21 Days of Prayer & Fasting
Monday 5th - Sunday 25th January 2026
As a new year begins we are painfully aware of the turmoil around the world and the challenges facing us at home, both on a national level and here in our city and local towns and villages.
We also know that Jesus is the good news who overcomes all trouble and turmoil. He has called us to be his peace makers. To be his hope-bringers to the world. And the Bible tells us that our prayers are powerful and effective. When we pray we see things change as we align with God’s purpose and mission.
So let’s join together in January in an extended period of prayer and fasting – 21 days of committing ourselves to hearing God’s voice and praying into the issues, big and small. Below you will find a day-by-day guide to praying and fasting both corporately and individually.
Our youth and children will also be joining in with special activities. Each day has a link to a great resource for families with children. Simply print it out at home.
Our youth have also been provided with resources for a 21 days of prayer challenge. For more information speak to one of the youth team on Sunday.
Three weeks of visonary prayer
The vision of New Life Church is to be a community that loves God, loves people and makes disciples of all nations.
Each of the three weeks of prayer and fasting will therefore focus on a different aspect of this vision.
Week 1 – Monday 5th January to Sunday 11th January - Love God.
We will begin by focusing upward on God. Let’s bring him our worship and thanksgiving and right at the start of this new year dediate ourselves to deepening our personal relationship with him.
Week 2 – Monday 12th January to Sunday 18th January - Love people.
This week our focus will be on our local mission including key activities such as the New Bradwell and Wolverton Mill location launch, our Community Action activites including Speaking English, Greenleys Community Club, the Winter Night Shelter, etc
Week 3 – Monday 19th January to Sunday 25th January - Make disciples of all nations.
In our final week will have an outward focus. Prayer topics will include our global family, the School of Missional Life, being a disciple who makes disciples, and being salt and light in today’s society .
Where two or three are gathered…
Each weekday from Monday to Friday there will be an opportunity to pray with others on Zoom from 6:00am to 6:30am. These gatherings will focus on the Bible verse and prayer points given for each day and will follow the P. R. A. Y. model of prayer.
P = Pause
R= Rejoice
A = Ask
Y = Yield (or say Yes!)
Meeting Details:
Each Sunday we will gather together in the evenings for corporate prayer from 7:30pm to 9:00pm.
Everyone is welcome at each of these gatherings no matter where you attend on Sunday mornings.
Sunday 11th - Love God:
A time of intimate worship and encounter. Venue: Wolverton Mill.
Sunday 18th - Love people:
We will follow the Holy Spirit’s lead as we pray into our community action projects and other ways that we love our neighbours. Venue: Wolverton Mill.
Sunday 25th - Make disciples of all nations:
Our prayers will focus on our wider mission. There will also be a time for celebration and breaking the fast together. Venue: Wolverton Mill.
Daily Bible verse and prayer topic
Week 1 – Love God. This week the focus is on our personal relationships with God, worship and thanksgiving
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Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever!
1 Chronicles 16:34
At the beginning of this new year, take a few minutes to think of all the things you are thankful for. Why not use this collaborative space to share your thoughts with others.
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Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
Romans 12:1
Offering our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice is to use our bodies to live in a way that pleases him. Spend some time considering how you can do this with your body. Consider your tongue, your ears, your eyes, your hands, your physical strength, your brain, etc. Then ask the Holy Spirit for further revelation as to how you can truly worship God as a living sacrifice.
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Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
James 4: 8
Set aside some time today to be with God. Perhaps go for a walk or find a quiet and secluded place where you can be alone with him. During this time have a conversation with him. Chat to him about day - include some of the small details of life as well as larger issues. Have some moments of silence where you ask God to tell you what is on his mind. Be expectant that God will speak to you. Make a note of any thoughts or images that come to mind. What is God revealing to you?
Use this padlet to share what God says with others if it isn’t too personal.
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One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.
Psalm 27:4
Sometimes we come to God with a shopping list of requests, but the writer of this verse had only one request: to dwell in his house to gaze on his beauty and to dig deeper into understanding who he is. Spend some time in his presence today contemplating how wonderful God is. Instead of a shopping list of requests, perhaps make a list of all the ways you can describe God to someone who doesn’t know him.
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Be still and know that I am God
Psalm 46:10
This verse can help us focus on being in God’s presence. Try this simple exercise. Find a quiet place on your own. Remove any distractions, such as your mobile phone. Sit comfortably and take some deep breaths to calm your body. Now focus on this verse. Repeat it softly to yourself. Little by little, reduce the words until you are focusing on the single word ‘Be’. If you wish, you can then do the exercise in reverse, adding words back in until you have the whole phrase.
