What is the 21-Day Fast?

Why is Fasting Important?

1. To Seek God’s Guidance for our Church: In Acts 13:2-3, the early church fasted and prayed before sending out Paul and Barnabas on their missionary journey. Fasting clears our hearts and minds to discern God’s direction.

2. To Strengthen Prayer: Think of fasting as the amplifier of your prayer life. Ezra 8:23 says, “So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and He answered our prayer.”

3. To Overcome Spiritual Strongholds: Jesus taught that some spiritual battles require fasting: “This kind can come out only by prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:29).

4. To Humble Ourselves Before God: Fasting isn’t about showing off how “holy” you are. Instead, it’s about saying, “God, I need You more than my next meal.” David fasted in repentance, crying, “I humbled my soul with fasting” (Psalm 35:13).

5. To Be Spiritually Prepared for God’s Preferred Future: Jesus Himself fasted for 40 days to prepare for His ministry (Matthew 4:2). If the Son of God needed fasting, how much more do we?

Different Types of Fasts

Here’s a rundown of fasting styles you can prayerfully consider during your 21-day journey:

1. Complete Fast: This involves abstaining from all food and consuming only water or liquids (real juice). Examples:

• Jesus’ 40-day fast in the wilderness (Matthew 4:2).
• Moses fasted on Mount Sinai while receiving the Ten Commandments (Exodus 34:28).
• NOTE: Not everyone should participate by a complete fast. Please seek God’s guidance and your physician’s guidance before participating in a complete fast.

2. Partial Fast: This limits certain meals or types of food. Examples:

• Skipping one or two meals a day.
• Fasting during certain hours, like 6am-6pm (see Daniel 6:18, where the king fasted overnight).

3. Daniel Fast: This has become a popular variation of a fast based on Daniel 10:3. This fast excludes rich or indulgent foods like meat, wine, and sweets. It focuses on simple, plant-based eating: vegetables, fruits, and water. While this isn’t technically abstaining from food, it will require intentionality and spiritual focus.

4. Digital Fast: This isn’t food-related but involves abstaining from something that consumes your time like social media, TV/Streaming, gaming, or screen time. Again, while this is not abstaining from food, digital access consumes a significant amount of time and impacts our lives in ways most of us are not aware of.

• “I will set nothing wicked before my eyes” (Psalm 101:3).

Practical Steps for a 21-Day Fast

1. Prepare Your Heart and Mind: Pray before starting. Confess sin and ask God to guide your fast. Remember, fasting without prayer is just dieting.

2. Choose Your Fast: Be realistic. If you’ve never fasted, start small (like a partial or Daniel Fast) and build your way up.

3. Set a Personal Goal: What are you fasting for? Clarity on a decision? Spiritual breakthrough? Write it down and pray over it daily.

4. Pray for the Church:

Using the five reasons why fasting is important above, pray those things for our church. Create a Schedule Divide your 21 days into three daily focus areas (Scripture reading, Prayer, Worship)

Example:

• Mealtime 1: One Year Bible reading
• Mealtime 2: Prayer
• Mealtime 3: Worship

Stay in the Word. Memorize verses like:

• Matthew 6:33: “Seek first His kingdom…”
• Romans 8:28 “For God works all things together for the good.”

Expect Resistance When Jesus fasted, Satan tempted Him (Matthew 4:3-11). Be prepared for distractions and temptations. Use them as reminders to pray!

Biblical Encouragement

Here are some powerful passages about fasting to keep you inspired:

• Joel 2:12: “Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.”
• Matthew 6:16-18: Jesus expected his followers to fast and taught that fasting in secret will glorify God and lead to blessings.
• Isaiah 58:6-7: The kind of fasting God desires—helping the oppressed and caring for the needy.
• Nehemiah 1:4: Nehemiah fasted and prayed before rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls.