Fasting
GREATER: 21 Days of Prayer and Purpose Day 4
DAY 4: DECIDE, DECREE, DECLARE
Job 22:28 NKJV You will also declare a thing, And it will be established for you…
Job 22:28 NIV What you decide on will be done, and light will shine on your ways.
Job 22:28 AMP You shall also decide and decree a thing, and it shall be established for you; and the light [of God’s favor] shall shine upon your ways.
Last year, Joel Osteen – Lead Pastor of Lakewood Church and New York Times #1 Bestselling Author – released his latest book, I Declare:31 Promises to Speak Over Your Life. The book is written in 31 segments; daily declarations from Scripture that Pastor Joel encourages readers to speak over their lives i.e. health, family legacy, decisions, finances, thoughts, outlook, and even obstacles.
But this practice of declaring God’s Word is not some novel concept. In fact, it is as ancient as time itself. We see the power of words during Creation when God spoke the worlds into existence (Genesis1; Hebrews 11:3). Jesus also emphasized the importance of words in His earthly ministry (John 6:63). Simply put, our words are containers that can either carry life-giving words or death inducing venom (Proverbs 18:21).
We frame our world with our words.
So, as we continue our 21 days of Prayer and Purpose, we encourage you to begin making faith-filled declarations over your life and circumstances that are:
1. Cosistent with God’s Word (Jeremiah 1:12)
2. Consistent with the preferred future God has already prepared for you (Ephesians 2:10)
The Greek word for this timeless discipline is homologeo, which literally means samespeak. To samespeak is to follow the cadendce of God, to echo Him, to speak what He speaks; to say only what He says (John 5:19). Remember, we walk by faith, not by sight. So it’s not your present circumstances that dictate what you say; it’s the truth of God’s Word that determines your confession/declaration (Romans 4:17-21).
In the words of Pastor Joel, “Whatever follows ‘I am” you attract into your life.”
In life you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you decide. You don’t get what you need, you get what you negotiate. But deciding what you should have is only half the equation. You must then declare what you decide according to the Word of God (1 John 5:14-15).
So, begin to declare the truth of God’s Word over your life and into you circumstances…what you believe, not just what you see.
I am BLESSED, FAVORED, HEALED, WISE, HEALED, VICTORIOUS, REIGININIG IN LIFE, SEATED IN HEAVENLY PLACES, REIGNING LIFE, HAPPY, FILLED WITH JOY, MOTIVATED, EXPECTANT, FORGIVEN, FORGIVING…
We invite you to join us weekdays from 6 a.m. – 7 a.m. until January 25th for our prayer line at:
Dial in #: 424-203-8400
Passcode:255839#
Until tomorrow…
Ray and Wendy
Lead Pastors | www.citychurchtv.com
Twitter: @citychurchtv | @WilmotHarmon | @WendySHarmon
GREATER: 21 Days of Prayer & Purpose
DAY 2: MARRIAGE & FAMILY Part II
Malachi 4:5-6 “…He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”
A CROOKED LAWYER
In the early 1900s, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago. Capone wasn’t famous for anything heroic. He was notorious for entangling the Windy City in everything from bootlegged booze and prostitution to murder.
Capone had a lawyer nicknamed “Easy Eddie.” He was Capone’s lawyer for a good reason. Eddie was very good at what he did. In fact, Eddie’s skill at legal maneuvering kept Big Al out of jail for a long time. To show his appreciation, Capone paid him very well.
Not only was the money big, but Eddie also got special dividends. For instance, he and his family occupied a fenced-in mansion with live-in help and all of the conveniences of the day. The estate was so large it filled an entire Chicago city block.
Eddie lived the high life of the Chicago mob and gave little consideration to the serious wrongdoings that went on around him, but he did have one soft spot. He had a son he loved dearly, and Eddie saw to it that his young son had the best of everything – clothes, cars and a good education. Nothing was withheld and price was no object.
Despite his involvement with organized crime, Eddie even tried to teach his son right from wrong. Eddie wanted him to be a better man than he was. Yet with all his wealth and influence, there were two things he couldn’t give his son – he couldn’t pass on a good name and he couldn’t set a good example.
One day, Easy Eddie reached a difficult decision. Wanting to rectify wrongs he had done, he decided he would go to the authorities and tell the truth about Al “Scarface” Capone, clean up his tarnished name and offer his son some semblance of integrity. To do this, he would have to testify against the Mob, and he knew that the cost would be great. So he testified. Within the year, Easy Eddie’s life ended in a blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago Street, but in his eyes, he had given his son the greatest gift he had to offer, at the greatest price he would ever pay.
