Some people are famous and get remembered for great things they have accomplished in their life. They have a legacy of success. Names like Churchill, Roosevelt and Nelson evoke memories of the battles they won. Names like Senna, McIlroy and Pele evoke memories of sporting victories. Over people are infamous, and their names evoke memories of the evil atrocities they committed. Names like Hitler and Stalin are associated with a legacy of evil. Your name may not go down in history books, but there will be people who remember you. And how you live now will determine the kind of legacy you leave for them to remember you by.

The dictionary defines Legacy as a gift or a bequest, which is handed down from one person to another after they die. When we think spiritually, our legacy is what we hand down to future generations when our time on earth is gone. It could be material possessions, money we had saved up over the course of our life, a house for them to inherit or a family heirloom. Or it could be something of far greater value. We could hand down a legacy of faith. We only have a limited number of days on earth, so it is vital that we use our time wisely. That is what this season of prayer and fasting has been about – resetting our minds, restarting our walk with God, growing in intimacy and pressing deeper into a relationship with Jesus through being intentional about how we use our time.

What if, rather than spending our life in the pursuit of money and trinkets to pass on to our children when we die, we spent it building up a legacy of faith? What if we invested into our relationship with Jesus to such an extent that at the end of our lives we could echo the words of Paul, saying to our relatives “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11 verse 1 NIV).

To be able to say that with sincerity is to have lived a life worth living. To be able to show those who will carry on after your time on earth is done an example they can follow which is modelled after the example of Jesus is to have spent your time on earth wisely and is a legacy worth leaving. Take the lessons you have learned from God during this season of prayer and fasting and apply them to your life for the rest of this year. Continue the habits of prayer and bible reading that you have restarted, and maintain the reset attitudes that have come from focusing your eyes on God, then you can leave a restored legacy that goes beyond this season of prayer and fasting as you make this a year where you continue growing in your relationship with Jesus.

Prayer focus

Ask the Holy Spirit to highlight to you lessons to take forward from this season of prayer and fasting into the rest of the year. Spend time asking God to show you areas in your life where you still need to reset, restart or restore.

As we continue to pray and fast we are looking today at our identity in Christ. Before we put our faith in Jesus we are not just bad, we are spiritually dead. Jesus didn’t come to back bad people good, He came to make dead people alive. He came to make us a new creation. He has given us a new identity as sons and daughters of God. Yet often we can forget that.

It can be easy to go back to the old habits, to the patterns of our former life from before we knew Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Though right now there are things you are fasting from it can be very tempting once we reach the end of this season of prayer and fasting in a few days to let them straight back into your life. There are many things you could be fasting from at present that aren’t necessarily sinfully bad, yet they are not the best use of your time. Hopefully during this season of intentionally freeing up time to meet with Jesus daily you have found that to be a better use of your time than yet another Netflix binge. So the challenge is to carry forward the lessons you have learnt during this fast into the rest of the year ahead. To live out the new creation life and to let go of the old ways.

Jesus came to free us from the power of sin. He came to give us a new identity. We are no longer bound to the ways of the past. They no longer have a hold on us. We no longer have to carry round the guilt and shame. Our enemy the devil may try to bring up your past to try to bring you down, but we know the cross has covered it. We are now a new creation if we have trusted in Jesus. Today, as you pray and fast, remember what your identity is. You are not defined by your past mistakes; you are defined by the cross. The things that tripped you up in the year that is behind you need not continue to keep you bound in defeat this year. Jesus came to break every chain that entangles us and to set us free to live out the new creation life. Remember your identity as a beloved son or daughter of God today.

Prayer Point

Maybe you need to seek God’s forgiveness for sinful habits. Today is a great day to ask Jesus to wash you white as snow and receive your new creation identity by trusting in Him, for the first time or the first time in a long time. Maybe you need to ask the Holy Spirit to help you trust that you are forgiven and that the old has passed away. Maybe there is a family member you want to receive that realisation and you need to pray for them today.

This season of prayer and fasting has been about resetting and renewing by pressing deeper into our relationship with God. It has been a time to reset as we start out a new year, leaving the old ways in the past and letting God establish new habits and patterns as we devote the first fruits of this new year to Him. And hopefully what you have found as you have been intentional about setting aside additional time to focus on Him, to spend time in His presence, to pray with increased vigour, to be more intentional about opening the pages of His word and allowing the Holy Spirit to speak life and hope into your soul is that God has been using this season to restore, confirm, strengthen and establish you.

