Jet Fuel - Concord Conversations
Jet Fuel is a podcast from Concord Baptist Church designed to ignite your spiritual growth. Each episode dives deeper into the essential spiritual disciplines that fuel a vibrant, enduring faith. Whether you're just getting started or looking to grow stronger in your walk with Christ, Jet Fuel will equip and encourage you to live with purpose, passion, and power.
Jet Fuel - Concord Conversations
Spiritual Hunger: Prayer and Fasting to Fuel Your Faith
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Prayer and fasting represent essential spiritual disciplines that transform our relationship with God, though many believers struggle with implementation, especially fasting. We explore how prayer should move from transactional requests to transformational conversations that begin with worship, surrender, and dependence before presenting our needs.
• The Lord's Prayer provides a powerful model that starts with worship and adoration
• Corporate prayer at Concord through "Days of Prayer" has become a bedrock practice with hundreds gathering before sunrise
• Prayer request cards allow the church to share vulnerabilities and pray collectively for each other's needs
• Fasting reveals the weakness of our flesh and our dependence on God
• Prayer and fasting aren't about manipulating God but drawing closer to Him
• Practical steps for growing your prayer life: pray Scripture, create daily rhythms, find accountability, journal requests and answers
• Persistence matters—some prayers take years to be answered, while others receive "no" or "wait"
To grow your prayer life starting today: pray through the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6, establish a consistent rhythm, find an accountability partner, and don't give up when answers seem delayed.
Welcome to Jet Fuel Podcast
Speaker 1Welcome to the Jet Fuel podcast , a series of Concord conversations . In each episode , our lead pastor and a guest will sit down and dive a little deeper into what we learned as a church that week . These are honest , practical conversations to fuel your faith and help you live it out with purpose and consistency . Or in other words , this is Jet Fuel for your soul .
Speaker 2All right , well , welcome back is Jet Fuel for your soul , all right . Well , welcome back . Jet Fuel , week seven .
Speaker 1Week seven .
Speaker 2This has been the craziest journey .
Speaker 1I can't believe we're on week seven .
Speaker 2It's crazy how fast it's gone , but we're having our Concord conversations and so for you guys that have been with us almost the last two months , I just want to say thank you so much , as we have tried something new and tried to put tools in your hands and have real conversations about it . I just really appreciate you guys watching , listening , tuning in , and so that's a big deal . But today , I have to say , of all of them , this is the one that I'm most excited about , because it's crazy practical and we just kind of stomp on some toes today .
Speaker 2Yeah , mine included yeah so it'll be great , and I just , I've noticed that you and I are kind of dressed alike today the black t-shirt Also .
Speaker 1I feel bad . I forgot that people . Some people watch this Like I didn't shave or anything , and so very sorry to whoever is watching like the screen .
Speaker 2I bet zero .
Speaker 1people noticed that whatsoever , but now that you've drawn attention to it and my wife noticed , I'm like you need to shave , get a razor man , let's handle business .
Speaker 2Well , aaron , today we're going to talk about prayer and fasting and fasting . So prayer people are like , yes , let's talk about it , let's intercede .
Speaker 1Then we start talking about fasting and they're like , well , maybe All right , and this is the one I feel slightly hypocritical , being the one that's on this podcast episode because , like you said , prayer , fasting is . If I'm being honest , fasting is the spiritual discipline that I am the absolute weakest in . You hate it . I don't hate it . I think it's important . It's just not something we'll talk about it , but it's not something that you're like wake up in the morning go .
Speaker 1I'm going to fast today . I'm going to fast today . This is going to be great . We'll talk about it .
Speaker 2Well , awesome . Well , aaron , let's get into it . We're going to talk about prayer and fasting , looking at different elements of prayer personal prayer , corporate prayer , some of the things we do here at Concord that have just been landmark stuff for us and then we're going to jump into fasting what that looks like , because a lot of people don't have much experience with it , and so but it is something that I believe is a spiritual discipline that every follower of Christ needs to have at least in some kind of regular form and fashion in their life . So let's start with prayer right now . So prayer
Personal vs. Corporate Prayer
Speaker 2is a big deal and it's something that we struggle with quite a bit , is a big deal and it's something that we we struggle with quite a bit . But let's just talk about what . What is the thing that when we're talking to our folks out here of prayer , what's the broad stroke we need to start with when it comes to , hey , people need to pray . It's their conversation with the Lord .
