day of fasting & prayer
Wednesday 14th January 2026
Prayer times: 08:00 (Prayer Room – Church Centre)
12:00 (Church)
19:30 (Hall – Church Centre)
Theme: Discerning God’s heart for St James. What is God’s vision for us this year, what do we need to push into, what has His favour at the moment, what do we need to lay aside, what do we need to take more seriously, what do we need to recapture?
Feedback: Use Rev Steve’s mobile (07466858975) or email (vicar@breamchurch.org.uk), the Church Notices Whatsapp, through Don or Rob or share what God is saying to you at one of our prayer meetings.
PRAYER AND FASTING
What does the phrase ‘Prayer and Fasting’ conjure up in your mind? Thoughts of super-spiritual people starving themselves, monks and nuns suffering in religious communities, slightly wacky hippy type Christians?
Maybe if we thought of something like Lent, where a lot of people give up something for those six weeks, fasting becomes less of a fringe activity and more a normal part pf our spiritual life.
We link prayer and fasting because the core purpose of fasting is to clear our minds, make space in our lives, change our priorities and reveal to God how serious we are about what we are praying for. This isn’t about us so much as it is connecting more deeply with God and building His Kingdom.
At St James we are dedicating the second Wednesday of each month to a day of prayer and fasting. We will have a theme for the day and three prayer times: 08:00 in the Prayer Room in the Church Centre; 12:00 in the church; 19:30 in the Hall in the Church Centre.
We would love people to be praying together and at home and also through the gift of prophecy to hear what God is saying to us through His Holy Spirit.
If you feel God has something for us through a word or a phrase, through a scripture or a picture please share this with our Vicar, Rev Steve, by text on 07466858975.
We will also be gathering these through the prayer meetings.
fasting
What is fasting? There are a range of things you could do to fast. It’s not a formula we want to impose but an attitude of heart we want to make space for. It’s about showing God our intention and commitment, not comparing ourselves to others. You could give up food for the day, or skip one meal. If you have any kind of medical issues which make this problematic then choose another way. You could give up tea or coffee or soft drinks. One of our church members was sharing about her fasting and suggested a fast from social media, what a great idea!
