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What is 21 days of prayer? 

21 Days of prayer is a period of dedicated prayer to start the new year. The goal is to get into a regular rhythm of daily prayer and scripture reading to create a habit for the year ahead. This year, we will be focusing on the prayers of the Apostle Paul found in Romans, Ephesians and Philippians. We encourage each person to use the daily prayer guides and to follow the steps below to get the most out of the next 21 days of prayer.
 
  • Read the passage of Paul’s prayer.
      • We ask that you read it slowly and thoughtfully. You may want to read it multiple times or even just rest on a single word or phrase. Either way, the goal isn’t to get through it but to allow the truths of God to saturate your soul as you begin each day.
  • Spend time praying as Paul prayed.
      • After you read Paul’s prayer there will be some prompts to help you pray for the things that he prayed for. You may notice that Paul’s prayers were often about others and are full of doctrine, theology and truths about God. This is significant because practicing the prayers of Paul will not only teach you about prayer, but also form you through reciting these truths in the presence of God each day.
  • Tether to truth throughout the day.
      • Each day there is a truth to meditate on throughout the day. Many of Paul’s prayers were written while in prison.  This is important to remember because his circumstances didn’t hinder the hope that anchored each of his prayers. His life was tethered to the truth of gospel and that is our prayer for each of you over the next 21 days.

 

Over the next three weeks, life will likely get in the way of this practice. Kids will get sick, deadlines from work will continue to roll in, and the daily grind will surely distract you. It will happen, so developing a plan to prioritize this time each day is essential. Mark 1:35 says, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”

What we can learn from Jesus:

  • He prayed every day.
      • Jesus had intentional time every day to commune with His Father. It wasn’t an obligation but an opportunity to rest in God’s presence and talk to God. It was the very reason that He came and died so that we could speak directly to God and restore our relationship with Him.
  • He prayed in a particular place.
      • Throughout scripture, we see Jesus going to a solitary place to pray. This is the Greek word Eremos which means solitary, lonely, desolate, or uninhabited places. For Jesus, that was often in the mountains; for you, it might be a quiet corner of your house or in your car during your daily commute.
  • He prayed with a plan.
      • Whether it is first thing in the morning or before you go to bed each night, think of a time and place where you can pray each day.

 

What is Praying with Paul?

The Apostle Paul prayed for his brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the New Testament. For us today, these are inspiring words that often fill the first few minutes of each day as we read through the epistles, but for Paul, they were intimate letters to encourage fellow believers to be tethered to truth amidst the challenges of life. He understood their daily struggle, and his passion poured through his pen as he provided these timeless truths. Although our current culture is very different from the 1st Century A.D., we still need to be reminded of the truth of God’s word and tether our lives to them as we face the friction of each day.

Why study and pray the prayers of the Apostle Paul? One word: transformation.

Of the many benefits we have can learn from Paul, a few stand out:

  • We see how the Holy Spirit wants us to pray.
      •  Scripture provides a wealth of prayers inspired by the Holy Spirit, each of them giving a glimpse into the unsearchable wisdom of God. These prayers should shape our priorities and our entire outlook on life.
  • We pray along with Paul confident of God’s answers.
      • Praying God’s prayers according to God’s priorities means we can be sure of God’s answers. This doesn’t mean He will answer as we expect, but it does mean God will answer prayers according to His will as He promises (1 John 5:14). As Spurgeon writes:  “Your largest hopes shall all be exceeded. Hope, and hope, and yet hope again, and each time you hope more and more, but the Lord will give you more than you have hoped for.”
  • Our minds will be enlightened and affections stirred.
      • As we contemplate the prayers and petitions of the great apostle, God’s spirit will illuminate the prayers and shape the desires of our heart. Instead of merely praying for circumstances and our to-dos, our hearts will pray for things like the filling of our minds with “the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him…” (Colossians 1:9). Praying these prayers will draw us into deeper delight and communion with our father.

 

Spurgeon illustrates why we want to pray according to God’s priorities: “A man might try to fill us and fail, but God, who made us, knows every corner and cranny of our nature, and can pour in joy and peace till every portion of our being is flooded, saturated, and  overflowed with delight.”

Daily Prayer Guides