Speaker 1Yeah , Well , I think that what you said just there is is the broad stroke . Like prayer , it's the way that we communicate with the Father , right , Like we , and we've been given access to Him through Christ to have this open communication . Like we look at , like there are other denominations that almost create a barrier between you and God and you have to go through different channels , but like we know and believe that Scripture teaches us , like we have been given , like all , the availability to have open and honest and continual conversation with the Father , and that happens through prayer and when you're not doing that , you're missing such a huge part of your walk with the Lord .
Speaker 2Well , and just starting with that sentiment , I've described it like this before of going . Sometimes we treat prayer like a bad junior high relationship , right , when there's one person that does all of the talking and the other person is just glad to be there . Right , and we just go hey , one person's going to talk , the other person's going to listen , and that's how we treat God . We go okay , God , I'm going to give you this amount of time and I'm going to tell you you're good , I'm going to go through my little packaged prayer and then tell you the things that I need yeah , Amen and done . Or we do fly-by prayers . You know , when we're praying at dinner , it's become a deal , and then we're .
Speaker 1I mean , I think more dinner prayers have miraculous asks than like you know , like an hour of prayer , lord blesses food to the nourishment of our body , and it's double pepperoni pizza . Yeah , exactly , and you're like .
Speaker 2I'm asking God to make this nourishment for my body which , by the way . No one says the word nourishment outside of a prayer for dinner , right Outside of a prayer for food . You're like you're not at the ballpark , and you're like hey , can I get some ?
Speaker 2nourishment for and then . But there is a difference between personal prayer and corporate prayer . Right , and that's something that I learned when I was in college , when I first came to Christ , because all my experience was in personal prayer . Really , I would have people tell me you need to pray and you're like do I get on my knees , Do I fold my hands , Do I have to close my eyes , Do I pray certain things ? And then you pray corporately and I don't know about you , but just my mind wanders and you didn't know , but there's a discipline to praying together .
Speaker 2But I want to talk about that for just a second , because corporate prayer has actually been like a bedrock I use the term steel and concrete a lot actually been like a bedrock . I use the term steel and concrete a lot , but for Concord , because several years ago , in a big transition time around COVID , the church just said we're going to pray and they set aside 21 days and it literally became 21 Days of Prayer for Concord and it's just grown . So what has been your experience at Concord with what was initially 21 Days of Prayer ? But we keep changing it from 21 to 14 , to 10 , to a week , to this time two weeks there , so just Days of Prayer .
Speaker 2So what's been your experience with Days of Prayer ? So what's been your experience with days of prayer , praying as a corporate , local church body , all generations together . What's some of the things that you've seen that's been beneficial or challenging or changed your perspective ?
Speaker 1Yeah , I think one of the biggest things is that . So I didn't grow up in a church that did like 21 days of prayer or anything like that . They encourage prayer like in your own choir time Sure sure sure , and you pray during service and stuff like that , but I've never experienced anything like 21 days of prayer One , because it's common knowledge that I do not like early mornings .
Speaker 2And if you didn't know , it's common knowledge he does not like mornings . Do not talk to him before 10 am . I'm almost done with my day at 10 am .
Speaker 1Okay . Anyway , moving on from that , one thing , I think it's been the it was the cards . Okay , like people , and the reason I say that is because you were talking about the difference between like your personal prayer and like corporate prayer 21 days of prayer or days of prayer . However , each year we do it a little bit differently . That is when your personal prayer moves into corporate prayer . Yeah , meaning like , hey , I'm bringing forth one card or multiple cards of things that I'm dealing with personally or my family's dealing with personally , and this is something that we've been praying about .
Speaker 1But now I'm giving almost like , giving the church the opportunity and the permission to link up and pray for that , and so I think the biggest thing that I've seen through , like the days of prayer that we do is I realize , hey , stuff that I'm like I've been praying about sometimes people don't know like for months and months before this they're also now praying for and like I'll get texts and saying , hey , I had your card this morning , I prayed over this and it's just really cool to see , as a church body , we are taking all of these personal prayers and making them into corporate prayer .
Speaker 1Yeah , but then also , especially in the last two years , one thing that we've incorporated into Days of Prayer is having praise cards . Like then also , especially in the last two years , one thing that we've incorporated into Days of Prayer is having praise cards where you see , oh , like this corporate prayer that we've been doing , god has moved through this situation or this like , and we just see all these movements that are happening and it's just very cool to see , hey , I'm not alone in praying this , or my family's not alone in praying through this . My church body is also praying for this and I can really see the benefit of that .
Speaker 2And one thing I see , aaron , is that it's a maturing thing for our church , because not only praying for someone else , but our church just at large has to be vulnerable and you have to be willing to put your name down and go hey , we've got a cancer diagnosis . Hey , I have an addiction . Hey , I've got a wayward kid . Hey , we have financial issues . Hey , my cousin needs Christ , my spouse needs to return to the Lord , and there's all of these things that we do .
