FAST-Food WEDNESDAYS
A Side Order of Prayer:
Scripture Reading:
Colossians 1:9-12 (The Message) Be assured that from the first day we heard of you, we haven’t stopped praying for you, asking God to give you wise minds and spirits attuned to His will, and so acquire a thorough understanding of the ways in which God works. We pray that you’ll live well for the Master, making Him proud of you as you work hard in His orchard. As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that He has for us.
Meditation Thought:
As we will be focusing in the book of Colossians, in chapter one we come across a prayer Paul writes to this church, that is applicable to our daily lives. I find this prayer useful especially, when it comes to knowing what to pray for in regard to others. For instance, I discovered that I take things very personal when it comes to my opinions/perspectives of how others should live their lives before God. It is hard watching people sin or rather choose their own personal desires and agendas above the Father. The Father has things in store for them that they can’t even imagine. We get so consume with our agenda, which includes our fears and doubts, or misunderstandings, etc., that we miss the relationship or “everything bright and beautiful that He has for us.” At a restaurant, there is a menu that you have the choice to choose your selection from. There are some courses or specials that one may choose from, that comes automatically with particular sides. There are other courses whereas one gets the opportunity to pick and choose a side or make any additions to it. Well, with this example, the main course is our Lord and His dish is served with a thorough understanding of His birth, death, and resurrection and how atonement was made for us to stand righteous before our Father. The Bible is our menu and it was prepared by the Master Chef to help us navigate through life in Him.
Put into Practice:
Today, your order comes with prayer. As you pray for yourself and others here is a model we can use from Colossians 1:5-9:
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“Father in the name of Jesus, we are asking God to give us wise minds and spirits attuned to Your will. May we acquire a thorough understanding of Your ways in which You work. We pray that we live well for you Master, making You proud as we work diligently in Your orchard. As we learn more and more about how You work or operate, it will teach us how to do our work or what you have assigned to our care. We pray that You give us the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting our teeth but the glory-strength that You can only give. It is Your strength that endures the unendurable and will allow us to spill over into joy and thanksgiving. May we be forever grateful in your strength which makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that You have for us. In Jesus name, Amen!”
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Allow the Holy Spirit to electrify and charge you on this day. This precious gift was given to us and it is about time that we open ourselves up to His ministry. Grieve not the Holy Spirit on this day.
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Click the PDF below to help with your journey.
The Ascension Journey
(Click to View or Download)
Corporate Fasting & Prayer
Informational Guide
(Click to View or Download)
The church will corporately fast every Wednesday, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. The purpose of the corporate fast is to help us bring our bodies, appetites, or desires (both physically and spiritually) under subjection which in turn will allow our spiritual man to grow because then we become more dependent on God. This biblical practice and principle also centers on helping us draw closer to God so that we may know His will for our lives and this ministry.
Again this isn't mandatory, but I am asking you to walk with me through this process. If you can't fast for any reason, whether it is due to health or just lack of discipline, choose a specific time where you cut off all distractions and allow that moment to be your special time with God to pray or read/study God's word. For some it may be 5 mins, for others 1 hour to 12 hours. Just make it count.
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