Join us for our Prayer & Worship Nights: Monday & Tuesday nights (8/26 & 8/27) — 6pm-7pm

And break your fast together with us at our final Midweek Meal of the summer season! 6-8pm on Wednesday, August 28th.

DAY 1 - Monday, August 26th

A Daily (Bread) Prayer Life

In the treasure of Jewish history is the classic story of God’s people out in the wilderness and in need of provision. The most basic need of food was scarce for this wandering people. God heard their cries and told their leader, Moses:

Exodus 16:4

“Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.”

The challenge we find for some of the Israelites was in trusting it to be a daily provision. They wanted to stockpile and save up. Trust God some and trust their own diligent efforts a bit more.

But the offer on the table was for daily bread. They would seek; He would provide; they would reap the rewards.

Flash forward to the day after Jesus is publicly baptized and the Father speaks from heaven that this Jesus is “my beloved Son, with Whom I am well pleased.” What a moment! What comes next? A wilderness!

Matthew 4:1-4

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written,

“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
    but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Satan tries to tempt Jesus to use His power to bake a little bread out of some simple stones. What the Father had just said about Jesus being His Son was true, so this was a miracle that could actually be dished out. But Jesus, even after going without food for 40 days, wasn’t about to fall for this.

He knew that bread matters—food matters. But He also knew that there was something that mattered more: the words of God.

It’s too easy for us to focus only on our physical needs meanwhile missing spiritual realities. Which is sadly what we see happening right after Jesus miraculously does make bread appear for a crowd of 5,000:

John 6:22-35

On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”

Jesus is offering them the better bread of life than just actual flour mixed with water. He’s offering a nourishment that is truly better than quieting a grumbling stomach.

So as we begin this short 3 days of prayer and fasting, perhaps you’re cutting out food in some way to focus more on God. It’s a spiritual discipline that’s incredibly practical because we then feel those hunger pangs throughout the day. We’re regularly reminded we’re doing without, and our body cries out to us to make bread appear so that we can eat it.

To be clear, it’s not sin for us to eat—bread, or otherwise—but man does not live by bread alone. You and I ultimately need more. We need the word of God speaking directly into our lives. Moments of fasting like this are times when we press into that need. We cry out to God to fill us in ways that food can’t. We ask for Him to do something special during days that we’re especially setting aside to be with Him.

When Jesus taught His disciples how to pray He used this now well-known prayer:

Matthew 6:9-13

Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil.

God tells us to cry out to Him for our daily practical needs — like the Israelites in the wilderness. Perhaps He’ll rain it down from heaven. Perhaps He’ll provide for our needs in other ways that He designs. But He tells us to pray for that. Praying daily because we have daily needs. Not stockpiling or doing as much as we can on our own until we reach our last resort and turn to prayer. Praying because it’s what we get to do as children of God.

We’re also called by God to seek after the most deeply nourishing things in this life: His presence and His Word. Seek first the kingdom of God, every day, and all the rest will be added to you. You can’t beat the daily bread of God’s word speaking into your soul and into your life’s situations.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

Are there basic needs that you have but you haven’t actually prayed about? Why not? Take some time to talk with God about them.

In what ways are you savoring God’s Word as a nourishment to your soul? Or in what ways do you think that maybe you should be?

DAY 2 - Tuesday, August 27th

Praying the Scripture

If you sometimes struggle to know what to say when you’re praying or how to make your prayer life better, you’re far from alone. Truth is that we can all struggle to come up with content or the right words to say. It’s hard knowing what to say sometimes, like that moment at a party where you’ve run out of things to say to the person you’ve been talking to.

The good thing is that we have a rich storehouse of prayer material in so much of the Scripture. And no, I’m not just talking about the actual prayers of different people that got written into a few parts. I’m talking about much more than that!

