Fasting?

You are right at the beginning of your 21 days of prayer and fasting. You are joining hundreds of other churches and tens of thousands of other Christians at the same time, all focused on the same thing; hunger for God. When God’s people unite breakthroughs follow.

Over the next few weeks you participation can take various forms. As a church we are fasting on two days of the week, Wednesdays and Friday’s. We are highlighting those days with Bible study on Wednesday night and a prayer/worship service on Friday night.

Here a few tips on how you can fast, first your length is voluntary. You can fast for one day, two, three, seven or the full twenty-one days. Second there are three types of fasts you can engage in.

1. The Normal Fast (This is where you restrict food from sun up to sun down)
2. The Partial Fast (This is where you restrict a part of your diet for the length of your fast)
3. The Radical Fast (This is where you refrain from all foods and most liquids for the entire length of your fast)

Fasting should always be incorporated with prayer, Bible Study and worship. The Greek word for fasting is “nesteia” -- the basic root meaning of the word simply means "not to eat." But Leviticus 16:29 gives us some insight into the Hebrew mindset. They viewed the “afflicting of one’s body” as synonymous with “afflicting one’s soul”.

In other words, fasting in the Hebrew mind is something my soul participates in. So it’s not just a physical effort, it is primarily spiritual. Fasting is much more than denying oneself of food. Much more!

Fasting is denying one’s whole self. It is denying not only my own body, but also my own wants.
It is a way of saying that food and my desires are secondary to something else. So make sure to replace what you leave out with more of God, not more of this world.

I encourage you all to seek God more! During our season of 21 days, don’t be satisfied with what you already know. Spend some quality time with your LORD, use your fasting time to in a way, “go on a date with Him.”

“I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 7:35)