Welcome to 5 Days to Fast & Pray for the Election. We are so happy to have you join us in praying for our country during this important time. No matter who you are supporting, we can all agree on the fact that prayer is needed as we head to the voting booth and as we transition to a new administration.

We are leaving it up to you to decide if you will participate in the fasting aspect of this prayer guide and if so, what type of fasting you will do. If you are able, remember to join us for prayer Monday-Thursday evenings from 8 p.m.-8:30 p.m Eastern time on our Facebook page. You may also post prayers anytime of the day or night on that page as well. If you have not yet asked to join that page and you would like to, go to the Facebook page and request permission to join, and we will grant it.

Day 1: Turn from Sin

1. Find a quiet place to process with the Lord. Take your Bible and a journal.
2. Pray for revival to start in your own heart. Ask the Lord to show you any habits, actions, thoughts, words, attitudes, etc. that need to change in you so that you are ready for revival.
3. Journal about what you feel God is showing you.
4. Once you feel your own heart is set, move to praying for your community, state, and nation. Choose a scripture that you can pray specifically for our nation and use that throughout the week.

Day 2: Turn to God

1. Make a plan to pray for the elections several times throughout the day. If needed, set the alarm on your phone to remind you to pray.
2. Pray for people in your building or neighborhood to pray for God’s will in this election. Ask another to join you in prayer today.
3. Take a prayer walk and pray for the elections and issues in your own city.
4. Get out a map or look up a map on Google and pray across the states in our great land. Ask God to raise up Christians tp pray and exercise their right to vote.

Day 3: Turn to Wisdom

1. If you haven’t done so yet, it is time to become educated about the issues of this election on every level. Please do your own research or click on the following link to learn about the candidates for 2016: Wall Builders. If you go to your state’s .gov site, you will be able to download a copy of the ballot to see all the candidates you will be voting on, plus any initiatives you may be voting on. 
2. After you have completed your research, make a list of whom you plan to vote for and for the proposals in your community.
3. Research the location of your polling place and check the hours.
4. Help elderly neighbors and relatives by offering then a ride to their polling place.

Day 4: Turn Your Eyes

 Day 5: Turn Your Heart

 (VanOsdol)

So we fasted and earnestly prayed that our God would take care of us, and he heard our prayer.

Ezra 8:23

Prayer and fasting. Powerful stuff. Together they are Holy-Spirit inspired spiritual dynamite. Many of you joined us this past summer for a time of prayer and fasting. We thought with our presidential election hanging in the balance, what better time to revisit this powerful tool then now! It’s hard to remember a more divisive election than this one has been so far. We need intercessors who are willing to fall on their knees for our country. Will you join us? We have set aside the week of Monday, October 31, to Friday, November 4, for a time of prayer and fasting for this election and for our country. Let’s pray for our people, our leaders, and our world to wake up, repent and follow God. And let’s cover our election in prayer. You will need a Facebook account to participate. It’s always free! Follow the link to sign up and get a Facebook account if you don’t have one yet: www.facebook.com

Action Steps:

1. Click on the link below and sign up for 5 Days to Fast and Pray for the Election.
2. After you sign up, check your email and accept the invitation to join our 5 Days to Fast and Pray  Group. Be sure to check your junk mail if you don’t see it within a few minutes. On Monday, Oct. 31, you will receive a link to your 5-day guide in your email. It will arrive early in the morning.
3. Follow this link to our closed Facebook  5 Days to Fast and Pray for the Election and ask to join the group. We will then approve you.
4. Decide how you will fast (see below for more info on fasting).
5. Join us each night at 8- 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time Monday-Thursday (not on Friday) to pray via Facebook if you can. This is optional. If you can’t join us then, you can post your prayers at any other time on the Facebook page.
6. Invite your friends to join us.

A Word About Fasting

There are many types of fasts. We are trusting that you can determine which type of fast is best for you. Some of you may want to fast from desserts for the week. Some of you may undertake a social media fast. Some may fast from one meal a day. The Holy Spirit will show you if you pray about it. The idea is to replace whatever it it you’re fasting from with a prayer time. The fast gives you a greater focus on God and His agenda, rather than your own.

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Day 1, The Lord’s Prayer: Pray for God’s Will.

 Scripture: Matthew 6:9-13

“This, then is how you should pray:

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

Prayer Focus: The prayer focus for Day 1 is revival. Revival for our country starts with revival in my own heart. We must each seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. Our first priority is to glorify God. When we get our hearts and priorities set by seeking and doing His will, everything else will come into alignment with Jesus. He can then begin working His plan in each one of our lives. Revival will happen when we live by the credo “thy will be done.” To the degree that we relinquish control to God is the degree to which the Holy Spirit can begin to transform our lives. Imagine if we all did that! As our lives transform, so will our nation. Revival happens one soul at a time.

