Fasting Focus :: Week Six of Lent :: The Tomb & Beyond

Time

The Gospels are the narrative of the Eternal God stepping into time and space in the Person of Jesus Christ.  This week, we will be reflecting on the time Jesus was in the Tomb.

We will be fasting time this week. Get up a half-hour or an hour earlier to read the Bible and pray.  Spend your time serving others rather than indulging yourself.  Make it a goal to bless someone through your words or actions daily.  Give someone the gift of your listening ear.

Resist the urge to share your troubles, but instead, focus on bearing someone else’s burdens.  Commit to a specific task to help someone. Perhaps help a friend move or paint, serve the poor, or stop to help a stranger, especially if you are in a hurry to get somewhere.

Keep journal entries of what it is like to spend your time on others.

Fasting Focus :: Week Five of Lent :: The Disciple's Responses

Fifth Week of Lent

The Disciples’ Responses

Social Media and Internet

This week, we will be exploring how the disciples responded to the events that surrounded Jesus’ death.  Though they made bold claims to never deny Him, in the heat of the moment there were many other things clamoring for preeminence in their hearts.

We are surrounded by noise.  Everything is saying, “Look over here,” or “Listen to this,” or “This is what you need.”  These voices, even though they may not be inherently evil, often have the ability to distract us, even numb our hearts and cause our bold declarations of dependence and trust in Christ to become diminished.  We will be fasting all forms of social networking media and Internet this week.  Turn off Twitter, FaceBook, blogs, and news.  Deal with work emails and nothing else.  Put a Lent, Out-of-Office, reply on your personal email, letting people know you will get back to them next week.

Keep journal entries of what it is like to unplug and disconnect.  Do you feel disconnected, or do you feel free?

Instead of spending time connecting with others, use that time to bond with Christ and others to advance His Kingdom here on Earth.

Fasting Focus :: Week Four of Lent :: Nailed

Food and Meals

Jesus is the ultimate example of what it looks like to abandon our will to the will of the Father. We have seen this in various degrees at each stop along the path of Christ’s journey. Abandonment always requires surrender. So, this week, as we reflect on what it was like for Christ to be nailed to the cross, we will physically be practicing abandonment and surrender by fasting food.

Pick either a type of food (like meat or carbs or even “solids”) and fast from them for the week. Or alternately, pick a meal (like breakfast or lunch) to skip on a daily basis. If you skip meals, spend that time you would have spent preparing and eating food in doing something like prayer, reading Scripture or serving others. Perhaps take these blocks of time and find a way to bless someone, even if it’s just time spent listening to them.

Keep journal entries of what it’s like to go hungry, even if it’s just for one meal. What has it been like to begin to assert some mastery over your body these past two weeks? How does your body/mind respond to that?

If you forgo a whole category of food, consider: 

 • What is it like to deny a craving? Is it easy or hard?
 • How does that craving grow the more you deny it?
 • Does it eventually become easier? Why?

Fasting Focus :: Week Three of Lent :: Embracing the Cross

Third Week of Lent

Embracing the Cross

Sweets, Treats, and Self Indulgence

Jesus said, “Deny yourself, take your cross daily and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23) As a fasting discipline for this week, resolve to spend nothing on yourself except that which is absolutely necessary.  Such a form of fasting quickly reveals from where we draw our source of life.  This will be an appropriate focus for fasting as we reflect on Jesus’ taking up His cross.

This week, buy no new clothes or gadgets, books or music, and eat cheaply.  Don’t go to the movies or buy coffee or candy.  Save the money, or give to someone in need what you would have spent on coffee, treats and entertainment.

Keep journal entries of what happens inside you when you deny yourself something you really want or something to which you have become accustomed.  How does it affect you?  Why?  What does this teach you about the source of your life?

“Life is not defined by what you have,
even when you have a lot.”
(Luke 12:15 MSG)  

“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking,
but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
(Romans 14:17 TNIV)

Fasting Focus :: Sixth Week of Lent

Sixth Week of Lent
Sacrifice

Time

This Holy Week, we will be reflecting on the sacrifice of Christ, where the Infinite, Eternal God stepped into time and space. As such, this week, we will be fasting our time.

