Spiritual Emphasis Month

This January we kick off our annual Spiritual Emphasis month here at PCC. (That's not to say we don't emphasize spirituality the other eleven months.) Rather, we dedicate ourselves to seeking the Lord in a season of 21 days of fasting and prayer at the start of the year.

Here are a few benefits of Spiritual Emphasis Month:

1) Clarity - Extended seasons of fasting and prayer help to eliminate distractions and unnecessary activity. This yields greater clarity and focus for important future decisions and direction.

2) Unity - Prayer binds the hearts of people together. The church or family that prays together, stays together. United we stand but divided we fall. Prayer unites.

3) Humility - The spiritual discipline of prayer and fasting are incredibly humbling. You quickly realize just how little control you have in life ... whether its with a fork or an act of faith. God blesses the humble.

4) Productivity - Fasting and prayer brings a supernatural level of success and productiveness into your life that otherwise would be lacking. God grands success to those that seek him.

Easter Fast Challenge

Today, March 9th, is Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent. This next 40 or so days PCC is participating in a church-wide fast in preparation for Easter.

Fasting is simply abstaining from food for spiritual reasons. Jesus expected his followers to fast for a variety of reasons:

1. To give you more time to pray. Acts 13:2-3

2. To demonstrate a depth of desire for breakthrough. Joel 1:14

3. To release supernatural power in your life. Ezra 8:23

We see many Biblical examples of the importance of fasting. Moses fasted before receiving the 10 commandments. Daniel fasted in order to receive guidance from God. Jeremiah fasted before beginning a major building project. Jesus fasted prior to launching into his public ministry.

Fasting is simply carving time out of your busy schedule to feast on the word of God. It's denying oneself food for your body so you can feed your soul. It's getting in the presence of God and spending time realigning your life with His will.

To all those PCCers out there, please join with me as we fast and pray for our church, community and the unchurched this Easter. If you would like to more information on how to fast, please go to our church website.

For some of my favorite books on prayer and fasting, check out our online bookstore here.