Every January and August, we set aside 21 days to intentionally seek God in prayer and believe for Him to move in powerful ways. We believe Prayer and Fasting hit the reset button of our soul and renews us from the inside out.
This January we are joining with Church of the Highlands, and thousands of others around the world, for this 21 days of prayer and fasting experience. There is a live prayer service available Weekdays at 7:00 AM and Saturdays at 10:00 AM. On Sundays you are encouraged to join us here at Crosswind at 10:00 AM for our weekly worship service.
Below is a link to a personal prayer guide PDF that you can use throughout the 21 days.
This January we are joining with Church of the Highlands, and thousands of others around the world, for this 21 days of prayer and fasting experience. There is a live prayer service available Weekdays at 7:00 AM and Saturdays at 10:00 AM. On Sundays you are encouraged to join us here at Crosswind at 10:00 AM for our weekly worship service.
Below is a link to a personal prayer guide PDF that you can use throughout the 21 days.
Prayer and Fasting
During these 21 days, we encourage fasting as a spiritual next step that can bring clarity and revelation into your life. You can also choose to fast at other times of the year as you seek God. The goal of fasting is to draw nearer to God. Biblical fasting always has to do with eliminating distractions for a spiritual purpose; it hits the reset button of our soul and renews us from the inside out. It also enables us to celebrate the goodness and mercy of God and prepares our hearts for all the good things God desires to bring into our lives. Remember, your personal fast should present a level of challenge, but it is very important to know your body, your options, and, most importantly, to seek God in prayer and follow what the Holy Spirit leads you to do.
Complete Fast
In this type of fast, you drink only liquids, typically water with light juices as an option.
Selective Fast
This type of fast involves removing certain elements from your diet. One example of a selective fast is the Daniel Fast, during which you remove meat, sweets, and bread from your diet and consume water and juice for fluids and fruits and vegetables for food.
Partial Fast
This fast is sometimes called the “Jewish Fast” and involves abstaining from eating any type of food in the morning and afternoon. This can either correlate to specific times of the day, such as 6:00 am to 3:00 pm, or from sunup to sundown.
Soul Fast
This fast is a great option if you do not have much experience fasting food, have health issues that prevent you from fasting food, or if you wish to refocus certain areas of your life that are out of balance. For example, you might choose to stop using social media or watching television for the duration of the fast and then carefully bring that element back into your life in healthy doses at the conclusion of the fast.
It's Simply Talking with God
While there is no art to prayer, there are some ways that can help us better connect. The Pray First app walks you through guided prayer plans. Watch the video below to learn more about this new app from Church of the Highlands.
The Pray First Book
Prayer is the lifeblood of the Christian faith – but many followers of Jesus still struggle to make prayer part of their daily lives. In Pray First, bestselling author and pastor Chris Hodges shows readers how to make prayer a first response, rather than a last resort.
Why is it that so many Christians find it difficult to develop a vibrant and exciting prayer life? Even though prayer is foundational to the Christian life, many are intimidated or uncertain about how to talk to God. Prayer feels quaint and old-fashioned to some, sacred and uncomfortable to others. It's not a lack of inspiration – there's plenty of that. And it's not that Christians don't realize prayer is important – they know it is. So what's the issue?
Pray First will help readers gain the understanding and tools to make prayer work--and bring the joy back into their time with God; take a journey through the prayers of the Bible, which reveal how to make prayer more personal and powerful; learn about fasting, an often overlooked but powerful discipline that's a vital companion to prayer; and follow proven, biblically grounded methods for making prayer a priority, not an afterthought. Written in the personable, relatable, and always biblically based style that has become Hodges's hallmark, Pray First is a revolutionary how-to manual for all Christians who want to experience a dynamic, intimate prayer life with God.
Why is it that so many Christians find it difficult to develop a vibrant and exciting prayer life? Even though prayer is foundational to the Christian life, many are intimidated or uncertain about how to talk to God. Prayer feels quaint and old-fashioned to some, sacred and uncomfortable to others. It's not a lack of inspiration – there's plenty of that. And it's not that Christians don't realize prayer is important – they know it is. So what's the issue?
Pray First will help readers gain the understanding and tools to make prayer work--and bring the joy back into their time with God; take a journey through the prayers of the Bible, which reveal how to make prayer more personal and powerful; learn about fasting, an often overlooked but powerful discipline that's a vital companion to prayer; and follow proven, biblically grounded methods for making prayer a priority, not an afterthought. Written in the personable, relatable, and always biblically based style that has become Hodges's hallmark, Pray First is a revolutionary how-to manual for all Christians who want to experience a dynamic, intimate prayer life with God.