Go out of your way for others this week. Fast from indulging yourself time-wise. Get up a half-hour or an hour earlier. Make it a goal this week to bless someone else through your words or actions daily; to give someone else the gift of your listening ear. Resist the urge to share your troubles, and instead focus on someone else and helping to share in theirs. Commit this week to doing something for someone else. Perhaps, help a friend move or paint, serve the poor, stop and help a stranger, especially if you are in a hurry to get somewhere.

Keep journal entries of what it’s like to spend your time on others.

Fasting Focus :: Fifth Week of Lent

Fifth Week of Lent

Divine Embrace

Social Media & Internet

This week, we will be exploring the heart of Christ to connect with humanity. Therefore, we will be fasting all forms of social networking media and internet. Turn off Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and news. Check and answer work emails and nothing else. Put a Lent “Out of Office” reply on your personal email letting people know you’ll get back to them next week.

Keep journal entries of what it’s like to unplug and disconnect—to not obsessively check email, Facebook, etc. Do you feel disconnected ...or free?

Spend the time usually spent connecting with others, and intentionally spend time connecting with Christ and networking within the advancement of His kingdom here on Earth.

Fasting Focus :: Fourth Week of Lent

Fourth Week of Lent
Abandonment

Food and Meals
Jesus is the ultimate example of what it looks like to abandon our will to the will of the Father. Abandonment always requires surrender. So, this week we will physically be engaging abandonment and surrender by fasting food.

Pick either a type of food (like meat or carbs or even “solids”) and fast from them for the week. Or alternately, pick a meal (like breakfast or lunch) to skip on a daily basis. If you skip meals, spend that time you would have spent preparing and eating food in doing something like prayer, reading Scripture or serving others. Perhaps take these blocks of time and find a way to bless someone, even if it’s just time spent listening to them.

Keep journal entries of what it’s like to go hungry, even if it’s just for one meal. What has it been like to begin to assert some mastery over your body these past two weeks?

How does your body/mind respond to that?

If you forgo a whole category of food, consider:

• What is it like to deny a craving? Is it easy or hard?
• How does that craving grow the more you deny it?
• Does it eventually become easier? Why?
  

For more resources on fasting: Basics, Purpose of, Frequently Asked Questions & Guidelines, Biblical Examples, Types of Fasting.

Fasting Focus :: Third Week of Lent

Third Week of Lent :: Source

Sweets, Treats, and Self Indulgence

This week, our reflections will be looking at “From where we draw our source of life?”

As a fasting discipine this week, resolve to spend nothing on yourself, except that which is absolutely necessary. Buy no new clothes or gadgets, books or music. Don’t go to the movies or buy coffee or candy. Eat cheaply, save money, or give what you would have spent on coffee, treats and entertainment for the week to someone in need.

Keep journal entries of what happens inside you when you deny yourself something you’ve become accustomed to or something you really want. How does it affect you? Why?

What does this teach you about where you draw your life source?

Fasting Focus :: Second Week of Lent

Fasting Focus

Each week you will be provided with a fasting focus for that week. They are meant to be supplementary to any other form of fasting you have sensed God’s leading in thus far.

Second Week of Lent :: Intimacy

Distractions

This week we’ll be focusing on growing in intimacy with Christ. As such, we will be fasting from distractions. As we saw last week, often we are most uncomfortable in silence and solitude when we are left to ourselves.

This week spend a minimum of 15 consecutive minutes a day in prayer and meditation.

Talk to God about more than just the things you want. Share your dreams with Him; your fears; your questions. What does it feel like to really and truly bare yourself before God?

What does it feel like to offer Him the time to speak to and restore you?

Day 6 of Lent :: Unplugging

“We do not live more fully merely by doing more,
seeing more, tasting more,
and experiencing more than we ever have before.
On the contrary, some of us need to discover that
we will not begin to live more fully
until we have the courage to do and

see and taste and experience much less than usual.”
Thomas Merton

It almost seems that modern life is designed to prevent meaningful time alone in quietness, reflection, and prayer. On some level, it actually is.

Providers of goods and services make their profits when you are interacting with their products, not off in quiet reflection. Movie makers do all they can to get you to watch, restaurateurs urge you to dine; store owners push you to shop.