Action Steps:

1. Find a quiet place to process with the Lord. Take your Bible and a journal.
2. Pray for revival to start in your own heart. Ask the Lord to show you any habits, actions, thoughts, words, attitudes, etc., that need to change in you so that you are ready for revival.
3. Journal about what you feel God is showing you.
4. Once you feel your own heart is set, move to praying for your community, state, and nation. Choose a scripture that you can pray specifically for our nation and use that throughout the week.

Day 2, The Prayer of Nehemiah: Rebuild Some Walls

Scripture: Nehemiah 1:5-11, 2:18b

So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

And I said: “I pray, LORD God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments, please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my father’s house and I have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against You, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations; but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.’ Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand. O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man” … “Let us rise up and build.” Then they set their hands to this good work.

Prayer Focus: The prayer focus for Day 2 is unity in our country. In the story of Nehemiah, Israel was in trouble because those who had survived the exile and were back in Jerusalem were facing the extreme situation of a broken-down wall and burned gates. They were defenseless and open to other enemy attacks without the protection of the wall that encircled the city. Rebuilding this wall was top priority if they were going to once again live in safety. They needed the remnant to work together to rebuild the wall.

Today we are facing a divided nation, as are many of our European and African brothers and sisters, as we deal with a caustic society where respect and manners have given away to prejudices and a do-and-say-what-you want mentality. We need to rebuild the walls of unity, respect, and peace in our nations.

Action Steps:

1. Take your journal and Bible to a quiet place.
2. Ask God to show you if you have any wrong beliefs/attitudes that need to be corrected.
3. Journal what you feel God is showing you.
4. Prayerfully seek ways you can reach out to others who are different than you. We can’t try to force this, but must ask God to open opportunities and then be watchful for them.
5. Consider serving in a ministry that gives you opportunity to interact with a diverse group of people.
6. Diligently intercede over divisions in your own family, neighborhood, church, and country. Write down any specific requests that the Holy Spirit quickens to your heart in your journal.

Day 3, Prayer Daniel: Admit Our Sin and Ask for God’s Intervention.

Scripture: Daniel 9:15-19

“And now, O Lord our God, who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and made Yourself a name, as it is this day—we have sinned, we have done wickedly! “O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to all those around us.

Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and for the Lord’s sake cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary, which is desolate. O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies. O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”

Prayer Focus: For Day 3 our prayer focus is restoration, upcoming elections and leaders. Because we have chosen to walk by sight and not by faith, to follow our own heart and forget the word of God, our nation is in turmoil. God will only bless us when His people follow His word and His will. Thankfully, God constantly calls us to repent, to turn back and start over again with Him. The election of 2016 is critical. We are at a turning point. The “watchman on the wall” is calling. We need strong godly citizens and leaders to help our nation thrive. The battle for our heart, for the heart of our families, cities and nations will be won our knees with the sword of the spirit on our lips. Pray for the hearts of the people to turn back to God so we will elect God’s chosen leaders. Pray for God to surround the leaders who are in power with godly counselors, like Daniel (Never doubt the influence of one godly man or woman placed strategically by God). In Christ, we always have hope.

Action Steps:

1. Find a quiet place to process with the Lord. Take your Bible and a journal.
2. Pray for God to reveal sinful attitudes and actions in your own heart and life. Ask Him to show you sins of commission (things you’ve done but shouldn’t have) and sins of omission (things you haven’t done but should have). Confess your sins to God.
3. Journal about what you feel God is showing you. Ask for His healing and restoration.
4. Now pray and ask God to show you sins committed at a local, state and national levels. Stand in the gap and corporately confess to God these sins.
5. Ask for forgiveness and restoration for our cities, states and nation.
6. Throughout the rest of the week, continue to take time to pray and confess on all four levels. Choose scriptures to pray specifically throughout the week.

Day 4: The Prayer of Hezekiah: God’s Deliverance

Scripture: Isaiah 37:15-20

“And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. Then Hezekiah prayed to the LORD, saying: “O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God. Truly, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands, and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands—wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them. Now therefore, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the LORD, You alone.”

