21 Days of Fasting & Prayer

 

Sunday, January 16th - Saturday, February 5th, 2022

As we begin this new year, we desire to make God our greatest priority. Towards this end, we’re inviting our church community to kick off the new year with a purposeful time of fasting and prayer. We are expecting to encounter God in profound ways during this season and believe that the prayers we pray will have a ripple effect throughout this year and well into the future of our church. For 21 days, from Sunday, January 16th through Saturday, February 5th, our community will be engaging in the spiritual disciplines of prayer and fasting together.

During this season we're inviting and encouraging all of the Hope Astoria community to join together in:  

  • Fasting from Sunday, January 16th through Saturday, February 5th
    Suggestions for fasting are here (please discern how you feel led).

  • Praying daily
    During our 21 day fast, we invite you to join in daily prayer to deepen your connection with God and to intercede for the needs of others. (recommended prayer resources are here)

  • Special Prayer and Worship on Sunday, January 30th from 1pm to 2pm
    Join us for a powerful time of extended worship and prayer after our second service January 30th!

  • Small Groups
    During the 21 Days, we encourage you to check out a small group to get to learn and pray together with others during this special season.

  • Emotionally Healthy Spirituality (EHS) Class
    Wednesdays, 7-9pm for 8 weeks (Jan 26th to March 16th) via Zoom
    The Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Course (EHS) is an opportunity to strengthen and deepen your relationship with God.  This course is designed to help you:

    • Recognize and dismantle ways you’re living inauthentically to your true self

    • Learn to process difficult emotions and experiences with God

    • Grow in intimacy with God and awareness of him throughout your day

    • Create rhythms of rest and stillness in God’s loving presence 

    Register at: https://tinyurl.com/2022AstoriaEHS

FASTING

We believe that God wants to deepen our love for him and for our neighbor in 2022, but first our hearts must be softened in God’s presence. Biblically one of the greatest tools God uses to accomplish this is through the spiritual discipline of fasting. Seasons of fasting help us to eliminate the noise and distractions from our lives in order for us to seek God with greater intensity. God’s desire to restore the lives of the broken in our city come into greater focus in our hearts as the Spirit burdens our souls with God’s love for our world. Fasting also promotes renewed levels of gratitude and service towards others as we are reminded of the poor and hungry during our fast and are challenged to live out the Gospel for their benefit.

TYPES OF FASTS

Your personal fast should present a level of challenge, but it is very important to know your body, your options, and most importantly, to seek God in prayer and follow what the Holy Spirit leads you to do. Take time to pray and discern how God is leading you as well as a consult a physician if your health requires before you begin.

  • COMPLETE FAST - In this type of fast, you drink only liquids, typically water with light juices as an option.

  • SELECTIVE FAST- This type of fast involves removing certain elements from your diet. One example of a selective fast is the Daniel Fast, during which you remove meat, sweets, and bread from your diet and consume water and juice for fluids and fruits and vegetables for food.

  • PARTIAL FAST - This fast is sometimes called the “Jewish Fast” and involves abstaining from eating any type of food in the morning and afternoon. This can either correlate to specific times of the day, such as 6:00 am to 3:00 pm, or from sunup to sundown.

  • SOUL FAST - This fast is a great option if you do not have much experience fasting food, have health issues that prevent you from fasting food, or if you wish to refocus certain areas of your life that are out of balance. For example, you might choose to stop using social media or watching television for the duration of the fast and then carefully bring that element back into your life in healthy doses at the conclusion of the fast.

FASTING RESOURCES

DAILY PRAYER GUIDE

During our 21 day fast, we invite you to join in daily prayer to deepen your connection with God and to intercede for the needs of others.

PRAYER RESOURCES


WORSHIP AND PRAYER NIGHT  

Sunday, Jan 30th from 1pm to 2pm

During our 21 days of fasting and prayer we are inviting our entire church family to enjoy an extended time of worship and prayer on Sunday, January 30th immediately after the second service from 1 P.M. - 2 P.M.  We look forward to this powerful gathering and hope you can join us!

Small Groups 

During our 21 days of fasting and prayer, our small groups will be gathering to learn and pray together.  All are welcome!  We encourage you to visit a group - please contact the hosts for details.  

List of groups: http://hopeastoria.org/small-groups

EMOTIONALLY HEALTHY SPIRITUALITY COURSE

The Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Course (EHS) is an opportunity to strengthen and deepen your relationship with God.  This course is designed to help you:

  • Recognize and dismantle ways you’re living inauthentically to your true self

  • Learn to process difficult emotions and experiences with God

  • Grow in intimacy with God and awareness of him throughout your day

  • Create rhythms of rest and stillness in God’s loving presence 

REGISTER
Register at: https://tinyurl.com/2022AstoriaEHS

DATES & TIME
We will be meeting via zoom on Wednesdays from 7pm to 9pm for eight weeks from January 26th through March 16th. 

COURSE EXPECTATIONS
Participants in the course are asked to come weekly, do brief daily devotionals related to the class, and do 1 chapter of reading each week (about 1-2 hours of homework a week). You will also need to purchase 3 books (total cost $30 on Amazon). Scholarships are available for the books, please do not let cost be a concern! Simply contact denise@hopechurchnyc.org to request assistance. 

QUESTIONS?
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact Pastor Denise (denise@hopechurchnyc.org).