WHY WE FAST
The goal of fasting is to draw near to God.
Fasting is a spiritual discipline that is taught in the Bible. Jesus expected His followers to fast, and He said that God rewards fasting. Fasting, according to the Bible, means to voluntarily reduce or eliminate your intake of food for a specific time and purpose.
There are many good reasons, and even health benefits, for fasting.
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Fasting gives you more time for prayer. You can use the time you'd normally spend eating as time in prayer for what God wants to do among us during this Campaign. In the Bible, fasting is always connected with prayer.
"While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said,
'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.'
So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off." - Acts 13:2-3 (NIV)
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Fasting demonstrates the depth of your desire when praying for something. It shows that you are serious enough about your prayer request to pay a personal price. God honors deep desire and praying in faith.
"Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in
the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord.” Joel 1:14 (NIV)
"Even now," declares the Lord, "return to Me with all your heart,
with fasting and weeping and mourning." Joel 2:12 (NASB)
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Fasting releases God's supernatural power. It is a tool we can use when there is opposition to God's will. Satan would like nothing better than to cause division, discouragement, defeat, depression, and doubt among us. United prayer and fasting has always been used by God to deal a decisive blow to the enemy!
"So we fasted and prayed about these concerns. And he listened." Ezra 8:23 (Msg)
"God says, "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?" Isaiah 58:6 (NIV)
Types of Fasts
Complete Fast
In this type of fast, you drink only liquids, typically water with light juices as an option.
TV/Social Media Fast
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.
Partial Fast
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.
Selective Fast
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.
TWO CAUTIONS
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Remember that fasting is not "earning" an answer to prayer. God cannot be blackmailed by human effort. God wants to answer our prayers and He answers out of grace. Fasting simply prepares us for God's answer.
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Fast only if your health allows it at this time. If you are able to do only a partial fast - do it in faith and God will honor your intentions.
The key is not to get caught up in the legalism of the fast, but in the sincerity of making room for God to be experienced in your life and life of others!