NOVEMBER PRAYER FOCUS

THURSDAY 14th - SUNDAY 17th November

STEP OUT IN FAITH

Thursday 14th November – Sunday 17th November

We have traditionally joined together in November for 24 hours of prayer and fasting. This November we feel God is calling us to invest in our personal prayer lives as part of our focus on being disciples who make disciples. So we are inviting everyone who is part of New Life Church to engage with a range of opportunities to pray over a four-day period. Do consider how you can make personal prayer a significant part of this time. If you are a parent, how can you include your children and youth in this special time?

Fasting continues to be an important aspect of our Christian walk. The plan is for there to be 24 hours of prayer and fasting as part of our November Prayer Focus. What is different is that we invite you to choose a 24 hour period that works for your personal circumstances. Take a look at our gathered times together on Saturday evening and Sunday morning. Perhaps you could use one of those times to break your fast. The possibilities are as varied as our lives. What is key is to be involved – our prayers are powerful and effective.

God’s Call to US Today

When the astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped off the ladder of the Apollo 11 capsule onto the surface of the moon in 1969, he didn’t know from experience what would happen. However, he had faith in the NASA space technicians and the courage to take a risk.

When we read the Bible we find that God called many people to trust him ahead of seeing the outcome of their obedience to his instruction. Noah built an ark. David selected a few small pebbles to face Goliath. Esther risked her life to enter into the presence of King Xerxes I to plead for her people.

Today God is still asking his people to trust him, to step out in faith and then to see what he does in response. Through this time focused on prayer and taking time to fast, let’s ask God to build our faith. Let’s be a people who trust in him and have the courage to take risks when he calls to us.

Let’s be a people who get to see the incredible things that God will do through us – in our city, in our nation, and around the world.

CATALYST GLOBAL PRAYER DAY

THURSday 14th NOVEMBER

PRAY FOR THE NATIONS

New Life Church is in relationship with Catalyst, a global family of churches. We invite you to start our November Prayer Focus by joining in with this global prayer day. Running for 24 hours there will be opportunities to gather online on Zoom and also hourly prayer points on social media and WhatsApp.

We’ll post more information soon. For now we encourage you to sign up via the Catalyst website.

Friday – Saturday

Choose your 24-hour prayer and fasting time

Our tradition has been to pray and fast corporately from Friday evening to Saturday evening. This November, however, we feel led to encourage everyone to shape a 24-hour prayer and fast that fits with their personal circumstances.

Time – You are free to start and finish as you wish. Perhaps it would work well for you to fast from midday on Friday to midday on Saturday. Or from 9pm on Friday to 9pm on Saturday. There are as many variations as there are different circumstances. The key thing we ask is for you to dedicate a 24-hour period to praying and fasting.

What to pray about – As a church family we have been focused on making disciples with our Advance training and equipping evenings, our Simple Gospel preaching series, and the launch of the Disciple-making Pathway. So you could:

  • Spend time asking God to reveal what he is calling you to in the next season of your life.

  • Pray for those in your sphere of influence who are not yet followers of Jesus – how can you encourage them to take a step of faith?

  • What have you learned from the Advance training evenings? Ask God to help you put your learning into practice.

  • Spend some time meditating on God’s Word. You’ll find some helpful Bible verses on faith here.

  • Ask God to reveal if anything is holding you back from sharing the good news of Jesus with people you know. Here’s a practical Bible study on growing in faith to help with this.

  • Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you in praying for the things that are on God’s heart.

Where to pray – Anywhere and everywhere. You can pray at home, pray while out walking, pray while travelling to and from work. You are also welcome to use the prayer room at The Ridgeway Centre during the day on Friday (9am to 5pm) and Saturday (10am to 7pm).

There is also an opportunity to join Steve Murrill and team who will be stepping out with faith on the streets of Milton Keynes on Saturday morning.

Who to pray with – Our aim is to provide space to pray individually. However, you are also welcome to gather with others. You could meet with two or three friends for an hour or two. If you have children or youth, why not agree together a time to pray as a family?

7:00pm to 9:00pm Saturday 17th November

WORSHIP AND ENCOUNTER WITH MICHAEL BETHANY

We are thrilled that Michael Bethany will be with us on Saturday evening to lead a time of worship and encounter, inviting God to fill our hearts with his passion for those who do not yet know him.

You can find out more about Michael’s worship leading on his YouTube channel.

PRAYER SUNDAY – 17th November

Our November Prayer Focus culminates with our usual Sunday morning prayer meeting at 8:30am in the prayer room, and our two Sunday services at 9:15 and 11:15.

Communion will form part of each service. You may wish to make this the focal point of your 24 hours of prayer and fasting, and break your fast with the symbolic remembrance of what Jesus has done for each of us.

The format of the service will also be different with prayer interweaving with worship. Our children and youth will be included in the first 20 minutes before they go to their own age groups.

Helpful points about fasting

  • Fasting is feasting on the Lord. Looking to him for comfort, power, strength, guidance, forgiveness and hope.

  • Fasting is not so much about food as it is about focus. 

  • Fasting helps to express, to deepen, to confirm the resolution that we are ready to sacrifice anything to attain what we seek for the kingdom of God.

  • Fasting is not so much about saying no to the body as it is about saying yes to the Spirit. 

  • Fasting is about looking within not about doing without. 

  • Fasting is an outward response to an inward attitude and cry of the soul.

  • Fasting is not a means of seeking God's blessings, as much as it is a means of seeking God. 

  • Fasting is not a test for super saints, it is not a means of twisting God’s arm, and it is not a magical formula for getting through to God.

New to fasting?

If you’re new to fasting, you’ll find it a great way of feeding your hunger for God, and for demonstrating that you desire to put God’s priorities over your appetite for anything else.

When you’re new to fasting, you’ll get the best out of the experience if you don’t try to be too ambitious too soon. Perhaps start by skipping one meal on each of the four days: breakfast or lunch. Use the time to pray instead of eating.

If you feel ready for a greater commitment you could choose to only eat one meal during each of the four days. Which meal would be entirely up to you and your lifestyle.

If fasting from food is not an option then consider other ways that you can create time to focus on prayer. Take a fast from scrolling through social media, for example. Maybe watch less entertainment content.

Do pray about this aspect of your fast. What is God asking you to do in order to spend more time in his presence?

Find out more about fasting below.