Day 1
Isaiah 58:2-7 1. Pray that we will have right
“Is that what you call a fast, a day
acceptable to the LORD?” v5
Today marks the first of our region’s 16-day
prayer and fasting. Are you geared up for
the next 16 days to see God work in you
life and in the whole region?
As we prepare ourselves for this fasting, we
need to have a correct understanding so that
our fasting will be acceptable to God.
In (v2), the people seem to do the right
12 March, Wednesday
thing by (a) seeking God, (b) being eager to
know His ways, (c) doing what is right, (d)
not forsaking God’s command, (e) asking
God for just decisions, and (f) being eager
for God to draw near. However, God is not
pleased with their fasting.
In various verses of Isaiah 58, state the
reasons why God is not pleased. (You are
encouraged to write these down in your
journal) God is interested in our hearts, and
not only our outward actions when we fast.
How are we treating the people around us
today? Do we show compassion to those
who are in need? How about our speech?
Day 1
Isaiah 58:7-14
“Then you will call, and the LORD will
answer; you will cry for help, and he will
say: Here am I.” v9
We can see from these verses that when we
fast the right way, God hears us. He will
heal us (v8), answer us (v9), guide, satisfy,
strengthen and refresh us (v11), give us joy
and cause us to be victorious (v14).
What do you hope to achieve after those 16
days of prayer and fasting? Set specific
goals and commit to God.
13 March, Thursday
attitude in our hearts,
behaviour and speech when
we fast.
2. Pray that we will demonstrate
the fruit of the spirit when we
fast.
Day 1
1. Pray and commit to God the
goals of what you want to
achieve by the end of these 16
days of fasting.
2. Pray for your ‘sheep’/group
that they too will experience a
breakthrough during this
fasting period.
Day 2
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Day 1
1 Peter 1:22
“Now that you have purified yourselves by
obeying the truth so that you have sincere
love for your brothers, love one another
deeply, from the heart.”
14 March, Friday
Day 1
Ephesians 4:15-16
“From him the whole body, joined and held
together by every supporting ligament,
grows and builds itself up in love, as each
part does its work.” v16
I took up swimming as an interest in my
primary school days and worked my way up
as a lifeguard down the years. My coach
trained me in many areas of swimming, one
of those is speed. We need to reach the
drowning person fast.
Some people describe swimming as grace’s
art while others regard it as a competitive
sport. Whichever it may be, swimming
15 March, Saturday
requires every part of the body to work
together. The coordination of your hands
and legs, the positioning of your body and
the way you breathe, are all very important
for a good swimmer.
The kingdom of God works on the same
principle. If we want the kingdom to
advance forcefully, every believer has to
work together in unison. We will then swim
to the glorious end of the lap.
1. Pray that we will place others
above ourselves.
2. Pray that we will embrace the -------------------------------------
youth transfers with sincere
love. -------------------------------------
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Day 3
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1. Pray for a willing heart to
serve.
2. Pray for everyone in the -------------------------------------
region to be united in spirit.
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Day 4
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Day 1
Psalms 84:1-2
“How lovely is your dwelling place, O
LORD Almighty! My soul yearns, even
faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart
and my flesh cry out for the living God.”
Often when I walk pass kindergartens, I’ll
surely hear the cries of children. “I want my
daddy!”; “I want to go home!” I bet it rings
a bell in us.
Even when we all grown up, we feel
homesick too. We get to travel around the
world, exploring the wonders of the world -
The Great Wall of China, the Effiel tower in
Paris and the august pyramids of Egypt.
However, no matter how much vibrancy we
16 March, Sunday
experience, how much fun we get, a part of
us yearns for the familiar land, home.
Similar to how we long for home, we desire
even greater to be in the house of God,
putting aside everything, to reach out to our
Father in heaven.
Day 1
Psalms 37:7
“Be still before the LORD and wait
patiently for him;”
For most of us, waiting patiently for God
brings a passive image to mind. However,
waiting on God is not a passive, “lean-back-
in-the-recliner” attitude that says, “When
God wants to touch me, He knows my
address.”
This Hebrew word patiently is in the Bible
fifty-three times. Four times it is defined as
“waiting patiently,” “to wait,” “waiting,”
“or “waited.” Forty-nine times it is defined
as “writhing in pain, as in childbirth” or
“whirling in the air in dance.” There’s
17 March, Monday
something about both the dance and giving
birth that requires incredible resolve to
reach an intended end. This is waiting
patiently for God. It has intense focus,
disciplined resolve, and a conviction that
nothing else will satisfy. God is attracted to
people who have that kind of tenacity and
who are not satisfied with inferior things.
1. Pray for ourselves that we will
increase in our hunger for
God’s presence.
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Day 5
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1. Pray that we will not be
distracted by the things around
us.
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2. Pray for Holy Spirit to speak
to us as we wait patiently on -------------------------------------
God.
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Day 6
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Day 1

