September 2022: Three-Day Prayer and Fasting
Grace and peace be multiplied unto you, from our great God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
From Wednesday, 31 August 2022 to Friday, 02 September 2022, we will enter a time of congregational Prayer & Fasting and our aim is to fast from 6 am-6 pm each day. Our fasting theme is “Pray Until Something Happens” (P.U.S.H).
This concept is important for us to internalize and practice as Christians, especially at this time. In Luke 18:1 Jesus shares a parable with his disciples encouraging them that “men ought always to pray, and not to faint”. It is very common for us as Saints of God to get discouraged and weary in prayer when we pray for a long time without seeing the desired result. It’s very easy to stop seeking the Lord or give up hope when we don’t get immediate results because it seems that God does not hear us, or that he is ignoring us or sometimes God does not care about our needs. However, Psalm 34:17 says, “The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, And delivereth them out of all their troubles.” Additionally, James 5:16 says “…The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” Furthermore, 1 John 5:14-15 KJV says “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: and if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”
As we pray and intercede for others, we must remember the promises of God. We have so many promises from God that we should never allow our faith in Him to be shaken. Saints let’s not get weary and discouraged in prayer. Remember that we must walk by faith and not by sight.
God hears the cry of the righteous, but we won’t always see the results immediately.Sometimes we are going to have to wait on God for a long time for the answers to our prayers. In Luke 18, Jesus tells the parable of the widow and the unjust judge. The unjust judge gave the widow what she asked for due to her persistence in making her request. Jesus says in verses 6-8, “And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” In Daniel 10, Daniel, a righteous man, and a prophet sought God with prayer and fasting for 21 days. Angels had to go to war on his behalf for him to receive a response to his prayer. God heard and answered, but Daniel did not receive the answer in his desired timing, but he continued to P.U.S.H until the answer came.
Sometimes we must labor long in prayer to get what we asked for or what God promised. Remember Jacob in Genesis 32:22-32. He was a blessed man and got all the promises of the firstborn from His father Isaac. However, at one point, he found himself in fear and running for his life from his brother Esau. Jacob needed a blessing of deliverance from God, and the Bible says he wrestled with a man all night for his answer from God. Jacob was a blessed man, but he had to wrestle and labor all night with God to see his prayer request granted.
In 1 Kings 18, God promised the Prophet Elijah rain, if he would show himself to King Ahab. After fulfilling what God said to do, Elijah still had to pray seven times to see the rain that God had promised him. The answer to this righteous prophet’s prayer was not immediate, but Elijah was persistent in prayer and sought God until he saw his miracle. It took laboring in the Spirit and denying what he and his servant saw with their own eyes. There was no physical evidence of an abundance of rain coming, but Elijah had to avoid losing focus because of what he saw. Like Elijah and the other prophets previously mentioned, we must push past unbelief, past what our present circumstance looks like, and the discouraging comments of others, and focus on what the Word says. We need to know the Word, remember God’s promises, and stand firmly on them.
Saints this week, let us forget about our feelings and what we see, and P.U.S.H.
Prayer Points, Leaders, & Scripture Readings
Wednesday, 31 August 2022 - Personal Prayer
Scriptures: Luke 18:1-14 (5am); Genesis 32:9-32 (12pm); 1 Kings 18:1-19 & 36-46 (8pm)
Prayer Leaders: Min. Pauline Ricketts (5 am); Sis. Daphne Morrison (12 pm); Sis. Jacqueline Smith (8 pm)
· Pray for a deeper personal commitment to consistent, fervent daily prayer.
· Pray for a personal commitment to intercession for those that are unsaved and backslidden.
· Pray that God would search our hearts and cleanse us of our evil and unrighteous ways.
· Pray that God would strip us of carnality, worldliness, pride, and self-centeredness.
Thursday, 01 September 2022 - Prayer for Family
Scriptures: Genesis 18:16-33 (5am); Daniel 10 (12pm); 2 Samuel 21:1-14 (8pm)
Prayer Leaders: Sister Mavis Brown (5 am); Sister Yvonne Alisah (12 pm); Home Family Prayer
· Pray that families and each household would come together for daily family prayer.
· Pray that parents would take the time to read and teach the Word of God to their children daily.
· Pray that wives would submit to their own husbands and children would submit to and obey their parents.
· Pray that God would multiply the families of UAC by blessing those that are single and desiring marriage with godly mates and our married couples with children.
· Prayer for the preservation of our marriages and families.
Friday, 02 September 2022 - Prayer for UAC, NJPT & all NYMD Churches
Scriptures: Matthew 6:5-17 (5am); Acts 12:1-17 (12pm); John 15:1-16 (8pm)
Prayer Leaders: Sister Odette Duffus (5 am); Sister Phyllis Smith (12 pm); Congregational Prayer (7 pm-9:30 pm under the Tent at Church)
· Pray for Bishop Edwards, Pastor Gordon, Pastor Barrett, and all ministers and Leaders of UAC & NJPT that God will give clear vision, direction, and guidance to do His work.
· Pray that God will lead & strengthen the ministers of the NYMD and their assemblies.
· Pray that God would make each church a house of prayer and a lighthouse of the community.· Pray each assembly will develop a deep burden for souls and win the lost.
We will spend portions of each day engaging in self-examination, seeking forgiveness, and renewal. (Isaiah 58)
> Ask 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 all things.
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.
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!