PRAYER & FASTING: MAKING ROOM FOR GOD

This week, as we set aside time for prayer and fasting, we are asking the Lord to teach us to pray again. Prayer is not performance. Prayer is relational communion with God. It is how we worship Him, depend on Him, surrender to His will, and partner with Him for His kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven.

Throughout the week, we will walk through the story of the Shunammite woman in 2 Kings 4. Her story gives us a powerful picture of intercession.

The Shunammite woman recognized that Elisha was a man of God, so she welcomed him into her home and fed him whenever he passed through Shunem. Eventually, she and her husband built a small upper room for him with a bed, a table, a chair, and a lampstand. She made room for the presence and work of God.

Elisha had a servant named Gehazi, who often helped him. When Elisha asked what could be done for the woman, Gehazi pointed out that she had no son and that her husband was old. Elisha told her that within a year she would hold a son in her arms, and just as the Lord had spoken, she gave birth to a son.

Years later, the child became sick in the field. He was carried to his mother, sat on her lap until noon, and then died. She took him upstairs, laid him on the bed in the prophet’s room, shut the door, and went to find Elisha.

When her husband asked why she was going, she simply said, “It is well.” When Gehazi later asked if everything was well with her, her husband, and her child, she again answered, “It is well.” But when she reached Elisha, she fell at his feet in deep distress. She brought the full weight of her burden to the place where she knew God had spoken.

Elisha sent Gehazi ahead with his staff, but the woman refused to leave Elisha. She said, “As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So Elisha arose and followed her.

When Elisha entered the room, he found the child lying dead on the bed. He shut the door and prayed to the Lord. As Elisha continued praying and obeying, the child opened his eyes. God restored life where death had seemed final.

This story teaches us that intercession makes room for God, carries burdens to Him, refuses to let go, and partners with Him for life.

As we pray this week, we are not simply completing a daily guide. We are asking the Lord to make our homes places of prayer and our church a house of prayer.

MAKING ROOM FOR GOD

SCRIPTURE READING

2 Kings 4:8-10

Now it happened one day that Elisha went to Shunem, where there was a notable woman, and she persuaded him to eat some food. So it was, as often as he passed by, he would turn in there to eat some food. And she said to her husband, “Look now, I know that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us regularly. Please, let us make a small upper room on the wall; and let us put a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; so it will be, whenever he comes to us, he can turn in there.”

DEVOTIONAL

The Shunammite woman recognized the presence of God on Elisha’s life and made room for him in her home.

Prayer begins the same way. Before prayer is asking, striving, or even speaking, prayer is making room for God. It is relational communion with Him. It is creating space in our hearts, homes, and schedules to welcome His presence and listen to His voice.

This week, we are setting aside time as a church family to seek the Lord. We are asking Him to teach us to pray again, not as a religious performance, but as a joyful partnership with Him.

PRAYER FOCUS

Father, help our household make room for You. Teach us to welcome Your presence, listen to Your voice, and build our lives around You. Remove distractions and awaken fresh hunger for prayer in our hearts. [Pray from your heart.] In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.

FAMILY REFLECTION

Ask: What is one way our household can make more room for God this week?

EARLY MORNING CORPORATE PRAYER FOCUS

Pray for our church family as we begin this week of prayer and fasting. Ask the Lord to awaken hunger for His presence, restore the joy of prayer, and make us a house of prayer.

PRAYING FROM DEPENDENCE

SCRIPTURE READING

2 Kings 4:14-17

So he said, “What then is to be done for her?” And Gehazi answered, “Actually, she has no son, and her husband is old.” So he said, “Call her.” When he had called her, she stood in the doorway. Then he said, “About this time next year you shall embrace a son.” And she said, “No, my lord. Man of God, do not lie to your maidservant!” But the woman conceived, and bore a son when the appointed time had come, of which Elisha had told her.

John 15:5

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”

DEVOTIONAL

The Shunammite woman had a longing she could not fulfill in her own strength. She had no son, and there was nothing she could do to make that promise happen on her own.

Prayer teaches us dependence. Prayerlessness is often not a discipline problem first; it is a dependence problem. When we stop praying, we often reveal that we have started believing we can do life in our own strength.

Jesus said, “Without Me you can do nothing.” That is not meant to discourage us. It is an invitation to return to Him, depend on Him, and include Him in everything.

PRAYER FOCUS

Lord, forgive us for the places where we have depended on our own strength, wisdom, plans, and schedules more than You. Teach us to abide in You and bring every need before You with humility and faith. [Pray from your heart.] In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.

FAMILY REFLECTION

Ask: What is one area where we need to depend on God instead of trying to handle it by ourselves?

