Prayer 2026

(from our friends at The Summit Church in Durham, NC)

Prayer

• Commit to a specific time each day to devote to prayer. Find a place where you can be free of distractions and be alone with God.

• Use the prayer points and Scripture in this guide to focus and fuel your praying. Write the Scripture and prayer point on a card and carry it with you, post it on your social media, make it the screensaver on your phone—whatever you can think of to keep these prompts in front of you. Use them throughout the day and invite others to join you in praying.

• You can take it a step further by journaling your prayers each day, simply writing out your prayers to God. It’s a great opportunity to hide God’s Word in your heart, working to memorize the verses as you meditate and pray.

• In addition, you may consider ways to pray with others during this season. Start a text thread or joint call with friends or members of your small group. Pray together as a family. Invite others to join you on this journey.

Fasting

Why do we fast? Fasting is a way to deepen our hunger for God and to grow in holiness and hunger for God. More than any other discipline, fasting reveals the things that control us. And so it confronts us with our need to surrender to God. It is not a way to manipulate God or coerce him to hear and answer our prayers, but rather it acknowledges our complete dependence on him. It humbles us and awakens us to our great need for and reliance on God. As you consider fasting, we want to encourage you to listen to the Holy Spirit. Ask God to lead you in this time of seeking his face. Whether you choose to fast for one meal a week, one day a week, or the entire 21 days, the point is to humble yourself in a new way and draw near to God. Here are some ideas of what you could choose.

• You might choose a selective fast, eliminating certain things from your diet. Eating only fruits and vegetables, what some might call a “Daniel fast,” is an example of this type of fasting.

• Another option is a partial fast, which is refraining from eating for a set period of time each day. You could choose to fast from a single meal or from sunup to sundown.

• Some of you may feel led to engage in a complete fast, refraining from eating and only drinking liquids for particular days or even an extended period of time.

• If, for some reason, fasting from food is not possible for you, you may want to consider other ways to capture time in this season to focus and pray. While abstaining from things like social media and television are not the same as fasting from food, they might allow you some dedicated time to pray. 

Additional Resources

• If you would like more information and help on fasting, read these articles from cru.org: Seven Basic Steps to Successful Fasting and Prayer and Six Ingredients That Will Help You Fast From Technology

• If you want more information on why we should fast, read this article from J.D. Greear, Confessions of a Pastor: I Hate Fasting

• This sermon by John Mark Comer might be helpful in your understanding and practice of fasting and prayer.

(from our friends at The Summit Church in Durham, NC)

If you haven’t already read our Tips for Prayer and Fasting, take a minute to read that first. 

As we think about the best ways to “turn from our physical appetites and recognize our greater hunger and need for God,” we want to be intentional about bringing our kids into the conversation. Building habits of grace into the lives of our kids can be a joyfully difficult task—and we believe it’s worth it! Consider explaining to your kids that your family will be fasting from an item or activity, and instead, praying together as a family during some or all of that time. Here are some practical ideas for how that could work in your home:

Sweets and Treats

This is one of our top recommendations because it foregoes something that kids love, but that doesn’t completely ruin daily routines. Take a break from candy and dessert for a week, and instead, pray together as a family when you would normally enjoy that sweetness! 

Toy Time

Guide your kids to pick one toy (or video game) that they will refrain from playing with or using for two weeks. Tell them that when they feel the urge to play with that particular item, instead, they should come to you, and together, you can sit still for a second and tell God that we love him even more than our things. 

Delayed Mealtime

Instead of forcing our kids to miss a mealtime, what if you pushed lunch or dinner back an hour? When the hunger starts to set in, join together as a family and tell God that you need him even more than our bodies need food. 

It won’t be perfect, but your intentional effort to show our spiritual need through fasting can be an amazing experience for your family. Let’s not underestimate what God can do in the lives of our kids when we recognize that need for God together. Please know that our City Awakening Kids team is ready and willing to help in any way we can as you pursue this aspect of family discipleship in your home.

A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World- Paul Miller

Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools: An Invitation to the Wonder and Mystery of Prayer – Tyler Staton

The Complete Works of E. M. Bounds on Prayer – E.M. Bounds

The Power of Prayer and Fasting – Ronnie Floyd

Praying with Paul: A Call to Spiritual Reformation – D.A. Carson

Spurgeon on Prayer & Spiritual Warfare – Charles Spurgeon

Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God – Timothy Keller

The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions – Arthur Bennett

The Practice of the Presence of God – Brother Lawrence