40|50 Project: 40 Days To Heal A Nation’s Racial DivideSample

Day 8: Review | Fasting, Prayer and Spiritual Warfare

Remember the first time you learned something? How’d you do it? For me, it was likely a children’s story read repeatedly by my father at bedtime or a Stevie Wonder hit my parents played multiple times as we did our weekend chores. Repetition works. 

Repetition is an effective tool that transitions the information we’re learning from our conscious to our subconscious. When information becomes subconscious, we act upon it without having to think about it. I pray that the Word of God is so ingrained in our subconscious, that we’re living it out whether we think about it or not. 

Each week, we’ll incorporate repetition by reviewing the main concepts that we’ve explored. We see this practice with God’s people in Deuteronomy 6:6-9. The Lord commands them to write His Word on their hearts, hands, heads and houses. Teach it to their children. Talk about it all the time. Basically, get this Word in you. 

So, let’s review Week 1: Fasting, Prayer and Spiritual Warfare. 

Here’s what we explored this week. What did God reveal to you each day?

• Day 1: One Church Under God: Racism has divided the Church. Can we love one another as Jesus loves us? Does our nation know that we are His followers by how well we love each other?
• Day 2: Why Fast & Pray? Because some demonic strongholds, like racism, are tougher than others and only respond to the faith that results from fasting and prayer.
• Day 3: Help Our Unbelief: Instead of denying our doubts, particularly around whether racism can be rooted out, let's confess our unbelief and get help from Jesus.
• Day 4: More With Us: We're in a spiritual war and there are more fighting for us than fighting against us.
• Day 5: Different Kind of Battle: For this spiritual war, our weapons are spiritual. We have truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation and the Word of God to unravel racism.
• Day 6: Right Versus Wrong Way to Fast: Wrong Way = Self-focused | Right Way = Other-focused.
• Day 7: Rest During Protest: The challenge is to prioritize the Sabbath and carve out one day per week to not work for income and instead spend time God, family and community.

What is your most profound take-a-way from this first week? Please share this insight with your 40|50 Partner. Pray for one another as we start a new week together. 

PRAYER

Thank You Lord for this first week. Thank You for direction and grace. Thank You for peace, joy and love. We praise You and invite you to continue to lead and guide us. Please protect us and our families, in Jesus’s Name, Amen.

 KUDOS 

Kudos on finishing the first week. Here's where we're headed: 

• Week 1: Fasting, Prayer and Spiritual Warfare
• Week 2: Value of Life
• Week 3: Family and Justice
• Weeks 4-6: One Family In God