Before we get caught up in the upcoming season of busyness, let us cultivate a humble heart with fasting, repentance, and prayer on Thursday, November 21.
We invite you to join us in a National Day of Fasting, Repentance, and Prayer in honor of the 156th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln’s Proclamation 97 – Appointing a Day of National Humiliation, Fasting, and Prayer. Together let us observe and reaffirm our 16th President’s heartfelt plea to the supreme authority and just governance of Almighty God.
“Now, therefore, in compliance with the request, and fully concurring in the views of the Senate, I do by this my proclamation designate and set apart Thursday, the 30th day of April 1863, as a day of national humiliation, fasting, and prayer. And I do hereby request all the people to abstain on that day from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite at their several places of public worship and their respective homes in keeping the day holy to the Lord and devoted to the humble discharge of the religious duties proper to that solemn occasion.”
Fasting before we feast is a reminder that God provides everything that we need. It reminds us of who we are and who God is. It also reminds us that as we hunger physically, we also hunger spiritually. And when we repent, we are promised forgiveness. Not any ordinary forgiveness, but a complete pardon from our sins and the payment they require. Now that draws us to our knees in Thanksgiving. God has fully provided for us in Christ!
This is why our hope is not in government or elected officials or even in a grateful attitude. But, instead, our hope is firmly in Christ alone.
Mark your calendar on Thursday, November 21, the week before Thanksgiving. Whether in your car, home, classroom, or office, let us repent and seek God on behalf of yourself and our nation
Click here to view the double-sided informational flyer. Feel free to print and distribute liberally.
Blessings to you and yours during this Thanksgiving season.
Debbie Leininger
State Director
CWA of Illinois