Speaker 2And just as a pastor , I stand up there and there are just cards I mean six , seven rows deep across the whole length of our stage , and you have people just gobbling these up like Pac-Man , right , and they're just pulling up and they're praying for each other . But days of prayer is where we have seen people have . You know , I've heard of physical healing , we've had people get saved , we've had just God has answered when our people are praying every day for those cards . And it's kind of funny and frustrating . Sometimes you go up and there's no cards , but you know there's like four or five , 600 cards that people are praying for ?
Speaker 1Well , I think , too , it's giving people the opportunity to maybe share something that they need prayer over , that maybe they wouldn't have shared , just like out of the willingness of their heart , but like now we've given an opportunity of like , hey , no , this is specifically for that , what are some things that you need prayer for and maybe they wouldn't have shared it in a group or something .
Speaker 2But they're like , okay , I'll write it on a card , right and let people and I love that because you know that's that vulnerability piece , that maturing
Days of Prayer Impact at Concord
Speaker 2of going hey , you've got to do that .
Speaker 2But also for the other side of that coin , it's a perspective changing because how many conversations have you had here at Concord where people are like dude , I thought I had problems , yeah , and what the Lord's entrusted me that I've been throwing this pity party for , unhappy for , and then I read some of the other things that people are walking through and actually evokes thankfulness in my heart Well , thankfulness and closeness with the people that are around , Because I'm like , oh like , I know something about your life that I didn't know and you were willing to share that and allow me to join you in prayer over that .
Speaker 2That's a huge deal , yeah and I'll just say this I love our days of prayer .
Speaker 2It is early , it's so early , but what's crazy is the last couple of years , but this existed before you and I both got here this is Concord DNA , but it has been cool over the last couple of years , especially in our January days of prayer starting off the year to watch it grow . Oh yeah , like I mean we're talking a couple of hundred people for days in a row before the sun gets up , singing together , listening to the word of God read and then praying together , and you're seeing moms and dads with arms around their kids , teenagers grouping up praying , senior adults , people walking in the room praying for each other .
Speaker 1I don't know if you remember my interview weekend was during Days of Prayer in January .
Speaker 2And so .
Speaker 1I was here and I came to a Days of Prayer with Brandon Roney and literally my thought when I walked in I was like why are they having something at this early in the morning ?
Speaker 2I was like what are we doing ? You're like this is a knock against maybe coming here .
Speaker 1Yeah , I was like this is a demerit against this place that they are doing ministry this early in the morning , but like you said . But then I got to experience it after being on staff and being a part of what and I'm like this is incredible , yeah .
Speaker 2And so we established Days of Prayer long before you and I got here in January . But people actually came to us and were like we've got to continue this . And so we've . This is our second year trying something in summer , kickoff of the fall and stuff but it is interesting to watch . You know , people really buy into God's hand moves when his people pray . So let's flip back , because we love the corporate side , the personal prayer side . What are some of the things , as our people are listening and watching , what are some of the practical , practical , practical things that they can do that would help them take one , two , three steps forward in their prayer life ? You know , maybe praying scripture or looking at models in prayer , or you know different places . What are some of the maybe tools or tips or practical things that you can give people going today ? Let's try this in your personal prayer life .
Speaker 1I think well , one . I think people make it a lot harder than it needs to be Okay . Or they put like , oh , like I'm not having a great prayer time if I don't spend at least 30 minutes in prayer every day . Or like they just put these huge and we've talked about this with other disciplines too but they put these huge expectations on themselves .
Speaker 2And they get discouraged .
Speaker 1Yeah , and they get discouraged , and this is what my prayer life is supposed to look like , and I think it can be . It's just more simple than that . Like you , I think , if you look at it , as I'm literally just having a conversation with someone who I know loves and cares about me , the same way I would have a conversation with my wife or my kids or a really close friend Like that's the kind of conversation I'm having , but even more you're having it with someone who knows every ounce and every inch about everything about you , the God of the universe , your creator .
Speaker 1And you are able to have a conversation with them . And so if you think about it that way , it doesn't need to be complicated . It doesn't need to be like this big , like eloquent prayer . I mean because sometimes my prayer life and my time that I spend with the Lord is me hardly talking at all , like I'm just sitting and I'll pray and ask for a few things and I'm listening or I'm reading scripture , and it doesn't have to be that complicated .