Amid these wearying patterns of activity, even our moments of escape often involve little more than passive consumption of media. And so, images and sound pervade almost every leisure hour. As Italian film director Ferico Fellini described, all of this, particularly television, “has mutilated our capacity for solitude. It has violated our most intimate, private, and secret dimension.” (Revolutionary Communicator, 119)

Reflection:

How do you feel about Italian film director Fellini’s statement stating that television, “has mutilated our capacity for solitude. It has violated our most intimate, private, and secret dimension”?

On average, American adults watch television 4–4.5 hours daily. That’s a total of 1,460 hours or 60 days out of each year (this does not include other media such as DVDs, Internet, etc - Nielsen Media Research).

On average, how many hours of television do you watch each day/week?

Action:

Perhaps one of the things you could fast during this season is the quantity of time you spend watching television. This could be a daily viewing time limit, designated no-TV days, or perhaps choosing to unplug the television for a extended period of time.

Remember, the message isn’t that television is inherently evil, rather we are looking for ways in which we can create space to meet with God and others.

The Skinny on Fasting

Can skipping that burrito at lunch really show God how much you love Him? What's the real purpose of giving up sweats over Lent anyway...?

Fasting can be a big question mark in the Christian life, here's a new video by The Skit Guys’ on The Skinny on Fasting.

Fasting Focus :: First Week of Lent

Fasting Focus
Each week you will be provided with a fasting focus for that week. They are meant to be supplementary to any other form of fasting you have sensed God’s leading in thus far.

Historically, fasts begin Monday and end Saturday. Many break their fasting on Sundays. Sundays are set aside as “Feast” days in celebration of the goodness Jesus brings. You may do each fast for the week and only for that week, or consider letting them build on each other, so that by the end of Lent, you are doing all five weekly fasts at the same time.

First Week of Lent
Invitation to Journey

Television, Music & Media
This week we will be fasting television, music and media. As such, forego the usual television shows that you would watch. In fact, turn off the TV altogether. Drive without the radio. Leave the iPod at home.

Pay attention to the following: What is it like to increase the silence by decreasing the media inputs into your life? Do you miss it? Does it make you anxious? Relaxed? Something else?

What does your reaction to this fast tell you about your connectedness to media?
Keep journal entries of what silence does for you, what missing certain shows/events means.

This week’s devotional entries will guide us through activities and practices we can do to fill the place of noise. In all of them, the goal is to help us in developing an ear to listen for and become attune to the still small voice of God.

Day 4 of Lent :: Learning to Give

“But when you give to the needy…”

Matthew 6:3

In Love in a Fearful Land, Henri Nouwen writes, “Prayer is the way to both the heart of God and the heart of the world – precisely because they have been joined through the suffering of Jesus Christ… Praying is letting one’s own heart become the place where the tears of God’s children merge and become the tears of hope.”

For Jesus, fasting, praying and giving weren’t isolated disciplines, rather they were, in many ways interconnected. Fasting frees up our time to pray. Praying heightens our awareness of God’s present activity not only within us, but in those around us in the world. Fasting loosens our hold on things, even frees up resources so that we’re more willing to give to those in need. Thus, the cyclical interconnectedness of fasting, praying and giving continues.

Giving, Jesus teaches, means making the needs of others our own, especially the needy of our world. They are all around us: the young and the old, the sick and the suffering, families and individuals, next-door neighbors, and people in distant lands.

It’s easy to forget them. What if, rather than just looking out for ourselves over the next several weeks, we asked God for eyes to see those in need and a heart to generously respond?

What shall we give? Some time, some of our talent, material resources, perhaps. Giving is not just for the rich. Poor or rich, we all have something to give. Whatever we give, though, should be something of ourselves, something that costs us. Paradoxically, Jesus also teaches, when we give, we receive some blessing from God in return.

Prayer:

God I want to worship you through giving to others. I long to have a generous heart. Break the power of greed and selfishness in my life. Give me eyes to see those in need. Make me aware of the opportunities around me that you want me to respond to with what You have given to me.

Reflection:

List the gifts that have been given to you that you have overlooked or minimized. Write a prayer of thanksgiving for all these blessings. Nurture your sincere appreciation. Sincere gratitude is often the front porch for generous giving.

Day 2 of Lent :: Learning to Fast

“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces…so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

Matthew 6:16, 18

“Discipline in the spiritual life is the concentrated effort to create the space and time where God can become our master and where we can respond freely to His guidance. Thus, discipline is the creation of boundaries that keep time and space open for God – a time and a place where God’s gracious presence can be acknowledged and responded to” (Nouwen, Bread for the Journey, 60).

