Prayer is about aligning with the heart of God.

When we pray, we align our thoughts and declarations with the will of God thereby making the plan of Heaven a reality on earth. We pray for the plan of Heaven to become the reality of earth by bringing our thoughts and declarations into agreement with the will of God. (Matthew 16:19, John 14:14, Mark 11:24, John 15:7)

Prayer is more than asking God for things, it is also standing in faith and agreement with God’s desired outcome. Jesus ONLY DID what He saw the father doing and ONLY SAID what he heard the father saying. Like Jesus, we also are to be a people who Christ lives and speaks through, hearing and seeing the heartbeat of Heaven and putting our faith, words, and actions in alignment with His will. When we put all our faith and prayer power towards one focused purpose, we see not only mountains removed, but also new landscapes formed. A kingdom divided CANNOT stand, so imagine what a kingdom UNITED can achieve. (1 Peter 5:8, Matthew 12:25-28 & 17:20)

To fast is to forsake our normal daily time-consuming tasks with time of prayer in its place.

In days of old, food preparation and consumption was how a large portion of a person’s time was spent. To replace those tasks with intentional prayer meant to devote time that was usually spent feeding your body with time devoted to yielding to and strengthening the Spirit in you. Fasting is about putting aside the care of your body and soul to fully tune in to the Holy Spirit. In addition, we are told that unbelief is a hindrance to praying the will of God. (Mark 9:23, Matthew 13:58)

In Matthew 17 Jesus explains to the disciples that they could not operate in the gifts he had empowered them with because of their unbelief. He then goes on to give the remedy to unbelief: prayer and fasting. Fasting strengthens our ability to believe what God says over what we see so that we are not limited by earthly experiences, but rather fueled by what God says is possible. Fasting is ignoring your physical and emotional desires or needs so that the Spirit can be the primary leader of your thoughts, prayers and declarations.

A collective fast is putting all of our arsenal towards one battle rather than the individual purposes we focus on and battle each day.

In both the Old and New Testaments we see people band together for dedicated times of prayer and fasting. In doing so they were putting aside any hindrance of unbelief (fasting), and then altering their faith and focus from their individual pursuits to a corporate purpose. (Esther 4:15-17, Acts 12:5-15)

As we unite to advance God’s kingdom on earth, we believe the fruit and gifts of His Spirit bring victory to the body of Christ and the community we serve. Together we put aside individual agendas to focus our resources, energy, and attention on a shared, intentional purpose for His kingdom. It’s not about self-denial or striving through our efforts, but about channeling our spiritual resources toward one collective mission.

Fasting is about devoting time to Prayer. We encourage you to seek the Lord on what activities could be replaced with prayer for 21 days.

• Food: Food is the most common fast we see in scripture either by entirely forgoing anything other than water (Jesus fast), forgoing a meal a day, or a specific type of food (Daniel fast).
• Activity: You can also fast an activity such as social media/television, overtime at work, recreational activities or social events.

This is about making time available and intentionally shifting focus so anything YOU spend a significant amount of time or focus doing can be your fast. Remember, the key is to focus our time and attention on seeking God and praying His heart so during the 21 day fast you’ll replace your chosen activities/items with dedicated fellowship, prayer for the topic of the day, and communion with God.

• Prepare now by seeking the Lord on how He would have you participate.
• Seek His guidance for the level and type of fasting you are to engage in.
• From January 1st-21st, set aside daily devoted times of prayer.
• Save the dates, January 19th, 20th, & 21st for in-person prayer and worship.

Download this resource to use as a family. Encourage your kids to engage in a time of prayer each day with you.

21 Days of Prayer + Fasting KIDS