Speaker 2Okay , let me pause you right there , because you said something that I think maybe we don't always remember all the time . So we talk about this being two-way communication . We talk to the Lord , the Lord talks to us . Sometimes we're wanting a verbal , audible response , but we do have God's response in His Scripture right . And that's the way he talks to us .
Speaker 1Yeah , and Scripture tells us . He knows the groanings of our heart , he knows what we're going to say before we even say it and a lot of times when you because one , I think you definitely need to be incorporating Scripture into your prayer life , absolutely . I just think if we're communicating with the Lord and the creator of the universe and who made us and knows every inch about us , he has given us a lot . He has said a lot already in scripture , and so if you're not incorporating that , I think that's definitely something that I would encourage them to do . But a lot of times , if I'm seeking the Lord in prayer , asking something , and I'm reading through scripture , if I'm seeking the Lord in prayer , asking something and I'm reading through scripture , there are so many times that the answer that I needed is in scripture or is in a devotional , that is incorporating scripture .
Speaker 2Well , and that's something we hear all the time , because a lot of times people are looking for answers . They're asking God to open a door , show them , give them clarity , and we're looking for everything . But one of the main ways that God speaks to his people is through his word , and so that's a big deal . Now , I know we were talking earlier , before we started recording , about Matthew , chapter six , the Lord's prayer , a thing that maybe some of us grew up reciting and it became a little bit more of a mantra , I hate to say it , than actual prayer , but it was really the Lord answering a question from his
Learning from the Lord's Prayer
Speaker 2disciples , going how do we pray ? How do we pray ?
Speaker 2So , walk me through some of the things with the Lord's prayer that maybe you've used .
Speaker 1Yeah , well , I have some notes here . So if you look at the Lord's prayer and you just kind of walk through step-by-step what he's saying , what he's asking , just that whole process , there is a lot to hey , this is how we should approach the Lord , this is how we should pray . So , like just starting from the beginning , like hey , our Father , hallowed be your name , like you're starting out worshiping God . Like you're saying you are the creator of the universe . Worshiping God . Like you're saying you are the creator of the universe , you know all things . You give me breath every single morning . You are worthy of all of my worship , starting right from the beginning .
Speaker 2And I think that's maybe a common mistake that I made early on in prayer is I jumped straight into the request , but you know , and God definitely handles prayer like that . But one of the rhythms that we might need to put in our prayer life , when we need , you know , some answers on stuff , is to pause and start with praise , start with adoration God , this is who you are , and it's almost like a internal posture change . Oh yeah , but that's literally how the Lord showed his disciples . When you pray , pray like this and it starts with worship and adoration and speaking to who God is , his character and his name .
Speaker 1So that's big . And then you move , like your will be done . That's automatically you surrendering to the father everything that you wish , everything you want to ask like , no , like , whatever your will is , let that be done , keep moving . Like , give us this day that you like explaining . Hey , I'm dependent on you . You're the one who gives me what I need . I can't like do this on my own .
Speaker 2Let's stop there too , because , I'm going to be honest , this has been a sticking point for me sometimes , because when we talk about dependence , most of the people are listening to this on an iPhone , on their laptop . You know , somebody through their beats , something like that . I mean , you know some of you still have Androids and things . But you know , when we think about dependence , you know there's not been a lot of times consistently that we've opened a fridge and go , god , give me my daily bread . There's stuff in there , and I'm not trying to downplay anybody's financial struggles , times they've gone without . That's not what I'm saying . Americans in the Western local church , you know this is something that we really have to drill down on and go hey , how am I dependent on the Lord for his provision ?
Speaker 1Well , and I think it's almost like a false independence that we feel , right , we're like , oh yeah , we've got this covered . Like I have a job , there's food . Like no , I can , I'm all right , but no is . There is a huge dependence that we need to realize we have on the Lord . And what's interesting , too , about the Lord's Prayer , when you look at this format , all of that stuff that we've talked about worship , surrender , dependence , all of that happens before you do the repentance and the ask yeah , and which is , which is ?
Speaker 2that it's backwards for us .
Speaker 1Yeah , that's backwards for me , Like a lot of times I start my prayer hey , lord forgive me , and one I don't even mention like names of sin , like specifically . Uh-oh , you about to start preaching now , hey , Lord forgive me for all my sins , and I don't mention them specifically , which that's a whole , nother conversation .
Speaker 2Oh , man , and I've heard people say you commit them one by one , confess them one by one .
Speaker 1Well , and like , if you are asking , ask specifically , because then you can see God working specifically .
