fast21 - Cornerstone Church

Getting Started

Having a successful fast starts with the right preparation. It is important to choose ahead of time what type of fast, or what combination you will pursue. Not only will this help with making the necessary preparations to implement your plan, but as you commit to a specific fast ahead of time and know how you’re going to do it, you will position yourself to finish strong.

Here are a few Easy Steps to Get Started:

1) Set Your Objective Begin by deciding why you are fasting. Is it for spiritual renewal, for healing, for wisdom in a particular area, or the resolution of a specific issue? Pick the top 1-3 prayer requests or things you would like to seek God on. Don’t overwhelm yourself and make a laundry list of items. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead in deciding and clarifying your goals for fasting. 2) Choose Your Plan We are all at different places in our walk with God. Likewise our jobs, daily schedules, and health conditions are all different and place various levels of demand on our energy. So most importantly, whether you’ve fasted before, or this will be your first time, prayerfully consider what your fast will look like. Your personal fast should have a high level of challenge to it, but it’s very important to know your own body, know your options, and most importantly, seek God in prayer and follow what the Holy Spirit leads you to do. Remember, the goal of fasting is not just to do without food. The goal is draw nearer to God. 3) Choose Your Fasting Schedule You may choose to fast all or several days of the 21 days, such as, 3 or 4 days a week or specifically on Sundays and Wednesdays. Maybe you will do that, and end with 3 to 7 consecutive days at the end. This is your personal decision, and again should be prayerfully considered as it applies to your circumstances. Just plan ahead. 4) Begin and Break the Fast Well Depending on the type of fast you choose, it is very important to prepare your body ahead of time before beginning the fast. Take a week or so to transition into your fast; otherwise, you could get sick. For example, if you would like to go on fruits and vegetables or juice fast, start eliminating meat, white grains, and refined sugars from your diet the week before. Also start to cut back quite a bit on dairy products and some of your caffeine intake. This same principle applies to breaking your fast. When your fast is over, add foods back very gradually. Your body will be so cleansed and detoxified. You will most likely get sick if you add too much rich foods, etc. all at once.

There are also several websites and books that offer additional resources for spiritual growth, recipes and nutritional information to help you along the way. Here are a few that we recommend.

Websites for Fasting Info

DanielPlan.com RebootwithJoe.com Juicerecipes.com All-about-juicing.com JuicingwithG.com Books for Spiritual Growth: If you would like to grow in your understanding of how spiritual disciplines like fasting and prayer can help you grow spiritually, check out the following resources: Beginner The Life You’ve Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People by John Ortberg (Purchase here) Intermediate Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth by Richard Foster (Purchase here) Advanced The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives by Dallas Willard (Purchase here) Most Practical Fasting: Opening the Door to a Deeper, More intimate, More Powerful Relationship with God by Jentezen Franklin (Purchase here) Important Note: Fasting requires reasonable precautions. If you have any health concerns, please consult your physician prior to beginning your fast, especially if you are taking medications, have a chronic condition or are pregnant or nursing a baby.

Types of Fasts

While preparing for your fast, it is important to choose ahead of time what type of fast you will participate in. Not only will this help with making the necessary preparations to implement your plan, but as you commit to a specific fast ahead of time, and know how you’re going to do it, you will position yourself to finish strong. Choosing your fasting plan is a very personal decision. We are all at different places in our walk with God and our spirituality should never be a cause for comparison or competition. There is nothing more “inherently spiritual” about one type of fast as opposed to another.Your personal fast should present a level of challenge to it, but know your body, know your options, and most importantly, seek God in prayer about this and follow what the Holy Spirit leads you to do. It’s also important to not let what you eat or do not eat become the focus of your fast. This is a time to disconnect enough with your regular patterns and habits in order to connect closer to God. Listed below, are some options and variations of different types of fasts you can choose to engage in. As you read over the information provided here, please consider how it applies to your circumstances and convictions. Fasting does require reasonable precautions. If you have any health concerns, please consult your physician prior to beginning your fast – especially if you are taking medication, have a chronic condition, or if you are pregnant or nursing.

Specific Food or Activity Fast

This type of fast refers to omitting a specific item(s), activity or habit from your time of prayer and fasting. For example, you may choose to eliminate red meat, processed or fast food, or sweets. It could also involve fasting from an activity or habit, such as television watching, or social media. Daniel Fast (http://danielplan.com/) The Daniel fast is a great model to follow that proves to be extremely effective for spiritual focus, bodily discipline and purification in the body and soul. It is probably one of the most commonly referred to types of fasts, however within the term “Daniel Fast”, there is room for broad interpretation. In the book of Daniel, we find two different times where Daniel fasted, once in Daniel 1 and again in Daniel 10. Daniel 1 states that he ate vegetables and water, and in Daniel 10, while the passage does not give a specific list of foods that Daniel ate, it does state that Daniel ate no rich (or choice) foods as well as no meat or wine. So based on these two verses, we can see that either of these, or any variations in between constitutes a fast. Again, there is nothing “inherently spiritual” about one type of fast as opposed to another. It is important to seek God in prayer and follow what the Holy Spirit leads you to do. Here are some links that provide some suggestions of what a Daniel fast can look like as well as some recipe options.

