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Week 1 Introduction
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Happy New Year! And welcome to the 21 Days of Prayer & Fasting for 2023.
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Every day during this spiritual journey, we’ll join together individually in prayer, seeking after the heart of God. To guide us on this journey, simply open your email for the next 21 days as we:
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- read a section of Scripture,
- consider a brief “devotional” thought,
- then pray through the provided prayer (but feel free to add your own prayers!).
We also encourage you to journal a thought or write out your own prayer each day.
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Over the course of the first three weeks of 2023, we’ll be praying for Gospel Growth in three areas: in you personally, in us as a church family, and around the world. This week, we will focus on ourselves, asking for God to work in us, heal us, fill us, restore us, and more.
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So grab your Bible, scroll down, and let’s begin praying for Gospel Growth!
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Sunday, Jan 1
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DEVOTIONAL: “GOSPEL GROWTH IN ME"
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Many people mark New Year’s Day by starting a New Year’s Resolution. For the past six years, Riverwood has started off each New Year with 21 Days of Prayer. It’s like a short-term “resolution.” But rather than help you lose weight or kick a bad habit, we want to help you grow spiritually. That’s why this first week of our 21 Days will focus on Gospel Growth in you.
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With that said, at Riverwood, we believe your greatest spiritual growth won’t come by merely focusing on self improvement. Rather, your greatest growth and joy will come by focusing on God.
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Notice how the writer of Psalm 145 (today’s reading) isn’t finding his joy and growth in himself, or life hacks, or self-help books. His sole focus is the Lord.
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“I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever.” (Psalm 145:1-2)
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As we begin these 21 Days, seeking to have our union with God through Christ be stronger than ever, let us begin at the proper place - by focusing on the goodness, awesomeness, and incomparableness of our God and King.
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Heavenly Father, you are amazing. There is no one like you. You are so good. You are so gracious. There is nothing that happens in this world that you are not aware of. When I sin, you show mercy. When I doubt, you are patient. Your love is endless. Your grace is consistent. You are faithful to me, even when I am faithless.
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Thank you for letting me know you. Please help me to connect with You during these 21 days of prayer and fasting more than I ever have, seeing you more clearly than I ever thought I would.
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Feel free to open your Notes app to write down a thought or two from today's reading or write out your own prayer.
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