WHEN
Our 7 day fast will begin on Monday, January 27th, and end on Sunday, February 2nd. We are encouraging everyone that is physically able to join us on this fasting journey.
The church will be open for prayer on Tuesday (1/28), Thursday (1/30) from 6:00-7:00AM and and Saturday (2/1) from 7:00-8:00AM. There will be a time of special focused prayer for your family, our ministries, for miracles and breakthroughs during the Wednesday (1/29) evening service.
HOW
Over these 7 days, we invite you to participate in abstaining from food and drinking water only. You might choose to fast one meal per day or select one of the seven days to completely fast. Whichever you choose, during your typical meal times, take time to pray and seek after God.
WHY
Fasting is not just about getting from God, but getting to God. While fasting is choosing to go without food, we also encourage to abstain from certain other things during the fasting period such as social media, tv, and other time-consuming things that take your attention away from God.
Reasons Why We Fast
We fast to starve the flesh and feed the spirit. Galatians 5:16-17 says, "So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want."
As we enter a new year, we want to submit our hearts, minds, and bodies to God. We want His leading and His guidance more than anything else. When we fast, we are sanctifying [separating] the Lord in our hearts (1 Peter 3:15). By doing this, we are elevating Christ above all else in our hearts. We stop focusing on what we need, what we want, what we like. We stop looking at ourselves and focus on Him.
Matthew 6:33 says, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”
We fast because it challenges us to take a close look at the condition of our hearts. God doesn’t see what others see. He sees and evaluates you according to the condition of your heart. This doesn't mean that external issues don't matter (like our actions, attitude, etc), but our flesh can put on a facade.
Samuel the prophet was told by God, when seeking to anoint a king for Israel: “When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the LORD’s anointed!” But the LORD said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (Samuel 16:6-7)
Fasting allows us to start the new year with a close examination of our mindsets, feelings, emotions, habits, and behaviors that limit God’s ability to move freely in our lives. Fasting helps us identify what we need to repent of and turn away from.
Types of Fasts
COMPLETE FAST: This type of fasting is abstaining from all food and drinking water-only.
PARTIAL FAST: This type of fast involves abstaining from food for a portion of the day (from sunup to sundown, for example).
SELECTIVE FAST: This type of fast involves removing certain elements from your diet. For example, some do what is called the "Daniel Fast" where you remove meat, bread, and sweets from your diet.
ADDITIONAL FASTING: To help reset and/or detox your mind and soul, in addition to abstaining from food, you may want to consider pausing your social media usage and watching tv. The time this frees up can be spent between reading the Bible, praying, with family, and discovering what can be accomplished when refocused.
