21 Days of Prayer & Fasting 2022

Each year, Christians from all over the world take the time to pray and fast for God's direction and offer back to God the first days of the New Year. 

Activate Bermuda,  in partnership with Chuch of God of Prophecy Bermuda, will host a 21 day Bible plan on the YouVersion Bible app. We will spend time in devotions, reading the word of God, and discussing with each other as we grow together. Each day we will highlight collective prayer points on our social media and on our website that participants can use in their personal prayer time. 

• Weekly virtual calls will be Sunday Nights at 7:00 pm - we will connect and share testimonies and offer encouragement to each other during this journey together.

• Weekday prayer will take place at Church of God of Prophecy Mondays - Fridays, 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm Address: 3 Curving Avenue, Hamilton, HM17 (subject to COVID restrictions)

The weekly virtual calls and weekday prayers are optional if you would like to enrich your time with others on the journey with you. 

Registration:

When you register you will be emailed a link to the YouVersion Bible plan. There is a limit of 150 participants however, if there are enough persons waitlisted, we will open up a Bible plan for more to join.

**You will need to either download the YouVersion Bible App on the App Store or Google App or visit Bible.com to create or log into your account**

Here are some tips to make your prayer and fasting time more effective:

• Dedicate a time each day, away from distraction, to worship, read your word, pray and hear from the Lord. 
• Prepare yourself and your body for fasting. Lead up to fasting by reducing high sugar and fat foods. 
• Meal prep in advance to avoid disappointment and unnecessary hunger.

Types of Fasts in the Bible:

• Full Fast - Drink only liquids
• Daniel Fast - Eat no meat, no sweets, and no bread. Drink water. Eat fruits and vegetables.
• Partial Fast - Fasting from sun up to sun down or other times during the day.

More information about fasting:

What is fasting?

• Abstaining from food, drink, sleep, social media, or sex to focus on spiritual growth
• Deny something of the flesh to glorify God
• Enhance your spirit, go deeper in your prayer life
• Take your eyes off of things of this world and instead focus on God
• Show God and yourself that you are serious about your relationship with Him
• Fasting should not be used as a diet or to punish the body
• It is something to give up to allow increased focus on God

Scripture References on Fasting

• 1 Kings 19:4-8
• Ezra 10:6-17
• Esther 4:15-17
• Daniel 10:1-3
• Matt 4:1-2
• Acts 9:1-9
• Acts 13:1-3

Seven Reasons to Fast

Christ expects it of Christians; focus on relationship with God

• Matt 6:16-18
• Matt 9

For guidance

• Acts 14:23
• Judges 20:26-28

For intensity in prayer

• 2 Sam 12
• Ezra 8:21-23

As a sign of mourning

• Neh 1:4-6

To show humility in the presence of God

• Psa 35:13
• Heb 4:16

For worship

• Psa 51

For spiritual strength; to be drawn closer to God

• Mark 9:29
• Matt 17:20-21
• Acts 13:4
• Luke 2:37
• Luke 5:33
• 1 Cor 7:1-5

Matthew 6:16, where Jesus is teaching His disciples' basic principles of godly living. When speaking on fasting, He begins with, “When you fast,” not “If you fast.”    Jesus’ words imply that fasting will be a regular practice in His followers’ lives.

Fasting prepares you for the works God has ordained for you to do. People fast for a number of reasons. 

The following are seven circumstances in the Bible in which believers sought God through this discipline.    

• To prepare for ministry. Jesus spent forty days and nights in the wilderness fasting and praying before He began God’s work on this earth. He needed time alone to prepare for what His Father had called Him to do (Matthew 4:1-17; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-14).   
• To seek God’s wisdom. Paul and Barnabas prayed and fasted for the elders of the churches before committing them to the Lord for His service (Acts 14:23).    
• To show grief. Nehemiah mourned, fasted, and prayed when he learned Jerusalem’s walls had been broken down, leaving the Israelites vulnerable and disgraced (Nehemiah 1:1-4).    
• To seek deliverance or protection. Ezra declared a corporate fast and prayed for a safe journey for the Israelites as they made the nine-hundred- mile trek to Jerusalem from Babylon (Ezra 8:21-23).    
• To repent. After Jonah pronounced judgment against the city of Nineveh, the king covered himself with sackcloth and sat in the dust. He then ordered the people to fast and pray. Jonah 3:10 says, “When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, He relented and did not bring on them the destruction He had threatened.”    
• To gain victory. After losing forty thousand men in battle in two days, the Israelites cried out to God for help. Judges 20:26 says all the people went up to Bethel and “sat weeping before the Lord.” They also “fasted that day until evening.” The next day the Lord gave them victory over the Benjamites.
• To worship God. Luke 2 tells the story of an eighty-four-year-old prophetess named Anna. Verse 37 says, “She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.” Anna was devoted to God, and fasting was one expression of her love for Him.

There are three main factors that cause believers to be hesitant — fear, ignorance, or rebellion.    

• Fear. They’re afraid. Afraid of the unknown. Afraid of feeling hunger pangs. Afraid of starting and not finishing. Afraid of fasting alone. The Enemy has them convinced they could never do it. Instead of looking to the Lord’s strength for help, they become consumed with their own weaknesses and paralyzed by fear.    
• Ignorance. Many Christians simply have not been taught about the importance of seeking God in this way. Churches often do not encourage fasting, and in many cases never even mention it from the pulpit. For example, I grew up in a Bible-believing church, but I don’t recall hearing a message on fasting until I was an adult.    
• Rebellion. A large segment of the Christian population is aware of the benefits of fasting, yet they’re unwilling to do it. Their hearts are hardened when it comes to the idea of fasting. When God invites them to draw near, they dig their heels into the ground and refuse to obey.

Dr. Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, was a firm believer in the power of prayer and fasting. In his guide Why You Should Fast, he listed the following reasons for seeking God through self-denial.

• Fasting was an expected discipline in both the Old and New Testament eras.
• Fasting and prayer can restore the loss of the “first love” for your Lord and result in a more intimate relationship with Christ.
• Fasting is a biblical way to truly humble yourself in the sight of God.
• Fasting enables the Holy Spirit to reveal your true spiritual condition, resulting in brokenness, repentance, and a      transformed life.
• Fasting will encourage the Holy Spirit to quicken the Word of God in your heart and His truth will become more meaningful to you.
• Fasting can transform your prayer life into a richer and more personal experience.
• Fasting can result in a dynamic personal revival in your own life and make you a channel of revival to others.
• Fasting is a much-needed discipline in the life of a believer.

As you empty yourself physically and spiritually, you open the door for God to step in and do the miraculous. Your relationship with the Lord is taken to a whole new level. You also become more sensitive to the work of the Holy Spirit, which enables you to hear God’s voice more clearly. Anyone who has done a fast — whether absolute, liquid or partial — would agree fasting is difficult. Physically, you may suffer from unpleasant side effects, such as headaches, fatigue, and intestinal discomfort, as your body attempts to adjust to the reduced caloric intake. Spiritually, attacks from the Enemy increase in frequency and intensity, resulting in a barrage of frustrations that can seem overwhelming. However, the same people who would be honest about the challenges of fasting would also concur that the sacrifices are well worth the rewards. So don’t resist the suffering that accompanies fasting. Rejoice in it! Fasting is a spiritual exercise that God honors. He promises to heap blessings on people who are hungry for Him (Matthew 5:6).