Session 3 Center of Fasting 

Types of Fasts & Duration of the fast. Reasons to fast. Recommended guidelines of this fast.

Before we begin this session, I want to say that your faith walks out of the fasting journey. Your body and your mind are too weak to make this commitment alone. But your spirit walks in the word of God and takes up the supernatural power to walk it out, manifesting the glory of the Lord. God is taking note of you. He is looking at your heart, not your performance. He notices your sincerity and how you value what you are doing. And what it means to you. When you are hungry, the urge will want to pull you towards food. Instead of food, let that hunger pull the word of God. Let it pull prayer. What you do in the hunger will determine what you will receive.

Satan is taking notice of your lifestyle and your fasting. Job 1 to reference. Satan knew Job’s actions by studying him. Let your actions prove your commitment to growing closer to God. Set yourself up for success. If you have never fasted – before you do, first decide what you will do how you will do it.  One day, three days, five days, or all seven are just examples of examining how you can commit.

Preparation – Decide to listen to music, read scriptures, and pray. If this is your first experience – learn to fast. Or, if you haven’t had many experiences use this as a development for a fasting lifestyle. Pay attention to your thoughts, emotions, and strength. Replace a food action with an action that strengthens your spirit.

Enter with grace – to know and understand you are new at this. If you do not make it through a day, have the grace to begin again. THIS IS WORTH IT if you are new to fasting, VALUE the experience. Know the WORTH and look forward to the results in your relationship with God.

You don’t know how it will go or when a breakthrough will occur, but please know it will take place. This is a setup for change and growing closer to God.

Make this fast PERSONAL. Yet posture yourself in a way that will cause the nation to reap from your personal sacrifice. During a National Day of Mourning, the world feels the weight of sorrow, sin, death, and sickness of a crisis. Let me encourage you that your prayer time is personal but will have an impact nationally. Make this time of fasting and prayer both personal and community. You are not alone. People in other locations in the nation and abroad are fasting and praying with you.

Partial Fasting –  is seen during the Lent season. Abstaining from certain food, the participant commits giving up a food or activity in preparation for the Easter season. Some don’t shave, or get a haircut or choose not to wear perfume, etc. It is a personal or individual choice of what they give up. Suppose you choose to fast this way, commit and carry out the vow. Another example is John the Baptist, who ate locusts and wild honey for forty days.

Socially – restricting your conversations

Media – restricting news, television, binge streaming

Phone – restrict speaking, texting, and viewing.

Make a vow/commitment to the end.

If you commit to God, I’m going all seven days, then follow it through. God is looking at your vows and will honor them. A broken fast is when you do not keep your word and give up.

Duration of fasting 

This is up to you to join with your family or as an individual for the amount of time. Several types of fasting are found in the bible.

One day – 1 Samuel 7:6

Three day – Esther chapters 3 & 4 Influence and Safety

Seven days – recover after a loss, restoration, cleansing, complete, worship after mourning a loss, returning to the Lord 1 Samuel 31:3, 2 Samuel 12:16-18,22 a new start.

Twenty-one days – known popularly as the Daniel’s Fast, abstaining from meat, alcohol, sweets from 21 days for a particular answer Daniel 10

Forty days – Jesus fast forty days and was hungry Matthew 4 preparation of assignment, testing and defeating the enemy.

Food Guidelines 

Drink plenty of water. All vegetables permitted All fruits, Natural juices, Good grains.

No fried foods, No snacking, No coffee, No meats, No heavy supplements without food, No desserts or sweets (milkshakes, ice cream, cookies, candy or cake), No bread (bagels, sandwiches, crackers), No drive through’s (Fried foods especially) ask the Lord receive my sacrifice of not eating junk food.

During this fast…

Pray & Study  – when you are hungry, PRAY!  Ask God to keep you. Fasting is a pressing forward in discomfort. You shall prevail!

Value your faith – use it to fast

Represent your faith – in action to continue in discomfort

Follow your faith – The word of God leads us Psalm 119:105

The choices around your faith – don’t do things or go places that impact your vow.

Follow on your normal life – practices, work, schoolwork.

Fasting is relationship appreciation. You are in debt to God to set time aside to worship him and praise Him. Return the tenth. Return a thank you. Return to worship.

Fasting is a discipline.

It’s not something you want to do. It’s something we are called to do. Invade the consciousness of conformity give God your BEST even if it makes you uncomfortable.

Session 4 Center of Fasting

In this session, we reason to mourn in our time of fasting. Herein also is a passion struck within us to be like Christ thirsting for his likeness to dwell in us and not be ruled by the sin nature explain below.

Galatians 5:19 The flesh’s acts are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. As I did before, I warn you that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. (NLT)

We cannot skate by in life, ignoring that within us are enemies of war. We are to develop a HOLY ANGER against the nature that derails our discipline to live as victors over the flesh. This chapter speaks of the contrary desire we have and how living a holy life requires a deeper relationship with God. If the Holy Spirit leads us, we will not live out the lusts that are in the flesh. Watch the video to hear the teaching outline in this text. Below are a diagram and scripture references.