weeks were over.” In Daniel 1:12, they restricted their
diet to vegetables and water: “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us
nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink.” Maybe you have a sweet tooth
and fasting from sweets would be a sacrificial idea for you.
A Full Fast: These fasts are complete- no food and
no drinks. Acts 9:9 describes when Paul went on a full fast for three days
following his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus: “For three days he
was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.” Esther also called for this type
of fast in Esther 4:15-16: “Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: ‘Go,
gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or
drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When
this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if
I perish, I perish.’” It is recommended that this type of fast be done with
extreme caution and not for extended periods of time.
Israelite/ Ramadan Fast: Another approach to fasting that has
been widely used in Hebrew history and even in other religions is to fast from
sunrise to sunset for a specific number of days.
A Non-Food Fast: Although not mentioned in the Bible,
Christians today commit to fasting from other activities as well. Some give up
entertainment such as TV, movies, Social Media, the internet, etc. to
concentrate on prayer.
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