1 March, 2022
💎 “Is not this the fast I choose: to release the bonds of wickedness, to untie the cords of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to tear off every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the homeless poor into your house? When you see the naked, to cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh and blood?” (Isa 58:6-7, TLV)
At BBPN, we value and treasure every Praying Priest who is called by God to stand in the gaps, especially for Central Asia, Israel and the nations along the ancient Silk Road. We do not throw thousands of prayer requests at the Praying Priests, and expect them to pray hard like automatic praying machines. We believe in the power of unity and love as the body of Messiah, we care for the spiritual well being of every Praying Priest, and we grow together as we connect with one another to pray and seek God’s face.
To deepen our spirituality, we have been practicing prayer and fasting since 2021 corporately. We declare March, June and October as our Months of Prayer and Fasting, and we have seen many breakthroughs among the Praying Priests who denied themselves to serve God wholeheartedly.
As we begin the first Month of Prayer and Fasting in 2022 today, let us do not lose sight of the true meaning of prayer and fasting. The Jewish people in Prophet Isaiah’s time mistakenly thought that as long as they practiced prayer and fasting, blessings were guaranteed. When we have wrong motives and beliefs, we can still “do as God requests”. However, we will not receive any blessings from heaven. Prayer and Fasting is all about seeking God wholeheartedly, encountering the love of God, being filled by His love and sharing His love.
- Deal with Sin
Sin separates us from God. Sin hinders us from receiving His love and revelation fully. During Month of Prayer and Fasting, firstly, let us focus on dealing with sin at first. We ask the Holy Spirit to help us – see sin as God sees it, take responsibility for it, confess it, receive God’s grace of forgiveness of it, renounce it and turn from it!
- Receive Love and Share Love
The Word of God speaks clearly that Prayer and Fasting is to share His love and grace to those who are in need. We ask the Holy Spirit to help us – increase the hunger and desire for God in us, believe by faith that the love of God is always where we are, receive His love by prayer, feel His everlasting love in a way that we can understand, and share His love practically by using the Love Languages!
🙏 Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for leading us into a new season of Prayer and Fasting! We believe that we will receive breakthroughs holistically, and arise to shine when we deny ourselves and seek Your face wholeheartedly. Abba Father, we will not soften our sin by calling it merely a mistake, weakness or shortcoming to grieve the Holy Spirit. We acknowledge our sin and disobedience, and please forgive us from making excuses or blaming others. Thank You for washing us clean and empowering us to turn away from sin in true repentance. Thank You for accepting us and filling us again with Your strong love, so we are able to love more, share more, and shine for your glory continuously. In the Name of Yeshua we pray and bless You, Amen!