About Fasting. The Prayer that brings renewal: Fasting and Prayer. Fasting & Prayer establishes spiritual authority

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3 Dear Journey Family, Welcome to 21 days that could totally transform your life. Here you will find helpful teachings on how to fast and pray. The purpose of fasting and prayer is to create intimacy with Jesus and to align yourself with God's will. It's good to connect with others who are fasting and praying to encourage one another. I've included a template on how to pray for one hour. Use it as a guide to build your own prayer experience. Prayer is a conversation that you have with God. Talk to Him and listen to Him. You'll want to avoid repetition and religious jargon that fills the empty space. Prayer is fellowship with God. Keep it simple. I've also included some tips on fasting. If this is your first time to fast, take it slowly and learn how to protect your physical health while fasting. You may want to begin with fasting a meal a day or one day a week. Others who are more experienced may plan to go the whole 21 days. Use wisdom and avoid guilt. I'm glad that you and I are taking this journey together. Pastor Doug

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5 About Fasting The Prayer that brings renewal: Fasting and Prayer 1. Fasting & Prayer establishes spiritual authority Matthew 4 NIV 1Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3The tempter came to him and said, If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread. 4Jesus answered, It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' 5Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 If you are the Son of God, he said, throw yourself down. For it is written: He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. 7Jesus answered him, It is also written: Do not put the Lord your God to the test. 8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 All this I will give you, he said, if you will bow down and worship me. 10Jesus said to him, Away from me, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only. 11Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him. 2. Fasting and Prayer helps you to clearly hear the voice of God. Acts 13:2-3 NIV 2While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. 3So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. Acts 14:21-23 NIV 21They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God, they said. 23Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. 3. Fasting and Prayer gets your focus on other people. Isaiah 58:6-7 NIV 6 Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? 7Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? 4. Some things are broken only through Fasting & Prayer. Mark 9:29 KJV And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting. Quote: "Fasting and prayer are religious exercises; the enjoining them, an act of discipline." Thomas Jefferson ( ; "The Writings of Thomas Jefferson"; 3rd U.S. President) Call to action! Let s fast and pray!

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7 Tips for Fasting Adapted from the writings of Dr. Bill Bright. This entire article is available at cru.org. It's entitled, "Your Personal Guide to Fasting and Prayer" 1. Guard Your Health If you have health issues or questions you should consult your doctor before fasting. In spite of the absolute safety and benefits of fasting, there are certain people who should NEVER fast without professional supervision. For example: Those who are physically too thin or emaciated. Those who are prone to anorexia, bulimia, or other behavioral disorders. Those who suffer weakness or anemia. Those who have tumors, bleeding ulcers, cancer, blood diseases, or who have heart disease. Those who suffer chronic problems with kidneys, liver, lungs, heart, or other important organs. Individuals who take insulin for diabetes, or suffer any other blood sugar problem such as hyperglycemia. Women who are pregnant or nursing. 2. What kind of fast should I do? The Bible Recounts Primarily Two Types of Fasts: A partial fast is described in the book of Daniel. Although the water fast seemed to be the custom of the prophet, there was a three-week period in which he only abstained from "delicacies," meat, and wine (Daniel 10:3). The two primary types mentioned in the Bible are the "absolute" and "supernatural absolute" fasts. These are total fasts-no food (solid or liquid) and no water. Paul went on an absolute fast for three days following his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:9). Moses and Elijah engaged in what must be considered a supernatural absolute fast of forty days (Deuteronomy 9:9; I Kings 19:8). I strongly advise you to drink plenty of liquids. Obviously, if God leads you to undertake an absolute fast, you should obey. If so, be certain, without doubt, that God is leading you. Water-only fasts that last for more than several days need to be undertaken with complete rest and under medical supervision because of the extreme danger of over-toxification, breakdown of vital body tissues, and loss of electrolytes. I personally recommend and practice water and juice fasting, especially if you are going to fast for an extended period of time. This type of fast will provide you with more energy than absolute or water-only fasts and still lead you into the humbling experience of denying your desire for solid food that you can chew. When it comes to making your final decision about what type of fast is right for you, the best advice I can give you is to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. He will guide your heart and mind as to what is best for you. Remember, the most important consideration in fasting is your motive. Why are you fasting? To seek something personally from God's hand or to seek His face in worship, praise and thanksgiving?

