Corporate 21 Days of Fasting & Prayer Week 2 Theme Scriptures: 2 Chronicles 7:11-16 New Life Community UMC 11100 Wingate Rd. Jacksonville, Florida 32209 Lamont Hogans, Pastor 904-768-7779 Compiled by: Ms. Wilma Allen 1 P a g e
Revival comes, when the Church prays. Glory comes down when the Church prays! God heals the sick when the Church prays! God saves the sinner when the Church prays! God moves when a church prays! Kenneth Haney A key objective to Christianity revival and survival is prayer and fasting. Prayer and fasting is soooo simple but yet at the same time soooo profound and powerful! These (coupled together) bring a death blow to Satan and all the powers that come against you! I want to give some points to explain the importance of prayer and fasting: Survival: That s the first pinpoint in our journey to personal salvation and spiritual survival. Before we can effectively reach out to the lost we must be right with God ourselves. Leading others well begins with leading yourself well. You can t give a person something you do not have. So your personal walk and relationship with Jesus Christ can be maintained through prayer and fasting. Strength: Through prayer and fasting, we tap into a source of strength that God desires for His Church to have. Samson fought and destroyed many Philistines with a jaw bone of a donkey and killed many more by pulling down the columns of the temple, but the Philistines were still there. Samuel prayed and fasted and the Philistines could not enter the land. Prayer holds extraordinary power! Moses changed the mind of God through intercessory prayer. Jonah prayed and was vomited up by a whale. Paul and Silas prayed and the jail was shaken. Submission: God works through people that submit themselves to Him, but He will never put someone in a headlock and make them serve Him. God has given each and every one of us a choice to either serve Him with our all or not at all. Prayer and fasting breaks our flesh so that we can more accurately hear and be submissive to God. Remember (Sacrifice+ Submission= Supernatural).You want the supernatural power of God in your life? You must have both 2 P a g e
sacrifice and submission, and these come through consecrated fasting and intercessory prayer. (Daniel Auten.com) This week we will focus on seeking God on behalf of the church, and not just the church but our church, NLCC. We will pray together as one body of believers. This oneness is crucial to our testimony to the world. Jesus prayed that we would exhibit this oneness "that the world may believe that thou hast sent me" (John 17:21-23). Prayer Targets Pray for the Mission and Vision of the church Pastor Hogans, Sis. Jackie and Family Pray for the ministries of the church Pray for the worship service(s): Pray for youth and young adults Greater impact within our community, city and beyond Pray for justice and peace in our land. Finances to fund ministry, outreach, Trusting God to support church with tithes and offerings 3 P a g e
Day One-A House called New Life Praying together is one of the single most significant things we can do to cultivate unity in the church. There is a unity that is a given to those who are partners in Christ and share spiritual life in him. Acts 1:14 says it was with one accord that the first Christians were devoting themselves to prayer. Already we have the unity of the Spirit, and yet we are to be eager to maintain it (Ephesians 4:3). So praying together is both an effect of the unity we share in Christ, and it is a cause for deeper and richer unity. It is not only a sign that unity already exists among the brothers, but also a catalyst for more. There is added power when we unite with brothers and sisters in Christ to join our hearts and make our collective requests to our Father. God means for us to pray for each other in our various ministries and manifestations of our great shared Commission. Paul modeled this when he asked the churches to pray for his gospel work (Romans 15:30 32; 2 Corinthians 1:11; Ephesians 4 P a g e
6:18 20;; Colossians 4:3 4; 4:3 2 Thessalonians 3:1). 3:1 ). He was more than able to pray these things himself, and doubtless he did, but he anticipated there would be greater fruitfulness in the work when others others joined him in prayer for it.(desiringgod.org) it. (desiringgod.org). Scriptural Prayer: Holy Spirit, Spirit, we ask You to fill us with the knowledge of Your will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. We commit to praying for our brothers and sisters at NLCC. Help us to walk worthy and help us to be fruitful in every good work work. Teach us how to live together in unity. Walk us through the steps of rebuilding loving fellowship between us when disagreements occur. occur. Help us to continue to obey Your command to love our neighbor as ourselves so that we will not self-destruct self destruct by backbiting and devouring one another. Give us a willing heart to allow You to guide our lives so that not do what our sinful nature craves. Please strengthen us and help us to represent Your Kingdom in the earth. Holy Spirit, synchronize the heart of every church member and unify our spirits to receive and submit to the vision for our church. Please empower us to give of our talents, gifts and resources to manifest Kingdom change in our city in Jesus name amen. amen Day Two-Unity Two Unity in the Body 5 Page