Throughout church history, Lent has been the traditional season of prayer and fasting, as followers of Christ have entered into preparation for the great “Feast of feasts.” Easter. These Christians understood that the joy and delight of the feast of Easter was some how intricately connected to and proportional to the deprivation of the fasting during Lent. Many today it seems, have “lost the art of true feasting (celebration) through the rejection of the fast.”

“For the early church,” Marjorie Thompson reminds us, Lent was not some “dreary season of restriction and self-torture. It was understood as an opportunity to return to normal human life – the life of natural communion with God that was lost to us in the Fall” (Soul Feast, 78).

Take some time and ask God how He would like you to fast this Lent. It may include a fast from particular types of foods as mentioned in the introduction to this devotional. Fasting is a discipline that engages the whole person. It communicates that we are hungry enough for God and His leading that we want to say it with the hunger of their bodies and not just the hunger of our hearts.

How is God leading you to fast this Lent?

Frequently Asked Questions about Fasting

What is the purpose of the fast?

There are a number of ways to fast. One great way is to fast as Daniel did in the Old Testament. He made a decision not to eat “the king’s food” as an outward symbol of an inward commitment he had made to God. In other words, he only ate fruits and vegetables. Let your choices over the next 40-days reflect the hunger you have for God’s presence in your life.

Why should I participate in the fast?
There are several reasons people fasted in Scripture and throughout church history. As Andrew Murray, a prominent Reformed minister in Cape Town, South Aftrica, said, “Fasting helps us to express, to deepen, and to confirm the resolution that we are ready to sacrifice anything, even ourselves, to attain the Kingdom of God.” So it is with us, first and foremost, before we ask God to do anything on our behalf, we want to simply set aside time and space to be with Him and deepen our relationship with Him.

At the same time, you may choose to bring a particular struggle or addiction before God during this season. Surrender your affections to Christ, and as you fast and pray, ask God to deliver and heal you. God may direct you to spend significant time praying for someone or something; however, it’s important to remember that we do not fast to solicit God as an accomplice to our desires. Fasting doesn’t convince God you love Him or indebt Him to move on our behalf. Fasting, primarily, expresses our dependence, hunger and trust in Him as the true Source of life. It may be helpful to track your experience and prayers in a journal.

How strict should I be with what I eat on the fast?
The list of foods provided below is merely a first step to get you thinking about making better food choices. Remember, this fast is about growing your relationship with God. And He’s not as concerned about what is in your stomach as He is about what is in your heart.

Can I eat foods that are not specifically listed?
If you are not sure about a certain food, ask God to reveal to you whether it should be part of your diet over the next few weeks. Since there is no definitive list of foods for the Daniel Diet, it is truly the spirit of Daniel’s decision that we are imitating throughout this season.

What about children?
We would love to see whole family units engaged in fasting during the season of Lent, including children. Be encouraged to talk to your children about the meaning of Lent and what this season is all about. Dialogue with your children about what they could “give up” during Lent. It’s important for them, as with adults, to not merely give something up, but take that time and use it to engage the Story of Scripture, the Person of Christ, and a world in need. Perhaps children can give up some (or all) of their television and/or video gaming time. During that time, you could read to/with them from Scripture or explore various prayer practices, etc. Try to get creative with engaging your children in their spiritual journey.

As for food, it’s not typically recommended that children abstain from food. We are recommending eliminating particular types of foods such as, sugar, certain breads and some forms of dairy. Whole wheat pasta and soy milk may be a great alternative. Mostly, children can eat what we eat, but we would include chicken for them in some meals. Some children are more open to new foods when we fast together. However, more important than you “ruining” the spirit of the season by forcing them to each their broccoli, our prayer is that they will understand more deeply the meaning of denying ourselves, and growing in appreciation of Who Christ is and what He did on the cross. It may be more exciting to allow children to help plan meals and enjoy more fruits and vegetables, some of which they have never tried before.

What if I have concerns about participating because of my health?
If you have any condition that would prohibit you from being a part of the Daniel Fast, you can participate in a different way. Choose something from your daily routine (i.e. specific foods or beverages, television, other technology, etc.) and fast in that manner for Lent. Remember, the details are not as important as the spirit in which you participate. If you have any known medical conditions or suspect such conditions, consult your doctor before beginning the fast.

