Slideshow image

FOLLOW ME:
21 Days of Prayer for a Disciple-Making District - NWIL
Prayer Challenge – March 1 – 22, 2026
WEEK THREE: THE CALL TO JOIN THE MISSION OF JESUS

Day 15 — FISHERS OF MEN

Scripture: Matthew 4:19 — “...and I will send you out to fish for people.”

Today’s Devotional: Jesus did not call His disciples to safety, comfort, or religious activity; He called them to mission. To follow Jesus is to eventually end up where the "lost sheep" are. A disciple who is not a witness is a contradiction. Fishing requires patience, the right "bait" (the kindness and truth of the Gospel), and a willingness to get our hands messy. Our district is surrounded by people who are spiritually hungry and longing for hope. To be a disciple is to make disciples. Today, Jesus is still calling: “Follow Me into the harvest.”

Response & Prayer Guide:

  • For Your Heart: Ask God: "Who is my 'fish'? Who in my life needs the hook of Your love?"
  • For Our District: Pray for a "Holy Discomfort" to settle over our churches—that we would no longer be satisfied with just "doing church" for ourselves.

Church Prayer List:

  • Pekin First – Pastor Lauren Smith
  • Peoria Nazarene – Pastor Mark McCall
  • Streator – Pastor Dave Van Houwe

The Challenge & Next Steps:

  1. Vision: Take a walk in your neighborhood today. Pray for the houses you pass: "Lord, let someone here come to know You."
  2. Action: Pray for one person in your life who needs Jesus. Ask God to open a door for a conversation this week.
  3. Worship: Listen to "Build Your Kingdom Here" by Rend Collective. Ask the Lord to build His kingdom here – in you, in your Church, in your community.
  4. Pray Boldly for the Church of the Nazarene, that we will be a disciple making denomination in every Church – MAKING CHRISTLIKE DISCIPLES IN THE NATIONS!

PRAYER: Master, You have called us out of our comfort zones and into the harvest fields where the lost sheep are wandering. Give us a "holy discomfort" with simply "doing church" for ourselves and ignite in us a passion for the souls in our own neighborhoods. Grant us the patience and the kindness to be effective fishers of men, willing to get our hands messy for the sake of the Gospel.