Day 22 – And Beyond
Carrying the Fire Forward
“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”
We have reached the end of our 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting, but we have not reached the end of what God wants to do. The Bible does not say, "Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, once had a good January and then relaxed." It says, "continue to live your lives in him."
The word "continue" is essential. These 21 days have been a holy push, a reset, but they are also a doorway into a way of life.
You have fasted. You have prayed. You have repented. You have stood in the gap for your family, ANCC, Britain, and the nations. You have declared, "I see a church…" again and again. Some of you have felt obvious breakthroughs. Others have felt mainly weak, hungry, and aware of your own need. Both are valuable. God honours the seeking heart, not just the dramatic moment.
Now comes the real test. What will you do next?
Rooted, Built Up, Overflowing
Paul gives us three pictures in Colossians 2:
Rooted in Him: Like a tree, your roots need to keep going deeper into Jesus. That happens through the Word, prayer, obedience, and staying planted in the life of the church.
Built up in Him: This is a construction picture. God is building something in you. These 21 days have been like laying fresh foundations and putting up new scaffolding. Do not walk off the building site now.
Overflowing with thankfulness: Gratitude keeps your heart soft. It reminds you that all of this is grace.
Revival is not just a season we pass through. It is meant to become the climate of our hearts. Authors like Tozer and Ravenhill often warned that many people love the idea of revival more than the daily cost of walking with God. Revival is sustained not only by big meetings, but by ordinary believers who keep saying yes to Jesus when no one is watching.
Carrying It Forward: Staying Awake After the Fast
Here are some simple ways to live out "Day 22 and beyond":
1. Keep the altar of prayer burning Set a realistic daily time with God that you can actually keep. It might be first thing in the morning, lunchtime in your car, or late evening once the house is quiet. Guard it. Treat it as an appointment with the King, not an optional extra.
2. Keep a fasting lifestyle You may not be in a full 21-day fast, but you can build regular fasting into your life. Consider fasting one meal a week, or one day a month, or setting aside special fasts when you face big decisions or battles.
3. Stay in the Word Do not close your Bible now that the booklet is finished. Choose a reading plan, a Gospel, or a New Testament letter and work through it slowly. Ask the Holy Spirit to keep washing you in the Word, just as we read about the Bride being cleansed by the washing of the Word.
4. Stay plugged into the family Revival does not grow well in isolation. Stay planted in the ANCC family. Commit to Sunday gatherings, Life Groups, prayer meetings, and serving somewhere. We are a church where everyone is inspired to connect, grow, and use their God-given potential. Staying connected will help you keep going.
5. Keep declaring “I see a church…” Do not drop the declaration now. Use it privately in your prayer time. Use it with your family. Pray it over ANCC and over our future. Let it shape how you speak about our church. Speak life. Speak faith. Speak in line with what God has shown us.
6. Make room for testimony Take time to write down what God has done in you during these 21 days, even if it feels small. Share your story with someone. It might encourage them more than you realise. Testimony is part of the "sound" of revival.
New: Monthly Testimony Service
Starting next year, we will introduce a new monthly testimony segment on the last Sunday of each month. This will be a regular space in our Sunday gatherings to hear what God is doing among us: salvations, healings, restored relationships, provision, freedom from addiction, breakthroughs in mental health, fresh encounters with the Holy Spirit, and answered prayers in everyday life.
My heart is that this will not be a "filler" slot, but a worship moment, a "refuge and restoration" moment, and a faith-building moment. When you hear someone else share, you realise, "If God did it for them, He can do it for me."
So, I want to encourage you:
Start keeping a simple record of what God is doing in your life.
Be ready to share, whether on a microphone or in a smaller setting.
Pray about which testimony you might bring to one of those last Sundays.
When Normal Life Returns
You may already feel the pull of "normal life" returning. Work, school runs, emails, deadlines, and chores. Do not be surprised if there is spiritual resistance in the days after the fast. Often, the enemy tries to steal the seeds God has just planted.
When that happens:
Do not panic and think the fast "did not work." Seeds take time. Roots grow underground.
Do not swing to the other extreme and give yourself permission to drift. Instead, keep one or two key commitments from these 21 days and protect them.
Remember, holiness, hunger, and prayer are still your call even when life feels busy and ordinary.
If you fall, get back up quickly. If you miss a day or a week of prayer, do not stay in shame. Return to the Lord with all your heart. These 21 days have not been about proving how strong you are, but about discovering again how gracious and faithful He is.
A Final Pastoral Blessing
As your pastor, I want to say this from my heart: I am proud of you. I am grateful for you. I am expectant for what God will do in and through you.
I see a church hungry for God and righteousness. I see a church that provides a place of refuge and restoration. I see a church that never stops searching for lost people, because God never stopped searching for us. I see a church so full of the presence of God that it cannot help but overflow into families, streets, schools, workplaces, Britain, and the nations.
My prayer is that what God has begun in you during these 21 days will grow, deepen, and multiply. That your personal walk with Jesus will become more real and steady. That our life together as ANCC will become more united, more prayerful, more holy, more hungry, and more fruitful.
Final Prayer
You might want to pray this out loud today, and come back to it in the weeks ahead:
Lord Jesus, thank You for all You have done in these 21 days of prayer and fasting. I give myself to You again. Let the hunger You have stirred in me not fade away.
Help me to keep the altar of prayer burning, to stay rooted in Your Word, to walk in holiness, and to remain planted in the ANCC family. Use my life to make Jesus known in my home, my workplace, my community, and the nations. Let what You have started in me continue and increase. Let what You have started in ANCC become a movement that touches many. For Your glory alone. Amen.
And now we step forward together.