Foods to Eat
WHOLE GRAINS: Brown Rice, Oats, Barley
LEGUMES: Dried Beans, Pinto Beans, Split Peas, Lentils, Black Eyed Peas
FRUITS: Apples, Apricots, Bananas, Blackberries, Blueberries, Boysenberries, Canta-
loupe, Cherries, Cranberries, Figs, Grapefruit, Grapes, Guava, Honeydew Melon, Kiwi,
Lemons, Limes, Mangoes, Nectarines, Papayas, Peaches, Pears, Pineapples, Plums,
Prunes, Raisins, Raspberries, Strawberries, Tangelos, Tangerines, Watermelon
VEGETABLES: Artichokes, Asparagus, Beets, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage,
Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery, Chili Peppers, Corn, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Garlic, Ginger
Root, Kale, Leeks, Lettuce, Mushrooms, Mustard Greens, Okra, Onions, Parsley,
Potatoes, Radishes, Rutabagas, Scallions, Spinach, Sprouts, Squashes, Sweet Potatoes,
Tomatoes, Turnips, Watercress, Yams, Zucchini
Seeds, Nuts, Sprouts
LIQUIDS: Water (as much as possible), Unsweetened Soy Milk, Herbal (caffeine free)
Tea, Natural Fruit Juice (no added sugar)
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil (small quantities), Honey
Foods to Avoid
• Meat, Poultry, Fish
• White Rice
• Fried Foods
• Caffeine, Coffee, Tea (including decaf)
• Carbonated Beverages
• Foods Containing Preservatives or Additives
• Refined Sugar or Sugar Substitutes
• White Flour
• Margarine, Shortening, High Fat Products
• All Breads
• Dairy (milk, butter, cheese, yogurt, etc.)

Lent :: A Season of Fasting

Why do we Fast during Lent?

Historically, people have chosen to fast during this season. There are two aspects to the Lenten fast: giving something up and picking something up. Fasting is a spiritual discipline designed to help us better focus on and connect with God. “Fasting is not a magical way to manipulate God into doing our will,” writes Adele Calhoun. “It’s not a way to get God to be an accomplice to our plans. Neither is fasting a spiritual way to lose weight or control others.”2 Simply put, fasting helps create space for us to intentionally seek God in ways that go beyond the normal routine of worship and prayer.

When we fast, we are one-on-one with God, offering Him not only our time, but the attentiveness that we otherwise might be giving to eating, shopping, surfing the web, or watching television. Fasting aligns our lives (hearts, minds and bodies) with God and what He really wants to do. As a church, one of the ways we are going to move closer to God is through the practice and discipline of fasting.

How Should I Fast?
There are a number of ways in which people fasted throughout Scripture. There was a normal fast, where one eats no food but drinks water. Others engaged in an absolute fast, in which they eat no food and drink no water. Queen Esther was on an absolute fast for three days in Esther chapter 4. Additionally, there was a partial fast, where one does not eat a certain category of food. Daniel was on a partial fast in Daniel chapter 1 when he ate only vegetables and water, but refrained from the royal food and wine.

Another means is to fast not only from food, but things as well. As such, it is a refraining from things like media, television, internet, cell phones, etc. Regardless of the means, the goal is the same, to create space to be with God and serve others. Thus, it is imperative to keep in mind, that when fasting, it is more important to be realistic, than legalistic. Focus more on the details of connecting with God than the details of the menu.

You may want to spend some time seeking God’s direction for how you (and your family) should fast during this season. Some may want to commit to a partial fast, eating only fruits and vegetables like Daniel. You may do this for a week, 21-days, or perhaps the whole forty-days. Others may want to select one day each week and engage in a normal fast, choosing to eat nothing, drinking only juices and water. Perhaps you’ll do a media fast from your cell phone on the weekends (or longer). There are endless options.

A simple starting point is to look at how you utilize your free time. How could you transform this time during this season to seeking God, engaging Scripture, praying, giving, etc? There will be more fasting options provided throughout the devotional in the days ahead.

