Dear First Pres,
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
If you were with us, you know that we had a fantastic worship celebration on Christmas Eve. Special thanks goes to all the folks who helped to make it happen. I could sense that the Lord was at work, so I’m praying that He nurtures the seeds of His Kingdom that were planted in hearts during our worship. He’s the One who draws people unto Himself, but He uses us in the process. So, I’m also praying that we will be ready to respond when the Lord puts certain people on our hearts and minds. Never forget that your invitation, your encouragement, your prayer, your testimony and/or your pointing to Jesus can be used by the Lord to change someone’s life for eternity. If you met someone new on Christmas Eve, pray for them. If you saw someone you haven’t seen in a long time, pray for them. And let’s look forward to the way the Lord will nurture those seeds into new life.
Now, on this fourth day of 2024, as I continue to celebrate that Christ has come, my brain has shifted to this new year. What are you looking forward to in 2024? For me, I have a long list of things that I’d love to see the Lord do in and through me, my family, our city and our FPC congregation. But as I consider those things I’m reminded that we are absolutely dependent on the Lord to make anything worthwhile for His Kingdom. That’s why I love our church’s commitment to participate in the 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting at the beginning of each year.
If you don’t know, there is a wonderful tradition amongst God’s people in our city to launch the year together in prayer and fasting – 21 days set aside for us to seek the Lord together for His Kingdom to come and His will to be done and His name to be hallowed on earth as it is in heaven. This year it will start on Monday, January 8 (yes, that’s this coming Monday) and end on Sunday, January 28. Every night during those 21 days there will be a physical gathering hosted by one of the churches in our city (we’re hosting on Friday, January 26). Weekday gatherings will start at 7 p.m. Weekend gatherings (Saturday & Sunday) will start at 6 p.m. You can find a schedule for the gatherings HERE.
So, here’s what I encourage you to do this week as we prepare for the launch of these transformative 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting. First, make a decision that you will participate. It’s easy, I know, for this to be something that other people do, but that you don’t do. So, make a decision now that you’re going to lean into prayer and fasting with thousands of other believers in our city during these 21 days. Second, make a plan for fasting. Fasting is one way we sharpen our focus in prayer. It normally means abstaining from food in some way, but it can also mean abstaining from something else. Choose something that will require some mindfulness and discipline – something that will be a bit of a challenge. Third, look at your calendar and plan to participate in some of the prayer gatherings. It’s at these gatherings (that are also available online) that we remember that our prayers are not in isolation. But, if they’re not on your calendar, they’re easy to miss. Fourth, as Jon Jo invited us last week, set an alarm for 11:02 a.m. during the 21 Days to remind you to pray for three particular people you long to see open their hearts to Jesus.
The 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting are designed to focus our prayers on our city, but it can also be a wonderfully enriching time for you. I’m not sure what’s in store for you in 2024, but I am sure that you will benefit from surrendering it all to the Lord in prayer. So, to summarize:
Will you participate?
How will you fast?
What gatherings will you attend?
Who are your three people?
Blessings,
Jeremy
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