January 2022: 16 Days of Prayer and Fasting (Weeks 1 and 2)

 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you, from our great God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

This month we will engage in 16 days of Fasting and Prayer commencing on January 5th until January 30th, 2022, fasting 4 days each week. Our theme is “Make Him Known” derived from the verse in Ezekiel 38:23 where the Lord says, “Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be Known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord.”

The Lord declared through the Prophet Ezekiel that He would “Make Himself Known.” Today the LORD wants to “Make Himself Known” in the Earth through us, and this will largely be done when we share the Gospel. This is re-iterated throughout the scriptures in Matthew 28:19, Mark 13:10, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:47, and Revelation14:6. Our first peek toward the Gospel is mentioned in Genesis 3:15. The English word Gospel from the Greek translation, means to announce, to make known openly, publicly, to advertise, broadcast. As an example, for us, Jesus Himself sets the stage for this announcement of Himself as seen in Matthew 4:23-25, which states “He went about all Galilee teaching in their Synagogues and Preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of diseases among the people”. For us to fulfill His Commandment in MAKING HIM KNOWN, we must obey His Instructions. Acts 1:8 says “But ye Shall receive Power after that the HOLY  GHOST is come upon you, and ye SHALL be Witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the Earth. The Word says, “shall be” not “maybe”. If this is not happening in our lives, then we need to check ourselves. Making Him Known is a worldwide command. In Mark 16:15-16 Jesus says “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” God is counting on us to spread the gospel. We all can reach the lost. To do this we must stay connected to Him as noted in John 15:4-5 which states “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

WE MUST SANCTIFY OURSELVES FIRST. But before we go out to save sinners through teaching and preaching, we must first sanctify ourselves and purify our hearts through prayer, fasting and diligent study of the Word. We must be holy and sanctified. Not just hearers, preachers, and teachers of the Word but doers also. Jesus warns against hypocrisy Matthew 7:3-5 as he ministered and taught his disciples while on Earth. In 1 Peter 1:14-16 we read, “As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” Let us purge ourselves from worldliness and uncleanliness & immerse ourselves in the Word before we try to reach for others.

WE MUST ALSO PRAY FOR BOLDNESS. We do not have an easy task ahead of us, and persecution will come from the enemy. So, as we pull the lost from the fire and disrupt Satan’s kingdom we must also pray for boldness as the apostles did in Acts 4:29-31 “And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

WE MUST BE PEOPLE-CENTERED. We must develop a passion for the lost individually & collectively. We must not be self-centered. We must have a burden for all men to be saved as Jesus did. Matthew 9:35-36 says “And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.” This should also be our mission to help save and deliver others from the bondage of sin and an eternity in Hell. In this last day, we must become more kingdom minded & kingdom focused. If we do God’s work while here on earth, remain focused on saving others and avoid being self-centered, we will not only be blessed, but we will also escape the impending judgement, punishment and damnation noted in Matthew 25:31-46.

In Matthew 9:37-38 Jesus said to his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” Throughout this month we will spend 16 days in Fasting, praying for a personal revival and burden for the lost, and the boldness to “Make Jesus Known” to our families, friends, and neighbors, as well as in our schools, on our jobs, throughout our neighborhoods and communities and beyond. We also want to pray for all the members here at United Apostolic Church and their family and members in all congregations throughout the Apostolic fellowship that they too will develop a burden for sinners and the boldness to go out and win the lost at any cost. Brethren we are in the last days, and Jesus is coming. We must all be about our father’s business.

We will be setting aside these days of prayer and fasting for all these evets, praying that God’s will be accomplished. 

 PRAYER SCHEDULE FOR WEEK 1& 2: 

Week 1 - 05 January - 07 January 2022

Focus – PERSONAL

Scriptures: Isaiah 1, Isaiah 58, Psalm 51, James 1, James 4, Galatians 5, 1 Peter 1, 1 John 2, 1 John 1; Matthew 7

Prayer Points for the Week:

• Pray for a personal burden for the lost and the boldness to Make Him Known to all men. 
• Pray a prayer of repentance for the souls we neglected to witness to. 
• Pray that God would Sanctify and cleanse us and makes us fit for His use. That we would with open hearts cry out to God   for a deep cleansing as we examine ourselves against His Holy Word. 
• Pray that God would forgive us for not Making Him Known our top priority and to forgive us for the precious souls we may have allowed to die in their sin.
• Pray that God would revive us individually., that we would develop a hunger and a thirst and a longing for a closer walk and a deeper relationship with Jesus. That we would become more eager to Make Him Known. 
• Pray that God would forgive us for not prioritizing the things of God.
• Pray that God would purge us of worldliness, ungodliness, uncleanliness, and unrighteousness.
• Pray that God will deliver us from addiction, unforgiveness, bitterness, jealousy, covetousness, and complacency. 
• Pray that God would restore a passion for daily prayer & study of the Word.
• Pray that God would restore the joy of salvation and a desire to gather with the Saints in the House of the Lord for congregational worship. 

 Week 2 - 12 January - 14 January 2022

Focus – MAKE HIM KNOW IN YOUR FAMILY:     

• Pray that God would give us the boldness & the burden to Make Him Known in our households and within families including our Spouses, Children, Parents, Grandparents, extended family members & backslidden family members.
• Pray that family devotion time with Prayer and teaching of the Word will be re-established within our homes.
• Pray for backslidden family members. 
• Pray for our family to become receptive to the call of God.
• Prayer that husbands and fathers will function as priests and gatekeepers of their homes with daily prayer for their families. 
• Pray the wives will submit to their own husbands and children will obey their parents. 

   Prayer leaders and prayer times for Week 1 & 2: 

 We will spend portions of each day engaging in self-examination, seeking forgiveness, and renewal. (Isaiah 58)

• Ask of God to cleanse our hearts of secret sins. 
• Confess sins to God and purpose in our hearts to refrain from habitual, presumptuous sins. 
• Forgive those who have wronged us in any way. 
• Earnestly recommit and rededicate our lives for His purpose and divine use. 
• Pray that we will seek to please God in every area of our lives.   

You are being asked to pray at least three times per day every day; Morning, Noon and Evening/Night. Please make a special effort to participate in all prayer sessions. The number for UAC Prayer Line is (716) 4271338 and the Access Code is 574403.  

All our Friday evening prayer meetings are scheduled to be held in- person as follows:

• Friday, January 7th at UAC - 7PM-9PM
• Friday, January 14th at UAC - 11:59PM-6AM
• Friday, January 21st at UAC - 7PM-9PM
• Friday, January 28th at ANAT - 7:30PM (NYMD Prayer Conference)  

Members are reminded that we will be fasting on the remaining Sundays in January. All Sunday morning services will include time for extended praying.  

We do pray that we will all discipline ourselves and participate as extensively as possible in this endeavor.   

Members who are taking medications are encouraged to consult with their doctors before participating in fasting. If your doctor advises you against fasting, we encourage you to give full participation in praying each day for the prayer needs previously stated.

God bless you richly!