Speaker 1Anyway , that's like a whole nother thing but it's backwards , Part two coming at some point yeah , but that is backwards for me , because a lot of times I start with Lord , forgive me and hey , can you give me this Right ? Instead of starting with Lord you are worthy , you are holy , I depend on you , I'm surrendering to your will , I need you , I need you Then move to the request and to the repentance and then , because I think , if you move that way , you start to realize by the time you get I think it's very indicative of this prayer that the request is last yes , because once you get through Lord , you are worthy , I surrender to you , I depend on you and forgive me for where I've fallen short your asks become much less about you and they become more about who God is and what he wants .
Speaker 2Well , there's a whole paradigm on this too , because if you look at it , I mean all of a sudden our mindset moves from transactional to transformational , because a lot of times we're looking for a transaction with God . You're God , I need you to step in and I need it to benefit me . But this is a little bit , you know . The transformational part is it becomes about the relationship .
Speaker 1Yeah , because I mean , if you're surrendering to his will at the beginning of the prayer , when you get to the ask , your ask are gonna be more along the lines of what his will is for your life .
Speaker 2Yeah , he starts a guard guiding your heart . He's like okay .
Speaker 1I'll do this , yeah , yeah .
Speaker 2And we become more sensitive to what he does . Oh man , this is great . You really ought to teach on this . Sometimes We'll maybe have to make that work , but I think that's great for those that are listening right now of going just some simple tweaks to our personal prayer time , of going , god , I want to follow the model that you laid out , and that's not the only way we can pray .
Speaker 1This is just a thought it's not the only way , but it is how Jesus said hey , you should pray like this .
Speaker 2But it starts with worship and surrender and dependence and repentance , and then supplication and requests and understanding the spiritual warfare . It's an easy tweak for some of our prayer lives to just almost flip it upside down For sure , and so I love that and so that's a big deal . I've mentioned this a ton of times before and I feel like I need to mention it again , just because one of the things that's been so beneficial to me is I got a prayer mentor , someone that I respected their prayer life and I literally , like the disciples did with Jesus , go , hey , can you show me some things ? And that ask , that request of an older man to teach me , has turned into a five-year relationship where every Wednesday barring different things , but I mean most every Wednesday for five years we pray together and it has transformed and it's kind of a bridge between my personal prayer and corporate prayer and now we've got this mix of the two and so I just love that .
Speaker 2Prayer is a part of Concord's foundation and DNA . We see that corporately , but also for our people understanding that we have a corporate prayer life but our personal prayer life . We need to go to scripture , we need to pray scripture . We follow some of the models and there's some things to do just to position our heart differently .
Why We Struggle with Fasting
Speaker 2Well , let me now flip the coin . So prayer and fasting , All right . So fasting is , you know , and I would say for our Bible Belt , potluck desire . You know , fasting is not something that we're real fond of , but fasting in scripture is not a request , it's not . It says when you fast , Not if you fast when you fast , and so why do we not fast ?
Speaker 2Is it because we don't know what to do ? We don't like it , we don't see , maybe , the benefit that you would see from reading scripture and learning something immediately or sharing the gospel , seeing somebody to come to know Christ ? Why do most of us not fast regularly ? Is it discomfort , lack of knowledge or what ?
Speaker 1I think discomfort is probably number one . Okay , like , I think , of all the spiritual disciplines that we've talked about giving , praying , reading our Bible like , yes , they take some sacrifice , but a lot of times they don't hurt as much or at least for me .
Speaker 1Let me just speak from like me personally , it takes minimal effort to put more effort into one of those spiritual disciplines , if that makes sense For fasting . I really like food , me too , and I don't want to give that up . And it just is like , oh , maybe I'll do that or maybe I won't it's something that gets pushed down the road . Yeah , it's like okay , maybe I'll incorporate that when I'm told to , and then I'll move , so let's .
Speaker 2Because you kind of smirked when you said that , yeah , so I remember you jokingly . I'm going to interpret it lovingly . But you just said I hate the fast that we do . It is so hard .
Speaker 1Not that you don't hate it . I didn't say hate , but that you were just like man , that is so hard .
Speaker 2And when we do a three day , we've done a five day , we've done a three day , we've done . You know some versions of fasting and you're just like God , like .
Speaker 1Well , and I think it's because and I'll tell you why because I've really like , especially over the last couple of years , because I've been here and we do encourage it during our days of prayer .
Speaker 2And we lay down a pretty strong call for it .
Speaker 1Like and I've been . I think I've really reflected on why like , why I don't do it and why it's not a spiritual discipline that I like to incorporate a lot and why I get so frustrated during it . And for me , the reason that I get so frustrated and the reason why comments come out like gosh , the fast is so hard . I don't like doing it . It's because I realize when that happens how weak my flesh is .