Exodus 33:15-16 1. Pray for ourselves to have

“Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence the right focus.
does not go with us, do not send us up from
here.” v15 2. Pray that we will have a -------------------------------------
strong heart desire for the
At one point God gave Moses the presence of God. -------------------------------------
opportunity to be successful as Israel’s
leader in a different way. He offered to -------------------------------------
assign an angel to take the people of Israel
into the Promised Land. The angel would -------------------------------------
have made sure that every success came to
Moses as God promised. But Moses was -------------------------------------
hungry for God alone, not merely for what
God could do to make him successful. He -------------------------------------
insisted on following the presence of God
Himself. -------------------------------------
18 March, Tuesday

Moses preferred the wilderness with God to -------------------------------------

the Promised Land without God, a noble
choice for sure. The sad reality is that some -------------------------------------
are satisfied with what God can do and have
little concern for who God is. Such a -------------------------------------
preference is costly in the long run.
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Day 7
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Day 1

1 Peter 1:13-16 1. Pray for ourselves to live a

“for it is written: “Be holy, because I am life of holiness.
holy.”” v16
2. Repent of any areas that -------------------------------------
It is such a privilege to be able to have a does not please God.
room of your own. Most will agree so. -------------------------------------
Getting your room painted with your
favourite color, buying your own personal -------------------------------------
set of furniture and having your own private
space is more than one could ask for. -------------------------------------
However, I have a different view on that.
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Guys being guys, cleanliness is always an
issue. Tornados’ visit to my room is so -------------------------------------
19 March, Wednesday

frequent that forecasting its attack has

already become my profession. It happens
at least once a fortnight. A surprise visit
from my friends always gives me a heart
attack. I will always ensure my room to be
presentable and commendable before letting
anyone step in. Adding a spray of cologne
wouldn’t hurt as well.
I believe that if we want God to dwell in our
heart, we will have to live by his standards,
just like the cleaning of our rooms. The
question to ask ourselves, how clean and
tidy is your room today?
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Day 8
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Day 1
Psalms 119:11
“I have hidden your word in my heart that I
might not sin against you.”
After fasting for forty days and forty nights,
Jesus was hungry. During this time, the
devil appeared to Jesus and tempted him to
demonstrate his supernatural powers as
proof of his divinity. Notice that the devil
loves to tempt us when we are in the most
vulnerable state.
20 March, Thursday
Jesus showed us a perfect example on how
to deal with temptations. He refused each
temptation with a quote of scripture from
the book of Deuteronomy. Having failed,
the devil departed and angels came to attend
to him.
Now that you are half way through your
fasting, are you tempted to give up or sin
against God? Persevere on! A breakthrough
will come as you seek God earnestly and
not give up. Use the Word of God to resist
the devil.
Day 1
Matthew 7:21-23
“Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew
you. Away from me, you evildoers!'”
The fundamental difference between
authentic Christianity and religion is the
issue of knowing and being known by God
versus merely knowing about Him. In fact,
the only thing more important than knowing
God is to be known by Him.
During my secondary school days, I was
such great fan of Chinese pop singer, Jolin
Tsai. I joined her fan club and showed my
full commitment. Within a short time, I
worked my way up to be one of their
committee members. Holding that position,
I have access to a lot of confidential
information of Jolin that many fans will die
to know of. But I didn’t know her, and she
didn’t know me. For that to happen we
would have to spend time together, and then
she would have to let me into her life, as I
21 March, Friday
would also need to do the same for her.
Only if that were to happen could I say, “I
know Jolin Tsai.”
Relationships are built on trust,
communication, common interest, honesty,
and time together. For God to know me I
must open up my heart and give Him access
to the secret things of my life. It won’t
happen without my surrender and response
to Him.
1. Pray and ask God to help
you persevere on for the
next few days.
2. Pray that we will live on
every Word of God.
Day 9
1. Pray for an open heart
towards God.
2. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead
us into a deeper
relationship with God as
we surrender and respond
to Him.
Day 10
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Day 1
1 Samuel 15:1-22
“Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings
and sacrifices as much as in obeying the
voice of the LORD? To obey is better than
sacrifice,” v22
Through Samuel, God commanded Saul to
utterly destroy the Amalekites, including all
the people and all the livestock. Saul led the
Israelite army to victory but then disobeyed.
They kept the King and the best of the
livestock.
Saul is a person of arrogance and self-
centeredness. He kept King Agag alive to
present him as a trophy – a public exhibit.
22 March, Saturday
He did not slaughter the sheep and cattle for
the very same reason: he saved the best to
make himself look better (v9). Saul had the
audacity to improve on God’s command.
Next, note how Saul refused to take
responsibility for his actions. He excused
himself for disobeying God by claiming he
spared the best of the sheep and cattle for a
sacrifice to the Lord. Believe it or not, we
can sometimes use God as our excuse of
disobedience too. Are we obeying
completely everything that God is speaking
to us or through our leaders?
Day 1
Romans 12:1-2
“… be transformed by the renewing of your
mind.” v2
Our mind is renewed when the impossible
looks logical. The most consistent way to
display the kingdom of God is through the
renewed mind. It is much more than
thinking right thoughts. It is how we think –
from what perspective. Done correctly, we
are to “reason” from heaven toward earth. It
changes the way you approach life, leading
to transformation.
23 March, Sunday
1. Pray for ourselves, that we
will always be in total
obedience to God.
2. Pray against pride and
self-centeredness in us.
Day 11
1. Pray that Holy Spirit will
help us to see things from
a different perspective.
2. Pray for Holy Spirit to
help us mature in our
thinking.
Day 12
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Day 1