We are reminded today that we have been called to eternal glory in Christ. That is the call on each of our lives – we have been called to eternal glory. You may not feel very glorious, but you have been called to glory. Maybe there are things that have happened that have left you feeling unworthy, undeserving. The truth is, we are all unworthy. By our own efforts there are none of us who meet God’s standards. We all fall short, but God promises to restore us. He will restore our glory. He will clothe us with a righteousness we do not deserve and could never hope to earn. He intends to use us for His purposes. He considers us His masterpiece, the pinnacle of all creation. There are no mere ordinary average Christians – we have all been called to eternal glory. Remember today that is your calling if you have put your trust in Jesus.

This verse is a reminder that we can’t restore by our own efforts. Our own strength isn’t enough. But God promises to restore us. He will strengthen us through the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us – the same power that raised Jesus from the grave now dwells in us, strengthening and establishing us to carry out every good work that God has planned out for us to do. We have a purpose that He created us to carry out. We have a role to play in carrying the good news of forgiveness, mercy and grace to the whole world. That is what God restores us for. This is what He strengthens us to carry out. The purpose of prayer and fasting is to great space to allow God to do that work of restoring our glory, strengthening and establishing us to carry out all that He has called us to do for the sake of His kingdom. We don’t fast just for what we can get out of it for ourselves – we fast and pray because that is how God can restore us to the glory He called us to and establish us to go into the world and make an impact for the sake of His name.

Prayer focus

Thank God for the grace he has shown in calling you to His eternal glory. Ask the Holy Spirit to continue restoring, confirming, strengthening and establishing you.

Can you relate to feeling weary and worn out? Do you feel exhausted, like you have nothing left? God promises that when we trust in Him, He will restore and renew our strength. Though we will face many challenges and trials, though the road will be long and the journey hard at times He will restore our strength and enable us to run and not grow weary.

As we pray and fast we press in deeper to intimacy with God. And as we spend time waiting on God we learn He will restore our strength. It is by spending time in the presence of God that we find the strength to face all that the life brings our way. In the presence of God we receive peace to weather every storm. In the presence of God weary hearts get their hope restored.

Our strength comes not from earthly success, wealth or training and conditioning in a gym. Our strength comes from the LORD. A season of praying and fasting is an opportunity to be reminded of that. As we give up certain foods or even full meals we are acknowledging that more than we need physical nourishment we need spiritual nourishment. As we set aside time at the start of the year not for a new exercise routine but for praying and intently seeking the face of God we are acknowledging that while physical training has some value, godliness is of far greater value as it benefits us not just in this life but also in the life that is to come.

As we pray and fast, learn to rely on God as your strength. Take this opportunity to allow Him to restore your strength. Thankfully we do not have to go through life relying on our own ability and strength. If we have put our faith in Jesus we have the Holy Spirit with us, equipping us and restoring our strength. He does not give us a spirit fear and timidity, but a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline (see 2 Timothy 1v7). Press in to that promise today. If you feel weak and weary ask God to restore your strength. If you are facing difficult circumstances remember you are not alone and you are not facing them merely with the strength of your flesh, but full of strength and power from the Holy Spirit.

Prayer Point

Bring your weakness and the weariness you have from the year behind us to God today. Leave it in His hands. Ask Him to restore your strength and fill you afresh with His spirit of power, love and self-discipline.

Psalm 51v12

The year that just finished has been a hard and heavy year for many of us. It has been a year full of struggles, uncertainty and things not going the way we would have hoped or expected. Plans got ripped up, rearranged and then changed again. There has been so much that has happened that may have robbed you of peace. The news has been so full of reports that may have stolen away your joy. But as we pray and fast we remember our joy does not come from our earthly circumstances or our material possessions. Our joy comes from knowing the love of our Father. Our joy comes from knowing He has saved us forever through the death of Jesus on the cross. Our joy comes from knowing we are upheld, eternally secure, in His mighty victorious hands.

As we pray and fast it may seem strange to focus on joy today. After all, you are probably fasting from many of the things that would usually give you joy and pleasure. But when we spend time drawing close to God, really intentionally pressing in to grow deeper in our relationship with Him, that is where we find true joy. As we spend time marveling in His presence, pondering on all that Jesus did for us on the cross, rejoicing in the fact that though He was in a place of majesty in heaven He was willing to humble Himself to come down to earth, to bear our sin and shame and suffer the indignity of death on a cross in our place so that we could be forgiven, then we will find that our joy is restored. Nothing that the year behind us threw at us or that the year ahead has in store for us can compete with that. There is nothing that can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. That is the solid rock our joy in anchored in.

Prayer Point

As you pray today, ask the Holy Spirit to restore your joy. Ask for opportunities to let your joy be shown to those around you as a way to point them to the hope we have in Jesus.

