21 Days of Prayer and FastingSample

Heart After God

God desires our hearts. When we pursue Him wholeheartedly, His love for us and the hope, peace, and confidence that comes from knowing Him displaces all that is not of Him. Starting the year with prayer and fasting is a great time to assess and adjust. This pause from the normal routine causes us to evaluate our course and see where we stand in relation to pursuing God with everything and provides us with clarity to move forward.

Distractions will happen, schedules will fill, and busyness will take over if we aren’t intentional. What started as a committed time to God can turn into trying to fit Him into our day. Instead, as Christ-followers, we are to put God first and then add all the rest. When we stay connected and in a relationship with Him, we are less likely to be distracted by second-best things and drift away. We’ll find that we can release the weight we carry–care, worry, anxiety, negative emotions, trauma, disappointment, discouragement–to be filled with God’s love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self-control: fruit that will keep us going in the right direction and lead to life. For the next three weeks, commit to setting aside time daily to put God first wholeheartedly.

PRAYER:

God, as I prioritize prayer over the next twenty-one days, I desire more of You and less of me. I will fix my thoughts on You, submitting my ways for your plans. Have your way as I stir a hunger within me for even more of You. I empty myself of all that is not of You. I prioritize time with You and invite You to move and speak. As I draw near to You, I expect to grow in my faith and experience You like never before.

I am looking forward to everything that You will do!