Join us, as we pray for specific daily focuses for the next 21 days.

We believe there is nothing too big or small for our God. Let us know how we can pray and or celebrate with you.

Fasting enables us to celebrate the goodness and mercy of God. It prepares our hearts for all the good things God desires to bring into our lives. When deciding on a fast, we encourage you to seek God in prayer and follow what the Holy Spirit leads you to do.

The Hebrew word for fasting is tsum, which means to abstain from food, while the Greek word for fasting is Nesteuo, which means to abstain from food or drink. In both the Old and New Testaments, fasting was a deliberate, outward act which demonstrated utter dependence on God. Fasting is a willful and intentional denial of an otherwise normal function (eating food) for the sake of fervent spiritual activity. To fast is to abstain from something in the physical realm in order to allow the spiritual to rise up and to be focused on in its place. Fasting is a hunger for God expressed in a willingness to deny hunger for food and, in so doing, a greater platform arises from which God can move in you and through you. There are also many wrong secular views of fasting which have seeped into the church. Some view fasting as a diet, or a detox, or others as a form of self-punishment or simply a religious box to check. In a spiritual sense, fasting is none of these things. Fasting is also not a tool to simply get what you want (Isa 58:3) or a way to earn Gods favor or blessing. When we see fasting accurately the same way God sees it, then it can become a healthy discipline and tool in our spiritual growth.

The first reason you should participate in fasting is because Jesus assumed Christians would fast (Matt 6:16) and he taught that there was special power in the discipline of fasting. (Matt 17:21) The early church regularly spent time fasting in order to focus on prayer and more deeply on things related to the spiritual as opposed to the physical. Fasting was also something the prophets of the Old Testament taught (Joel 2:12, Nehemiah 1:4). It was something Jesus himself did (Matt 4), the early church did (Luke 2:37), and something that Jesus expected and attached significant power to. You should fast because fasting is like a battering ram in that it brings spiritual power through a deeper connection with Jesus to the issues or circumstances in your life which require a greater level of spiritual connection to God in order to overcome. (Matt 17:21) In fasting, you make more of a way/avenue/platform by which God makes things happen that He wants to happen.

Fasting is not reserved for only a select few. It is not a higher level of christianity that you cannot participate in until you have reached a certain level of maturity. All Christians can fast just as all Christians can engage in all spiritual disciplines. Christians should especially consider fasting when they have a heightened sense of their need for God and His intervention in their lives. All you need to begin fasting is to be a Christian, and have a basic understanding of how to fast in a healthy way, and what the purpose of fasting is. (Acts 13:2) If you are thinking about fasting or wondering if possibly it could be a next step for you, then perhaps that is the urging of the Holy Spirit who is placing this spiritual discipline on your heart and mind as an indication of your next step.

Don't put it off. Start as soon as you feel the Holy Spirit put it on your heart. Resource yourself on the topic, but don't allow that resourcing to prevent you from ever starting. You do not need to become an expert on fasting before you participate. A person who is physically hungry will not hesitate in finding food, but often people can be spiritually starved and not bat an eye. To fast is to reverse this and quiet the physical so that we can have urgency in feeding ourselves spiritually through prayer, deeper study of his word and daily meditation on God. Here are five reasons and examples given in scripture for when to fast. 1. Repentance (1 Kings 21:27) 2. Sorrow (1 Samuel 31:13) 3. The Point of Decision (Acts 14:23) 4. Protection or Deliverance (Judges 20:26). 5. Direction & Guidance (Exodus 34:28).

There are many options: from fasting one meal to fasting 40 days. We see examples of many types in scripture. Sometimes health issues will dictate this. Other times logistical/schedule issues will dictate this. And yet other times, experience in fasting may dictate this. Someone who has never fasted might want to just fast one meal or one day to start. Always, the length of the fast is determined by maintaining the proper understanding, attitude, and motive for any individual fast regardless of its length; that is, “I want more of God. We also need to understand dangers associated to fasting in the wrong way. There should be no absolute fasts (food and water) for more than 3-4 days as the body cannot function without water for longer than that. Normal fasts of more than 3-4 days should be broken slowly so as not to “clog up the system” (it takes a little while for the digestive system to rev up again). There is also 21-40 day danger, and you need know that you must break the fast immediately when you begin to feel the pain of physical hunger (not psychological hunger). The main focus of fasting is not so much on what is given up, but what is allowed to rise up in its place. We are intentionally quieting the physical hunger within us so that the spiritual hunger can rise up and come to the forefront of our mind. You will need to decide what that fast looks like and for how long it should continue in a way that is both spiritually and physically healthy.