As the Christmas presents are put away and thoughts turn to expanding waistlines and New Year resolutions, a day has been set aside for fasting and praying to seek God’s will for His people in 2005.

A Day of Fasting and Prayer is January 2, 2005, the first Sunday of the new year, where all SC Baptist churches are encouraged to join in praying for their community, mission efforts for the coming year, those that do not know Christ, spiritual awakening in churches and God’s will for their individual lives.

As in scriptures, often prayer and fasting are used together when seeking God’s direction and will.  In addition, a special emphasis will be on fasting on this day.  Resources to help in preparing for a fast are available from the Office of Prayer and Spiritual Awakening or www.scbaptist.org.

Also for the new year, the popular 100-day prayer guide used by many SC Baptist churches has now been expanded to last the entire year.

The new prayer guide, Practical Ways to Pray, has been available since October, but the start of the new year presents an opportunity to start and finish the year praying with other believers across the state. 

“We want to encourage South Carolina Baptist churches to mobilize people to pray for spiritual awakening and renewal,” said Rosevelt Morris, Director of the Office of Prayer and Spiritual Awakening for the SC Baptist Convention.

Morris feels the start of the year is an excellent time to focus in prayer and faith on what God will do in 2005 and is urging individuals and churches to look for new and innovative ways to use the prayer guide, such as church bulletins, worship and business meetings and during travel times and retreats. The prayer guide offers daily prayers for churches, missionaries, leaders in government, and meditations on scriptures among other topics.

Nearly 40,000 of the 100-day prayer guides were distributed to individuals and churches over the past few years.  Already 10,000 copies of Practical Ways to Pray are in the hands of many SC Baptist churches.

For more information on the Day of Prayer and Fasting or to obtain a copy of Practical Ways to Pray contact the Office of Prayer and Spiritual Awakening at 1-800-723-7242 or www.scbaptist.org.