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 our soul and renews us from the inside out. It also enables us to celebrate the goodness and mercy of God and prepares our hearts for all the good things God desires to bring into our lives. 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.
FAST FOR SEVEN
Each week during our 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting, we encourage you to practice the spiritual discipline of fasting. Fasting is the biblical way we humble ourselves before God (Psalm 35:13; 69:10). It also helps to increase our hunger for God’s presence and renew our connection with Him. If you’re ready to put your faith in action and drive your roots down deeper in Christ - 21 Days of Prayer is the perfect place to start! Here’s how it works. Choose something (or a few things) from the list below and abstain from it completely for 7, 14, or 21 days! If you want to change it up throughout the 21 days, choose something new each week!
- Full Meal (Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner)
- Dessert / Sweets
- Dairy
- Meat
- Sugar
- Carbs
- Processed Food
- Snacking
- Alcohol
- Coffee
- Soda
- Eating out
- Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, etc
- Shopping
- Social Media
- Video games
- YouTube
- Screen Time
OTHER TYPES OF FASTS
COMPLETE FAST
This fast calls for drinking 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, or 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 sunup to sundown.
SOUL FAST
This fast is common for those who do not have much experience fasting food, who have health issues that prevent them from fasting food, or who wish to refocus certain areas of their life that are out of balance. For instance, someone might select to abstain from using social media or watching television for the duration of the fast, and then choose to carefully bring that element back into their life in an orderly fashion at the conclusion of the fast.
This fast calls for drinking 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, or 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 sunup to sundown.
SOUL FAST
This fast is common for those who do not have much experience fasting food, who have health issues that prevent them from fasting food, or who wish to refocus certain areas of their life that are out of balance. For instance, someone might select to abstain from using social media or watching television for the duration of the fast, and then choose to carefully bring that element back into their life in an orderly fashion at the conclusion of the fast.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
Matthew 6:16-18
Matthew 9:14-15
Luke 18:9-14
Acts 27:33-37
Nehemiah 9:1-3
Matthew 6:16-18
Matthew 9:14-15
Luke 18:9-14
Acts 27:33-37
Nehemiah 9:1-3
WHEN SHOULD I FAST?
At Crossroads, we encourage fasting for 21 days each year in the month of January. This is part of a season of focused prayer as a church family. You may also choose to fast at other times during the year for your own spiritual development. It’s very typical to fast a single meal, a whole day, or three days or more. The timing of your fast is not as important as the strength of your focus on Him as you fast.
At Crossroads, we encourage fasting for 21 days each year in the month of January. This is part of a season of focused prayer as a church family. You may also choose to fast at other times during the year for your own spiritual development. It’s very typical to fast a single meal, a whole day, or three days or more. The timing of your fast is not as important as the strength of your focus on Him as you fast.