Fasting for ZOE
GOD’S
CALL TO PRAYER AND FASTING, APRIL 2-6, 2007
See the lists of people committed to fast and pray.
See the Daily Devotions for Holy Week
The Book
of Nehemiah was a pivotal story in discerning my call to serve the
orphans and vulnerable children of Africa. As I was preparing for a
mission trip with the youth of Christ Community UMC in July of 2003,
I felt compelled of God to teach the book of Nehemiah in our evening
sessions. Sensing that some of the youth may be experiencing a call
into full-time ministry, I stressed that God often calls the
unlikely. Nehemiah was certainly the wrong man to go and rebuild
the walls of Jerusalem. He had never even been to Jerusalem. He had
the wrong skill set. He was a cupbearer, not a contractor. Certainly a professional builder would have
been a better choice to lead a construction project.
God,
however, was looking deeper than that. He was looking at Nehemiah’s
heart. There were two things that compelled Nehemiah. God put a
passion on his heart for the people of Jerusalem. He knew people
would die if he didn’t go.
Shortly
after these words came off my lips, God suddenly and supernaturally
burdened my heart for the suffering children of Africa. I then
clearly heard God say to my heart, “Go take care of AIDS orphans in
Africa.” Like Nehemiah, I knew without a doubt that I was the
wrong guy for the job. I also knew that children would die if I
didn’t go.
Recently
as I was praying, I felt drawn to revisit the book of Nehemiah. ZOE
Ministry is in the midst of an exciting time of growth and
transition. Doors are opening that we never even knew existed when
we launched this ministry. I guess I returned to Nehemiah seeking
some more guidance from this ancient book.
Neither
God nor Nehemiah disappointed. I read until chapter 2:4, “…I
prayed to the God of heaven.” Through those first fifteen
verses of the book I was struck by Nehemiah’s absolute dependence
upon prayer and fasting. He understood the task before him was
larger than himself, but not larger than his God.
ZOE
Ministry also has a task that is larger than we are, but smaller than
our God. We believe God is calling us to grow into His vision. That
means two things. First, we want to significantly expand our donor
base and income. Second, we want to significantly expand our
capacity and work in Africa.
The
rationale is simple. As long as there are still children who are
suffering we must seek to grow and expand so that we can care for
them. D.L. Moody once said, “If God is your partner, make your
plans big!”
ZOE
Ministry has been working hard at strategically charting the path we
believe God is calling us to walk. We will continue to do that. Yet
at this moment Nehemiah is beckoning me to call the friends and
partners of ZOE to a season of prayer and fasting.
We are
inviting you to:
Commit
to fast for one day (sundown to sundown), using the time you would
spend eating in prayer for ZOE Ministry. We will ask you to sign up
below for the day you will fast.
Sign Up to Fast
Commit
to pray each day using the daily prayer guide provided on our
webpage. We ask all who are praying daily to register so we can
know how large our prayer team is.
Sign Up to Pray
GOAL:
500 DAILY PRAYER PARTNERS
40 PEOPLE FASTING EACH DAY
Fasting:
Sunday
6:00 pm – Monday 6:00 pm
Monday
6:00 pm – Tuesday 6:00 pm
Tuesday
6:00 pm – Wednesday 6:00 pm
Wednesday
6:00 pm – Thursday 6:00 pm
Thursday
6:00 pm – Friday 6:00 pm
See the lists of people committed to fast and pray.
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Greg Jenks