A COURAGEOUS PILOT
Now, let’s fast forward to World War II, a war that produced many heroes. One such man was Lt. Cmdr. Butch O’Hare. He was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacific.
One day, his entire squadron was sent on a mission. After he was airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel tank. He would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to his ship. His flight leader told him to return to the carrier. Reluctantly, he dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet. As he was returning to the mother ship, he saw something that turned his blood cold. A squadron of Japanese aircraft was speeding their way toward the American fleet.
The American fighters were gone on a sortie, and the fleet was all but defenseless. He couldn’t reach his squadron and bring them back in time to save the fleet, nor could he warn the fleet of the approaching danger. There was only one thing to do. He must somehow divert them from the fleet. Laying aside all thoughts of personal safety, he dove into the formation of Japanese planes. Wing-mounted 50 calibers blazed as he charged in, attacking one surprised enemy plane and then another. Butch wove in and out of the now broken formation and fired at as many planes as possible until all his ammunition was finally spent. Undaunted, he continued the assault.
He dove at the planes, trying to clip a wing or tail in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as possible and rendering them unfit to fly. Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another direction.
Deeply relieved, Butch O’Hare and his tattered fighter limped back to the carrier. Upon arrival he reported in and related the event surrounding his return. The film from the gun-camera mounted on his plane told the tale. It showed the extent of Butch’s daring attempt to protect his fleet. He had, in fact, destroyed five enemy aircraft. This took place on Feb. 20, 1942, and for that action Butch became the Navy’s first Ace of WWII and the first Naval aviator to win the Congressional Medal of Honor. A year later, Butch was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29.
His hometown would not allow the memory of this WWII hero fade, and today, O’Hare Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this great man. So the next time you find yourself at O’Hare International, think about visiting Butch’s memorial displaying his statue and his Medal of Honor.
So what do these two stories have to do with each other?
Butch O’Hare was Easy Eddie’s son.
The life we live today affects the generations to come. We were meant to give away our lives, so focus on living your legacy instead of worrying about leaving your legacy. If you do, you will define yourself and others by an inspired life.
One of the most joyful moments for any leader is to pass the baton to someone we have invested in, and then see our values reflected in the new leader … just like Butch O’Hare.
An inheritance is what we leave to others. Legacy is what we leave in them.
God has GREATER plans in store for you, your family and your legacy. Parents, it’s not too late to get it right.
Expecting and Experiencing the GREATER life Jesus intended (John 14:12),
Ray & Wendy
Ray and Wendy
Lead Pastors | www.citychurchtv.com
Twitter: @citychurchtv | @WilmotHarmon | @WendySHarmon
GREATER: 21 Days of Prayer & Purpose Day 2
DAY 2: MARRIAGES & FAMILES
Today we’re praying for healthy, exemplary, Christ-honoring marriages and families today according to:
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Malachi 4:5-6
Ephesians 5:21-33
Colossians 3:18-21
1 Peter 3:1-7
Lord, we ask that you heal, reconcile and fortify marriages and families today. May our homes be “…like a city set upon a hill that cannot be hidden.” (Matthew 5:14-16)
May our marriages and families be established on the Rock – Jesus Christ – who enables us to withstand life’s most fierce tempests and storms (Matthew 7:24-28)
May our hearts be healed as we allow God’s love to envelop every hurt and comfort us in our pain (1 Corinthians 13:1-8).
Standing in the Gap,
Ray and Wendy
Lead Pastors | www.citychurchtv.com
Twitter: @citychurchtv | @WilmotHarmon | @WendySHarmon
GREATER: 21 Days of Prayer & Purpose – Day 1
DAY 1: Pray for personal renewal, restoration, revival and refreshing
Acts 3:19 NIV Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord
Has your computer ever locked up on you right in the middle of browsing the internet or downloading an important file online? If your answer is “Yes“, you know how frustrating this can be. However, for the computer savvy among us, the first course of action is usually to push the refresh button.
The refresh button on your computer is designed to display the latest updated version (of a web page or document). The refresh button enables the desired web page or document to reload.
That’s what God wants for us. He wants us to refresh, reload and recalibrate our lives so that we are once again in sync with Him. Acts 3:19 reminds us that repentance is God’s way of pushing the refresh button in our lives. And fasting is one of the spiritual disciplines God uses to bring us to a place where we recognize our need for repentance.
