The goal of fasting is to draw near to God and to deepen our faith. We set aside seasons to fast and pray as a community of faith so we can empty ourselves of lesser things to be filled with more of God’s presence. Taking up the spiritual practice of fasting is a way to express humility and openness. Now is the time for us to seek God’s heart and vision for our lives and our church. We desire fellowship with the Holy Spirit and to be empowered to do the “greater things” Jesus spoke of in the Gospel of John.
Sermon Series: “Greater Things”
Beginning August 4, 2024
“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” – John 14:12-14
Sermon Series: “Greater Things”
Beginning August 4, 2024
“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” – John 14:12-14
Dates to Remember
21 Days of Prayer and Fasting:
August 11th-31st, 2024
Special Services:
Night of Prayer and Praise.
Sunday, August 11th from 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Our season of fasting and prayer will open with a night of worship and prayer. There will be space for private prayer around the four themes of the Greater Things series – Gospel Culture, Discipling Community, Serving Others, and Bringing Heaven on Earth.
Prayer Room:
Our prayer room located off the eastside narthex of the sanctuary will be available for prayer each day. Come through the office to access the prayer room during office hours from 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM, Monday through Friday.
When deciding on a fast, seek God in prayer and follow what the Holy Spirit leads you to do.
Scripture References About Fasting
Matthew 6:16-18
Concerning Fasting
16 “And whenever you fast, do not look somber, like the hypocrites, for they mark their faces to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.[a]
Matthew 9:14-15
The Question about Fasting
14 Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often,[a] but your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus said to them, “The wedding attendants cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.
Luke 18:9-14
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Acts 27:33-37
33 Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. “For the last fourteen days,” he said, “you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food—you haven’t eaten anything. 34 Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.” 35 After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. 36 They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. 37 Altogether there were 276 of us on board.
Nehemiah 9:1-3
The Israelites Confess Their Sins
9 On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and putting dust on their heads.2 Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners.They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the sins of their ancestors. 3 They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day, and spent another quarter in confession and in worshiping the Lord their God.
Types of Fasting
Types of Fasting
Have you wondered what the different types of Christian fasts are and how the Bible defines fasting? Christian fasting is abstinence from food or drink for a specific period of time while focusing on prayer and fellowship with God. Spiritual preparation and guidance from the Holy Spirit are key for biblical fasting. Although we can get caught up in “rules” about food and eating, a spiritual fast is first about God and our relationship with Him.
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, and bread from your diet and consume water and juice for fluids and fruits and vegetables for food.
Partial Fast
This fast involves abstaining from eating any type of food for certain meals of the day. Commonly this is in the morning and afternoon. This can correlate to specific times of the day, such as 6:00 am to 3:00 pm, or from sunup to sundown.
Complete Fast
In this type of fast, you drink only liquids, typically water with light juices as an option.
Soul Fast
This fast is a great option in addition to fasting food to refocus certain areas of your life that are out of balance. This is also a good option for those who have health issues that prevent them from fasting food. For example, you might choose to stop using social media, watching television, playing video games, or watching the news, 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.
Resources & Links
Prayer and Fasting
Here are several links that we hope you will find useful in enhancing your fasting experience.
Devotional Guides
Adult Resources
Pray First:
Includes 7 prayer models to help you explore new forms of prayer. You can download this guide here: Prayer Guide for Adults
Seedbed.com Resources:
Seedbed is a publishing group associated with Asbury Theological Seminary. Their daily devotional books The Awakened Life and Wake Up are availble for purchase through the church.
Student Resources:
Creative Ideas for Teaching Kids How to Pray:
We have additional prayer guides and resources for students on our website to encouage participation by all ages.
Devotional and Prayer App
21 Days of Prayer and Fasting Plan
This is an app-based devotional guide that includes reading for 21 days. Over the 21 days, we invite you to give God time each day intentionally.
The devotional includes daily topics with bible-based thoughts, scripture, and a prayer. Topics range from having a heart after God, forgiveness, and developing patience to pray for your family, city, and missionaries worldwide. We hope that at the end of your 21-day journey, you will have further developed discipline by spending time with Jesus and surrendering your cares to Him.
What’s needed? Just the Bible App and Devotional Guide: You can get both below.
Download the YouVersion Bible App Here:
After downloading the app you can get the devotional here:
21 Days of Prayer and Fasting Devotional Guide::