Speaker 2Ooh , come on .
Speaker 1And it's because , like I realize , I can't even go a day without food without complaining and realizing I don't need- , but we can go without prayer and Bible study and not complain .
Speaker 1Yeah , and not complain , and so I realize , like I think that's one of the biggest things that I've learned is when I fast , it makes me have to , like , confront the fact that my flesh is sinful , it is weak , it is selfish , and it's . Those are the things that I have to come in contact with when I fast , and so I don't want to do that and so I don't fast .
Speaker 2Well , let me say this I'm putting a lot of this on you , but I want to make it very clear as your pastor , I struggle with it too . It is not what I want to do , and I love a good juice fast , I love some of those things . You know , I was sitting with a guy in his office a while back and I had invited him to lunch and he just kept giving me like these , like weird , like brush to the side answers . This guy's usually up to connect that kind of stuff .
Speaker 2Well , he was like just come by my office . Oh , I found out that he was just on like a water fast . And I was like bro , you could have just told me .
Speaker 2Yeah , just tell me you're doing that . But you know and that's another thing going to be tough to look at but there has been a sweeping movement of fasting being a little bit more like a self you know , get away from social media or candy bars , or , you know , buying stuff at full price , you know whatever . And we come up with different things . And some people are like , dude , I'm trying to take a step to be more disciplined . And other people are like , well , that's not true biblical fasting , so where would you help somebody that maybe has said , well , I did a social media fast and it like I mean blew my socks off , like it yielded a lot of results for me . And then someone on the other side is like , well , you're not really fasting unless you're not doing food .
Speaker 1Well , and I think what I would say to that like I'm not negating anything like that , Like I think I know people that do like , have done like a month long social media fast , or they only like they'll- just- , but it's been good to kind of purge some of those things from their life .
Speaker 1But what I would say to that and cause this is something that I've had to confront in myself as well , because I want to do anything but a food fast , I'll do something else . But I think the challenge that I would give someone that would say like oh , I did a social media fast , or oh , I got rid of candy , like okay , that's good . Where I would push them is one in scripture fasting is food , and so I would have them look at that . But also I would tell them , hey , okay , I get that you're a fast in social media .
Speaker 1That is super healthy , probably for your mind and just for the healthiness of your life in general . You don't need social media to live . Right , we need to consume food . Yeah , you need calories , calories to live , and so when you start cutting something like that out , that is when you start confronting something like that out . That is when you start confronting the stuff that I was saying of , like how sinful you are , how weak you are , how selfish your flesh is , because I don't . I just think that's a whole nother level of God being able to show you hey , you really need to depend on me in this moment .
Speaker 2Well , and I love that because you know , I've had a , you know , a twisting and turning journey with fasting , because I remember when I got saved in college we had some buddies fasting and man , it was just this well , I went this long . And there was this pride deal too . It was just really not negating the flesh and it was almost like a hunger strike . And then you're at different churches .
Speaker 1Oh , I fasted longer than you did , yeah , and then you got fasted longer than you did .
Speaker 2Yeah , and then you go to churches that don't make it a corporate thing but it's encouraged as an individual discipline . And then you start looking . I was at a church where it was kind of led from the pulpit of hey , we're gonna fast at this time , and it's been something that I'm trying to work through and to figure out . But when we think of fasting , the purpose behind it is to spend time with the Lord , right To replace those times of eating with times of , you know , spending time in His Word .
Speaker 1That's what I'm saying In Scripture . It's always associated with prayer .
Speaker 2And so , yeah , with prayer and I've always been under the direction of people fasting Well , my first senior pastor is here . You know , I'm almost four years in and so I'm like , man , I get here and then we jump in in August , we turn the corner hard on two wheels into January and I'm like , let's do 21 days of prayer , we're gonna do a five-day fast and man , I was all pumped up and just to see the look on some people's face and I started getting questions that I didn't know the answer to . You know , you'd have somebody say well , I take medication that you have to have food with . They're like should I not take my medicine ? I was like , whoa , I'm not a medical doctor , I don't know .
Speaker 2You know like , hey , there are some things you know you've shared with me before when your wife has been pregnant , you know when we've been doing some fasting and so to not get into , you know every situation that every person's walking through . But the idea of fasting is fasting from food to spend time with the Lord . And you know , of course , there are people that really struggle with you know eating , maybe overeating or maybe Some sort of food disorder .