WHAT IS REPENTANCE?
Repentance is more than feeling sorry you got caught. True biblical repentance is a twofold process:
1. Repentance is a 180-degree turn away from what is distracting us and causing us to miss the mark.
2. However, repentance isn’t only about turning away from something; it is also turning toward Someone: God.
Simply put, when we repent we turn away from the weight and sin that so easily ensnare us and turn toward God in pursuit of Him and His plan for our lives (Hebrews 12:1-2). And His promise to us is that times of refreshing will come from above. In context, the word “refreshing” means cooling. Acts 3:19 is the only place where this word is used in the New Testament and it is used in direct correlation to repentance.
Need some fires put out in your life? Need the calming, cleansing and cooling effect of God’s mercy? Then allow God to push the refresh button in your life as you draw near to Him in humility and contrition (Psalm 51).
HOW?
Ask Him to reveal areas in your life that need adjustments (Psalm 139:23-24)
Confess what He reveals and ask His forgiveness (Proverbs 28:13)
Receive His mercy and grace to start anew (Lamentations 3:22-23)
Don’t look back to the former things (Isaiah 43:18-19)
Our hope as we fast and pray collectively over these 21 days is that God will begin the work of renewal, restoration and refreshing in you – individually – and that it will overflow corporately. We pray that each heart – broken and contrite before God – will become ground zero for revival.
Expecting and Experiencing the GREATER life Jesus intended (John 14:12)…
Ray and Wendy
Lead Pastors | www.citychurchtv.com
Twitter: @citychurchtv | @WilmotHarmon | @WendySHarmon
FORWARD: 21 Days of Fasting & Prayer (Day 17)
Ray & Wendy Harmon
Lead Pastors, City Church
@citychurchtv | @wilmotharmon | @themochaone
FORWARD: 21 Days of Fasting & Prayer (Day 11)
Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. 8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. 9 Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?
10 Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.
Our prayer over the next few days is simple: God, give us this city ; for your glory and divine purpose!
THIS ONE’S ON US
As we launch our new outreach campaign – This One’s On Us – we believe that God will use each cup of Starbucks coffee that we pass out in His Name and every scene from the free movie we are sponsoring on September 11th to change a life for eternity.
Stay tuned for more insights from Jonah 3 tomorrow.
Moving Forward,
Ray & Wendy Harmon
Lead Pastors, City Church
@citychurchtv | @wilmotharmon | @themochaone
FORWARD: 21 Days of Fasting & Prayer (Day 10)
We’re praying for you according to Eph 3:14-20 NLT “When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father,[a] 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.[b] 16 I pray that from his glorious, UNLIMITED RESOURCES He will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. 20 Now all glory to God, WHO IS ABLE, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.”
Life Lessons From Creation
God was intentional in the creation process. Everything He created was sequential. God created a system that was self-sustaining and cyclical. And as a result, He rested on the seventh day.
God wants the same thing for each of us. He has given us the creative capacity to frame our world (marriage, family, relationships, professional life, finances, etc.) in such a way that every area of our lives can be orderly, sequential, self-sustaining and cyclical. This is the key to entering rest.
What we create in our lives the first six days determines whether we get to rest on the seventh day.
If you’re not resting, it’s because you’ve either created the wrong things in your life or you’ve created them out of sequence. God created light and water before He created the plants and animals. Without light and water there would have been no vegetation to sustain animal life. He created man after He had created everything else so that man would have something to rule over.
Creation was orderly, sequential, self-sustaining and cyclical, requiring minimal intervention after the sixth day. It’s called Sabbath rest. And God wants the same for us.
HOW TO PRAY
1. Pray that God will bring order where there has been chaos – Gen 1:1
2. Pray that God will illuminate the areas of your life where there is darkness – Gen 1:3
3. Pray that God will separate the things that must remain mutually exclusive – Gen 1:6
4. Pray for unstoppable momentum and productivity in the areas of your life that have become stagnant – Gen 1:9-12
5. Pray that God will give you creative and innovative insight into every problem, situation or circumstance you may be facing today.
6. Pray that you will walk in dominion and authority over all God has entrusted to you – Gen 1:26-31
7. Pray that you will enter divine rest – Gen 2:1-3
Our God is ABLE!
