Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. — Ephesians 6:11
October is our month of prayer and fasting as a church, and I want to open it with plain truth: the battles many of us face are not won in the boardroom or the doctor's office alone. There is a spiritual dimension to every struggle, and prayer is our access to the power that overcomes. That is not mysticism — it is scripture. Ephesians 6 does not suggest we might face opposition. It assumes we will, and tells us exactly how to stand.
Fasting is not a hunger strike directed at God. It is a declaration that our spirit has a greater appetite than our body. When we fast, we are saying: there is something more important right now than comfort and convenience, and I am willing to feel that in my body so that my spirit can rise to meet it. Throughout scripture, the people who saw the greatest breakthroughs were those who coupled their prayers with fasting. The discipline is not glamorous, but it is powerful.
I am asking us to pray with specificity. Not vague requests for "blessing," but targeted intercession: for our families by name, for our city's lost by name, for our nation's leaders by name. Name what you are asking for. Write it down. Pray it daily through October. Then watch. God responds to faith expressed with clarity and persistence. Jesus taught us to ask, seek, and knock — all three are actions, not postures. This month, let us be the church that stands in the gap.
I am standing with you in prayer this month. You are not praying alone — and the God who hears is the God who acts.