FASTING

 
The goal of fasting is to draw nearer to God. Biblical fasting always has to do with the elimination of distractions for a spiritual purpose; consider it a resetting of your soul and a renewal from the inside out. It also enables us to recognize the goodness and mercy of God as we prepare for God to move mightily in our lives. A fast is a personal discipline that will present a new level of challenge, but it is vital to know your body, your best options, and most importantly, to seek God in prayer and follow the direction of the Holy Spirit.
 
 

Types of Fasts:

 
Complete Fast
With this type of fast, you drink only liquids, typically water with light juices as an option
 
Selective Fast
This type of fast requires removing certain elements from your diet. One example of a selective fast is the Daniel Fast, during which you remove meat, sweets, and bread and consume only water and juice for fluids and fruits and vegetables as 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 sunup to sundown.
 
Soul Fast
A good option if you do not have much experience fasting from 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.
 
 

Why Fast?

 
While fasting as a spiritual discipline is mentioned by Jesus and other New Testament writers frequently, there is no explicit instruction or guide on how we are to observe the discipline. Fasting is an expression of our relationship with God, and the admittance that we need him.
 
 

How to Fast

 
Take a look at the following links to articles about fasting.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fasting info adapted from Church of the Highlands