Let’s use one of the main verses from Sunday’s message as our example today:

Matthew 28:18-20 says:

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Here’s what it can look like to pray a passage of Scripture like this:

• Talk to God about the authority that Jesus has (“all authority in heaven and on earth”). Recognize what it means that He has authority. Reflect in talking with God about how Jesus used His authority to sacrifice for us so that we could be set free.

• Moving to the next sentence, ask God what places He wants you to be going right now. Where does He want you intentionally making disciples? Talk to God about people in your life you’d love to baptize. Ask God to continue teaching you His ways. Talk to Him about some of the things He has taught you from His Word. Ask God for boldness and words to say when it comes to teaching others to observe all that He’s commanded.

• Now we can end on the last sentence by praying things like: Thank Jesus for not abandoning humanity when He ascended to heaven, but giving us the Holy Spirit to dwell in us. Ask God to work through His Spirit that is always in the Church to embolden the church to make more disciples of all nations.

This is just a quick demonstration of the kind of approach we can take to so many of the Scriptures. God’s Word is a rich place for us to find words to pray, because when we use His own words in prayer those words become the wings that gives our prayers flight.

See, prayer is both natural to the believer as well as something that we learn how to do better and better. We should have moments where we cry out to God in the simplicity of being like a child running to a loving parent when they have a need. But we can also (like a child) be expected to grow in understanding and communication as we mature. So our prayer life can mature too.

And praying the Scriptures is a powerful way for that to happen.

So why not practice, all on your own, with this particular passage:

Philippians 3:17-21

Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

DAY 3 - Wednesday, August 28th

The Not-So-Secret Sauce of a Healthy Church

The truth is that the first church — there in Jerusalem right after Jesus ascends to heaven — sometimes gets elevated on a pedestal to being near perfect by some folks. But the truth also is that that church had its fair share of issues still. No matter what, whenever we’re on this side of heaven dealing with people, there will always be some level of imperfection and issues.

But one thing is fairly clear, when the Church is at her best in Acts, she’s a praying Church. Just look at these critical verses that set the beginning scenery of the power-packed book:  

Acts 1:12-14

Then [the disciples] returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away. And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

Acts 2:42-47

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Praying was of significant importance to them. And because it was important to them, God showed up in powerful ways to them and through them.

You see, if we end up being a prayerless people we will either dream small not-God-sized things to do with this life we’re living and this church community that God has invited us into, or we will dream BIG but will then feel the pressure to go to work in our own strength to try to make those big things happen. Either way we lose.

The men and women who gathered in that upper room had some big dreams they’d been given from God directly. Jesus had already cast a vision for a movement that would impact the nations. Within a matter of time we’d see that dream being fulfilled on the very streets of Jerusalem as the disciples spoke in tongues that were foreign to them but familiar to the foreigners who happened to hear them. And those people would be drawn to putting their trust in Jesus. Not because the disciples planned, plotted, or put in hard work, but because they prayed.

(Plus, prayer ends up helping a lot when God does call us to plan, plot, and put in hard work, because then we are following God’s lead rather than asking Him to bless and follow ours!)

If Alive Church will be all that God has called her to be as a church body, we have to be a people of prayer. That means that we need to spend time when we gather together in prayer. Yes, we have other things that God has called us to do as well, but we should be not just open to prayer but “devoted” to prayer like those first Christians were if we want to see anything close to what they saw.

And then, if we are going to be a people of prayer as a church body, we need to be individuals who pursue the Lord in prayer.

Simply put: your humble prayer life — the one that happens in your car, in your living room, when no one else is looking and is able to critique your fumbling words or bask in your beautiful flow — that prayer life is essential to not only your walk with Jesus but our health as a church.

We may not often get to see what God’s doing while we pray, but what we see in Acts is that if we give it some time sometimes it’ll make a difference worth having someone write about!

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

How can you help our church grow in prayer?

When was the last time you prayed for something big and bold that you felt God had prompted you to ask for? Why not ask Him if there’s something like that He wants you to pray about right now?