Physically Prepare For A Fast Lasting Longer Than A Couple Days
When fasting food, its crucial to prepare your body and eat smaller meals a few days prior to your fast and to avoid high-fat and sugary foods before the fast. Make sure youre also drinking plenty of water and staying away from strong stimulants such as caffeinated and sugary drinks immediately before and during the fast.
A Fasting Prayer For Resisting Temptation:
All of us face temptation in life. Even Jesus was tempted in the wilderness and is our example of how to face it.
Matthew 4:1,2 describes, Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry.
Like Satan tempted Eve in the garden with food , he first tempted Jesus with food, too. The tempter came to Him and said, If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread. Jesus answered, It is written Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God .
Although Eve could eat from every tree in the garden except one in order to obey God, , she gave into temptation and ate from it .
Unlike Eve who had plenty to eat, Jesus was without food in the wilderness. Yet, through fasting and obeying Gods word, He resisted temptation and defeated the scheme of the evil one.
What Voice Are You Hearing
2 Corinthians 10:5 tells us to take every thought captive unto Christ.
As we examine our thoughts we can dig in and ask ourselves, Where is this coming from and why do I feel this way?
Ask those same questions again and again until you get to the end of the train to uncover the root influencing your thoughts and emotions.
Pray and invite the Holy Spirit into this process, He is our counselor and teacher. With this examination, you can more clearly see:
1. Is this coming from me, driven by my past or personality?
2. Is this coming from the world, am I pressured by the expectations of others or society in general?
3. Is this coming from the enemy, is it motivated by fear, shame, or other influences that are not of God?
4. Is this from the Lord, does it align with Spirit and Truth?
Finally, some of the good advice Ive heard is: if you dont have clarity from God on what to do next, then keep doing the last thing He told you to do!
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When Do Mormons Fast
A standard time of fasting for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints takes place on the first Sunday of each month. Usually starting on Saturday afternoon or evening and ending around the same time Sunday, Latter-day Saints unitedly implore the Heavenly Father for spiritual and physical blessings while keeping His laws of fasting. During worship services, members of the Church are allowed to stand before the congregation voluntarily and share the feelings they have received through the Holy Ghost, which have led them to know the truthfulness of Christs gospel. They express their gratitude for blessings from God and share their testimonies or convictions as a way of inviting the Holy Ghost to touch the hearts of others.
Another practice is offering donations for the needy, discreetly handed to a congregation leader. Typically, the donation amount is what someone would have spent on meals had they eaten instead of fasting. This donation is known as a fast offering and, when possible, Mormons try to give more generously than just the cost of a few meals.
What Are The Benefits Of Fasting And Prayer To Be Still
I have shared about fasting and prayer before and the links are below. Think of this first half as a quick reference for Spiritual fasting
The Bible speaks so often about the benefits of fasting and prayer that it would be foolish for us to ignore this powerful Spiritual discipline!
Okay, just to recap some of those things in case you are short on time.
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Here Are Some Recipe Ideas For Your Fast:
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive OIl
Small Chopped Yellow Sweet Onion
2 chopped garlic cloves
2-3 Handfuls of Fresh Spinach Leaves
1 Large Egg
On stovetop, coat a skillet with 1 tbsp of Olive Oil, bring to med heat, add chopped onion and garlic, saute until transparent. Add handful of fresh spinach and stir in, cover until fully wilted. Crack one egg over top and mix in until cooked. Serve hot plate with a sprinkle of sea salt and cracked pepper then add the other Tbsp of olive oil to drizzle on top!
1/2 cup finely chopped sweet onion
1 clove finely chopped garlic or
sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Tbsp white vinegar or lime juice
Put all into a bowl mix with mashed avocados and stir until smooth, dip with carrots/celery or carrot chips. Spread on thin slice of turkey and roll up or make a lettuce wrap with the turkey and spread.
