An Invitation to Fasting & Prayer

The New Year marks a new beginning, which makes it a great time for us to utilize every spiritual tool available to us to seek God’s face and discern the Spirit’s leading personally and collectively. Fasting is a time-tested and proven spiritual disciple that yields significant spiritual results. In Mark 5:33-35, the religious leaders questioned Jesus about fasting. “They said to him, ‘John’s disciples often fast and pray and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.’ Jesus answered, ‘Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.” In Matthew 6:16-17, Jesus makes the same statement twice: “When you fast…” He isn’t even making a case for why his disciples should fast. He is just assuming that they will because that’s what God’s people have always done and will always do when they are serious about seeking God’s presence, power, and purposes.

We want to invite you to prayerfully consider joining the leaders of Journey Community Church in a 21-day fast from January 7th - 28th, 2024. Allow the Holy Spirit to lead you in deciding the best way for you to fast. There are many ways to “abstain for a spiritual purpose.” You might fast from: certain kinds of food, breakfast and lunch daily, certain 24-hour periods during the week, certain kinds of technology or media, or whatever God directs you to give up for the 21-day fast. We are excited to see how God will reveal Himself and demonstrate His power during these days of focused corporate seeking.

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FASTING FAQ

  • Fasting is abstaining from food (or something else) for a spiritual purpose.

  • 1.Obeying God

    In Matthew 6:16-18, Jesus said to his disciples, “When you fast…” Fasting was such a standard spiritual discipline for God’s people that it was assumed that Jesus’ disciples would engage in this habit that leads to holiness.

    2.Returning to God

    Fasting can be time to humble ourselves in confession and repentance to renew our relationship with God. This is clear from Joel’s call to the nation of Israel: “Yet even now,” says the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting…” ( Joel 2:12)

    3.Seeking God and God’s Blessing

    Fasting is a way to seek God’s presence, guidance, healing, or intervention through wholehearted pursuit. God said, “When you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you” (Jeremiah 29:13-14). When we are willing to set aside the legitimate appetites of the body to concentrate on the work of praying, we are demonstrating that we mean business, that we are seeking God with all our hearts.

  • Normal Fast: 24-hour fast from food (dinner to dinner)

    Partial Fast: abstaining from certain kinds of food for a period of time

    Radical Fast: abstaining from food (and sometimes water) for an extended period of time

    Creative Ways to Fast: 1.Three day water-only fast, 2.Juice Fast, 3.Combo Liquid Fast with juices, teas, and broth (no sodas or sugary drinks), 4.Daniel’s 10-day fast (grains and vegetables), 5.Daniels’ 21-Day Fast (no bread, meat, or sweets), 6.Korean Pastor Fast (one meal a day and no meat)

  • When prompted by the Spirit of God

    When you desire to seek God with focused intensity

    When you are desperate for God’s intervention

    When you are seeking God’s direction on a specific issue