If you are already in the text system you are done. If not, you will be asked to fill out a short form with basic information. Throughout our journey you can expect daily devotionals sent via text message each morning.
We will be fasting together for 14 days, from January 15th through the 28th. We encourage you to fast however you choose on the weekdays and worship with us on the weekends. We will “break the fast” together during our church services on January 28th, "Belief Sunday."
Fasting in a Biblical sense is abstaining from something, typically food, to help create an added awareness of our weakness and our need for God's strength. When we desire the thing we are fasting from (have a hunger pang, for example) it is a reminder to pray and seek God. Fasting brings us to a new level of spiritual development and renews our perspective.
Your personal fast is between you and God, and it is important to seek Him in prayer, know your body and health, and follow what the Holy Spirit leads you to do.
Your personal fast should present a level of challenge, but it is very important to know your body, your options, and most importantly, to seek God in prayer and follow what the Holy Spirit leads you to do.
In this type of fast, you drink only liquids, typically water with light juices as an option.
This type of fast involves removing certain elements from your diet. One example of a selective fast is the Daniel Fast, during which you remove meat, sweets and bread from your diet and consume water and juice for fluids and, fruits and vegetables for food.
This fast is sometimes called the “Jewish Fast” and involves abstaining from eating any type of food in the morning and afternoon. This can either correlate to specific times of the day, such as 6:00 am to 3:00 pm, or from sunup to sundown.
This fast is a great option if you do not have much experience fasting food, have health issues that prevent you from fasting food, or if you wish to refocus certain areas of your life that are out of balance. For example, you might choose to stop using social media or watching television for the duration of the fast and then carefully bring that element back into your life in healthy doses at the conclusion of the fast.
Matthew 6:16-18
Matthew 9:14-15
Luke 18:9-14
Acts 27:33-37
Nehemiah 9:1-3
Learn more about fasting by downloading the fasting guide. This short booklet will be VERY helpful for your fast.
As you prepare for this fast, it can be tempting to start thinking of a laundry list of prayers you’d love to see answered. But we really want to encourage you to keep this simple.
Think about the top two things most pressing on your heart and zone in on those with God. Be open to hearing what God wants to show you in those areas. The breakthroughs, miracles, and answers to your prayers will be by-products of drawing closer to Jesus.
When praying, make your primary goal to know Jesus more and experience Him. Pray prayers of total surrender, and aim to glorify God with your life. Focus first on what’s right about Him, such as his goodness and His greatness, and see everything else through that filter.
Most important of all take time to pray daily. Don’t overcomplicate this! Just talk to God. Have that place and time where you can seek Him every day. If you don’t plan to pray, you won’t.
Learn more about prayer now by downloading and reading through this short book:
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