Be still and know that I am God
Be still and know that I am
Be still and know
Be still
Be.
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In that day you will say: “Give praise to the LORD, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted.
Isaiah 12:4 (NIV)
Proclaiming His name involves making His greatness known. It is more than just mentioning God in passing. Rather, it is showing the world who He is through your words, deeds, and transformed life, inviting others to know Him personally. Spend some time considering the different ways you can proclaim his name to those around you. What do you find easy to do? Is God challenging you to increase your trust and faith in him by doing things that are not so comfortable?
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I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
Psalm 53 2 - 5
Today, make the most of opportunities to sing praises to God. Come to a Sunday morning service. Join in with today’s evening gathering. Spend some personal time beholding his power and glory in creation and in those around you.
Week 2 – Monday 12th January to Sunday 18th January - Love people. This week we are praying for those we know locally, and for our community action projects in locations such as Greenleys and New Bradwell.
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Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.
Isaiah 54: 2
Pray for your local neighbourhood to know the presence and love of God. If you are able spend some time prayer walking the local streets. Speak blessings over the area and over any significant places such as schools, shops, or community centres
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Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.
Psalm 82:3
Pray for the Hope into Action house to be ready to receive residents in the next few weeks. Pray that they will come to know their heavenly Father. Pray for them to be restored to community and to know they are loved and valued.
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Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done.
Proverbs 19:17
Pray for the guests who are cared for by the Winter Night Shelter on Wednesday evenings at The Ridgeway Centre. Pray for the team to reveal God’s love to the homeless through their words and actions.
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This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.
Zechariah 7:9-10
Please pray for our Speaking English classes to continue providing a friendly place to belong for those who wish to improve their spoken English. Being able to communicate with others is a vital skill that helps counter feelings of isolation and the risk of mistreatment. Pray that those who come to learn English will also learn about Jesus and all he has done for them.
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And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.”
Take some time to think about your neighbours. How can you show them you love them as much as yourself this week? Is there some practical way to support and care for them? Spend some time praying for them to grow closer to Jesus and to discover his love for them.
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Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbour.
1 Cor 10:24
What activities are going on in your local neighbourhood? Can you get involved in a local project designed to improve life for everyone? Maybe ask God to reveal something you can initiate if nothing is happening locally. Speak blessings over your neighbourhood in the name of Jesus
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But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
Peter 2:9
Ask God to give you an opportunity to share the good news of Jesus with someone today.
This evening, come and join the gathering at Wolverton Mill as we meet together to pray for our city.
Week 3 – Outward focused – global family, School of Missional Life, being a disciple who makes disciples, being salt and light in today’s society
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Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
Matthew 28: 19 – 20.
Visit our global mission webpage and pray for one of the countries where we have a global family. Ask God if there is some way to support those you pray for in addition to prayer.
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You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5 14 – 16
Ask God to reveal how you can be a light to someone this week. Perhaps there is a small act of kindness that will bless them or maybe send an encouraging text message to them.
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But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
Acts 1: 8
Ask the Holy Spirit to give you fresh boldness in being a witness for Jesus, sharing the good news with those around you. Ask him to reveal one person to you who needs to hear that they have a loving father in heaven. Then ask for an opportunity to speak with that person.
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But in your hearts honour Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defence to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.
1 Peter 3: 15
Do you feel ready to explain why you have hope in Jesus? Take some time to write down your reasons for hope in your prayer journal or as a note on your mobile. Ask for an opportunity to share this week with someone who feels hopeless.
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To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.
1 Corinthians 9: 22-23
How can you become all things to all people? Think and pray about those people you know outside of church. Ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom in sharing the good news of Jesus in a way that will meet them where they are.
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Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
Colossians 4:5–6
Following on from yesterday’s prayer, ask the Holy Spirit to show you how to season what you say with salt. Think of someone you know who isn’t a Christian. Ask the Holy Spirit for some wise words to share with them.
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Declare his glory among the nations, his marvellous works among all the peoples!
Psalm 96
Join us this evening to celebrate the close of our 21 days of prayer and fasting. What has God said to you over this time? How has he answered your prayers? Do share this evening.
Celebration Meeting
SUNDAY, JANUARY 25
7:30pm to 9:00pm
We will end out 21 days of prayer and fasting with a celebration meeting at The Ridgeway Centre.
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.
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.