January 3-23
As we embark on a new year at Promise Land Church, we want to make it a priority to seek God first in prayer and fasting. We do this collectively as a church through 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting. Together, we faithfully seek God first, trusting in His power alone to create lasting impact in our lives, our church, and our world.
What is fasting?
Fasting is voluntarily going without food—or any other regularly enjoyed, good gift from God—for the sake of a spiritual purpose. Jesus invites His followers to fast, and we fast in this life because we believe in the life to come. We fast from what we can see and taste, because we have tasted and seen the goodness of God—and are desperately hungry for more of Him. So take a step of faith, pray without ceasing, and watch God move in your life, our church, and the world!
Purpose of Fasting
1. TO SEEK ANSWERS FROM GOD
Ezra 8:21 & 23 NLT
“21 And there by the Ahava Canal, I gave orders for all of us to fast and humble ourselves before God. We prayed that he would give us a safe journey and protect us, our children, and our goods as we traveled. 23 So we fasted and earnestly prayed that our God would take care of us, and he heard our prayer”
2. TO PRAY ON BEHALF OF OTHERS
Ezekiel 22:30 NLT
“30 I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one.”
3. TO BREAKTHROUGH IN DIFFICULT SITUATIONS
Isaiah 58:6-8 NLT
“6 No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. 7 Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help. 8 “Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the lord will protect you from behind.”
Types of Fast
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.
In this type of fast, you drink only liquids, typically water with light juices as an option.
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.
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.
This fast is a great option if you do not have much experience fasting 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.
Resources
Test Prayer Wall
This is a test on the launch of the prayer wall. We hope everyone finds this feature to be helpful and you walk in God this 2023. We have our prayer team ready to pray daily for our needs.