If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14
21 UNITED
A CALL TO READ + PRAY + FAST
A BIT ABOUT FASTING
Why should I fast?
Simply put, fasting is an active pursuit of breakthrough.
Fasting and prayer are two ways the Holy Spirit can transform your life, waking you up to a vitality you may have once had earlier in your Christian journey or would like to experience for the first time.
Much like the shoulder on a road or margins in a book, God created space in our lives. In our attempt to make things happen and control where we are going and how we will get there, it is too easy to fill that space. Fasting encourages us to reveal that intended space and increase our passion for God and enjoyment of Him. Fasting is not so much about a momentary commitment, but a lifestyle with the excitement of getting to experience God.
What is fasting?
Fasting is setting aside something in your life that you hunger for and that may have gotten in the way of your relationship with God. While this is most commonly thought of as food, it may be something that has taken a greater place in your day and heart than it was intended to. Whatever you decide to fast, you will now have more time to re-align your heart with God.
THE 21 United Journal
THE PURPOSE OF THE JOURNAL
The 21 United Journal is about one thing: developing an intimate relationship with God by reading, listening, and praying the Scriptures that have been given to us.
WHY?
We are hoping to hear God’s voice and do God’s will - to move from simply attaining information and move toward a communion with God that is transformative. This means we are listening for the voice of God communicated through the Scriptures and revealed by the Spirit.
THE FIVE ELEMENTS
Invite His Presence
The first element is simply welcoming God into this time and space with you. Give thanks and rest in His presence.
Read His Word
The second element is simply reading the text. Do so slowly, unhurried, prayerfully, out-loud, and then read again at least three times. Allow yourself to experience the text, and not to just intellectualize it, paying special
attention to words, phrases, or sentences that seem to take hold of you.
In faith we wait for God to speak through Word and Spirit to our soul.
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Reflect + Listen
This third element calls you to reflect on the scripture reading,
words, phrases, sentences that took hold of you, allowing them to become primary. Write them down, let them begin to sink down deep into your heart, repeat them over and over in your mind while reflecting on what feelings or emotions they provoke, write them down. Ask yourself, What is the Lord saying to me through these words? What do these words mean? What is God speaking to my heart through them? This element is like Mary’s response in Luke 2:51 where “she pondered all these things in her heart.” Tell God what’s on your heart, offer a prayerful response of love, thankfulness, petition or intercession, sit in silence, write a prayer, draw a picture, actively respond to the word you have received.
Seek Understanding
This fourth element is Seek Understanding. In this section there is more context that is given on each days scripture. Every day is a little different. Some days it might be some historical context and other days it might be a further breakdown of the Bible reading to help you make connections into your life and your walk with God.
Respond in Prayer
This fifth element is where we rest in God — we become inactive and simply dwell with God as the beloved. This may not come easy, and may take patience and discipline. Simply be still for a moment, allow the Lord to love you, to continue etching on your heart the words He has given you. This is a prayer of presence, it is the movement from conversation to communion. In the 12th century, European monk, Guigo the Second, explained these four elements this way: Reading, as it were, puts solid food into our mouths, Meditation chews it and breaks it down, Prayer obtains the flavor of it, and Contemplation is the very sweetness which makes us glad and refreshes us all with the aim of nourishing and deepening our relationship with Father, Son, Spirit, and being a witness of Christ and love in the world.