The past two years were not what we would have expected. If you said this time three years ago that there would be lockdowns, curfews and school closures people would have laughed at you. It was not what we had anticipated. But nothing ever takes God by surprise. He knows the end from the beginning. There are no curve balls to Him. He never gets blindsided by an unexpected twist. He is always in control and always has a plan. Not only does he always have a plan but it is always the same plan. Our plans often have to change based on circumstances outside our control, but His perfect plan never changes. He never has to revert to plan b. His plan is always to prosper us, to give us a hope and a future. His plan is for our good, and for the good of our community.

God desires to see restoration in our communities. He is the God who promises to restore what the locusts have eaten. He can restore what covid had destroyed. He has plans to restore the fortune of His people. He desires to see our cities rebuilt. He doesn’t let what has happened in the past define us. He promises that those who seek Him will repair ruined cities and raise up anew that which has been devastated (see Isaiah 61:1-4).

As we pray and fast we get renewed and restored. As we increase in our intimacy with God He implants dreams and passions in our souls. He will show us things He wants us to devote ourselves to in the weeks and year ahead. He desires for us to bring restoration to our community, to plant vineyards and make gardens. He desires that we restore and rebuild our community, but He doesn’t intend for us to just rebuild in the same old ways of consumerism and capitalism that once were. He desires that we build a restored and renewed community that has firm foundations in His ways, that is rooted in His love and that is centred on the hope that we have in Jesus. He desires a community that values love, justic and mercy. He desires a community where the least are cared for, the hungry fed and the broken are accepted.

As we approach the end of this season of prayer and fasting reflect on the lessons the Holy Spirit has been teaching you. Consider what ways He wants you to restore and rebuild our city in accord with His good and perfect will.

Prayer focus

Thank God that the events of the past year is not the end of the story. Thank Him for the promise of restored fortunes and rebuilt cities. Ask the Holy Spirit to place dreams on your heart as to how our community can be restored in line with God’s will.

The past couple of years have caused many to reflect on what matters most to them, on what is truly important in life. Maybe you have done some pondering yourself. People discovered a new passion for baking bread and for walking. Some people decided they had had enough of the rat-race and preferred the work from home lifestyle. People rediscovered their passion for reading Our focus today as we continue praying and fasting is on restoring our passion the right way.

It is ok to enjoy the many good things God created for us – indeed He intends for us to eat bread with joy (Ecclesiastes 9:7) and to eat meat with thankfulness (Romans 14:6). He created many wonderful experiences in life for our enjoyment. But He did not create them to be our ultimate passion. The pursuit of more physical pleasure or a more satisfying lifestyle should not be our chief goal. Above all our passion should be for more of God’s glory in our life.

Jesus warns us in the Sermon on the Mount that where our treasure is, there our heart will be also. He is teaching us that our heart, our ultimate passion, will be wherever our treasure is. If we treasure and value earthly things – be it money, fancy cars or designer clothes – as our passion above all else, that is where our heart will be. And earthly treasures will always end up rusted, decayed or moth-eaten. But if we value and treasure God then our heart will be in heaven. If He is our ultimate passion, then we can have assurance that our treasure will never fade or be destroyed. We can have confidence that the things we devote our life to will last into eternity.

Maybe your passion for God has grown dim in recent years. Maybe you started out strong in your faith and now that passion had dulled. As we continue this season of prayer and fasting this is an opportunity to restore your passion. Make this a year of resolving to remember all the things Jesus has done for us. As you ponder on the amazing truth that the King of kings left the glory of the throne of heaven to come to the humility of a Bethlehem manger and then the indignity of death on a cross, the hands of the Creator pierced for the sake of creation, so that we could be restored to a relationship with God our perfect loving Father, let that restore your passion. Remind yourselves of the simple truths of the gospel that we can so often overlook but which when we take time to reflect on will restore our passion and fire us up with enthusiasm for taking that great news of grace and mercy to those around us.

Prayer focus

Ask God to restore and rekindle into flame your passion for His name. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you make this a year when you treasure growth in your relationship with God above all else.

Hopefully as we have joined through this season of prayer and fasting you have found that being more intentional about focusing on God, listening to His voice rather than the negativity of the world, letting Jesus refresh and restore your weary soul has helped renew and restore your hope.

Our hope comes from knowing that Jesus has the final victory. Our hope comes from knowing this life on earth is not all there is. Our hope comes from knowing one day every tear will be wiped away. Our hope comes from knowing that every wrong we have suffered will be made right by God. Our hope comes from knowing nothing we have gone through and struggled with is unseen by God. Our hope comes from knowing we can cast all our burdens on the Lord for He cares for us.

