Scriptures to pray through a twenty-one day consecration

People who set aside twenty-one days for prayer and fasting usually want something to read as well as something to pray, and the most common question asked at the start is simply which passages to use. What follows are the ones that come up most often, grouped by what they are about.

They are deliberately not laid out as a day-by-day plan. Twenty-one numbered assignments turn a season of prayer into a checklist and make a missed day feel like a failure. Themes let a person stay somewhere as long as it is useful. If you have not come across the practice before, there is a separate explainer on what consecration fasting is.

Focus

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Hebrews 13:8

Alongside it: Psalm 27 verse 4, Colossians 3 verses 1 to 3, Isaiah 26 verse 3, and Hebrews 12 verses 1 to 2. Hebrews 13 verse 8 has been the church's own stated theme for a consecration season, and it is a common anchor because it sets the subject before anything is asked for.

Surrender

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

Psalm 51:10

With it: Romans 12 verses 1 to 2, Psalm 139 verses 23 to 24, Galatians 2 verse 20, and James 4 verses 7 to 10. Psalm 51 in full is the passage people return to most in this group.

Provision

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19

With it: Matthew 6 verses 25 to 34, Psalm 23, Malachi 3 verse 10, and Proverbs 3 verses 5 to 6. This group tends to carry the most weight for people fasting through a difficult stretch financially.

Family and household

But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.

Joshua 24:15

With it: Deuteronomy 6 verses 4 to 9, Psalm 127, Ephesians 6 verses 1 to 4, and 3 John verse 4. Prayer for children and grandchildren is one of the most common reasons people give for keeping a consecration at all.

The city and those in authority

Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.

Jeremiah 29:7

With it: 1 Timothy 2 verses 1 to 4, 2 Chronicles 7 verse 14, and Psalm 122 verses 6 to 9. Schools, local government, neighbourhoods and the wider work of the church are the usual subjects here, and they are the ones Solid Rock has named in its own prayer focuses.

Perseverance

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Galatians 6:9

With it: Isaiah 40 verses 28 to 31, Psalm 34 verses 17 to 19, and 2 Corinthians 4 verses 16 to 18. Most people find the middle week the hard one, which is what this group is for.

Using it with a church

A consecration is usually easier alongside other people doing the same thing. Solid Rock runs one at the start of the year with a shared theme and published prayer focuses, and the church calendar carries the dates. The connect page reaches a person if you would like someone praying with you.

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