1 large sweet potato, washed, skin on
Make a slit in the top for steam
Slice potato open and pinch back skin and mash up center with fork
Add one tablespoon of extra virgin coconut oil to melt on mashed up potato
Sprinkle a dash of pumpkin pie spice, serve and eat warm
SCROLL DOWN FOR PRAYER STRATEGIES DURING THIS FAST
What Is A Partial Fast
A partial fast is also known as a three-day spiritual fast. We see examples of Daniel and his friends eating veggies, fruit, and drinking water for ten days. They used this fast to honor God while in captivity. Others fasted using different lengths of time and how. This fast could last from part of a day to an entire day to several days or weeks .
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Dont Think Of White Elephants
Without a purpose and plan, its not Christian fasting its just going hungry.
When your empty stomach starts to growl and begins sending your brain every feed me signal it can, dont be content to let your mind dwell on the fact that you havent eaten. If you make it through with an iron will that says no to your stomach, but doesnt turn your minds eye elsewhere, it says more about your love for food than your love for God.
Christian fasting turns its attention to Jesus or some great cause of his in the world. Christian fasting seeks to take the pains of hunger and transpose them into the key of some eternal anthem, whether its fighting against some sin, or pleading for someones salvation, or for the cause of the unborn, or longing for a greater taste of Jesus.
What Is A Fast From Sex
Before men went to war in biblical times, they sometimes abstained from sex wither their wives to fast. The New Testament also reveals to us that abstaining from sex is a good thing to do when a couple decides on it together . This type of fast from pleasurable things short-circuits our tendency to lose appreciation for them. No matter how good something makes us feel, over time we take it for granted and lose the thrill.
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Lord Show Me The Way A Prayer For Clarity And Direction
JaimeFaith & LifeJuly 7, 2021
There will be times in life when youll kneel in prayer for clarity and direction. God is faithful to answer, but will you listen? This prayer will help.
There have been many times in my life when Ive knelt in prayer for clarity and direction. God has always been faithful and answered my prayer in his own way.
Maybe it wasnt always in the timeline I would have preferred, or in the way I thought he should answer it, but he has always been faithful.
Sometimes his answer is simply a prompting to be patient and learn to trust him more. Mother Teresa is known to have said, I have never had clarity what I have always had is trust. So I will pray that you trust God.
Opens Our Hearts To Spiritual Revival
We kindle Holy Spirit fire as we fast and pray. We become change agents and intercessors for the broken and hurting during a fast. Our hearts are revived and refreshed spiritually because of it.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalemand to the end of the earth, .
Empowerment flows when we pray and fast. We are that much more able to press into the greatest commission of allgaining souls for an eternal harvest, .
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What The Bible Says About Spiritual Fasting
- General Biblical Studies, Interdenominational Christian Training Center
In the Old Testament, God commanded Israel to observe several designated times of fasting. For New Testament believers, fasting was neither commanded nor forbidden in the Bible. While early Christians were not required to fast, many practiced prayer and fasting regularly.
Jesus himself affirmed in Luke 5:35 that after his death, fasting would be appropriate for his followers: “The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days” .
Fasting clearly has a place and a purpose for God’s people today.
Discovering Gods Calling On Your Life
I want you to live out Gods calling on your life. Lets begin your journey by:
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Will You Learn How To Fast And Pray Today
Do you feel that deep need for breakthrough and spiritual food?
Do you need God to answer or act quickly in your life?
Join me on this journey to draw nearer to our Savior. Learning how to fast and pray is more simple than most Christians realize. There is power in this lost spiritual discipline.
To harness that power, you need only decide to begin.
- Choose what you will give up while in your fast.
- Pick a day to begin.
- Select a topic or verse to meditate in prayer over.
- Dont get discouraged if the first fast isnt perfect.
- Keep practicing until you find the right rhythm and God moves.
In Him
More Questions About Spiritual Fasting
How Long Should I Fast?
Fasting, especially from food, should be limited to a determined length of time. Fasting for too long can cause harm to the body.
While I hesitate to state the obvious, your decision to fast should be guided by the Holy Spirit. Also, I highly recommend, especially if you’ve never fasted, that you seek both medical and spiritual counsel before embarking on any type of prolonged fast. While Jesus and Moses both fasted for 40 days without food and water, this was clearly an impossible human achievement, only accomplished through the Holy Spirit’s empowerment.
How Often Can I Fast?
New Testament Christians practiced prayer and fasting regularly. Since there is no biblical command to fast, believers should be led by God through prayer concerning when and how often to fast.