Luke 10:39-42 1. Pray that we will not be so

“But Martha was distracted by all the engross in our doing that
preparations that had to be made.” we neglect our being.
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During the visit by Jesus, Mary chose to sit
at Jesus’s feet while Martha chose to work -------------------------------------
in the kitchen. When Martha became
jealous, she asked Jesus to tell Mary to help -------------------------------------
her in the kitchen. Jesus’s response is
important to remember: “Mary has chosen -------------------------------------
the better part.”
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Martha was making a meal that Jesus never
ordered. Doing more for God is the method -------------------------------------
servant use to get God’s attention that they
might increase in favor. A friend has a -------------------------------------
different focus entirely: they enjoy the favor
24 March, Monday

they have and use it to spend time with their -------------------------------------

master. Mary sought to please Jesus by
being with Him while Martha tried to please -------------------------------------
Him through service. Working from His
presence is more effective than working for -------------------------------------
His presence.
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Day 13
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Day 1

Psalms 143:5 1. Pray for a grateful heart

“I remember the days of long ago; I
meditate on all your works and consider
what your hands have done.”
Seeing the misery and suffering of His
people, God sent Moses to rescue them
from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring
them to the Promised Land, a land flowing
with milk and honey.
However the Israelites turned out to be a
bunch of complaining and rebellious
people. And because of so, the entire
generation who once witnessed the signs &
wonders of God will not be able to enter the
25 March, Tuesday
towards God.
2. Thank God for all the -------------------------------------
great things He has done
in your life. -------------------------------------
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Promised Land (Numbers 14:22-23). We

reason with ourselves, how forgetful and -------------------------------------
ungrateful the people can be. What about
the red sea experience, the providence of -------------------------------------
manna, quail and water, or the manifestation
of God’s presence among -------------------------------------
them?
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It is time to take a pause in life and reflect
on the goodness of God. The devil always -------------------------------------
calls our attention to how far we have to go. Day 14
God would like us to think once in awhile -------------------------------------
about how far we have come.
Day 1

