We begin 2021 with 21 days of focused prayer and fasting, seeking the Lord together as a church family. Our hope for this experience is that we become stronger together: one in purpose as a Bethel community and one in our kingdom mission as Christ-followers.
These 21 days are for all of us, whether you’ve never prayed or fasted, or you’re in a regular rhythm of both.
Simply put, prayer is communicating with God. We talk with Him and invite Him to talk to us.
- Commit to a specific time each day to devote to prayer. Find a place where you can be free of distractions and be alone with God.
- Use the reading plan and listen to the accompanying Anchored Daily podcast to focus and guide you as you are praying.
- Consider journaling your prayers or working to memorize the verses each day.
- Pray with others. Meet at the church with your small group or set up a Zoom call. Pray together as a family.
Fasting is the choice to temporarily give up something that consumes a great deal of your time or focus. Instead of engaging in that activity, you focus your time and energy on God in prayer. The goal of fasting is to turn ourselves from worldly things and set our minds and hearts fully on God.
Ask God to lead you in this time of seeking his face. Humble yourself and draw near to God. Here are some ideas.
- A selective fast, eliminating certain things from your diet.
- A partial fast, which is refraining from eating for a set period of time each day. You could choose to fast from a single meal or from sunup to sundown.
- A complete fast, refraining from eating and only drinking liquids for particular days or even an extended period of time.
- A fast from social media, television, or certain times or activities on your cell phone.
Seeking God together as a church family is the best way to enter 2021!
