The Role of Fasting, Intercession and Corporate Prayer
for the Renewal of the Church

Crying Out to God is a biblical principle that is repeated all throughout scripture. We see kings, priests, prophets, slaves, soldiers, shepherds, merchants and even pagans (remember Nineveh and Jonah?) cry out to God, finding Him strong to save and deliver.
This conference is designed to teach us how to seek the Lord in earnest, for help in the day of trouble and to seek His face for wisdom and guidance in times of need.

From the Book of Joel we will learn the divine strategy and how to respond when we encounter a day of trouble and judgment from God. The prophet calls the nation Israel into a season of fasting, prayer and “crying out to God”; the gathering of solemn assemblies to seek God’s mercy and pardon. We can learn much from this chapter in Israel’s history.

We will also consider the ancient Christian discipline of fasting. Although there are no specific instructions about fasting in the bible, it is clearly practiced and encouraged. Jesus, Moses, Joshua and Elijah fasted 40 days. Daniel fasted 21 days. Paul fasted 14 days and we have mention of seven day, three day and even one day fasts. Fasting is always connected with prayer and seeking a clear word from the Lord. We will look at fasting individually and corporately.

Lastly, we will focus on intercession, also an ancient discipline of the church. Intercessors move mountains in the heavenlies and are mighty in the spirit realm. Restoring and elevating the work of intercession is critical for the renewal of the church. We can have all the programs and activities going but without the covering of intercession the impact will be marginalized. We will cover both individual and corporate intercession in the conference and give some practical suggestions to implement these disciplines into the life of the parish.