PRAYER, s imply put, is communication with God himself.  It involves humility, reverence, friendship, intimacy, honesty, joy, sadness, speaking, and listening, all with the sovereign God of the universe revealed to us in Jesus.

Here are some areas to focus your prayers!

Week 1 – January 1-7 – Our own relationship with God.  Reflect on Ephesians 3:13-21.

  • Ask God for a hunger for Him and his word.  Read and reflect on Psalm 1.
  • Thank God for his gospel – the good news of Jesus.  Reflect on 1 Corinthians 15:1-10.
  • Thank God for his Spirit.  Reflect on Ephesians 3:13-19.
  • Confess your sins to God.  Be honest, knowing his grace abounds for you.  Reflect on Psalm 51.
  • Ask God for the courage to obey him in all He calls you to.  Reflect on Philippians 2:12-13.
  • Ask God to care for you in any weakness.  Reflect on 2 Corinthians 12:9-10.

Week 2 – January 8-14 – Our church.  Reflect on 1 Timothy 3:1-8 and Acts 2:42-47.

  • Pray for our elders, the biblically qualified men who serve as our leaders.  Their names are Greg Bachman, Arnie Christensen, Andy Himes, Doug Stevens, Nick Wackerhagen, and Erick Whigham.
  • Pray for our staff team.
  • Pray for our City Group leaders.
  • Pray for our Sunday gatherings.
  • Pray for our Serving Teams, including Citylight Kids volunteers.
  • Pray for anyone else who calls Citylight Council Bluffs their home church.

Week 3 – January 15-21 – Our church plants.  Reflect on Acts 14:21-23.

  • Pray for Citylight West Council Bluffs.
  • Pray for Citylight Southwest Iowa.
  • Pray for Citylight Kansas City.
  • Pray for Kris and Retahya Kirby, serving Salt Church in Greeley, CO, part of the Citylight Family.
  • Pray for the Citylight Family of Churches.  See all the churches at citylightfamily.org.
  • Pray for our church to plant more churches by the power of the Holy Spirit and the grace of God!

Week 4 – January 22-31 – Our international missions partners.  Reflect on Psalm 96.

  • Pray for Gospel Community Church in Rwanda.
  • Pray for the Hernandez family in Paraguay.
  • Pray for the Hutton’s in the Arab Lands.
  • Pray for IMANA Kids, an orphan-care ministry serving in Rwanda.
  • Pray for our international partners to multiply disciples and churches for the glory of Jesus.
  • Pray for God to equip our international partners and give them power from the Holy Spirit for the ministry before them.

FASTING.  John Piper describes fasting like this: “Fasting is when we abstain from some good gift of God to say to Him, “This much I want more of you, O God!”  Often, fasting means voluntarily going without food.

Is fasting in the Bible?

Yep.  The Old Testament prophets called God’s people to fast (Joel 2:12-15), other leaders led God’s people in fasting (2 Chronicles 20:3; Ezra 8:21-23; Esther 4:15-17), and sometimes individuals would fast (Exodus 34:28; Nehemiah 1:4).  Jesus fasted (Matthew 4:2), gave instructions about how to fast (Matthew 6:16-18), and He said his followers would also fast (Matthew 9:14-15).  The early church also fasted together (Acts 13:2; Acts 14:23).

When should I fast?

Many on our staff will be fasting on Tuesdays, and we will be hosting a prayer meeting each Tuesday in January @ 12noon at our church building.  But you can choose to fast whenever works best for you.  You might want to start small, maybe skipping a meal to devote that time to prayer.  Then grow into more fasting, maybe for a day or longer, all with the intent of devoting your heart to prayer and helping your heart feast on Jesus.