WHY SHOULD WE FAST?
Fasting is a true matter of the heart that we express in the physical way of abstaining from food. Jesus has three things that He expects of us as His followers: pray, give, and fast. The common theme and call are found in our motivation, as we are to live our lives sacrificially and humbly before God.
We fast to see true breakthrough in our lives because, as we see in scripture, some things will never happen without prayer and fasting (Matt. 17:21). Though we know we cannot manipulate the heart of God, the very act of fasting is a testament that we acknowledge we cannot do anything apart from God. We need His sovereign touch to heal, to mend, to undo, or even resurrect.
WHAT IS A FAST AND HOW SHOULD YOU DO IT?
The word “fasting” simply means: abstaining from food.
Some examples we see in scripture would be in Esther 1:6, where she and the Jews were to fast from food and drink for three days and Daniel 10:3, when Daniel fasted from specific foods like meat and wine, only to eat things like vegetables and drink water. In our world today, we hear other uses of the word, such as when people go on a social media fast. However, the true definition of the word fast, as we mentioned earlier, refers to abstaining from food.
While other ideas of fasting have their merit, abstaining from food is what we are asking you to do. A fast from food can be done in one of three ways:
- Abstain from food & partake in a liquid only diet
- Fast from sun up to sun down
- Choose one meal each day to fast from
We do recognize that some may have a medical reason that would keep you from abstaining from all foods. If that is you, we encourage you to partake in the Daniel fast and omit a few particular items from your menu.
It’s important to note that fasting without prayer neglects the true purpose of why we are fasting to begin with. So, we want to encourage you to use the time that you would be eating and spend it in prayer and/or going through our provided devotional. Each time you notice your hunger, this emphasizes your need for God and reminds you of the area of your life you are asking the Lord to break through.
Remember, His ways are above our ways and this is an act of obedience and surrender to His ultimate plan.