Juice Fast

A juice fast is when no solid food is consumed and instead involves the intake of vegetable juices, fruit juices and water. Some juicing resources that we recommend include: RebootWithJoe.com JuiceRecipes.com All-About-Juicing.com

Water Fast

A water fast is eating no foods and drinking no liquids except water for a period of time. Extreme precautions should be taken with a water fast and should be done under the direction supervision and monitoring of your physician.

Duration and Extent of Your Fast

Awakening is intentionally designed to be flexible. As with choosing what type of fast you will be undertaking, it is important to also decide ahead of time how long you will be fasting and to what extent you will be fasting. Some people may choose to fast at one level all 21 days and then culminate with a special 3 day fast at the end. Others may choose to fast one week out of the 21 days, or even fast once or twice a week throughout the 21 day period. This is a personal decision and one that should be prayerfully considered. Important Note: Fasting requires reasonable precautions. If you have any health concerns, please consult your physician prior to beginning your fast, especially if you are taking medications, have a chronic condition, or are pregnant or nursing a baby.

How to Explain Fasting to Kids

An easy way to explain the benefits of prayer and fasting to kids is to compare it to cleaning out old toys that might no longer work, or that they might have outgrown, to make room for new ones. As we clean out our bodies and make time to connect closer to God and His Word, we make room to receive new gifts from Him.

Kids Fasting How-To’s

We do not recommend that children skip meals or drastically reduce their food intake, but a modification of their diet might prove to be an easy place to start. For example, fasting from specific items such as sweets, red meats, fried foods or even introducing a form of the Daniel fast which includes legumes, nuts and whole grains is a great way for children to participate in a safe and healthy way.* Another great way to fast is by reducing some of the time and energy spent watching TV, playing video games, using the computer or phone, and instead choosing to spend time praying, reading their Bible or serving others. Refer to our “Sample Fasting Calendar for Kids” as an additional resource for you and your kids during the fasting season. The main thing is for kids to recognize the value behind setting aside special times to disconnect from some of the extra-curricular activities and treats they enjoy on a regular basis and learn how to connect to God in a closer way. Write down a few prayer requests and pray together for those things throughout the fast. *Please note, you should always check with your child’s pediatrician before your child(ren) begin any type of fasting.

PRAYER GUIDE

DAY ONE.

FAST FROM THE HEART

As we enter into this season of prayer and fasting, it is all about giving God more of your heart. We fast to focus our hearts on God. We don’t fast to earn God’s love, but to remove all obstacles for a short season in order to experience more of Him. Today you can begin your fast by praying that God would help you to remove all obstacles so that you can focus solely on Him.

Matthew 6:16-18
Matthew 15:8-9, 19
Matthew 22:34-38

DAY TWO

FREEDOM

God has greater things for you; things that you can’t even fathom! He wants to free you from any areas of bondage so that you can bear more fruit and be more fulfilled in Him. Wherever you struggle, stand secure in knowing that Jesus already secured victory over that struggle on the cross.

Galatians 5:1, 13
2 Corinthians 3:17
Colossians 2:13-15

DAY THREE

HOPE

You can give God your dreams and trust Him with your
difficulties. Our hope is built on the person and promises of Jesus. He will not disappoint! .

Romans 5:5
Psalm 25:3, 20-21
1 Chronicles 16:11-12

DAY FOUR

PUTTING GOD FIRST

Make it your goal in 2018 to grow spiritually like you have never grown before. Growing spiritually begins with putting God first in every area of your life and being willing to lay things down that may hinder you from putting God first. What is something that you feel like God is asking you to lay down so that you can put Him first?

Matthew 6:33
2 Peter 1:3-4

DAY FIVE

JOY

Joy is a fruit, a promise of the Holy Spirit. As you yield and surrender more of your life to God, He gives you His joy. He promises to replace your sorrow with rejoicing in His time.

Galatians 5:22
Psalm 30:5
Nehemiah 8:10

DAY SIX

MIRACLES

Our God is a miracle working God. All he asks of us is for us to have faith as small as a mustard seed. Ask God for greater faith and believe him for greater things this year.

Matthew 17:20
Hebrews 11:6
Mark 9:23-24

DAY SEVEN

PEACE

We live in times of great turmoil and trouble, but God wants to replace our panic with peace. Bring him your problems and pain and allow him to give you his perfect peace.

