Prayer & Fasting Guide

In the weeks leading up to Passover, the Jews would prepare for the coming sacrifice.
They would prepare their homes, hearts, and families. Starting tomorrow morning, we
as a church will enter a week of preparation as we look forward to the cross and empty
tomb. Join us each morning as we pray for God to prepare our hearts. Ask the Lord to prepare your heart for this week and what type of fast you are going to do this week.

Join us in praying Psalm 139:23–24: Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me and lead me in the way everlasting!

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Passion Week or Holy Week. This is the day that
Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. Here he is establishing himself as a king that
comes in humility, not pride. A king that would rescue his people by not making war
against Rome, but by making peace with God. Praise God for his active peacemaking in your life.

Prayer: Father, thank you for Jesus our King. Thank you for sending Jesus to be
our PEACE. Prepare our hearts this week to SEE him and KNOW him greater. Let us
see the great cost of our salvation. Thank you for knowing our greatest need and
providing the only solution to that need.

On Monday of Passion week, Jesus entered the temple and cleansed it. This place
that was bustling in preparation for the Passover had been filled with greed and theft.
This is the second recorded time of Jesus cleansing the temple. A place meant for the
worship of God had become a place full of lies and greed. Much like our own hearts
and lives, temples that were made for the glory of God have become instruments of sin
and destruction. What we need is for Jesus to cleanse us just like He did the Temple.

Prayer: Father, I ask for you to forgive me of my sin. I confess any known sin (list them/or say them out loud) and ask you to reveal any unconfessed sin in my life. (Take time here to be still.)

Father, thank you that your son was offered as a sacrifice for this sin that I confess. And that by his blood I can find forgiveness. As we draw nearer to celebrating the empty tomb, Father, may I approach it with clean hands and a pure heart. Search my heart, Lord.

On Sunday, when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, the Jews would have been
selecting the lambs that would be sacrificed on Passover. Isn’t it incredible at the
same time the lambs would be chosen, the Lamb of God presented himself in
Jerusalem? Upon selection of the lamb, each family would take the lamb home with
them for four days in order to thoroughly inspect the lamb to make sure that it was without blemish. The days following Sunday, Jesus went through this same inspection. The religious leaders from every sect came and challenged him and questioned his
authority, to which the end result was that he was found without blemish. They
couldn’t find any fault in him. He truly is the spotless lamb of God who takes away the
sin of the world.

Prayer: Father, thank you for Jesus. Thank you for the Lamb that was without
spot or blemish. Thank you that he who knew no sin, became sin so that we might
become the righteousness of God in him. Your word says, “without the shedding of
blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” Let us remember that it is for OUR sin that the Lamb was slain.

Not a lot is known on what happened Wednesday of Holy Week. The gospels seem to be quiet on this day. Sometime after the Tuesday inspection of the religious leaders and Thursday’s Last Supper, the disciples reveal that they still hadn’t quite grasped the concept of why Jesus came. We read that as Jesus was leaving the temple his disciples pointed out the building of the temple. This was because they were still seeing him as a “reformer” of temple Judaism. They were still seeing him to be a Messiah who would overthrow Rome and set up God’s kingdom here in its place. Yet his response was, “there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” He wasn’t the reformer of temple worship; he was the fulfillment of it. He would tear down this temple, which his body was portrayed as, and build it back up in three days, referring to his resurrection. What we see is a patient savior.

Prayer: Father, thank you for your word. Thank you that you are patient with me and my “not getting it”. Continue to transform my heart, mind, and life. I yield to your conforming me into the image of your Son. Your kindness is meant to lead to repentance. So today I repent of my slowness to get it and trust in you.

On the eve before his death, Christ celebrated the Passover with his disciples. This was a night like none other. In this room were so many different emotions and feelings. Their hearts and minds were all over the place. Yet Jesus, knowing that his time had come, and he loved them until the end. On this night he introduces a new meal. The bread and wine that represented his body given for us and his blood that was shed. The hours following this meal would transpire quickly. He would soon be let down by his inner disciples who couldn’t stay awake, he would be betrayed by Judas and denied by Peter. Yet he loved them until the end and washed their feet anyway.

Prayer: Father, thank you for the body that was given and the blood that was shed. Thank you for your servant, Jesus, who loved us until the end. We know that nothing can separate us from your love that we find in Christ Jesus. As we prepare to take of the Lord’s supper tomorrow, may we remember the blood and the body of our Lord. Holy Spirit, open our eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to feel.

His time had come. The reason he came was now being played out. He had been falsely accused, beaten, and eventually hung on a cross. Yet we know that there was not a moment that he was not in control. He bore the wrath of God on our behalf and by doing so satisfied it. He who knew no sin became sin, so that we could become the righteousness of God in him. On this day, on the cross, the perfect spotless, final Passover Lamb had been scarified.

Prayer: Father, thank you for the cross. Thank you for the perfect Lamb of God. We remember today the pain and suffering of the cross, and all that Jesus was willing to endure so we could be set free. He paid the price—such a great sacrifice—to offer us the gift of eternal life. Help us never to take for granted this huge gift of love on our behalf. Help us to be reminded of the cost of it all. Forgive us for being too busy or distracted by other things, for not fully recognizing what you freely given, what you have done for us. Thank you Lord that by your wounds we are healed. Thank you that because of your huge sacrifice we can live free. Thank you that sin and death have been conquered and that your power is everlasting.

Oh, the day that sits between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. A day full of many emotions. Ultimately a day of waiting. A day that sits between the promise and the fulfillment. The disciples, family, and other followers of Jesus were in waiting and being fearful of what would happen to them. Rome and the religious leaders were on eggshells. They guarded the tomb in fear of someone stealing the body of Jesus. On this day of rest, it’s likely that most people had a hard time doing so. Is he dead? Will he remain dead? He said he would raise again, but can he?

Prayer: Lord, waiting is hard. We as humans struggle not being in control or even knowing what is going on. Teach us to wait. Teach us to be still. Teach us to trust you. We thank you that the story doesn’t end on Saturday, and neither will our lives. We have the promise of Sunday. The fulfillment of the promise. All your promises find their yes and amen in Jesus.

Resurrection Sunday. Easter Sunday. The King is alive! The grave couldn’t hold him! The promise is fulfilled. “Oh death, where is your victory? Oh death, where is your sting?” Death is defeated; the King is alive!

Prayer: Father, thank you for the empty tomb. Thank you that you have provided salvation by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Thank you that the same power that raised Christ from the dead, is alive in me today. Teach us to walk in resurrection power. May we be diligent to share of this good news with those around us.