Genesis 32:24-30 1. Pray that your heart will

“But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go be like Jacob, who has
unless you bless me.”” v26 such unquenchable thirst
for God. -------------------------------------
Jacob despite his deep personal issues with
deception and manipulation, had an intense -------------------------------------
desire for the blessing of the Lord. He
simply wanted God to be real in his life. His -------------------------------------
pursuit culminated when he had to face
what he believed would be the most -------------------------------------
dangerous situation of his life – meeting his
brother Esau for the first time after -------------------------------------
obtaining Esau’s birthright and stealing his
blessing. The circumstances were desperate -------------------------------------
– he believed that his brother wanted
vengeance. -------------------------------------
Jacob sought God desperately, grabbing to -------------------------------------
God as his only hope. Seeing his focus
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26 March, Wednesday

passion & faith, God sent an angel to make

a visit. In his pursuit of blessing, he
wrestled with the angel until daybreak. In -------------------------------------
response to his persistence, Jacob received a
name change which reflected the character -------------------------------------
change that had occurred to him. After that
encounter, his brother treated him like a -------------------------------------
completely different person.
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Jacob life is a great reminder that one does
not need to be perfect to begin this journey. -------------------------------------
Just being able to follow, without
distractions, our hearts’ desire to know God -------------------------------------
– that’s what causes more transformation Day 15
than any list of rules found in religion. -------------------------------------

Day 1

Psalms 126:5 1. Pray for great

“Those who sow in tears will reap with
songs of joy.”
Many of us will understand what “sow in
tears” means when it comes to projects. Or
rather, some people will use words like
mental stress or sleepless nights to define
project. However, we can’t deny the fact
that though the process is hard work, the
results are rewarding. There is no short cut
27 March, Thursday
transformation in our
lives.
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2. Pray for ourselves and our
care group members that -------------------------------------
we will resist the
temptations of the devil. -------------------------------------
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at all.

Similarly, this applies to our spiritual life as -------------------------------------

well. In Galatians 6:7, it says: “A man reaps
what he sows.” -------------------------------------
If we desire to have Christ-liked character, -------------------------------------
we have to work hard and take deliberate
effort to water the seeds in us and trusting -------------------------------------
God to grow the seeds. Only if so then are
we able to witness the transformation in our
Day 16 -------------------------------------
lives.
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Day
1
Welcome to the Camp preparation
Fasting and Praying Journey 2008.
The camp is just 2 weeks away and it’s
good we are prepared for this annual
event. One of the preparations will be
spiritual preparation where we fast and
pray together. Why do we do that?
The word “fast” is derived from the
Hebrew term tsom, which refers to the
practice of self-denial. The New
Testament uses the Greek word nesteia
for the fast, which also has the same
meaning.
Fasting is abstinence from food, sleep,
physical intimacy, (for married
spouses) or any desire of the human
nature for spiritual purposes. It helps
us to keep focus or puts us to the test
as to how much we desire to see God’s
will be done. Fasting enables us to
become over comers, to increase our
faith and to accomplish great things in
the lives of others.
Arete Fasting & Praying Guide
This discipline strengthens us
spiritually and helps us overcome
barriers that might keep us from living
the victorious Christian life. Fasting
can be carried out individually or
corporately, as the purpose determines.
There are many benefits in fasting and So with the above advantages of fasting and
praying. Let me just list out a few so that praying, why the wait in be involved in this
you can participate this journey with us. personal and also cooperate prayer and
fasting. You can choose to fast a meal, 2
1. To express personal repentance meal or 3 meals. It’s up to your own
John 3:5”The Ninevites believed God. They conviction and choice. Remember, as you
declared a fast, and all of them, from the fast, do set aside the time to pray and seek
greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.” God. So it will be fasting and praying and
not fasting and dieting.
2. To strengthen personal prayer
When we fast, God will give us the strength Get prepared for the camp and see such
and focus to keep praying until we see our
quality to be built in us.
prayers answered (Dan 9:3, Ezra 8:23).
3. To seek God’s guidance
We fast to ask God to reveal to His direction Jasmine Poon
and guidance for specific situations or
decisions in our lives (Jud 20:26-28, Acts
14:23).
4. To increase ministry effectiveness.
Like many of Paul’s prayers, we fast and
pray for ourselves to reach greater
effectiveness for God.
5. We fast to overcome temptation
Fasting is a means by which we bring our
body into subjection (1Cor 9:27).
6. To know God more
Some of us may not have specific petitions
but just want to draw closer to God and be
more sensitive to Him. It develops our
attitude of constant dependency on Him.