Fasting (Supplement)

The goal of fasting is to draw nearer to God. Biblical fasting always has to do with eliminating distractions for a spiritual purpose; it hits the reset button of the soul and renews us from the inside out. Fasting also enables us to celebrate the goodness and mercy of God, and prepares the heart for all the wonderful things God has prepared for our lives. 

The Principles of Fasting

• Fasting is not just missing a meal.
• Fasting is not dieting.
• Fasting demands replacing meals with the reading of God's Word and prayer.
• Fasting demands dedicating time for studying God's Word and meditation.
• Fasting requires spending much time in God's Word.

The Benefits of Fasting

• Spiritual discipline
• Increased spiritual capacity
• A clear sober mind
• A pure heart and mind
• Hunger for God and His word
• Physical health
• Loss of excess weight
• Purified body
• Spiritual freedom
• Physical freedom
• Spirit of giving
• Your light shines (evil can't withstand you)
• Protection by God
• Answers to prayers
• Intimacy with God
• Increased retention capacity

The Effects of Fasting

• Fasting changes you (not God)
• Fasting doesn't move God (it moves you into better positioning)
• Fasting increases your spiritual capacity
• Fasting breaks habits and spiritual bondage
• Fasting quiets the heart to hear God's voice

Remember, your personal fast should present a level of challenge, but it is very important to know your body, your options, and, most importantly, to seek God in prayer and follow what the Holy Spirit leads you to do. 

Listed below are 4 different types of fast:

Complete Fast

In this type of fast, you drink only liquids, typically water with light juices as an option.

Selective Fast

This type of fast involves removing certain elements from your diet. One example of a selective fast is the "Daniel Fast", during which you remove meat, sweets, and bread from your diet and consume water and juice for fluids and fruits and vegetables for food.

Partial Fast

This fast is sometimes called the “Jewish Fast” and involves abstaining from eating any type of food in the morning and afternoon. This can either correlate to specific times of the day, such as 6:00 am to 3:00 pm, or from sun-up to sun-down.

Soul Fast

This fast is a great option if you do not have much experience fasting food, have health issues that prevent you from fasting food, or if you wish to refocus certain areas of your life that are out of balance. For example, you might choose to stop using social media or watching television for the duration of the fast and then carefully bring that element back into your life in healthy doses at the conclusion of the fast.