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Turn Your Aches Upon Jesus
When we fast, the aches in our stomachs and pains in our gut are reminders that Jesus is the true food, not our daily bread, and that Jesus is the true drink, not our typical beverages. Christians will fast, as Jesus promised, because as people of faith, we know that believing in him means coming to him to satisfy our souls hunger and quench our souls thirst and one of the best regular reminders of it can be abstaining temporarily from other food and drink.
The great reward of fasting is God himself. Open your mouth wide, he says, as we empty our stomachs, and I will fill it . God rewards Christian fasting because it attunes us to the very purpose of God in the universe: to magnify himself in our desiring, enjoying, and being satisfied in him. And he rewards it not just with what were asking for with our fast, but ultimately with who he is as our desire, enjoyment, and satisfaction.
Christian fasting is not mainly about what we go without, but who we want more of.
Can Fasting Be Healthy And Holy
Trust God in your fasting. Let Him lead you in your health journey and be patient with yourself. Even if this is your first time and you don’t know what to expect, Jesus is right there with you.
- Rebecca MashburnContributing Writer
- 202017 Aug
Emotions and expressions play a huge role in many lives around the world. These affect how we interact with people every day. Even when you were a young adolescent, you desired to show and tell your new outfit or material possession. Pride is unfortunately in our nature because of sin. The hypocrites mentioned in Matthew 6 took pride in displaying their fasting to others. They wanted the attention to show others how difficult and miserable they were.
Moreover, 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. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do 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 .
God sees it all. God will see that when you fast in private and not boast about it to others , He will reward you.
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Do You Need The Benefits Of Fasting And Prayer Today
The benefits of fasting and prayer are beyond number. I Googled it just to see what people shared and found three articles with numbers that made me laugh:
- 10 Powerful benefits of fasting and prayer
- 20 Powerful benefits of fasting and prayer
- 100 Powerful benefits of fasting and prayer
The articles were well written, but they missed the point. There is a benefit as different for you as for me for every human who commits to a time of fasting and prayer. You cant number the benefits, you can only share what they were for you.
The point of fasting and prayer is to draw near to God and allow Him to change you and your situation. The Spiritual discipline of fasting is a challenging one to master, but well worth the effort.
I dont have the benefits of fasting and prayer pdf that could answer all the questions you might have, but I have a short book that can start.
Want to go deeper? Check out A Beginners Guide to Fast and Pray: Taking Spiritual Warfare to the Next Level. This is a short read that will help answer all your questions.
In the meantime, Id love to pray over you on this journey. Drop a comment below to let me know how to pray.
in HIM,
Spiritual Preparation For Fasting And Prayer
In preparation for this special time with God, cru.orgs guide to fasting urges that you examine your heart. Ask God to help you see your brokenness clearly so that you can confess your sins and repent. In Scripture, God frequently calls upon people to repent of their sins before listening to their prayers.
You can look to King Davids example in Psalm 66:16-20:
Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for me. I cried aloud to him, and he was extolled with my tongue.If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.But truly God has listened he has given heed to the words of my prayer.
Blessed be God,
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Try Different Kinds Of Fasting
The typical form of fasting is personal, private, and partial, but we find a variety of forms in the Bible: personal and communal, private and public, congregational and national, regular and occasional, absolute and partial.
In particular, consider fasting together with your family, small group, or church. Do you share together in some special need for Gods wisdom and guidance? Is there an unusual difficulty in the church, or society, for which you need Gods intervention? Do you want to keep the second coming of Christ in view? Plead with special earnestness for Gods help by linking arms with other believers to fast together.
Prayer Before A Fast Begins
Lord, as I begin this time of fasting, fill me with your strength. Help me to use this as a time of growth, renewal, and healing. Calm my anxiety about what I might be giving up or times of discomfort that I might face.
Provide me with assurance that You will strengthen me during the difficult times and meet me for sweet moments of spiritual growth and surrender.
Help me focus not on what is being taken away, but what Im gaining as I use this as a spiritual discipline. With you leading, Holy Spirit, I am ready.
I dedicate this fast to You, Lord, and to Your glory.
In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
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