The Challenge starts Friday!
The Challenge starts this Friday on the first day of 10 Days! Have you signed up yet?
The Challenge has four parts -- you're free to do some or all of them as you feel led, but there is a power in doing them together:
Taking time off from work and normal rhythm
Devoting yourself to prayer with other believers
Fasting from food at some level
Fasting from Social Media and Entertainment.
We encourage people to begin their 10 Day commitments the evening of September 15th and break them the evening of September 25th.
As we prepare to enter into this special season of consecration, we wanted to share this teaching on Fasting from Jonathan Friz.
Fasting During 10 Days of Prayer
10 Days of Prayer is a fast. Whether or not there is a city-wide prayer meeting near you, everyone can enter fasting during 10 Days at some level. How or if you fast is between you and God—but you’re invited to fast! And fasting, when it is done in the right spirit, is something that God sees and rewards (Matthew 7:18).
What does it mean to fast?
Fasting is:
Giving up lawful physical needs and pleasures in order to pursue spiritual needs and pleasures.
An embodied way of humbling ourselves before God and an expression of mourning.
A physical form of prayer, an act of faith in God.
One of three “righteous deeds” commended by Jesus in Matthew 6. (Prayer, Fasting, Charity)
An expression of our desire for the return of Christ. (Matt 9:15)
Fasting is done voluntarily, not under compulsion. The type of fast that you enter in is between you and God. Here are some common ways of fasting:
3 Biblical Fasts: There are three types of Biblical fasts that are mentioned in Scripture.
A “Daniel Fast” mentioned Daniel 1 and 10. It involves eating only plants and no luxury foods.
A “Water Fast” (no food, only water), practiced by Jesus in the wilderness.
An “Esther Fast”, (no food, no water), practiced by Esther and also by Moses on Sinai
Since these are explicitly mentioned by Scripture, they deserve special consideration by us although the Esther Fast is not recommended for more than a day and only if you are in good health. Pregnant and nursing women, the seriously sick, and young children should not fast, although Daniel (vegan) fasts are safe for most people in most situations.
Other Types of Fasts include:
A “juice” or liquid fast, cutting out solid foods for only fruit and vegetable juices. This type of fast sometimes will include broths and some people use smoothies or blended drinks.
A “media fast” is increasingly common as our phones, TV’s, video games, and social media have expanded into more and more of life. Even people in the world are recognizing the need to withdraw from the many screens in our life. An old school version of a media fast was abstaining from newspapers, novels, or other secular reading on the Sabbath.
Giving up anything for a specified amount of time can be considered a form of fasting (specific food or drink items, sex within marriage by mutual consent, luxury items, entertainment, sports etc.)
Check out the rest of the article on Fasting during 10 Days here.