Dear Watermark Family,
It has been a joy to participate in our second year of 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting together as a church body. We hope that through the disciplines of fasting and prayer, you’ve enjoyed closeness with God and found joy in experiencing his presence. We pray these days have shown you ways to rely on the Lord for comfort, joy, and fulfillment instead of distractions and things of this world. As the 21 days come to a close on Friday, we want to take this time to look back and celebrate God’s faithfulness to our church over the last few weeks.
God Stories
It has been encouraging to see how God has moved during this time. We want to share a few stories from our church family of the ways the Lord has impacted their hearts over the past several weeks:
“I co-lead an 8th grade Wake small group, and heading into DTown, we prayed that God would give our boys the courage to walk in the light with each other. On the first night of DTown, the leaders shared their testimonies and gave space for the boys to share if they wanted to, and in response, the boys spent the next hour confessing sin to one another and praying for one another (James 5:16 in action). 25 out of 26 boys in our group shared—it was truly an incredible work of the Spirit!”
“I’ve been meeting with one of my community group members every night to pray for 30 minutes. During this time, I’ve been growing so much by being reminded to go to Scripture first, enabling me to draw on his guidance to see this truth to pray and to be in his will when offering up prayers for our community group. It’s very personal since I’ve been hearing my prayers already running in my mind and heart, sensing the Holy Spirit working for our good. We all have pain and troubles, but together with Scripture, we draw out the joy and praise as we see our Lord’s ongoing provision and his attentive eyes on us always.”
“Last year, during our 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting, I fasted and prayed for a relationship to be restored in our family. Then three weeks ago, I received a text from this person after two and a half years of no communication, which led to a reconciliation conversation and a restored relationship with them. I know this only happened because of the work of the Holy Spirit.”
“I recognized that I was filling my time with social media, and it was taking me away from opportunities to pray and read Scripture. During these 21 days, I have fasted from social media, and I have enjoyed the ways God is using this time to draw me into more intentional time with him.”
“I was praying for a friend during the first Night of Prayer and Worship to come to know Jesus, and God answered my prayer. She reached out to me to sit down over a meal and ask questions about exploring her faith.”
“My community group has enjoyed intentionally praying and fasting for one another. We have seen the Lord’s faithfulness to hear and answer specific prayers in our group.”
Next Steps
Similarly to the stories above, the Lord may be moving in your own life. If he has opened your eyes to areas where you need healing or restoration, re:generation could be your next step. If you don’t have a church home and have been journeying with us over these past 18 days, consider starting the membership process at Watermark and joining a community group. Or perhaps your heart is burdened for those who have yet to know Jesus. If so, connect with our Global Team to explore how you can partner with us to share the gospel with the unreached nations of the world.
God is always on the move—not just during these 21 days. So don’t stop asking for God to continue the work he has started in your life. Here are some practical next steps on how you can continue to pray for and with our church family:
- Sign up for the Watermark Family Prayer Newsletter. Each week, we collect prayer requests from our body and ask members to pray for one another.
- Submit a Prayer Request. Our church would love to pray for you. These requests are prayed for in our weekly prayer service and shared in the Watermark Family Prayer newsletter.
- Attend our Sunday Prayer Service. Every Sunday at 5:30 PM, we host a gathering of corporate prayer in the chapel.
- Continue in the practice of fasting. Consider ways you can incorporate fasting into your community group or family throughout the year as you face hardships, to intensify prayer, or as you process important decisions. Learn more about fasting.
Join us for the next Night of Prayer and Worship
On Friday, February 21, at 7 PM, we’ll gather as a church for one final Night of Prayer and Worship to celebrate our 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting together. Bring your friends, family, and community group as we pause for an unhurried evening to reflect on the last three weeks and praise God for all he’s done and what he will do. We hope to see you there.
Humbly,
The Elders of Watermark Community Church
Todd Anders, Timothy Ateek, Ben Caldwell, Mickey Friedrich, Blake Holmes, Rob Thomas