8 3. Physical Preparation Although fasting is primarily a spiritual discipline, it begins in the physical realm. You should not fast without specific physical preparation. If you plan on fasting for several days, you will find it helpful to begin by eating smaller meals before you abstain altogether. Resist the urge to have that "last big feast" before the fast. Cutting down on your meals a few days before you begin the fast will signal your mind, stomach, and appetite that less food is acceptable. Some health professionals suggest eating only raw foods for two days before starting a fast. I also recommend weaning yourself off caffeine and sugar products to ease your initial hunger or discomfort at the early stages of your fast. 4. Manage Your Schedule Reasons for schedule adjustments, especially during an extended fast, are two-fold. The first is physical. Throughout your fast, you may feel somewhat weaker than normal. During the first few days, you may feel tired and irritable. Lightening your workload and cutting down on strenuous exercise would be a very good idea to maintain your health and your morale. The second reason is spiritual. Fasting is not just denying your body food. It is exchanging the needs of the physical body for those of the spiritual. Long times of prayer and reading God's Word will be very essential if you are to enter into a more intimate communion with God to maintain your fast to its completion. You will starve both physically and spiritually if you dissipate your energy on numerous errands or busy-work to the neglect of spending special time with God. You will find yourself becoming discouraged and frustrated with your fast instead of being benefited and uplifted and blessed. I don't want that to happen to you. The more time you spend with God in fellowship, worship, and adoration of Him, and the more you read and meditate upon His Word, the greater your effectiveness will be in prayer and the more meaningful your fast will be. So I encourage you to arrange your schedule accordingly! 5. Stay Focused Receiving God's best blessing from a fast requires solid commitment. Arranging special time each day with God is absolutely crucial in attaining intimate communion with the Father. You must devote yourself to seeking God's face, even (and especially) during those times in which you feel weak, vulnerable, or irritable. Read His Word and pray during what were mealtimes. Meditate on Him when you awake in the night. Sing praises to Him whenever you please. Focus on your Heavenly Father and make every act one of praise and worship. God will enable you to experience His command to "pray without ceasing" as you seek His presence.

9 Prayer Focus Day 1 Pray for the grace of God to be on the vision of Journey. Pray for Pastor Doug & Rachel McAllister and their family. Pray for the seven Easter Experiences on both campuses this year. Day 2 Pray for the members of the Go Team who serve the ministry at Journey. Pray for the Lead Team and their families. Pastor Ken Maat, Pastor Tanya Camper, & CFO Jeremey Charbonnet. Pray for the Step Classes - First Step and Next Step. Day 3 Pray for our 100 Small Group Leaders. Pray for the staff pastors of the I-12 Campus: Michael Lahman, Kathy Crosby, Alvin Chartier, Allen Borgen, Kirk Plaisance, & Dennis Clark. Pray for the staff pastors of the Pontchartrain Campus: Dan and Angel Mesman, Michael Montana. Pray for the administrative and support staff on both campuses. Day 4 Pray for the Weekend Teams on both campuses. Pray for Weekend Team Director on the Pontchartrain Campus: Brandy Zeringue Pray for the Weekend Team Directors on the I-12 Campus: David and Olga Newman. Day 5 Pray for the Journey worship bands and media teams - Worship Pastor Rachel McAllister, I-12 Worship Director Greg Cavalier and Pontchartrain Director Diana LaSalla. Pray for the Journey Altar Ministry team on both campuses. Day 6 Pray for the Online Campus and the people that watch each week. Pray for the I-12 Campus physical plant, equipment and maintenance. Pray for the Pontchartrain Campus physical plant, equipment and maintenance. Day 7 Pray for the Summer Outreaches on the Northshore as we share the Good News with our neighbors. Pray for Compassion Outreach as we help hurting people in our communities. Day 8 Pray for Journey Leadership College and our students who are preparing for full time ministry. Pray for our Small Group Leaders training weekend. Pray for Generations Ministries: Nursery, Preschool, Elementary, Jr. High and High School. Day 9 Pray for our local and foreign missionary partners. Pray for Luis and Lourdes Padilla who are planting churches in Argentina. Pray for David and Patti Ball who planting churches in Africa. Day 10 Pray for our Local Outreach Partners, Crisis Pregnancy Center and Community Christian Concern, both in Slidell Pray for the New Orleans Rescue Mission.

