Day 1 | January 15:
Mountains will Move
READ: Jeremiah 32:17; Matthew 21:21-22
MEDITATE: As we enter these 21 days of prayer and fasting, prayerfully consider what mountains you are believing God to move on your behalf and write those down. Are there mountains of your own making that need to be removed? Write those down as well. As you draw closer to God over the next few weeks, allow him to do what he needs to do to realign your heart and mind and then, see what more God can and will do!
PRAY: God, give me faith to believe you can and will move mountains. But first, search me and do the work you need to do in my own life. Not my will, but yours be done.
Day 2 | January 16:
Depending on God Through Prayer and Fasting
READ: Mark 9:14-29; John 15:4-5
MEDITATE: Jesus’ primary concern was the condition of the boy possessed by an evil spirit, and he confirms that the power needed for his healing comes through prayer and fasting. As we pray and fast, we are trusting God to do his will in our lives and to provide our daily strength.
PRAY: I am dependent upon you God for life, strength, and my needs. May you produce in and through me the fruits and results you desire to accomplish.
Day 3 | January 17: Doing Battle
READ: 2 Chronicles 20:2-3, 15-17, 25
MEDITATE: When struggles come (and they will!), it is easy to give up, but believe that God is fighting on your behalf. Don’t wait until the battle is won to give God praise. Praise him now for what he has promised.
PRAY: I may already feel like giving up, but help me, God, to praise you in the middle of the battle knowing that you are fighting on my behalf.
Day 4 | January 18:
Fasting and the Power of Praise
READ: 2 Chronicles 20:20-21; Psalm 68:1-10
MEDITATE: Just as fasting is a means of putting our physical bodies under subjection, praise is a means of putting our mental, emotional, and spiritual beings under subjection to God’s authority. What areas of your life do you need to give back to God and give him authority over once again?
PRAY: I give you praise, O God, for your faithful love that endures forever! Help me to recenter my life in you.
Day 5 | January 19:
Just Like Us
READ: James 5:16-18; Hebrews 4:16; Acts 10:34
MEDITATE: God answers prayers. While our prayers may not be like Elijah’s, God wants us to spend time with him and honestly share our requests, but, are your prayers more of a “to do list” for God? Or are they authentic conversations with your Lord and Savior, who wants what’s best for you?
PRAY: God, at times I come to you more with my requests than to spend time with you. As my Heavenly Father, I know you want more for me than I can imagine. As I spend time with you, change my heart from my desires to what you desire for me and my life.
Day 6 | January 20:
All About Appetite
READ: Genesis 25:19-34; Hebrews 12:16
MEDITATE: Esau traded his birthright to Jacob for food to satisfy his hunger. Esau focused on the immediate, while Jacob sought the future. Sometimes we make short-term decisions without having a long-term view in mind. God wants us to keep our eyes on the eternal, what truly matters.
PRAY: God, help me to make decisions with a long-term and eternal view in mind. Give me spiritual vision, godly wisdom, and perseverance to choose.
Day 7 | January 21: SELAH
PAUSE: Take time to reflect on where God has brought you this past week.
Day 8 | January 22:
The Kind of Fasting God Honors
Day 8 | January 22: The Kind of Fasting God Honors
READ: Matthew 6:16-18; 2 Corinthians 5:9; Galatians 1:10
MEDITATE: In Matthew 6 Jesus teaches the proper way to fast. It should be done in private and focused on God rather than done in public and looking for approval from man. Our motives for fasting are important. Spend time today allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal to you your heart and motives for fasting.
PRAY: Heavenly Father, search my heart and reveal to me my true motives. Help me to center them on you rather than outward approval from others.
Day 9 | January 23:
Nearness
READ: Matthew 9:14-15; James 4:8
MEDITATE: Just as our physical bodies crave food and drink, our spiritual bodies hunger and thirst for God’s presence. Draw near to God today, and he will meet you where you are.
PRAY: God, there is a hunger and thirst in my life that only you can satisfy. Help me draw near to you and find all that I need in your presence.
Day 10 | January 24:
The Certainty of Change
READ: Acts 13:2; Exodus 34:28; Matthew 4:2
MEDITATE: Through prayer and fasting, God gave Saul (Paul) and Barnabas a new mission. He gave Moses the Ten Commandments. Jesus found strength and power to initiate his public ministry and start his journey to the cross. Fasting can precede supernatural change, empowerment, and mission. To what is God calling You today?