Speaker 2Yeah , an eating disorder or something like that , but we are talking the broad strokes of that . So , when we get to this idea of prayer and fasting , one of the misconceptions that I feel like we take into fasting Aaron , that I feel like we take into fasting Aaron is that if we fast , if we pray more , then God is we're earning some kind of favor with him and he's gonna do what I ask . Forces his hand . Yeah , is that true ?
Speaker 1Absolutely not Okay , and I think the more , and I think the more that you incorporate prayer and fasting into your daily or like your normal spiritual routine you will realize , like , oh no , fasting is more just to get you closer to God , not to get what you want .
Speaker 1Okay , and so I mean and I'm not saying that like he won't answer a decision that your family needs to make , or you're fasting about something . Whatever you're fasting about . A lot of times it's more about you getting closer and drawing nearer to God than you getting the answer that you want . Because , if I'm being honest , like , out of the four years that we've done days of prayer and had fasting , only one of those years have I gotten an answer that I was looking for .
Speaker 2Man , I'm telling you , sometimes it's a discipline . You're like man I have been , you know , we've done a couple of juice fasts here and you're like man , I haven't eaten anything solid in several days and you're expecting God to answer and you're like I'm not hearing anything . Yeah ,
Practical Steps for Growing Your Prayer Life
Speaker 2and you don't , and you're just being faithful , yeah , and I think that's some of the misconceptions we feel is like , if we pray more , if we fast more , if we do this and this , then God is going to do what I tell him to do .
Speaker 1Or ask him to do . I mean , that sounds a little strong . That's any of our spiritual disciplines that we've talked about yet .
Speaker 2It's not earning , it's not transactional . Yeah .
Speaker 1Like it's not transactional . This it's not transactional . Yeah , like it's not transactional . This is about you giving honor and worship to the Father because of what he has done in your life and who he is , and that's it , and that is enough for you to do all of these things .
Speaker 2And so I think that's a big deal . So , as we tie these two pieces together , all right , and we're going to make a beautiful bow out of this or whatever not that I know how to do that other than tie my shoes but what is something that someone at Concord who's listening right now can do to increase or grow their prayer life ? Like , if someone's like , all right , I'm buying in , I hear what you're saying , I believe that's what scripture says . Man , I just I pray for like 90 seconds and then I'm out Like I don't know what else to pray for and where grandma's cat is sick , and we just kind of get to this point where we're done .
Speaker 2What would you encourage someone to do ? To go , hey , like I went to Pastor Mike and I was like , hey , will you teach me how you pray ? There's something different about how you pray and he's been mentoring me for five years . Not everybody's going to have that opportunity , but if someone today goes , I want to spend a prayer time tonight , that I want to take a step towards growing my prayer life , what is the top couple of things you would tell them to do today ?
Speaker 1Like if they were starting tonight , tonight . I literally , the first thing I would tell them to do would be to start in Matthew 6 .
Speaker 2Okay , Be like hey , take the Lord's .
Speaker 1Prayer . Read through it , pray through it . Look at what Jesus is saying about how to pray . What's the order that we pray in and just take that and pray through it . What's the order that we pray in and just take that and pray through it . So ?
Speaker 2you would say maybe first step for someone wanting to grow their prayer life is pray some scripture .
Speaker 1Yeah , and like take , maybe take a week and just do that every day . Okay , like pray through the Lord's prayer every day for a week .
Speaker 2So , number one take and pray through some scripture . If you don't know what to pray for , pray through scripture . Number two create a rhythm , Do it every day , Create a rhythm yeah , and then what's maybe third and fourth ?
Speaker 1Probably accountability . Okay , third and fourth yeah , yeah , yeah , like have someone that's asking you about like , hey , how's your prayer life going ? Like , what are you praying through ? Can I pray this along ? There's a staff member right now that I'm thinking of that has started kind of like you with your prayer mentor . Has started a prayer time that she has every week with another church member , one of our staff . Yeah okay , and she has talked about how much that has changed the way that she views stuff that she comes up against .
Speaker 2It was a conversation . It was a conversation , and then they started turning to prayer . Turning to prayer , yeah .
Speaker 1And it's just shaped everything about how they view their week . And we even told that staff member like , hey , we can tell that this has made a huge difference in your life .
Speaker 2Yeah , you bring the weight in , they come out more free .
Speaker 1I think the accountability piece is huge because it's very easy for any of that , but for your prayer life . Hey , someone asking you , hey , how is this going for you ?