Prayer Focus: Our prayer focus for Day 4 is terrorism. We can no longer shut our eyes and pretend terrorism is a Middle East problem. Five of seven continents have experienced terrorist attacks. Since most of us will not be moving to Antarctica, we must face the problem and act. The most powerful thing we can do is pray. Pray for God to:

1. wreck the plans of terrorists
2. confuse their communications
3. cut off their supply lines
4. use their plans of evil for good
5. raise up mighty men and women of God to oppose their plans with force
6. make us all ready to live courageously in the face of great danger and be willing to lay down our lives if needed
7. infiltrate the hearts and minds of terrorists with the truth of His Holy Word.
8. send in missionaries to witness to all involved in terrorist activities.

By the mighty power of Jesus’ Holy Name we pray, Amen.

Action Points:

1. Get out your prayer journal and read through the scriptures for today again. record in your journal any thoughts you have or actions God is prompting you to take.
2. If you are connected to the Internet, Google search the latest terror attacks throughout the world. Choose the three or four of them, record them in your journal and pray for the victims, their families, the first responders and the leaders of those nations.
3. Access the following link and pray for one or several of the nations listed in the terrorism index: Global Terrorism Index
4. Here comes the hard part. God tells us to pray for our enemies. Let’s do it. Let’s pray for the terrorist cells to be confronted dead on by the life-changing, heart-rending power of the Holy Spirit. Pray for God to pursue them night and day, to speak to them through the testimony of those they kill and their dreams at night. May they have no peace until the meet the Prince of Peace.
5. Look up the names of known terrorists and pray specifically for them to turn to Christ, for God to interrupt their plans and for them to see God moving in the lives of those they are persecuting. 

Day 5 The Fast of Esther for the Persecuted

Scripture: Esther 3: 8-9, 4:13-17

Esther was a young Jewish woman who had been exiled and lived in Persia with her older cousin Mordecai, about 100 years after the Babylonian captivity. By a series of dramatic events Esther is named Queen of the Persian Empire. Haman, one of the king’s advisors, hated the Jews and devised a scheme to annihilate all of the Jews in Persia.

“Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from all other people’s, and they do not keep the king’s laws. Therefore it is not fitting for the king to let them remain. 9 If it pleases the king, let a decree be written that they be destroyed, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who do the work, to bring it into the king’s treasuries.

And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai: “Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!”

So Mordecai went his way and did according to all that Esther commanded him.”

Prayer Focus: Our prayer focus for day 4 is the persecuted church and Christians. Every day around the world people are persecuted, imprisoned, tortured, and martyred for their faith. One Christian is killed every 5 minutes (11 each hour, 273 each day, about 100,000 each year). While these people may be strangers they are our brothers and sisters in Christ. When Esther heard about the plight of her people, she chose to act. She called for believers everywhere in Persia to fast and pray for God to act and deliver His people. After three days of fasting and praying, at the risk of her own life, she approached the king and asked for deliverance. We, however, can boldly approach the throne of grace and ask our King for mercy without fearing for our lives. Today, let’s commit to spending a half hour in prayer for the persecuted church and persecuted Christians. Ask God to raise up others to pray. Let’s open our eyes to the need and speak out for those who are suffering and act.

Action Steps:

1. Once again, read through the scriptures for today and record your thoughts in your prayer journal.
2. Click a link. We tend to think the oppression and persecution of Christian people belongs to a bygone era. However, more Christians are being persecuted for their faith today than in any other time in history. Please click on the following link for Voice of the Martyrs and learn how you can get involved. Voice of the Martyrs.
3. While at their website sign up for their free Voice of the Martyrs newsletter. Click on the Get Involved link and learn about several significant ways you can impact and encourage persecuted Christians around the world.
4. Throw a party! One of my favorite ways to help persecuted and oppressed women is through Women at Risk. “Women at Risk International is a, nonprofit organization, established to create circles of protection around at-risk women and children … we provide safe places to heal from abuse, trafficking, exploitation, and more. Our passion is to empower survivors to live and work with dignity and hope.” We have manicure parties, make-up parties, and cooking parties so why not host a party to help the persecuted? To watch a short video on how to host a WAR party click on the link: Women at Risk Party. I did it with my 5^th graders and we made over $500 to donate to those at risk!
5. Get a Map. To help you track the countries you are praying for, Every Home for Christ offers free prayer maps, e-books, and prayer guides. Click on the link and order yours today. Every Home for Christ

Final Challenge: Don’t let it end here. God wants you to take what you have learned and use it to teach others. Start your own 5 Days to Fast and Pray group.

Esther called out to other believers and asked them to join her in praying for the deliverance of God’s people. There has never been an easier time in history to start a prayer group than 2016. Technology, social media and e-mail have made it possible for any person to impact the culture at a global level. A few clicks of a mouse and you can set up your own 5 Days to Fast and Pray Facebook group.

