“If prayer stands as the place where God and human beings meet, then I must learn about prayer. Most of my struggles in the Christian life circle around the same two themes: why God doesn’t act the way we want God to, and why I don’t act the way God wants me to. Prayer is the precise point where those themes converge.”

philip yancey, Prayer Does it make any difference?, p. 17.

Please read the first blog post entitled “Why Fast?” This explains what fasting is and why we follow Jesus in this spiritual discipline as together we seek the heart of God.

21 Days Devotional Blog (with opt-in text option)

During these 21 days, a devotional will be posted each morning on our “21 Days Blog” on Ascent’s homepage. You can go to the home page each day, or you can text ASCENT21 to the number 97000 to opt-in to receive a daily text reminder with a link to that day’s devotional.

Daily Devotionals

Each day during our 21 Days, we will focus on one part of the ACTS prayer acronym – Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication. We will spend between 3-5 days on each part of the ACTS prayer acronym. Each devotion will take less than ten minutes of your time.

1. We will Engage the Word – looking at a passage of Scripture that draws our mind’s attention and heart’s affection to the Lord.
2. We will Connect the Heart – considering a truth that is applicable to our lives.
3. We will Reflect on the Truth, asking a number of questions each day that invite us to look and listen with intent.
4. And we will Depend on the Spirit – We will pray, for it is in praying that we learn to pray. And it is in praying that the Spirit changes our hearts.

We want to encourage you to grab a journal or a notebook – something to write on as you walk through each devotional. Yes, it will add a few minutes to the time it takes to do the devotion, and it will also deepen your experience and shape your walk with God for years to come. This journal or notebook will be a keepsake to remind you of God’s faithfulness during this challenging season for all of us.

Adoration

Engage the Word

Read Psalm 145:18-21 – A Psalm of David

18 The Lord is near to all who call on him, 

to all who call on him in truth. 

19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; 

he hears their cry and saves them. 

20 The Lord watches over all who love him, 

but all the wicked he will destroy. 

21 My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord. 

Let every creature praise his holy name 

for ever and ever. 

In the ways of God, justice lives alongside kindness. There is an intrinsic morality in all He does, and He desires that we also walk in His holiness. Righteous though He is, He is also near – ready to act on behalf of – His praying people. At the same time His righteousness also looks for their sincerity (18), their reverence (19), and their love (20). His righteousness is indeed a righteousness of grace—loving, fulfilling desires, saving, watching over – but it is also the righteousness of holiness. Our adoration of our holy God is often fueled by our neediness and brokenness, as seen in the light of His goodness and holiness.

Reflect on the Truth

1. Reflect on God’s goodness and holiness in the light of your neediness and brokenness. Spend a few moments in worship and adoration of our holy God.
2. God’s righteousness is looking for your sincerity, your reverence and your love. Turn your heart toward Him now in these ways.
3. Take a few moments to meditate on each verse, one at a time. How does this exercise lift your heart toward the praise of God in adoration?

Depend on the Spirit

Ask the Holy Spirit to help you see the deeper longings, desires or motives in your heart that those thoughts are pointing to. (For example: you may write down, “Thank you, Lord, for hearing my cry and for responding when I call to you. I wish I could hear an audible voice in return, but I will trust that you are a God who hears. And acts.”) The Lord can help us discern the path forward – through His word, His Spirit, His people.

For Prayer

Today, pray for our response to God, as a church, in worship and dependence. We want to be a people who are known as passionate worshipers (our lifestyle, not just our songs) and Spirit-dependent followers of Jesus. Pray that all those who attend Ascent Church will respond to God’s goodness and holiness with lives that are completely surrendered to Him.