Testimonies from "Return to Me"
Praise God for the way that He moved His people to seek Him during “Return to Me,” 14 days of repentance, prayer, and fasting, August 16-29, 2021. Even though extended fasts involve sacrifice, the joy of drawing close to God and having Him draw near to us is well worth it.
CU Day and Night was able to recruit nearly 4,000 Christians around the nation to join “Return to Me,” thanks to God and the generosity of CU Day and Night Cornerstone Partners.
Below are some testimonies of those who participated in “Return to Me.” Enjoy and praise God!
“I am immediately sensing the working of the Holy Spirit and hungering to be made whole again. Lord, I want your outcome in everything! I am also sensing the importance of the timing of this fast and repentance in my life and that of my family. Thank you so much for having a heart for God and to be fully His!”
–Bert from MD
“I have joined up with this and it's my fifth day today. God has been moving already in my family as one of my daughters has decided that she needs to read her Bible from cover to cover. She grew up in church, but has not had a personal encounter with Him since ...until 3 days ago. God is stirring a hunger in her heart! Thank You Jesus. Do More in her heart and in her life.”
–Debra from MO
“My husband and I have been praying for God to reveal Himself to us in His fullness. Take away anything not pleasing to Him. He has done just that. Praise God! Less of me and more of Him.”
–Sonya
“During this fast the Lord has confirmed His promise to raise up and restore.
This is a particular scripture that has been on my heart-The Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in. Isaiah 58:11-12”
–Sheri from RI
“Thanks for heading this up--very worthwhile and much appreciated! … I prayed last week for a friend who happens to be an old Harvard graduate, who has neck/spinal issues due to past injuries. He was unable to move his neck, turn his head, etc. After prayer, he said he's 100% improved! I believe God is answering prayers in a powerful way--and seeking believers who will simply pray in faith.”
–George from MA
“Thank you Chuck and thank you CU Day and Night for organizing the Fast. I contemplated for days before the start whether I should commit as I wanted to do it full out. God helped me with my decision and I cannot thank Him enough. The motivation He gave me to stick to the routine and the way He is helping me to fight the devil and the sin is amazing. Thank you again Chuck.
Father, strengthen the leadership of Christian Union to fulfill its calling to help promote national revival.”
–Hein from WA
“The sum of what this fast has been revealing to my heart can no better be summed up, but in the words of Nehemiah.
‘As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. And I said, “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father’s house have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses.’ Nehemiah 1:4–7
Throughout this fast, there has been a daily reminder from the Lord to come before him in repentance for America as well as a gentle revealing to me of all of those little sins we tend to see as inconsequential. There has been a crying out for Mercy for this nation and for Holy Spirit to bring the lost to repentance and salvation.
Thank you for bringing us all together to join in this effort to bring this nation back to God.
–Lynnie from ID
“I started fasting in July. I've been a Christian all my life, but I feel that this last year God has woken me up to see and feel the urgency of the situation around the globe and in our nation. I've been praying and seeking the Lord much more fervently than I have in the past. I'm broken hearted and angry when I see what's going on in my community, and I know God is the only answer. There is no fixing it apart from God.
I started fasting every Saturday in July. I was praying for larger needs around my community, but also for my household. The first week I fasted, God answered my prayer and my boss reversed course on requiring a return to the office, and allowed me to continue working from home. This was something I'd been praying for.
The second week, I received notice that our annual salary survey came back and I was being underpaid relative to my peers in the industry. I was going to receive an increase - 20% This is huge and I'm thrilled!
The third week, I found out that my husband is also receiving a 20% increase in his salary. His boss offered him the raise AND better hours. We're both very excited and the hours he's working allow us to use less childcare.
These answers to prayer have excited me to see what the Lord will do about the bigger issues, such as the state of the church, the salvation of friends and family, and our nation at large. I believe God answers every prayer.
I was reading about fasting and prayer when I stumbled on your website. I'm not part of Christian Union, but I decided to join you in the fast. I've been reading some of the resources from your website and am glad to know you are out there. Thank you for the work you do. The daily emails have helped me focus my prayer. In the beginning of this year, my prayers were defiant. Not defiant to God, but frustrated and appealing to God for change. It's taken a while, but my prayers are now more of repentance. We've been asleep. We're so comfortable that we've forgotten how to do the work of the ministry. The church traditionally cared for the poor, the sick, the weak. We barely do any of that anymore. The poor can go to the food banks, the sick to the hospital. We give to charities so we don't have to do the work ourselves. God help us! Show us how to meet the needs of people and love them even when all their material needs are met! Help us to remember it's about Christ and him crucified - the power of the gospel.”
–Laura from WA
“Thank you for leading the charge of holiness over the past few weeks, I can honestly say that it has awakened my heart for the Lord in greater ways, re-dug dry wells in my life, and has called me to the stature of which I should be living.
It has also impacted my ministry to students. The Lord led a student to me that was struggling with anxiety (student was in tears and distraught when I spoke with them). I was able to minister to the student and lead them in their first experience of hearing from the Holy Spirit. I believe that the prayer/fasting we’ve been engaged in helped break through the fog of anxiety and allowed the student to be ministered to directly from Holy Spirit. ... Besides this story, I believe the Lord is creating a desire of fellowship and community among CU student leaders and Penn students. I spoke with several drunk students coming from parties last night who were openly having discussions with me about the existence of God and expressing a genuine interest in knowing more about Him—the Lord is opening doors and opportunities for His word to be confirmed, as it goes forth to accomplish what it set out to do (Isa. 55:11).”
–Cory Lotspeich, Ministry Director at CU Martus (University of Pennsylvania)
“What has been driven home to me even more is an essential basis of truth of Christian growth for a church as well as for an individual: it is dependent on prayer and repentance, not program. The Afghanistan church is reportedly the fastest growing church in the world , and yet under the blistering persecution of the Taliban there could hardly be any program such as Vacation Bible School or social gatherings of any sort. Surely they have a most fervent heart-felt prayer life.
My church, sensing they are in the very early stage of decline, recently held a congregational meeting to discuss new programs to change the trend. As far as I know, there was no sustained prayer as a body seeking God’s will and repenting. Surely God’s will is always to grow His church. If there is no growth the fault lies with us. American churches in general have an anemic prayer life for the assembled body.”
–Phyllis from OR
"Through this season of fasting and prayer the Lord has shown me the offense of my sin, my sinful heart and the cost of my complacency and duplicity. I am staggered by these truths.God is holy: God is not satisfied with my "fire insurance" heart toward salvation and obedience to his Word. The hope of eternity, the hope for our nation and for the world is that God will be honored and obeyed and that I will turn from my sin, that I will pray and that I will be faithful to speak the truth to others in love. So much more and I thank you for the invitation."
–Chris from MT
“I wanted to give you an update on my fasting. It has been challenging for me and it is still challenging for me but God has blessed me with new love. I can testify to that. I am praying that God will deliver me and free me from all things that are not of him. Thank you"
–Nicole
“I thank God for His grace. For the first time in my life I have had a fast without a headache and I thank God for that. I also had a bad cough but as the days went by I was healed and I thank God for that. By God’s grace I read all the emails and am still on page 15 [of the Seeking God Lifestyle manual]. I have also listened to the video you sent and I thank God for that. One thing that is coming out clearly is that I do not know God the way I should and I am asking God to be merciful to me. The video on desperate prayer was an eye opener to me. Lastly but not least I thank God for connecting me with your ministry.”
–Dora