Fasting Focus
Each week you will be provided with a fasting focus for that week. They are meant to be supplementary to any other form of fasting you have sensed God’s leading in thus far.
Historically, fasts begin Monday and end Saturday. Many break their fasting on Sundays. Sundays are set aside as “Feast” days in celebration of the goodness Jesus brings. You may do each fast for the week and only for that week, or consider letting them build on each other, so that by the end of Lent, you are doing all five weekly fasts at the same time.

Over the next several weeks, as a way of being accountable, share your intentions for Lent with your family, housemates, friends, or small group.

THE FASTING EXPERIMENT

“Fasting is not a renunciation of life;” writes James Earl Massey, “it is a means by which new life is released within us.”

For centuries, followers of Christ have practiced fasting, yet in our current day there is much confusion, many questions, even fears associated with it.

For two weeks, we will be taking an exploratory look at fasting.


We will deal with issues such as:

• What is fasting for?
  
• How does one engage it?
  
• What are the benefits of it?
  
• What should one know before and during experimenting with fasting

THE FASTING EXPERIMENT
February 18 & 25
7:00-8:30

*childcare provided

Biblical Examples of Prayer & Fasting

Biblical Examples of Prayer & Fasting
Collected and Summarized by Lora Miller

1 Samuel 7:6 - Samuel judges Israel and tells them to turn from idol worship. The Children of Israel gather at Mizpah and pray and fast as an act of repentance.
1 Kings 21:17-29 - Elijah is sent by the Lord to Ahab, King of Israel, to condemn him for murdering Naboth and stealing his vineyard. When Ahab heard these words of condemnation, he fasted and lay in sackcloth. The Lord then spoke to Elijah to go to Ahab and tell him that since he had humbled himself in the sight of the Lord, the calamity would not come in his days but in the days of his son.
2 Chronicles 20:3 - The people of Moab and the Ammonites came to battle against Jehoshaphat. He fears Judah’s destruction and seeks the Lord by proclaiming a time of fasting and prayer throughout Judah. Because of this, Lord gives them a miraculous victory.
Ezra 8:21-23 - As Judah returns to Israel from Babylon, Ezra declares a fast to “humble themselves before the Lord” that He would show them “the right way for them and their little ones and all their possessions.”
Nehemiah 1:4 - When Nehemiah hears that the walls of Jerusalem are broken down and that it’s gates are burned with fire, he prays and fasts. His prayer is both a prayer of repentance and a prayer for God’s restoration.
Esther 4:3-16 - Haman conspires to make King Ahasuerus sign the decree that he will kill all the Jews. Queen Esther, her maids and all the Jews in Shushan fast and pray for the Lord’s favor. God delivers the Jews and Haman is executed.
Daniel 1:8 - Daniel and his friends Shadrach, Mishach, and Abed-Nego were put under the chief of eunuchs during their captivity in Babylon. Daniel and his friends refuse to eat the delicacies of King Nebuchadnezzer’s table because they “refused to defile themselves.” During this fast of purity they ate only vegetables and drank only water. God honored their purity and they were stronger and healthier than all the other men.
Daniel 6:18 - When Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den, King Darius spent the night in prayer and fasting for Daniel’s safety and deliverance. The king’s prayers were answered and Daniel was guarded by an angel.
Daniel 9:3 - Daniel reflects on prophecy given by Jeremiah and understands that Judah will soon be lead out of Babylon back to Jerusalem. He “sets his face toward God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, ….”
Joel 2:12-16 - God gives the people of Judah a call to repentance in prayer and fasting through the prophet Joel. Fasting and prayer in this passage is seen as a turning back to God and purifying of the heart from sin
Jonah 3:5 – The prophet Jonah preaches to the people of Nineveh, predicting their doom, but the people believe in God and proclaimed a fast. During this fast, neither man nor beast was permitted to eat or drink and “God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring on them and He did not do it.”
Matthew 4:1-11 – Jesus fasts for forty days and forty nights and is tempted by Satan.
Mark 1:12-13 – Same as above.
Luke 4: 1-14 – Same as above.
(Note: v1. Lead by the Spirit // v14. In the POWER of the Spirit)
Luke 2:37 – Anna, a prophetess, lived in the temple. She “served God with fastings and prayers night and day.” She saw the redeemer with her own eyes and “spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.”
Acts 9:9 – God struck Saul blind on the road to Damascus. During his three-day period of blindness, Saul neither ate nor drank.
Acts 10:30 – Cornelius was fasting and praying when an angel appeared to him. The angel tells Cornelius to send for Peter and when Peter comes and preaches the gospel to these Gentiles, the Holy Spirit falls. This was the first instance of the Holy Spirit falling on the Gentiles.
Acts 13:1-3 – The leaders at the church in Antioch fast, pray, and set Saul and Barnabas apart for the work God had for them to do. “Then having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.” **
Acts 14:23 – Paul and Barnabas follow the same pattern in which they were sent out to appoint elders in every church. They “prayed with fasting, (and) they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.”***
1 Corinthians 7:5 – Paul teaches that married couples are not to deprive one another except in times of prayer and fasting.
2 Corinthians 6:5 – As Paul speaks of all his hardships, he mentions his times of fasting and prayer.
2 Corinthians 11:27 – Paul speaks again of his commitment to a fasting lifestyle as he speaks of the many things he endures as a minister of Christ.