John 14:27
John 16:33
Philippians 4:6-7

DAY EIGHT

CONFIDENCE

You can be unshakeable in 2018, if you will cast all your cares on God. He is big enough to handle all your concerns, and you can be confident in His goodness and greatness.

1 Peter 5:6-7
Psalm 55:22
Psalm 62:1-2

DAY NINE

ALIGNING YOUR THOUGHTS AND ATTITUDE

There are lots of things in your life that you have no control over, but you can control your thoughts and attitudes. Choose to set your mind on the things of God and watch him change your attitudes.

Colossians 3:1-2
Philippians 4:8
Joshua 1:8

DAY TEN

PURPOSE

God created you with purpose. You are his masterpiece made for great things. Ask Him to reveal his purposes for you in 2018.

Psalm 139:13-16
Ephesians 2:10
Ephesians 3:20

DAY ELEVEN

FORGIVENESS

Relationships with family, friends, spouses, children, and co-workers are not easy to manage at times. There can be frictions, fights and discord. Who do you need to forgive today? Ask God to give you wisdom, power and compassion to make things right. Sometimes it may take you to make the first move, but you can do it with God’s help.

Matthew 5:23-24
Matthew 6:14-15
Ephesians 4:26-27

DAY TWELVE

FAMILY

There is no better time than now to focus on your family. Make a commitment to build a God-first family in 2018. Building a God-first family begins with your heart and your commitment to put God first in all areas of your life. This can include prioritizing His word, time in His presence and making a commitment to be faithful to His house.

Psalm 127
Joshua 24:15

DAY THIRTEEN

UNITY/RECONCILIATION

There is so much division and discord in our world. More than
ever, the world needs to see us love one another just as God has loved us. Loving others despite their faults builds bridges and brings unity. Ask God to help you be a bridge builder and peace maker in your world starting today.

Malachi 2:10
John 13:34-35
Galatians 3:28
1 John 3:11-15

DAY FOURTEEN

MARRIAGE

Marriage can be such a powerful picture of God’s love. God wants your marriage to be great. Pray for health, healing and protection over your marriage today and throughout this year.

Ephesians 5:31-32
Proverbs 18:22
Proverbs 20:6-7

DAY FIFTEEN

GLOBAL MISSIONS

It is so easy to become self-absorbed with the pace and pressures of lives. Ask God to slow you down, to open your eyes to needs of the world around you and to help you to become sensitive to those who are far from Him. 1 Chronicles 16:24 Romans 9:2-4 Romans 10:1, 14-15

DAY SIXTEEN

THE CHURCH

Jesus came, died and was resurrected in order to build His church (Matthew 16:18). The church is the hope of the world. Pray for our pastors, leaders and church family that we all might fulfill the mission of making disciples and helping as many people as possible to lead a God-first life. Hebrews 10:24-25 Acts 2:42-47 Ephesians 1:22-23

DAY SEVENTEEN

LEADERSHIP

Jesus was the perfect model of being a leader because of the way He served God and people. We are all called to lead in some way, and leading for Jesus simply means that we are sensitive to how we can serve those who we have been entrusted with (family, friends, co-workers, etc). Today, ask God how you can lead [serve] more effectively and how your leadership can mirror the characteristics of Jesus.

Luke 19:10
Matthew 18:10-14
Galatians 6:9
Matthew 20:26

DAY EIGHTEEN

OTHERS

One of the most important words in the whole Bible is “other.” The phrase “one another” is found over 59 times in the Bible. God wants us to love and care for others the same way that He loves and cares for us. Ask God to make you a servant and to increase your compassion quotient.

Mark 10:45
1 John 3:16-18
Matthew 25:37-45

DAY NINETEEN

WISDOM

We can face difficult decisions all day long every day. If we desire to do God’s will, then we will need His provision and wisdom as we seek Him.

Proverbs 3:5-7
Proverb 4:6-7
James 1:5

DAY TWENTY

THOSE FAR FROM GOD

Do you remember what life was like for you before you trusted Christ as your Savior? May we never forget what Christ has done for us and in us. Ask God to give you a heart for those who are far from Him and boldness to share the love of Christ with them.

Luke 19:10
1 Timothy 2:3-4
Isaiah 52:7

DAY TWENTY ONE

CONTINUING YOUR SPIRITUAL GROWTH

As your 21 days of prayer and fasting comes to an end, ask God to continue to help you experience greater clarity in hearing His voice daily throughout this year. In quietness and solitude, allow Him to speak to your heart. Ask Him how you can continue to grow spiritually in and through Him this year. The thoughts that come into your mind as you quiet yourself may just be His calling for you in 2018. Trust God that this will be your best year yet as you allow Him to make it your best year spiritually.

Colossians 4:17
Colossians 1:28-29
Matthew 5:13-16

KIDS FASTING CALENDAR