EARLY MORNING CORPORATE PRAYER FOCUS

Pray for every household in our church. Ask the Lord to teach families, marriages, children, students, singles, and grandparents to depend on Him in prayer.

CARRYING BURDENS TO GOD

SCRIPTURE READING

2 Kings 4:18-23

And the child grew. Now it happened one day that he went out to his father, to the reapers. And he said to his father, “My head, my head!” So he said to a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” When he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died. And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut the door upon him, and went out. Then she called to her husband, and said, “Please send me one of the young men and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the man of God and come back.” So he said, “Why are you going to him today? It is neither the New Moon nor the Sabbath.” And she said, “It is well.”

Galatians 6:2

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

DEVOTIONAL

When the Shunammite woman faced heartbreak, she did not stay isolated in her pain. She carried the burden to the place where she knew God had moved before.

Intercession is bringing real burdens before the Lord. It is not pretending everything is easy. It is not ignoring pain, fear, grief, or need. It is carrying those things to God in faith.

Prayer also teaches us to carry burdens together. We are not meant to follow Jesus alone. As a church family, we pray for one another, stand with one another, and believe God together.

PRAYER FOCUS

Father, we bring You the burdens of our household, our church, our city, and our world. Teach us not to carry things alone. Help us pray with faith, honesty, and compassion. Show us how to bear one another’s burdens in love. [Pray from your heart.] In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.

FAMILY REFLECTION

Ask: What is one burden we need to bring to God in prayer today?

EARLY MORNING CORPORATE PRAYER FOCUS

Pray for those in our church family who are carrying heavy burdens. Ask the Lord to bring healing, comfort, provision, freedom, and encouragement.

REFUSING TO LET GO

SCRIPTURE READING

2 Kings 4:27-30

Now when she came to the man of God at the hill, she caught him by the feet, but Gehazi came near to push her away. But the man of God said, “Let her alone; for her soul is in deep distress, and the Lord has hidden it from me, and has not told me.”

So she said, “Did I ask a son of my lord? Did I not say, ‘Do not deceive me’?”

Then he said to Gehazi, “Get yourself ready, and take my staff in your hand, and be on your way. If you meet anyone, do not greet him; and if anyone greets you, do not answer him; but lay my staff on the face of the child.”

And the mother of the child said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So he arose and followed her.

Luke 18:1

Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart.

DEVOTIONAL

The Shunammite woman refused to let go. Her persistence was not performance; it was faith. She knew where help was found, and she would not be easily turned away.

Intercession often requires perseverance. We pray even when we do not yet see the answer. We keep bringing people, families, cities, and situations before the Lord because we believe God hears and responds.

God is not looking for religious performance. He is inviting us into partnership. Prayer is one of the ways we partner with Him for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

PRAYER FOCUS

Lord, teach us to pray and not lose heart. Give us steadfast faith. Strengthen us to keep praying for the people and situations You place on our hearts. Burn a partnership of prayer in our household. [Pray from your heart.] In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.

FAMILY REFLECTION

Ask: Who or what do you think God wants us to keep praying for?

EARLY MORNING CORPORATE PRAYER FOCUS

Pray for our city. Ask the Lord to move in Valdosta, save the lost, heal families, strengthen churches, and let His kingdom come here as it is in heaven.

Pray for Upper Room Prayer Night tomorrow night from 7:00 PM to midnight in the FLC. Ask the Lord to fill the room with His presence, unite our church family in prayer, and commission us to live as a people of prayer.

PARTNERING WITH GOD FOR LIFE

SCRIPTURE READING

2 Kings 4:32-37

When Elisha came into the house, there was the child, lying dead on his bed. He went in therefore, shut the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the Lord. And he went up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands; and he stretched himself out on the child, and the flesh of the child became warm. He returned and walked back and forth in the house, and again went up and stretched himself out on him; then the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. And he called Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite woman.” So he called her. And when she came in to him, he said, “Pick up your son.” So she went in, fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground; then she picked up her son and went out.

Matthew 6:10

Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

DEVOTIONAL

God restored life to the Shunammite woman’s son. What looked final was not final to God.

Prayer is the privilege of partnering with God for His kingdom to come and His will to be done. Through prayer, strongholds come down, prisoners are set free, people are healed, cities are changed, and the kingdom of God is expanded.

As we end this week of prayer and fasting, we are not simply finishing a devotional plan. We are asking the Lord to form us into a praying people. We want to live with surrendered hearts, joyful dependence, and faith-filled obedience.

PRAYER FOCUS

Father, thank You for the privilege of prayer. Let our household leave a legacy of prayer. Teach us to partner with You, obey Your voice, and pray Your will into the earth. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. [Pray from your heart.] In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.

FAMILY REFLECTION

Ask: What does obedience to God look like for us in this season?