**Kingdom Dynamics at Acts 13: Prayer and Fasting Birth Signs and Wonders. The signs and wonders ministry of Paul and Barnabas were birthed as church leaders prayed, fasted, and sought the Lord. After the Holy Spirit Himself had called the two men, the leaders laid hands upon them and sent them forth. Later, Paul and Barnabas followed that same pattern, traveling from city to city, strengthening disciples and ordaining elders in the churches. What is that pattern? Disciplined fasting and prayer.


***Leadership Traits. Leaders of the early church arrived at decisions only after fasting and prayer. In Antioch the prophets and teachers fasted and prayed, seeking God’s direction for the church. While they waited on God, the Holy Spirit gave direction, thus beginning the missionary ministry, which eventually took the gospel to the whole world. Godly leaders rely on God for the direction and the empowering of their lives and ministry. Disciplined fasting and constant prayer are proven means for this, and as such, are mandatory in the lives of leaders.


Jesus teaches on prayer and fasting:
Matthew 6:16-18 – (16) WHEN you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. (17) But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, (18) so that you so not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
Matthew 9:15, Luke 5:33-35, and Mark 2:18-20 –(18) The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting. Then they came and said to Him, “Why so the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast? (19) And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. (20) But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them and then they will fast.

Mark 9:14-29 –Jesus heals the boy with epileptic and mute spirit and says “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.


Acts 13:2 Ministered translates a verb used of the official service of priests. Here it speaks of their ministry of public worship. They fasted: Fasting is a spiritual exercise, a voluntary restraint from food for the purpose of seeking God. This practice was encouraged by Jesus’ own teaching (Matt. 9:15; Luke 5:35).

Recommended Reading Related to Fasting

Lost Art of Intercession

The Hidden Power of Prayer&Fasting

God's Chosen Fast

Types of Fasting

Types of Fasting...
As outlined by Elmer L. Towns in Fasting For Spiritual Breakthrough

Nine different types of fasts based on the passage in Isaiah 58:6-8.

The Disciple’s Fast:

Purpose: “To loose the bands of wickedness” (Isa. 58:6) –freeing ourselves and others from addictions to sin.

Key verse:

“ This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting” (Matt.17:21)
Background: Jesus cast out a demon from a boy whom the disciples had failed to help. Apparently they had not taken seriously enough the way Satan had his claws set in the youth. The implication is that Jesus’ disciples could have performed this exorcism had they been willing to undergo the discipline of fasting. Modern disciples also often make light of “besetting sins” that could be cast out if we were serious enough to take part in such a self-denying practice as fasting – hence the term “Disciple’s Fast.”

The Ezra Fast:

Purpose: To “undo the heavy burdens” (Isa. 58:6) – to solve problems, inviting the Holy Spirit’s aid in lifting loads and overcoming barriers that keep ourselves and our loved ones from walking joyfully with the Lord.