Ray & Wendy Harmon
Lead Pastors, City Church
@citychurchtv | @wilmotharmon | @themochaone
FORWARD: 21 Days of Fasting & Prayer (Day 9)
Day 9
Strategic Prayer Point: Tenacious Faith, Renewed Commitment and Zeal for God, His People and the Kingdom
“There are no hopeless situations: there are only men who have grown hopeless about them.” – Marshall Foch
Paul wrote in Romans 12:3 “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” What that means is we all begin our journey in Christ with a level of faith that can be cultivated, nurtured and developed. In fact, the New Testament describes 3 kinds of faith:
- Little Faith (Matthew 6:30)
- Weak Faith (Romans 4:19; Romans 14:1)
- Great Faith (Matthew 15:28; Luke 7:9)
Ultimately, God wants us to exercise great faith in every area of our lives so that we can appropriate everything He has made available to us through the finished work of grace. Remember, faith comes by hearing (Romans 10:17) but it must be accompanied by corresponding action (James 2:14-18). My prayer for you on Day 12 of our 21-Day fast is that you will build yourself up and fan into flame the deposit of faith that is already resident within you.
Below you will find an excerpt from one of my daily devotionals (THE WORD FOR YOU TODAY) on how you can Build Up Your Faith. Enjoy…
The apostle Jude wrote, “But you beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost.” Jude puts the responsibility of building yourself up spiritually and strengthening your faith where it belongs – squarely on you. If you’re proactive, your faith will grow. If you’re passive, your faith won’t.
Like the rush of water against a riverbank, there’s an erosion of faith that comes simply from living everyday. If you don’t do anything to secure and strengthen your faith it begins to deteriorate. Christ told the church at Ephesus to remember the heights from which they had fallen (see Rev 2:5). What a strange thing to say! If you fell from a significant height, don’t you think you’d remember it? Not if the fall was so gradual that you didn’t notice it.”
So ask yourself: “Have those who know me best begun to notice that the gleam has gone out of my eye, the joy out of my step, the peace out of my spirit and the Word of God out of my conversation?” Faith is like a muscle; if you don’t exercise it consistently it will atrophy and become powerless. So the word for you today is: “Strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die” (Rev 3:2 NKJV).
Moving Forward,
Ray & Wendy Harmon
Lead Pastors, City Church
@citychurchtv | @wilmotharmon | @themochaone
FORWARD: 21 Days of Fasting & Prayer (Day 5)
Day 5
Strategic Prayer Point: Mountain Moving Faith & Breakthrough
The God-Kind of Faith
The number 5 in Biblical numerology is the number of Grace. On Day 5 of Forward you have just entered the Grace Zone. His unmerited favor is being released to you now. You can’t earn it, you don’t deserve it but it’s yours today. Access His grace now by faith and every stubborn mountain in your life that has stood defiantly in your way MUST move (Mark 11:22-25).
The literal translation of Mark 11:22 reads, “Have the God-kind of faith.” The God-kind of faith calls those things that are not as though they were (Romans 4:17). In fact, Abraham – the father of faith – teaches us what the God-kind of faith looks like:
Romans 4:19-21 And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 20 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.
The God-kind of faith does 4 things:
- Faith considers not: the preceding verse declares that Abraham did not consider his natural circumstances i.e. his own impotence or the deadness of his wife’s womb. What daunting circumstances are you allowing to overwhelm your thought life? What paralyzing fears are you allowing to cripple your faith? Consider not…
- Faith wavers not: because Abraham didn’t consider his circumstances he didn’t waver in his faith. You can’t vacillate between what God said and what your circumstances are screaming at you. Stay focused on one thing only: God’s promise to you. Waver not…
- Faith gives glory to God in advance: Start praising God before the manifestation of what you’re believing for. The Israelites shouted before the walls of Jericho came down. Praise always precedes the manifestation of the promise.
- Faith is fully persuaded: Seeing isn’t believing; believing is seeing. Remember, your breakthrough does not come at the moment of manifestation but at the point of persuasive revelation. Bartimaeus cast off his garments of uncleanness before he received his sight. The woman with the issue of blood said, “If I can but touch the hem of his garment…” Mary, the mother of Jesus said, “Be it unto me according to your word.” What you believe and are fully persuaded of is what will manifest in your life. Believing is seeing…not the other way around.
The God-kind of faith considers not, wavers not, gives glory to God in advance and is fully persuaded that God will do what He said He would.
If God caused the Red Sea to part for Moses, the sun to stand still for Joshua, the rain to be held back for 3 years for Elijah, preserved Daniel in the lion’s den and the fiery furnace…that SAME God is at work on your behalf today. He’ll do it again just for YOU!
