Fasting Commitment and Prayer Guide

January 15th, 2025
by Darrin Miller

Fasting Commitment for the Daniel Fast 2025

This document is for reference. Physical copies are available at Next Steps booth or at the church office during the week. Additionally, you can find and print this document by clicking here HERE.

Why should I fast?

Are you in need of healing or a miracle?
Do you need the tender touch of God in your life?
Is there a dream inside you that only He can make possible?
Are you in need of a fresh encounter?
Do you desire a deeper, more intimate and powerful relationship with the Lord?
Are you ready to have heightened sensitivity to the desires of God?
Do you need to break away from bondages that have been holding you hostage?
Is there a friend or loved one that needs Salvation?
Do you desire to know God's will for your life?

MY CAUSE OR REASON FOR FASTING:
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I WILL:
START THE FAST DATE: 1/12/25 (or) ________________
BREAK THE FAST DATE: 2/2/25 (or) ________________

I BELIEVE THAT GOD IS THE ONLY ANSWER TO MY REQUEST AND THAT
PRAYER WITHOUT FASTING IS NOT ENOUGH TO GET GOD’S FULL ANSWER TO MY NEED. THEREFORE, BY FAITH, I AM FASTING BECAUSE I NEED GOD TO
WORK IN THIS MATTER.

GOD BEING MY STRENGTH AND GRACE BEING MY BASIS, I COMMIT MYSELF TO THE ABOVE FAST.

____________________________________ ___________________
Name Date

THE FAST GOD HAS CHOSEN

Isaiah 58:6 (NKJV) “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke?”

Under each category, list those people or situations that you are specifically praying for during the fast God has led you into.

TO LOOSE THE BONDS OF WICKEDNESS
Wrong thoughts, choices, words and actions that keep God’s people bound up from being powerful, blessed, and joyful children of the King. “…the opening of the prison to those who are bound. (Is. 61:1) Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” (Jn. 8:36)

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

TO UNDO THE HEAVY BURDENS
To cut loose and remove whatever is weighing down God’s servants … spiritual, mental, emotional, relational, physical, financial, vocational, etc. To free them by undoing/removing whatever is binding the burden to them. “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28)

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

TO LET THE OPPRESSED GO FREE
To set free those who are under a crushing load of discouragement, doubt, fear, guilt, or depression. “He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted… To comfort all who mourn, …To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.” (Is. 61:1-3)

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

TO BREAK EVERY YOKE
To destroy any relationship or device which has God’s people bound to the servitude of the enemy (bitterness, lust, greed, etc.) “To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound.” (Is. 61:1)

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

***If you'd like to have a copy of this to print or edit online, click HERE to access the printable file.**

Note From Pastor Joe

Dear Friend, For years now, friends like you have joined me in January in a 21-day fast to seek and honor God for the New Year. "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." (Romans 12:1). By starting each year with a corporate fast, we have found that God meets with us in very unique and special ways. His presence can grow greater and greater with each day of the fast. Without fail, He always shows up when we diligently seek Him!

Corporately fasting in January is much the same precept as praying in the morning to establish the will of God for the entire day. I believe that, if we will pray and seek God and give Him our best at the first of the year, He will bless our ENTIRE year! "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." (Matthew 6:33).

Fasting is a principle that God intended for everyone to be able to enjoy. It's not a punishment; it's a privilege! Fasting is a spiritual discipline and privilege that God intends for all His children to benefit from. When combined with giving and prayer as Jesus taught in Matthew 6, fasting completes a 3-fold cord that isn’t easily broken and brings about the 100-fold blessing of Mark 4:8. By making fasting a way of life, you can get closer to God and grow in your spiritual walk like never before. Fasting is one of the most powerful weapons God has given us for our daily lives. Through fasting, you can experience many blessings that come through the self-discipline of obedience, i.e. a release from the bondage of sin ... restoration in your relationships ... financial blessings ... spiritual renewal ... supernatural healing and so much more!

Another reward of fasting has to do with your future. God has a divine purpose for your life He wants you to discover and live in. When you fast, you open up the blessings and opportunities He has provided for you to pursue that purpose. As you fast, pray for God's direction and guidance. Focus your faith on His plan for you and God will show you how you can turn vision into reality. Begin pursuing your divine purpose today and make the rewards of fasting part of your lifestyle.

I want to encourage you to target your prayers during the fast. Four specific areas we will be focusing on together are leadership, discipleship, relationships, and finances. The Bible instructs us to continually pray for our leaders. "Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence." (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

When you look at this scripture closely, you will find there is a great benefit promised to us if we will seek God's will on behalf of our leaders. Our prayers can open the door for us to "lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty." When we lift up our leaders, here at TLC, in our communities, in the United States and around the world, we can expect God's peace in our lives and godliness and truth to be our path and guiding light.

Discipleship is God’s method of spreading the Gospel from one person and generation to the next. We are looking to diligently obey Him in this area primarily through our Life Groups and small groups. Please read the prayer guide on back for more details.