Key Verse: “So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer.” (Ezra 8:23)

Background: Ezra the priest was charged with restoring the Law of Moses among the Jews and the rebuilt the city of Jerusalem by permission of Artaxerxes, King of Persia, where God’s people had been held captive. Despite this permission, Israel’s enemies opposed them. Burdened with embarrassment about having to ask the Persian king for an army to protect them, Ezra fasted and prayed for an answer

The Samuel Fast:

Purpose: “To let the oppressed (physically and spiritually) go free” (Isa. 58:6) –for revival and soul winning, to identify with people everywhere enslaved literally or by sin and to pray to be used of God to bring people out of the kingdom of darkness and into God’s marvelous light.
Key Verse: “So they gathered together at Mizpah, drew water, and poured it out before the Lord. And they fasted that day, and said there, ‘We have sinned against the Lord’” (1 Sam. 7:6)
Background: Samuel led God’s people in a fast to celebrate the return of the Ark of the Covenant from its captivity by the Philistines, and to pray that Israel might be delivered from the sin that allowed the Ark to be captured in the first place.

The Elijah Fast:

Purpose: “To break every yoke” (Isa.58:6)-conquering the mental and emotional problems that would control our lives, and returning the control to the Lord.

Key Verse: “He himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness…He arose and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and nights” (1 Kings 19:4,8)
Background: Although Scripture does not call this a formal “Fast,” Elijah deliberately went without food when he fled from Queen Jezebel’s threat to kill him. After this self-imposed deprivation, God sent an angel to minister to Elijah in the wilderness.

The Widow’s Fast

Purpose: “To share [our] bread with the hungry” and to care for the poor (Isa.58:7)- to meet the humanization needs of others.

Key Verse: “The jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah” (1Kings 17:16, NIV).

Background: God sent the prophet Elijah to a poor, starving widow-ironically, so the widow could provide food for Elijah. Just as Elijah’s presence resulted in food for the widow of Zarephath, so presenting ourselves before God in prayer and fasting can relive hunger today.

The Paul Fast

Purpose: To allow God’s “light to break forth like the morning” (Isa 58:8), bringing clearer perspective and insight as we make crucial decision.

Key Verse: “And he [Saul, or Paul] was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank” (Acts 9:9)

Background: Saul of Tarsus, who became known as Paul after his conversion to Christ, was struck blind by the Lord in the act of persecuting Christians. He not only was without literal sight but he also had no clue about what direction his life was to take. After going without food and praying for three days, Paul was visited by the Christian Ananias, and both his eyesight and his vision of the future restored.

The Daniel Fast

Purpose: So “thine health shall spring forth” (Isa. 58:8)- to gain a healthier life or for healing.

Key Verse: “Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank.” (Dan. 1:8)

Background: Daniel and his three fellow Hebrew captives demonstrated in Babylonian captivity that keeping themselves from pagan foods God had guided them not to eat made them more healthful than others in the king’s court.


The John the Baptist Fast

Purpose: That “your righteousness shall go before you” (Isa. 58:8) –that our testimonies and influence for Jesus will be enhanced before others

Key Verse: “He shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink” (Luke 1:15)

Background: Because John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus, he took the Nazarite vow that required him to “fast” from or avoid wine and strong drink. This was part of John’s purposefully adopted lifestyle that designated him as one set apart for a special mission.

The Esther Fast:
Purpose: That “the glory of the Lord” will protect us from the evil one (Isa. 58:8)

Key Verses: “Fast for me… and my maids and I will fast…. And I will go to the king…. And she found favor in his sight” (Esther 4:16; 5:2)

Background: Queen Esther, a Jewess in a pagan court, risked her life to save her people from threaten destruction by Ahasuerus, king of Persia. Prior to appearing before the king to petition him to save the Jews, Esther, her attendants and her cousin Mordecai all fasted to appeal to God for His protection.


Categories of fasting - also by Elmer L. Towns
(Obviously, these should be modified as God directs.)

1. The Normal Fast
going without food for a definite period during which you ingest only liquids (water and/or juice). The duration can be 1day, 3 days, 1 week, 1month or 40 days.

2. The Absolute Fast
allows no food or water at all, and should be short. Moses fasted for 40 days; but this would kill anyone without supernatural intervention.

3. The Partial Fast
one that omits certain foods or is on a schedule that includes limited eating. It may consist of omitting one meal a day. Eating only fresh vegetables for several days is also a good partial fast. Elijah practiced partial fasts at least twice. John the Baptist and Daniel with his three friends are other examples of those who participated in partial fasts. People who have hypoglycemia or other diseases might consider this kind of fast.

4. The Rotational Fast
consists of eating or omitting certain families of food for designated periods. For example, grains may be eaten only every fourth day. The various food families are rotated so that some food is available each day.