If your marriage has been your mountain…it must move today!
If finances have been your mountain…it must move today!
If relationships have been your mountain…it must move today!
If stable employment has been your mountain…it must move today!
If fear, anxiety, guilt, depression, anger, failure, regret, disappointment have been your mountain…it must move today!
You have entered the Grace Zone. Now release your faith to receive what Jesus has already made available to you through the finished work of the cross (Psalm 84:11).
Heavenly Father, I pray now that you would go before your people and make every crooked path straight, cause rivers to flow in dry places and make every mountain a plain before them. Cause them to be above only and not beneath, the head and not the tail, first and not last, blessed going out and coming in, in the city and in the field in Jesus’ Name.
Move mountains, cause the sun to stand still, shut up the mouth of lions, part the Red Sea; expose and silence every Pharaoh, every Haman, every Sanballat and Tobiah; whatever it takes for your sons and daughters to break through do it today, Father, in Jesus’ Name.
Sample Scriptures for , Meditation, Prayer & Reflection
Joshua 10:1-15; Matthew 18:18-19; Mark 11:12-25; James 5:16b-18
Moving Forward,
Ray & Wendy
Lead Pastors, City Church
@citychurchtv | @wilmotharmon | @themochaone
FORWARD: 21 Days of Fasting & Prayer (Day 4)
Day 4
Strategic Prayer Point: The Church
When Wendy and I began the process of planting City Church last year, we did a 6-week survey of the Book of Acts called Church Re:Defined. We weren’t trying to assign a new or contemporary definition to the church. Instead, our goal was to recapture the original and eternal purpose of the church as recorded in the Book of Acts and the Epistles. The more we studied God’s Word, the more apparent it became how far removed the 21st century stands from the blueprint we find in the Word of God.
In Acts 17:9 Luke wrote, “…these men who have turned the world upside down have come here too.” This was the testimony of the early church; they turned their world upside down! They didn’t allow the culture in which they lived to influence them; the church became the change agent in every city they occupied. That’s called dominion. And that’s what God has called His church to: Occupy until I come.
Romans 12:1-2 MSG Bible reminds us, So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
Consider this: the Church began with 11 men that grew into 120 in the Upper Room. On the Day of Pentecost, the 120 grew to 3,000 because of a life-giving gospel message from the heart of God through the mouth of a fisherman turned pastor. This is the story of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ and how they changed the world. And that story continues today with you and me. It’s time for a hostile takeover (Matthew 11:12)
When we allow Jesus to build HIS Church in us and through us the miraculous is inevitable (Psalm 127:1 Matthew 16:18). That is our confidence during this season of fasting and prayer; that God will move upon His people and His Church to restore power, passion and purpose.
HOW YOU CAN PRAY
- Pray for pastors, church leaders and their families: strong, healthy families; personal character and integrity; a hedge of protection against all attacks, both natural and supernatural (1 Timothy 3:1-13; Ephesians 6:10-18; 2 Corinthians 10:4-5)
- Relevant, uncompromised preaching of the truth of God’s Word, rightly divided, boldly proclaimed (Acts 4:20; Acts 5:20; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Timothy 2:15; 2 Timothy 3:16-17)
- Demonstrations of divine power that confirm the truth of God’s Word (Mark 16:16-20; 1 Corinthians 2:4-5)
- Christ-exalting worship offered in spirit and in truth (John 4:24; Romans 12:1-2)
- Authentic, mission, vision and core values; not personality driven man-made kingdoms (Psalm 127:1; Matthew 16:18; 1 Corinthians 3:10-15)
- A loving, biblical community where the lost are saved, the backslidden are restored, the wounded are healed, the bound are set free and the people are served and sent (Luke 4:18-19; John 10:10; Acts 2:42-47)
- Biblical servant leadership that happens from the top down (John 13:1-17; Acts 20:17-36; Philippians 2:5-11)
- Greater influence in our cities and communities (Proverbs 11:11; Acts 8:5-8)
- Greater unity within the local church and across denominations (1 Corinthians 1:10-11; 1 Corinthians 3:2-9)
- A blessed and generous church (Acts 2:44-45; Acts 6:17-18)
Scriptures for Meditation, Prayer & Reflection
Read Acts 1-5. Be sure to journal and take notes of passages or stories that resonate with you.
Moving Forward,
Ray & Wendy
Lead Pastors, City Church
@citychurchtv | @wilmotharmon | @themochaone