10 Day 11 Pray for our daily radio outreach. "Doing Life Together" is on weekdays at 6:35a on the Lifesongs family of stations. Pray for our Go Trips, Journey's Short-Term Foreign Outreaches to nations such as Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, China, Spain, and Bahamas. Day 12 Day 13 Day 14 Day 15 Day 16 Day 17 Day 18 Day 19 Day 20 Day 21 Pray for our College Missionaries: Eric Treuil (ULL), Chris Buckel (USM), Matt Degier (Tulane), Josh Harvey (Loyola), Josh Higgins (LSU), Sullivan Turner (McNeese), Tony Jones (USM), Christine Thrower (UNO) and Deanna Ceasar (Loyola) Pray for our missionaries in China: John and Cyndi Davis, Steve and Kim Wajda, and Dale Cuckow Pray for church planting in Louisiana. We are believing for and working toward 200 new churches in our state. Pray for our district superintendent, Scott Holmes. Pray for our sister church, Journey Community Church in Cleveland and Pastors Jim and Jennifer Wilkes. Pray for Men s and Women s ministries on both campuses. Pray for the 1st Wednesday Experience that brings both campuses together monthly to focus on the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Pray for Journey Essentials, our 3-year curriculum that develops fully devoted followers of Jesus. Pray for our summer semester of Small Groups. Pray for our students who are graduating from high school and college this year. Pray for water baptisms during 1 st Wednesday. Pray for the monthly communion on each campus and that each believer would grow in intimacy with Jesus. Pray for our future Journey Campuses that we will plant in and around the Northshore. Pray for the new Sunday Experiences that we will add to each Journey Campus in the future. Pray for Jody Dyess and the high school outreaches across Louisiana and Mississippi. Pray for our Louisiana District Council and the General Council of the Assemblies of God and our leaders. Pray for Summer Camps for our children and students. Pray for the Kids Conference this summer at Journey. Pray for the 1500 people who are in our Journey community. Pray hurting people and those far away from God.

11 How To Pray 1 Hour Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, not what words to say or even where to pray but he gave us a model to follow. I use this model to pray for one hour and so could you. Prayer is a conversation between you and your Creator. Talk. Listen. Enjoy. You will come away from your prayer time refreshed and inspired. Pray like Jesus. This prayer model is based on the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13. It is intended to be a guide to build your prayer time around. As you spend time with Jesus, use these scriptures as a guide to pray. Read Matthew 6:9-13 before you begin. Station 1 Faith (Our Father in Heaven, May your name be honored.) Begin your time of prayer with WORSHIP. Tell God that you love Him and then tell Him why. List the good things in your life and give thanks for each of them. 1 Thessalonians 5: pray continually; 18give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 19Do not put out the Spirit's fire; Station 2 Humility (Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.) Humble yourself before the Lord. Deal with your sin and pride honestly. CONFESS your weaknesses and open your heart to receive His strength. 2 Corinthians 12: Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Station 3 Dependence (Give us this day our daily bread.) Present to the Lord your needs. Ask for what you lack. Believe that you'll have what you ASK. Pray for wisdom and pray for the Favor of God. Luke 2:52 - And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. Station 4 Forgiveness (Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.) Release those who have wronged you. FORGIVE those who have hurt you. Make a choice to move on. Forget the things that are behind you. Philippians 3:13 - Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, Station 5 Deliverance (Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.) Trust God to deliver you from the evil of this world. Put on the whole ARMOR OF GOD. Ask for boldness and confidence. Ephesians 6: Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Station 6 Worship (For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.) Conclude your prayer time the same way that you started it. WORSHIP. SING. MEDITATE. THINK. Psalms 23: The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

12 January 2015