Prayer & Fasting

Your Personal Guide to Prayer & Fasting

This information will help you have an amazing fast so that you can focus on getting the most out of prayer and fasting as described below!

*If you have any medical condition, please contact your GP to get a plan that is safe for your condition. This may involve praying and fasting other mediums if it is deemed unsafe to fast by your medical professional.

We have provided a PDF copy of “Your Personal Guide to Prayer & Fasting” by Bill Bright.
Click here to read or download the PDF.

Purposes for Fasting

• Let it – strengthen our prayer
• Let us – seek God’s guidance for us as individuals and as a local church.
• Let us – humble ourselves before God.
• Let us – pray and fast to overcome temptations & challenges and dedicate ourselves to God for His plans for us as individuals and corporately as His Church, both now and in this season; Just as Christ did for 40 days and forty nights when entering His call.
• To express our love and worship to God – to grow in our relationship with God.
• Fasting can be an expression of worship.
• Fasting teamed with prayer and worship brings us closer spiritually in relationship and purpose with God.

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 and what God desires to bring into our lives.

Why Should I Fast?

When we fast, we empty ourselves and we deny ourselves things we love for something we love even more. There are many ways to fast – all foods, partial fasts, liquid fasting. You may also want to cut out extra noise or other things that distract and take your attention.

What does the Bible say about fasting?

Biblical fasting, unlike fasting for medical or health reasons, must be done with an attitude of seriousness and sincerity. When we fast, we willingly deprive the body of nourishment and the pleasurable taste of food. The body requires food for sustenance; therefore our hearts and minds must be totally focused and directed towards God so that He may be the full source of our strength during our period of fasting. Fasting must also be done in an attitude of humility. 

But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you
Matthew 6:17-18

In addition to our attitudes towards God and our stance before man, our motives must also be correct. We should fast in order to further the building up of God’s kingdom by seeking to minister to others. The prophet Isaiah received from the Lord the acceptable motives for our fasts:

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter — when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Isaiah 58:6-7

Fasts may last for varying lengths of time — one day, three days, seven days, and more. We should prayerfully seek the Lord about the length of our fast. Fasting should have an object in mind; we should have a clear idea of the need and purpose. One of the most pressing reasons for Christian fasting may be revival.

Types of Fasts

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.

Complete Fast

In this type of fast, you drink 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, and 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 6:00am to 3:00pm, or from sunup to sundown.

Quietening Your Soul

We recommend adding, quietening of your soul to a complete, partial or selective fast. The thought behind this is that you cut out all the extra noise and distraction that can often drown out spiritual pursuit.

This is an excellent addition for spiritual pursuit or if you are not able to fast food for medical reasons or have health issues that prevent you from fasting from food.

Quietening your soul allows you to really pray and spiritually pursue all that God has for you. It can also help you to refocus certain areas of your life that are out of balance.

You can use the extra time for the spiritual pursuit of prayer, worship and meditation on God’s word.

One last thing…
Remember the focus of prayer and fasting is to quiet ourselves and our souls before God in prayer, fasting and worship to hear clearly and have ourselves emptied of things and refilled with His purposes and direction.