21 days of devotion
JANUARY 9 – 29, 2023
"Who may climb the mountain of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? Only those whose hands and hearts are pure… They will receive the LORD’s blessing and have a right relationship with God, their savior." // Psalm 24:3-4
CONGRATULATIONS on your willingness and commitment to join Paris Centre Church (PCC) for these 21 Days of Devotion! This is a seasonal time of fasting and prayer for our church family, which we do twice a year.
Whenever a fast is recorded in Scripture, it is followed by a season of growth and blessing. As you will discover over the next few weeks, your commitment to fast will usher in some of the greatest opportunities to take hold of the blessings of God in your life. We look forward with anticipation to the great things God is going to do in your life and in the life of our church community. We will grow in Him.
Let’s unite as a church family for the next 21 days to position ourselves for what God has prepared for all of us!
Pastor Carson
RESOURCES FOR YOU!
We want to partner with you by providing resources to help you in your relationship with God.
Click here to visit our RESOURCES page for Bible reading plans and more!
Why We Pray
The power of prayer deepens our dependence on Him and sharpens our faith. When we pray, we choose to put everything in God’s hands, knowing that His hand will show up in every aspect of our lives and in those around us.
The act of prayer is what creates our intimacy with God. We can practice the spiritual habit of prayer, knowing that our requests go to a God who hears us and who invites us to be intimately involved in His plan. For this reason, we pray in confidence, knowing that our prayers are powerful and can bring about change in any circumstance.
There are no levels to this. We all can enter prayer with a posture of trust, openness, and faith, believing that God can do far more than we could even ask or imagine. It’s not about our circumstances; it’s about our heart stance.
Why We Fast
Fasting is the ancient practice of abstaining from food for a certain period. It is a spiritual discipline, the purpose of which is training to become more like Jesus. The motivation of our fasting is to draw closer to the heart of God. Fasting is a Christian discipline to break the power of the flesh in our life – our desires, sins, and cravings – and to feed on the Holy Spirit. Fasting is not about getting FROM God, but about getting TO God.
Below is our recommended fasting schedule. Each week will build on the previous week. However, as a fast is personal, do what works for you.
Week 1: MEDIA fast (Entertainment) – As we enter our 21 days of fasting, the mental discipline of a media fast will prepare us to graduate to a complete fast.
Week 2: SELECTIVE fast (Daniel or other elimination fast) – Begin removing certain foods from your diet. Typically, this would be meat, sugar, and processed foods.
Week 3: COMPLETE fast* – Endeavor to go a day or more without food, but remember to drink plenty of water.
* If you have any known medical conditions or suspect such conditions, consult your doctor before beginning the fast.
Why We READ
What you read impacts you. Think about how you feel when you read your news feed. Reading the Bible is a spiritual discipline, which means that we need to be disciplined in how we approach it. If you lack the desire to read the Bible, pray and ask that God would give you a desire for His Word. Then, build a time into your day to read Scripture and make this time a priority. Reading the Bible on a regular and consistent basis has several benefits.
- The Bible shows us God’s character and provides us God’s revelation of Himself to his people. In each section of the Bible, we see God’s holy, unchanging, faithful, gracious and loving character.
- The Scripture says that it is “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness.” 2 Timothy 3:16–17. The next verse goes on to say that this leads to the completeness and equipping “for every good work”.
- Regularly reading God’s word reorients our thinking so that we can grow in maturity, which is part of the Christian calling (Ephesians 4:14–16; Romans 12:1–2). Have you ever met a mature Christian who did not regularly read the Bible?