If you are willing to answer God’s call, here’s how to set up your own prayer group:

1. Go to your own Face book page.
2. Click on the home tab next to your account picture on the top ribbon.
3. On the left hand pane under Groups, click on Create Group and Facebook will help you set up your own page.
4. After your group is set up, you can add/invite members in the right hand pane where it says add members.
5. You can also go to your own personal wall and create a post advertising your prayer/bible study group!
6. To access a logo and header for your group, please click on the links provided: Facebook Meme Facebook Header

Let us know if we can assist you with your group set-up. Jane and I are praying for you!

In Jesus Name, Amen.

So we fasted and earnestly prayed that our God would take care of us, and he heard our prayer.

Ezra 8:23

Prayer and fasting. Powerful stuff. Together they are spiritual dynamite ignited by power of the Spirit. Prayer and fasting are game-changing disciplines for  desperate times.

Can anyone deny times are desperate? Everyday the news reports escalating chaos and violence—brother against brother, religion against religion, and nation against nation. God has called to be His hands, His feet, and His voice to a lost and wounded world.He has anointed us to speak the hope of the Gospel to every tribe, tongue and nation.

Will you answer? Join us August 1-5, for a week of prayer and fasting. Let’s pray for our people, our leaders, and our world to wake up, repent and follow God.

You will need a Facebook account to participate. It’s always free! Follow the link to sign up and get a Facebook account if you don’t have one yet: www.facebook.com

Action Steps:

1. Click on the link below and sign up for 5 Days to Fast and Pray.
2. After you sign up, check your email and accept the invitation to join our 5 Days to Fast and Pray Facebook Group.
3. Decide how you will fast (see below for more info on fasting).
4. Join us each night at 8:30 Eastern Time to pray via Facebook.
5. Invite your friends to join us.

A Word About Fasting

There are many types of fasts. We are trusting that you can determine which type of fast is best for you. Some of you may want to fast from desserts for the week. Some of you may undertake a social media fast. Some may fast from one meal a day. The Holy Spirit will show you if you pray about it. The idea is to replace whatever it it you’re fasting from with a prayer time. The fast gives you a greater focus on God and His agenda, rather than our own.

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Any social media guru will tell you that when it comes to promoting yourself, it’s all about the numbers. Whether Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest is where you interact, the higher the number the better.

And lets not kid ourselves: it’s not only tweens and teens who are concerned about their followers. I know that once I post, I’m constantly checking back to see how many people are liking, loving, tweeting, or sharing it. I have even been known to let the activity, or lack thereof, on my accounts affect my attitude.

The numbers game is no new phenomenon. Oh, no. It’s been around for a long time; it’s just that now the results are so … visible. Everyone can see at a glance how you’re doing.

Well, you may be surprised to know that numbers are important to God too, but not in the way they are to us. He has a whole different take on numbers, one that we should pay attention to.

Living By the Numbers God’s Way

• 10,000 x 10,000: “Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand,” Revelation 5:11. When you do the math on 10,000 x 10,000, that adds up to 100 million angels circling the throne of God and singing praise to Jesus. But, it doesn’t stop there. It goes beyond viral to every creature in heaven and on earth and under the sea (v. 13).  I can’t imagine a more glorious spectacle than this one.
• 7,000: “Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him,” 1 Kings 19:18. In this verse, God is encouraging his worn-out prophet Elijah that he is not the only one left who is still serving the Lord. And so should we take courage when we feel overwhelmed and washed out in our ministries. God always leaves a remnant.
• 5000: “Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children,” Matthew 14:19-21. In this beautiful story, Jesus miraculously multiplies a little boy’s lunch to feed 5ooo+ hungry people. When we give him what we have to use, he’ll do the same for us.
• 1000: “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked,” Psalm 84:10. There is no better place to be than in the presence of our Lord. Life lived with Him is as rich as it gets.
• 300: “So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others,” Judges 7:8. Gideon started out with 32,000 warriors to go to battle against the camp of Midian, who were “as thick as locusts,” but God told Gideon to take only 300 men, because He wanted to show it was with the Lord’s might that they would be defeated, not man’s. When I feel discouraged at the overwhelming odds facing me, I need only remember that if God is on my side, the odds don’t matter.
• 40: “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting for 4o days and 40 nights, he was hungry,” Matthew 4:1-2. The number 4o is used often in the Bible, many times having to do with times of trials. One of the things that I glean from these circumstances is that God is always faithful and gives strength and wisdom to the ones going through difficulties.
• 10: In Exodus 20:1-17 God first gives the 10 Commandments to the Israelites to follow. so that they  will remain in good standing with the Lord. Today the law has been superseded by grace with Jesus’ death on the cross, but the 10 Commandments still remain guidelines for us to live by.
• 3: “He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that He must be killed and after three days rise again,” Mark 8:31. What must have been happening spiritually during those three days is awesome to contemplate, for Acts 2:24 tells us that God raised Jesus from the dead, freeing Him from the agony of death, because it was “impossible for death to keep its hold on Him.” What is also incredible is that God makes that same Resurrection power available for us in ministry, as Ephesians 1:18-21 tells us! These three days make all the difference between Christianity and any other religion.
• 1: “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time,” 1 Timothy 2:5-6. Our eternity is determined by only One, Jesus, and what we believe about Him. Have you given your life to Him? It’s as simple as confessing your sin, accepting that Jesus took the penalty for your sin, and asking Him to take control of your life. He’ll change your life in ways you never dreamed possible.