Acts 1:14 (AMPC) 14 All of these with their minds in full agreement devoted themselves steadfastly to prayer, [waiting together] with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers. According to Strong s Concordance 3661. Here they "have the same mind" (the Lord's thoughts) because each receives the same revelation of His Word. 1 Corinthians 1:10 (NIV) 10 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, [a] in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. Apostle Paul isn t asking that every member think, act, or behave the same way. But his appeal is that we are united in our love of Christ, His Church, and seeing His Kingdom manifest on earth. Every person has a part to play in the Lord. Now, church unity is a very important matter, and, because of its significance, Paul puts it first in the list of problems he has to deal with here at Corinth. Reflection Questions: During this time of prayer & fasting, is there a ministry the Holy Spirit has laid on your heart to engage or commit to? How can I further support the church with my time, talent, and tithe if not already doing so? Scriptural Prayer: Our Father, we thank You for our Church Family. Thank You for calling each of us to serve Your Kingdom through this wonderful church. Thank You for using our individual gifts and talents to manifest Your presence, power, anointing, and abundance in our Church Family. You are great and greatly to be praised. Loving Father, we declare that we will love You with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength. As a Church Family, we confess that we will love one another, as ourselves. As Your children, we proclaim that we have all put on Christ, like putting on new clothes and we will walk in unity and love with one another. It is because of this love that we exhibit for each other that people will know that we are Your disciples. Your Word tells us that if we love You, we must also love our Christian brothers and sisters, too. Therefore, we declare that we will not look out only for our own interests, but we take an interest in each other s needs. We declare that we will live in harmony with each other and resist division. We will be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. We declare that as a church family we will turn away from evil, and do good; we will search for peace and work to maintain it. We confess that we will encourage and build each other up. Above all things, we decree that we will put on love which is the bond of perfection. In Jesus name Amen. (www.prayerinstitute.org) 6 P a g e
Day Three-Pastor Hogans Praying for our pastor is crucial to the spiritual health of the church. Your simple efforts will do much to advance the cause of Christ in your church and community, as God does a mighty work in and through Pastor Hogan s life. May your prayers and those of others in our church be an encouragement to them, along with expressions of kindness, care and appreciation, keep Pastor and Sis. Jackie safe, joyful and productive for many years to the glory and honor of Christ Jesus, our Lord! Because the bible promises to: 15 Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding. Jeremiah 3:15 (NIV) Point to Ponder: Ask the Holy Spirit to show you how to cover the Hogans in prayer. Below is a sample prayer to start. As a part of your prayer time please commit to praying for our pastor and his family. Prayer: Lord, Father, help our pastor to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings (Phil. 3:10). Since we know of his faith in the Lord Jesus and his love for all the saints, may we never stop giving thanks for him, 7 P a g e
always remembering him in our prayers. We will keep asking that You, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, will give him the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that he may know You better (Eph. 1:15-17). Keep a hedge of protection around their children and grandchildren. Our Pastors families experience the Kingdom of God here on earth; people see their good works and glorify You, our Father in Heaven. Lord God Almighty, would You help our pastor to humble himself before You and under Your mighty hand, so that You will lift him up (Jas. 4:10; 1 Pet. 5:6). Guide him in what is right and teach him Your way (Psa. 25:9). Give him balance in his life and ministry. Father, You have said that the one You esteem is he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who trembles at Your Word (Isa. 66:2). May our pastor be such a person! May he continually remember to clothe himself with Your armor so that he can take his stand against the devil s schemes. Help him to remember that his struggle is not against flesh and blood. In addition, help him to daily take up the shield of faith so that he can extinguish all of the flaming arrows of the evil one. May he put on the helmet of salvation and use the sword of the Spirit, Your Word. We commit to holding up his arms in support and in prayer. In Jesus name Amen Day Four- Evangelism "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest," (Matt. 9:37-38). 8 P a g e