But this hope is not just for us. This hope is available to all who will call on the name of Jesus as their Lord and honour him in their hearts as holy. This hope is meant to be shared.

God never intends for us to be reservoirs, collecting up hope and blessing for ourselves. He intends for us to be streams, letting what He pours out into use flow onwards and impact others. He blesses us so we can be a blessing to others. God promises Abraham in Genesis 12:2 to make of him a great nation, to bless him and make his name great so that he will be a blessing. God does not mean for us to keep the blessing to ourselves – he blesses us so we can go out and be a blessing to others. He gives us hope so that we can carry that hope into a world that desperately needs hope. What the world needs most is the message of hope that comes from knowing the love of God, who so loved the world that He sent Jesus to bear the weight of our sin and make a way for us to be restored to relationship with Him. We must always be ready and willing to share that hope with anyone who asks about the reason for the hope we have. As we continue through this season of prayer and fasting, as your hope in God gets restored and renewed, let it be seen by those around you. Don’t keep this to yourself. There are people around you who desperately need the hope that we have. Be intentional this year about sharing it.

Prayer focus

Ask God to open your eyes to people in your life that you need to share the hope of the Gospel with. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you boldness to share the reason for the hope that is in you

“The LORD upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down.” Psalm 145:14

As we pray and fast this is an opportunity to restart, to return to former ways, to re-establish patterns and habits that will help us in our daily walk with God. The start of a new year is a great time to be intentional about creating patterns and rhythms for the year ahead.

Maybe over the past few months you have grown distant from God. Maybe your walk has been more of a stumble or a crawl. The events of the past year may have tripped you up, left you feeling cut off from God. Possibly your walk with Him has even ground to a stop. Today is an opportunity to restart. God is faithful to pick us up when we fall. The cross is proof of the lengths He will go to show His love for us. If God did not spare His own Son we can be sure He will not give up on us the moment we stumble or slip. He will uphold us and pick us up again, and again, and again.

Though we may be afflicted and distressed we will not be crushed. Though life may leave us perplexed and confused with the curveballs, pandemics and unexpected circumstances that come our way God will not let us be driven to despair and hopelessness. People may persecute us for our faith, but God will not forsake or abandon us. We may get knocked down but God helps us up again. He upholds those who are falling and raises those who life has left struck down. Our hope in all things is that the death and resurrection life of Jesus assures us of the ultimate victory.

If today you feel weary, tired, worn out, sick of religion then come to Jesus. His burden is light and his yoke is easy. He shows us how to recover our life. Let Him show you how to take real, satisfying rest, and let Him restart your walk as you walk in His ways – the way of life in full abundance.

Prayer focus

Thank God that He does uphold you today. If you have stumbled ask the Holy Spirit to help you restart your walk with God today. If you are tired or weary ask Jesus to give you rest to restore and refuel you to walk with Him with renewed passion this year.

This past two years have been a particularly unprecedented time in many ways, but one which especially stands out is the fact that for many weeks churches were shut and we could only worship through livestream services. With frequently changing regulations it was hard to keep on top of what was and wasn’t open, where you could or couldn’t go, and how many people you could meet at a time. With all the uncertainty and confusion around what was and wasn’t safe it was easy to get out of the habit of regular church attendance.

Maybe you started out with good intentions at the beginning of lockdown, logging in to the Facebook live streams each Sunday morning. But then the other notifications on your phone distracted you. Maybe as the summer months approached you took the opportunity to go to the beach, intending to catch up with the service on demand later in the week, but you never quite got around to it. And by the time church did reopen you had got so used to your new Sunday morning routines that you didn’t quite make it back to an in-person service on a regular basis.

Watching church online is a great option to have when we are unable to gather together, either due to government guidance or personal circumstances that require you to take extra precautions. But it cannot replace in full what we benefit from when we meet together for fellowship in person. When we gather for church we spend time in worship, giving God adoration; and we spend time being taught, receiving insight and wisdom from God. But we also get to encourage one another. We get to build up the body of believers, stirring one another to love and good works. We get to be a blessing to the other members of our church, loving them, spurring them on and inspiring them to go out into their day to day life doing more to share the gospel with those who don’t yet know Jesus.

So make this a year when you commit to church like never before. Make it your priority, the first thing that goes in your diary each week. You need church, but church also needs you. We are called to be the body of Jesus, and the body can’t function fully if some parts are missing. If you have got out of the habit of coming to worship regularly or have lost the pattern of meeting up in groups to share encouragement take the opportunity at the start of a new year to restart.

Prayer focus

Pray for your church. Lift up the team that serves. Ask God to give them increased wisdom and guidance to lead us deeper in our relationship with Him.