What is Fasting?

"The voluntary denial of an otherwise normal function for the sake of intense spiritual activity." - Richard Foster

Fasting is not merely going without food for a period of time; that’s dieting.
Fasting is not just a physical discipline, but it can be a spiritual feast.
Fasting is not a manipulative tool to get something from God, but “. . . it is your reasonable service. . .” (Romans 12:1).
Biblical fasting is refraining from food for a spiritual purpose. All fasts in the Scriptures refer to refraining from food.
Fasting is starving your flesh and feeding your spirit (I Thes. 5:23; Matt. 6:25).
Fasting is positioning yourself and preparing your heart for what is to come. If you are willing to seek Him, He will be willing to give.
Fasting always occurs together with prayer in the Bible. You can pray without fasting, but you cannot fast without praying. When you fast, your focus is always on prayer and on God’s Word

Why Should I Fast?

In Matthew 5:18 Jesus says, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled." Extreme physical hunger and/or thirst is not something most of us have experienced because we are blessed to live in a country of plenty. All of us however have experienced moments where we have said "I'm starving." When those "I'm starving" moments come, we are willing to light the fuse and strap a stick of dynamite to pretty much any obstacle that stands between our hunger and being filled.

When we fast we are making the choice to light the fuse and strap a stick of dynamite to a "normal activity" in our lives so that we can seek God without distraction.

In Proverbs 8, God promises that if we seek Him we will find Him.

Why should you fast? Because fasting...

Is a vital part of that 3-fold chord of each Christian’s duty that Jesus outlines in Matthew 6: “When you give. . .” and “When you pray. . .” and “When you fast.”
Brings you into a deeper, more intimate and powerful relationship with the Lord.
Gives God the opportunity for a breakthrough in your life. Every example of fasting in scripture brought reward.
Prepares the way for God to give you fresh revelation, fresh vision, and clear purpose.
Helps you “spring clean” in a spiritual sense because it makes you sensitive to the desire of the Lord. Un-forgiveness, bitterness, and the like can all be linked to illnesses, fatigue, stress, and more.
Helps you separate what you want from what you need. It causes you to focus on those things that really matter.
Can help you tear down the "high places" and "idols" in your life.
Makes you more sensitive to the voice of God, thus, becoming more effective under the leading of His Holy Spirit.
Helps you establish dominion and authority over your flesh. Selfish ambition and pride will be affected and removed from you for greater effectiveness in your life for Him.
Releases the anointing, the favor, and the blessing of God in your life.

The Lord will guide you continually. Though the path before you may be obscure, when you fast and pray in faith, God will reward you and guide you. “Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it’” (Isaiah 30:21).

“You shall raise up the foundations of many generations” (Isaiah 58:12). When you fast, you begin to lay a spiritual foundation that not only affects your life, but it will affect the generations to come after you.

Preparing for your Fast.

STEP 1 >> SET A GOAL(S) FOR YOUR FAST

Here are a few questions to help you get started in defining a personal goal(s):

Is there a characteristic of God that I want to learn more about?
Is there something about myself that I want God to show me?
Is there a need I want God to meet?
What decision do I need God to provide clarity about?
What dream do I have that I need God to provide clear direction for?

STEP 2 >> PICK A TYPE OF FAST

HOW you fast is far less important than WHY you are fasting and WHO your fast is about!

Here are four types of fasting that we recommend: (click each to learn more)

STEP 3 >> MAKE A PLAN

The EFFORT and SACRIFICE you put into your plan will determine the GROWTH you get from it!

Have some conversations before your fast begins

If you have children, invite them to give input about what they might want to fast from and help them set a goal(s)
Talk with your family, especially your children, about what you are fasting from so that they will understand why meals, evening schedules, etc. are going to be different
Talk with a trusted friend about your fasting goals and what you are fasting from so that they can encourage and support you during your fast

Daniel Fast & The THREE

Meal planning is vital to your success!
With your meal plan in hand - heading to the grocery store before the fast begins will help position you for success from day 1
Refer to the "Daniel Fast" for help with meal planning

Full Fast

Make a plan for how you are going to invest the time you would spend eating meals - such as...
In place of breakfast - Dig deep into God's Word
In place of Lunch - Spend an hour in prayer
In place of Dinner - Journal about what you learned during the day & spend time in the Word & Prayer

Full Media Fast & The THREE

Make a plan for how you are going to invest the time you would normally spend on social media, internet, TV, etc... - such as...
Dig deep into God's Word in place of TV time
Stop and pray every time you would normally hop on social media
Spend some quality time with family or friends in place of TV or internet time

STEP 4 >> PREPARE FOR DIFFICULTIES

Any time that we make sacrifices to seek greater intimacy with Christ, we can expect there to be difficulties along the way.

The best time to PREPARE for difficulties is BEFORE you ENCOUNTER them.

It is likely that during your fast you will experience...

Physical Difficulties
Spiritual Difficulties
Spiritual Attack from the enemy

LEARN MORE about how to prepare for difficulties.