Prayer in evangelism is prayer for the unsaved, asking the Lord to draw them to Himself (John 6:44); to open their ears to understand the truth (Matthew 13:19); and to open their eyes to see the light of the gospel (2 Corinthians 4:4). It also involves praying for ourselves that we may have compassion for the spiritual well-being of unbelievers, and be open to sharing the good news as He opens the door of opportunity. Simply put, in evangelistic praying we talk to God about people and then talk to people about God. Vision for prayer in evangelism We should pray that members of the whole Church every man, woman and child be equipped and motivated to play their part in the Great Commission by utilizing prayer as the key to effective and creative evangelism. Please pray for the lost, uncommitted, unchurched and backslidden souls. Pray for the hurting and hopeless. Vanetta Jordan New Life evangelism and outreach director asked that as a church we specifically pray for: Pray for boldness for our membership to witness to lost souls. Pray for direction in outreach. Pray for the harvest and pray for laborers to minister to those in the harvest. Pray for New Life to be light and salt. Pray for an open door to share the Gospel to those He leads us to Wisdom on how to share the Gospel Our prayer: Sovereign God, we acknowledge that You are the head of Your body, the Church. Forgive us for our selfish motives and our often pious religious spirit. Open our eyes to the physical, spiritual, and mental lostness of those around us. Once again we offer You our souls and bodies as living sacrifices to live and work to Your praise and glory. Please teach us to pray, teach us to listen, teach us to obey You individually and corporately. Send more laborers into Your world to be effective Christ-like witnesses for You with Your love, passion and concern for all we encounter. Send your Holy Spirit afresh upon us and upon Your whole Church that we might be the Kingdom People' one in our heart, vision, and call. In Jesus name. Amen 9 P a g e
Day 5-Transforming Lives through the Power of God This year New Life will celebrate our 20 th year. To God be the Glory!!!!!!!! We plan to spend the year celebrating God, recounting His blessings, and renewing Christian fellowship. We will be having multiple activities to celebrate this great event. Our theme scripture is 2 Corinthians 5:17. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: [a] The old has gone, the new is here! The Church is the first-fruits of the Kingdom of God, the first dawning of God s presence in the world in our day. Its purpose is both to remember God s faithfulness, kindness, mercy, and providence through our history up to now, and to move us and our world toward the goal God has given us. We look to our history the history of God s people, of the Christian Church, of this congregation remembering who we are and where we have been. And at the same time we look to the future, remembering what we have been put here to do and where we are going. Our history is always leading us somewhere; our glory as God s children is always yet to come. Prayer: Gracious God we give thanks as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of New Life and the journey that started so many years ago and so many plans ago and so many dreams ago. We celebrate all the ministries that have been birthed in these 20 years. Thank you for the vision and leading of our founding pastor Dr. Lewis. We celebrate all the happy times, all the accomplishments, and all the triumphs. Thank You, Lord, for blessing us with this community of faith. Bless Sis. Terri Virgil as she leads out our anniversary. Thank you for sending resources and people to help with the task. We acknowledge that there have been, and will continue to be, struggles heartaches. Yet we have travelled together under Your protection and love. Thank You, Lord, for being with us in good times and bad. We ask, Lord, that You would continue to protect us, guide us and sustain us as we go forth from this 20th anniversary celebration. We praise You heavenly Father for the great privilege which is ours this day to humbly come before You, and lovingly praise and thank You as we reflect on the history of our church which. By Your grace, Lord, this campus has been dedicated and established and been a place of community, fellowship, worship and preaching. Many people have come and gone from us over the years, and we are thankful for what each one has contributed to our church family. We are thankful to the support/favor we have received 10 P a g e
from the Northeast district as well as local community community that have allowed us to do the work of furthering God s Kingdom. Kingdom We continue to pray for Your gracious Spirit to work through us as we support ministries in our local area as well as those beyond our boundaries to transform lives New Life Community Church. We thank you for the legacy of pastors, ministers, and leaders who answered the call to serve while at New Life. May we be faithful in lleading eading of the Holy Spirit in proclaiming the Good News of Jesus and being a gift to our world. As we celebrate our past and rejoice in our present, we also look forward with eager eyes to the future. We pray that You would continue to make Your love known among us. Give us a zeal for mission. Help us to look beyond our walls to those who do not know You. Make this chur church ch a blessing to those around us, and embolden us to move forward with strength toward what lies ahead in Jesus name Amen This week our focus was on seeking God through our local church. We pray you are being blessed both personally and corporately during during this time of prayer and fasting. Enjoy your weekend. See you in worship. 11 P a g e