Matthew 6:5–18; Isaiah 58:1–10; James 5:16
Why do so many of us want change but give up when it gets hard? Opening Elan's 21 days of prayer and fasting, Pastor Juliet Lyons draws on her years in sports rehab to show that lasting change requires a compelling why. Through Matthew 6 and Isaiah 58 she reframes prayer and fasting as kingdom-centered partnership with God rather than a self-focused routine, and calls the church into a year of spiritual momentum.
Key takeaways
- The power to change is found in knowing why you need to change; without a compelling purpose, the first hard day will knock you out of the fight.
- Change follows a pattern of deciding, acting, letting actions mature, and waiting for results that often compound over time rather than arriving overnight.
- Jesus said to pray like this, not to pray this; the Lord's Prayer is a model that keeps our prayers from becoming self-focused emotional rants.
- Every pronoun in the Lord's Prayer is plural, and Isaiah 58 defines true fasting as loosing chains of injustice and caring for others; prayer and fasting are about the we, not just the me.
- God is building momentum in his church in 2026, and he is looking for disciples who will seek his kingdom first and partner with him for eternity.
Message notes
Blessing on the other side of change
Pastor Juliet opens the new year and Elan's season of 21 days of prayer and fasting by remembering her early twenties working in sports rehab. Patients wanted healing, but many were not willing to go through the pain of rehabilitation because their why was not strong enough. She saw three kinds of people: victims paralyzed by self-pity, blamers who were too proud to own their part, and workers who were purpose driven and for whom failure was not an option. In the age of information overload we all know what to do; what we lack is a purpose strong enough to get us up on unmotivated mornings.
Decide, act, mature, result
Using a simple image, Pastor Juliet describes four steps to change: we decide, we act, our actions need time to mature, and then results come, often in a trickle or in compounding effects over time. Some people stop at thinking about it, some quit after one attempt, and some grow impatient for results. The same is true of fasting and prayer. She recommends Richard Foster's Celebration of Discipline for those who struggle with spiritual disciplines and Simon Sinek's Start with Why for those who struggle with purpose.
A year of momentum
Pastor Juliet shares her conviction that 2026 will be a year of momentum, not just for individuals but for the whole church. God is raising up passionate disciples and calling younger people to shape their generation with truth because Jesus is coming back. "There is so much more at stake than we know." The change we want to see will require discipline, and that discipline starts in the spirit realm.
Pray like this: the model prayer in Matthew 6
Reading Matthew 6:5–18, Pastor Juliet notes that Jesus does not say pray this but pray like this. The Lord's Prayer is a template, not a recitation, so our prayers do not become freestyled emotional rants. Each element should be found in our praying: hallow God's name and know who you are talking to before you open your mouth; pray God's kingdom and will into every part of society your life touches, from your workplace to your children's school to the nations; ask for daily bread as people completely dependent on God; constantly confess sin and keep forgiving; and pray for strength to endure temptation and for protection from the curse of sin. Only one line is about our own needs, and every pronoun is plural.
The fast God has chosen: Isaiah 58
In Isaiah 58 the people fast and ask why God has not noticed, while their fasting ends in quarreling and exploiting their workers. God answers that the fast he has chosen is to loose the chains of injustice, set the oppressed free, share food with the hungry, shelter the poor, and clothe the naked. Then comes the promise: your light will break forth like the dawn, your healing will quickly appear, and when you call, the Lord will say, "Here I am." Fasting, according to Isaiah, is not entirely about you or me; it is about the we.
Praying the kingdom
Pastor Juliet challenges the church to pray prayers God can really use. Imagine if the whole church prayed to obliterate the sex industry or to dismantle drug trafficking rings. God has given his people authority, but too often we are busy asking for a raise while someone nearby has been abused for twenty years. Like a pregnant woman who changes how she lives because another life is affected, the church must realize that everything we do affects the person beside us. From Moses and Esther to Daniel, Anna, and the leaders in Acts, Scripture shows people praying and fasting for nations, guidance, deliverance, and the sending of leaders.
Prayer and fasting just got real
The compelling why that keeps us in the midnight hour, when we are hungry and want to quit, is eternity. People are headed to heaven and to hell, and the church has been given the opportunity to partner with God so that more people enter his kingdom. Pastor Juliet closes by praying for those still deciding whether to fast, those who tried before and felt it did not work, and those who have prayed for years without breakthrough, asking that this season be far more than an answer to one small question and instead a joining in the wave God is building for his kingdom.