Speaker 2So I love your first three steps , which is start praying scripture . Create a rhythm and a habit , doing it every day . Get people involved to hold you accountable . I'm going to throw a fourth one in here and I'm going to see what you think about it , okay . So what do you think about writing out your prayer requests and waiting on God to answer , and going back keeping some kind of journal where you're like , hey , I've been praying about this and this and this and I'm gonna write the day that the Lord answers Not that he gives it to you , because no is an acceptable answer . Wait is an acceptable answer . A , you're not ready is an acceptable answer . Yes , it's an acceptable answer . But what would you think about telling somebody to start some kind of prayer I don't wanna say prayer list , because that makes me think of , you know , like the prayer list we send in our email that has everybody's stuff in it . But like going , hey , this is what I'm praying for , that last part , that supplication Do you think that would be something that would help people ?
Speaker 1One thing . So one thing that me and my wife do two things . One so we lead a community group of couples and at the beginning of every semester we ask them hey , what is one big thing this semester that you're praying through ? And we write it down and then at the end of the semester we come back and say , hey , how did God work in that ? Did you get the answer that you wanted ? Did he change the way that you were praying through that ? And we just kind of look at that and so that's one way of kind of the accountability piece of like these people have shared with us , we've shared with them . This is what God . And then one thing , one other thing when I first started going through like when I first became a believer and I started looking at the word and studying God's word , I started doing hear journals , so if you don't know what it's like , acrostic and so Okay , I'm interested now I love me to get acrostic , and so Okay , I'm interested now I love me a good acrostic .
Speaker 1So H-E-A-R . So you look at a passage of scripture , so you're looking at 10 verses . The H stands for highlight . So you highlight a verse that stuck out to you in that passage of scripture . The E is you write out an explanation of what you think it means . Like what is this verse saying ?
Speaker 1The A is okay , how am I supposed to apply it ? So you write down this is how I'm going to apply this verse . And then the R is respond , where you're literally writing out a prayer hey , lord , help me do this or help this move this way in my life . And so it's the whole concept of you're taking scripture , you're praying through scripture , you're looking at how it applies to your life , and then you're literally writing out a prayer saying God , please do this in my life . And so that's still really how I study scripture . Like I don't write it down as much anymore , it's just kind of the flow of what I do . But when I started out writing out prayers of hey , this is how I want you to move , based on what I just read in your word , and so that would just be two ways .
Speaker 2Well , let me do this . Let me anchor , point back to something that we talked about before we close , and we talked about this idea of praying and this keep praying kind of attitude
Don't Give Up: Persistence in Prayer
Speaker 2. What is the longest people get discouraged when they pray and God doesn't answer , or when they fast and God doesn't answer . What is the longest that you have prayed for something and still haven't gotten an answer ? Because I think that some people want to put a time limit on . Hey , I'm going to pray for a week . I'm going to pray for a month , I'm going to pray for a year . Should you give up if God has not answered in a year ?
Speaker 1That's a tough question . I don't know . Okay , I don't know . That's tough because I can think of something right now that I've been praying for , literally for like three years and I still haven't seen God move in that .
Speaker 2But I would encourage you , I would say keep praying Like if it's big enough on your heart to take before the Lord , and sometimes it's continuing to ask and seek the Lord . Maybe he changes your heart , Maybe he changes the situation . Maybe it's not in his timing yet . And so I would just say , for if we say that number four , you make a journal or you're doing that here thing of going , don't give up .
Speaker 1Yeah , I will say a little nugget just to kind of put in before we close . If you because I had to do this if you've been praying for something for a really , really long time and you haven't seen any movement , there may be some self-reflection that you need to do of like , okay , is there something in your life that is hindering the Lord working ?
Speaker 2in this . Now we're getting into some obedience , so anyway that's a whole other conversation too , probably .
Speaker 2And I would say , just like we said for fasting , some of the things that we said God's word , the regularity , the rhythm , the things like that I think that would probably apply to fasting as well . Make it a part of your life . If you don't know how , ask somebody . We've got tons of staff members who would love to walk you through that , to walk with you , to help you understand . We don't wanna put anybody in a , you know , a dangerous situation , but we want people to step out in courageous faith and be obedient to scripture and do hard things .
Speaker 2You know , as Christians , we want to do hard things , and tarrying in prayer and fasting , those are big things and so , man , thank you so much for being so open and honest and I hope that , as you guys have listened and walked through this , that there's maybe a nugget in here that you're like maybe today I can try that and see what God will do as you journey from transaction to that transforming relationship and letting the Lord speak to you and y'all growing and Him moving . So I hope for you guys , if you've listened , this has been jet fuel for you , because I know for Aaron and I it's probably been jet fuel for us .
Speaker 2And so thanks for tuning in . We hope to see you guys again next time .