PRAY: Lord open my spiritual eyes, ears, and heart to what you are saying to me today. Whether it’s a new word, mission, or ministry, may I receive it, accept it, and obediently walk in it that I might honor you.
Day 11 | January 25:
Supernatural Results Are on Their Way!
READ: Daniel 10:1-21
MEDITATE: When you experience spiritual weakness, don’t give up! God is working today in ways you may not see. Embrace the weakness, knowing that it serves as a reminder of our complete dependence on God. Allow him to strengthen you spiritually and be encouraged in knowing that supernatural results are on the way.
PRAY: God, when I am so tired that I want to give up, give me the strength and courage to stand on your Word believing in faith that even when I can’t see it, you are working.
Day 12 | January 26:
God Is Working
READ: Ephesians 6:12; Daniel 1:1-21
MEDITATE: Fasting is hard. It’s a discipline to sacrifice the physical for the spiritual. Daniel was obedient regardless of the earthly opposition he faced and God was faithfully doing battle on Daniel’s behalf in the spiritual realm.
PRAY: Lord, I know you are working on my behalf. I trust that you are unlocking things because of my prayer and fasting. Remind me that I am not fighting against “flesh and blood,” but partnering with you to battle against evil authorities in the “heavenly places.”
Day 13 | January 27:
All the Strength You Need
READ: Psalm 62:11; Psalm 28:7; Philippians 4:13; Isaiah 40:29
MEDITATE: Fasting intentionally makes us weak so that we may become strong. Through our weakness, we realize our reliance on Christ as well as other believers. We are not designed to go through life on our own, but to bear one another’s burdens.
PRAY: I acknowledge my weakness, God, and my inability to do this on my own. Help me to ask for help. I receive your strength and the strength from my fellow believers.
Day 14 | January 28: SELAH
PAUSE: Take time to reflect on where God has brought you this past week.
Day 15 | January 29:
Great Expectations!
READ: Jeremiah 29:11; Psalm 27:13; Philippians 4:19; Ephesians 3:20-21;
MEDITATE: These verses are some of the “greatest hits” of encouragement in the Bible, but each author was writing out of extremely difficult situations. Do you believe God will supply all your needs “in Christ Jesus”? Or are you struggling with a lack of faith?
PRAY: God help me not to become familiar with what I think you can do. Help me believe that you want to AND can do “far more abundantly” than all that I ask or think. May I live by faith with great expectations in You.
Day 16 | January 30:
Seeing and Seizing
READ: Ephesians 5:15-17; Colossians 4:5-6; Psalm 32:8
MEDITATE: Have you missed an opportunity and regretted it? Have you settled for something “good” when God had something even better? Allow God to guide your steps so that you may recognize an opportunity and seize it when the time is right.
PRAY: Help me, Lord, to move past the regret of missed opportunities. Open my eyes to see new opportunities as they come and to make the most of them.
Day 17 | January 31:
Beginning with Gratitude
READ: Psalm 100:4; Psalm 107:1; Psalm 143:5; Psalm 77:11
MEDITATE: What if you were intentional about making a list and reminding yourself daily of all the things God has done for you? How might that change your perspective? When hard times come, take out that list and remind yourself that God is always good.
PRAY: I thank you, God, for all that you have done for me. Help me to shift my focus away from the problem at hand and back to the One who always has the answer.
Day 18 | February 1:
Keep on Asking!
READ: Matthew 7:7-8; Matthew 6:33; Romans 8:32
MEDITATE: God desires to give His children good gifts, but his plan does not necessarily follow our timeline. He knows what we need and when we need it. If you are still waiting for an answer to a prayer, don’t give up! Keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking. Rest assured that God will answer in due time.
PRAY: Heavenly Father, I may have doubts when an answer doesn’t come right away. Help me to place my trust in you and in your perfect timing, confident that the answer will come.
Day 19 | February 2:
God Will Do More!
READ: Nehemiah 1:1-11; Ephesians 3:20-21
MEDITATE: Have you ever prayed BEFORE you pray? God desires to meet our needs, but have you ever lowered your expectations of what God really wants to do for you? As we near the end of this time of fasting, ask God how He would have you pray about those mountains that need to be moved in your own life. It’s possible that God has plans to do so much more than you ever imagined!
PRAY: God, I humble myself before you, and ask that you direct my prayers. Realign my desires according to your plan, your will, and your purpose for my life.