God Trumps the Numbers

My takeaway from our brief biblical tour through some important numbers in the Bible is that God is not limited by numbers. From viral proportions down to one, God knows each need and will work in any and every situation that we ask Him to. When we are apt to obsess about our social media standing, let’s do the following:

Instead of counting followers, let’s follow.

Instead of tweeting, let’s sing his praises

Instead of updating your wall, lets break some down in the name of Jesus.

Action Steps

1. Discouraged by a small number of people signed up for your event or Bible study? Go with it. Someone needs to hear your message, and God will multiply it to others.
2. Overwhelmed by a larger-than-expected turnout? Ask God to bless your 5 loaves and 2 fish.
3. Remember, though, that the most important number is One, Jesus, and your relationship to Him. If you’ve made a decision to follow Him today, leave us a comment or contact us and let us know. We are praying for you!

Peter asked Jesus to help him do the impossible.

Peter had every reason to stay in the boat.

Any sane person would advise him to stay put. It didn’t make sense to get out of the boat.

It was night time.

He was tired.

He had already worked a full day.

Plus it was windy and wavy. Peter was a boat-rider and a fisherman not a water-walker. Water-walking was simply not his gifting—he didn’t have the skill set or the experience to be a water-walker. No one in his family was a water-walker for good reason, it was impossible. As a matter of fact, Peter didn’t know a single water-walker or anyone who had even attempted this before.

Peter, had every reason to stay in the boat accept one-Jesus called him out.

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I get Peter.

When I was about 7 or 8, my mother decided it was time for me to learn to swim. Encased in a bright pink hair-ripping rubber bathing cap  (thing of the past, thankfully) and one-piece swimsuit, I entered the guppy class at the local YMCA. Floating is easy the instructor assured me. (Note: due to my Irish heritage [the Hunger Years] I only weighed about 30 lbs wet with a pocket full of quarters. I had not a single fat cell on my entire body). This girl did not float. She sank. Always. Straight to the bottom. I NEVER passed the guppy class. For me, water-walking was impossible. I couldn’t even swim. I needed to stay in the boat.

I’ve prayed like Peter.

Longingly and sincerely, I have asked,  “Lord, use me greatly,” only to thrash and flail when He called me out of my boat. Walking turns to treading turns to sinking as I get my eyes off Jesus and onto the waves of opposition. Water-walking requires a greater level of faith than simple earth-walking. Walking by faith not by sight takes on a whole new meaning when on wavy water.

But God tells us all things are possible through Christ Jesus.

Even water-walking. What happened when Peter begins to sink? Jesus is right there with him reaching, lifting and saving. He will do the same for you.

Read the verses again. Did you notice when the wind quit? The Bible makes a point to tell us the wind ceased after Peter and Jesus got in the boat. Meditate on that for a moment.

Peter the water-walker went on to be Peter the church- builder.

And Jesus is calling you. Come, walk by faith. Water-walker. Bridge-builder. Giant-slayer. Business-starter. Church-planter. Bible-teacher. Website-blogger. College-enroller. He’s calling you. You have every reason to stay in the boat. People will tell you no one has done this before. It’s too risky, too late, too expensive, or too illogical. It’s outside of your gifting.

Cover it in prayer and fasting. And if Jesus is calling, get out of the boat. Walk by faith water-walker.

Action Points:

1. Pray like Peter. Faith stretching water-walking prayers. Ask God to give you His dream for your life.
2. Act like Peter. Get out of the boat. Take a step of faith—even if you sink. He’ll catch you. What do you need to do today to start walking out your faith and calling?
3. Cry like Peter. If you begin to drown in fear, call out to Jesus with all your heart. He is with you. He’ll help you and strengthen you.

Life is Sweet! Walk on water.

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