There may not be a better way to start a new year than with a time of prayer and fasting. Starting the year this way sets us up to be present with the time God is giving us and not rush right through it.
Would you join us for a time of prayer and fasting from Sunday, January 8th at sunset to Saturday, January 14th at sunrise?
“Fasting is the voluntary abstinence of any good thing for the sake of God.”
Here's why I'm fasting...
I am at risk of letting my life fly by thanks to my insatiable hunger for speed, for growth, for 'more'. Often we live our lives hurrying to get to something so that we can then hurry and get to something else. Instead of taking the slow, human walk through the airport terminal of life we take the electric walkway mover thing and then we begin to run.
Fasting is actually a process of letting go of my pursuits, it's a process of suffocating the gods I worship and returning to the essence of life--an open, vulnerable, real relationship with God, my Father.
Jesus' own time of fasting, recorded in Matthew 4, prior to the beginning of his ministry shows that His fasting was solidifying his dependence on His Father and providing him the ability to say no to the temptations of self-sufficiency, of ambition for power and control and of worshipping other things.
For this week, I will be giving up my attachment to entertainment, to food and to technology. I invite you to take some time considering how you will fast. The most important thing in fasting is creating time and space for silence, reflection and communication with God. It is a time to remove all excess in life so that you can begin the year living out of your true identity as God's daughter or son--following Jesus, our leader, into a year filled with transformation and abundant life.
“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.”
Fasting is not a competition and it is not a way of getting God to do what you want. It is a way of bringing yourself to a place where you can receive what God is giving you and come back to the reality of your relationship with Him.
Are you joining in? Start preparing now:
- Write the dates on your calendar
- Decide what you will fast from
Coming up we'll be posting prayer material to read for the week, dates for prayer meetings and some pointers to prepare your heart, mind and body for the week.