Relationships are what make the body of Christ attractive and functional. Without close, loving and trusting relationships everything falls apart. Pray for unity, stability, and protection in this critical area as we continue to grow.

Another great promise, from the book of Isaiah, proclaims that God’s chosen fast will "undo the heavy burdens and let the oppressed go free." With inflation rising, there are many people living under a financial burden. If this is you, I believe that your burdens will be lifted and that financial blessings will be released into your life as we come together to fast and pray and obey what God reveals to us through His Word about finances! You WILL “reap what you sow!”

We encourage you to seek the Lord in prayer and let your decisions about your biblical fast come from Him. Ask the Lord to show you personal areas to target during your time of fasting and prayer in addition to our corporate ones. [See our “The Fast God Has Chosen” prayer guide.]

I'm so excited that you have decided to take the next step in your spiritual walk through the life-changing principal of fasting. Seek the Lord in prayer and let your decisions about your fast come from Him. Start with clear goals and make a commitment to stick to your fast. Be ready to grow in your life in a powerful way as you seek the Lord through the Biblical principles of prayer, giving, and fasting. Remember, "He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him!" (Hebrews 11:6)

USE THE BACK OF THIS LETTER FOR YOUR CORPORATE PRAYER GUIDE.
OUR CORPORATE 2025 DANIEL FAST RUNS JANUARY 12TH – FEBRUARY 1ST
TLC PRAYER FOCUS FOR 2025 DANIEL FAST

Our corporate prayer focus for the Daniel Fast will be fourfold:

For discipleship… we have always believed in discipleship as a mandate of the great commission, and we will continue to focus this year on building intentional relationships to carry this out. We believe the biblical model includes corporate discipleship (daily in the temple, small and life groups) and personal discipleship (and from house to house, life and micro-groups. Acts 2:46)

Pray that God will reveal who you can help disciple and who can help disciple you! Discipleship takes place as we help individuals learn how to scripturally navigate the challenges and opportunities of life. It’s just doing life together! Pray that our small groups/Life Groups/micro-groups become a powerful way of living life to this end.
Pray for God to guide you to providential relationships for specific people you know who need salvation, restoration, deliverance, healing and/or revival, or just growth and purpose.
Pray as our Life Group leaders mentor those in their group to become leaders as well. Pray for God’s knowledge, understanding, and wisdom to guide us as we move forward in discipleship at TLC!
AIMING HIGH!!! – Praise for 11+ life groups/micro-groups/small groups making disciples at this time. Pray that our discipleship will continue to grow & accomplish God’s great commission to us as the church as we see people reaching their full potential as Jesus’ true disciples!

For leadership… those in spiritual leadership and for God’s leadership in our church going forward. Pray for wisdom as we continue to train and implement Jesus’ methods in doing discipleship Jesus’ way.

New Leaders – that their ministries will accomplish great things for God and lead people to truly follow Him! Pray that they will be able to disciple others to take their place!
Leaders/workers for our youth/children’s ministries – Pray for our teams as they lead our youth. Pray for our servant/leaders as they engage all their gifts & experience in our children’s ministries. Pray our children’s ministers will have the wisdom and grace to bring our youth to their fullest potential for God as disciple-makers.
Life Group Leaders – pray that God will continue to raise up Life Group leaders until we are not just a church with small groups, but a church of small, relational, disciple-making groups.
For Our Nation – Pray for wisdom and peace and for our leaders to listen to and follow God (not try to take His place) and point us back to God as the hope for our nation. Pray our nation promotes leaders who fear God, seek His wisdom, obey & honor His Word & humbly yet boldly lead.

For relationships… the enemy knows if he can destroy teams, life groups, marriages, families, and/or friendships, he can rob us of our joy and strength. Pray for unity and harmony in all areas of our people’s lives and ministries and for God’s protection for the whole body.
For provision… many are facing financial hardship. Let’s pray for financial provision for individuals, families, and our church as we look to expand our borders for the Kingdom of God!

That God, in His grace, would continue to supply, bless, and protect the vocations of the True Life flock. Pray God will bless as we teach the body about stewardship. Praise Him for His blessings in 2024. Pray for our mission’s giving to increase and that God is pleased with our gifts of love.
That each member of True Life will faithfully demonstrate their love and obedience to God through the joyful giving of tithes and offerings. Specific funding targets would include:
- Faith Promise Missions – that we could see full support met for all our missionaries. We were over $6k short last year. Let’s pray it is fully met this year. Check out our web site for a listing of our missionaries along with the ability to pull up additional information to pray more specifically for their needs. LiveTrueLife.Church
- Funds to remodel our back building and cooperation from the city to get permits for all phases. Praise the Lord for His provision of $50k to get the project off the a great start!

Let’s band together to seek God with all of our hearts and give Him the opportunity to bless us exceedingly abundantly above all we can ask or think!

Posted in fasting
Posted in fasting