21 Days of Prayer and Fasting
As a community, we dedicate three weeks at the beginning of this New Year to pray and fast. As disciples of Jesus, we want to intentionally create space to hear from God so that we can do what he says.
From January 8-28, we invite you to join us for 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting. Read below to determine how you want to participate and sign up for the Community Daily to receive daily devotionals from COMMUNITY’s staff.
Why Fast?
Jesus taught his disciples to engage in practices that would help them draw near to the Father. Fasting is one of the oldest and most prevalent spiritual practices in the Bible. Great leaders in the Bible fasted routinely including Moses, David, Jeremiah, Isaiah, John the Baptist, Jesus and the disciples. In Matthew 6:16, Jesus addresses fasting when he tells the disciples, “When you fast…” Notice Jesus says “when” not “if.” Jesus assumes that we will fast. Though fasting is assumed, it is not required. We don’t have to fast. We get to fast. Like all intentional spiritual practices, fasting should not be legalistic. We are not earning approval from God through fasting. We are opening ourselves up to connect with him.
Types of Fasts
There are several different ways you can practice fasting. Here are some examples:
- 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 6:00 am to 3:00 pm, or from sunup to sundown.
- Soul Fast – This fast is a great option if your circumstances prevent you from fasting from food, you 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.
Whichever type of fast you choose, over the 21 days you can choose to fast for one day, one day a week, one meal multiple days a week, multiple days per week, etc. 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.
Pray
Fasting goes hand-in-hand with prayer. Plan to set aside the time you would normally spend on meal preparation and eating (or whatever you choose to fast from) for focused time with God. Pray, “Come, Holy Spirit,” as you invite God to search you, guide you, and transform you to become more like Jesus.
The Community Daily
Disciples hear from God and do what he says, and one of the primary ways we hear from God is through Scripture. During these 21 Days, we invite you to follow along with the Community Daily as we read Scriptures that have been hand-picked by various Community staff members from the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). Each day, you’ll hear from a staff member about how that Scripture has helped them learn to live as a disciple of Jesus. To receive the Community Daily in your email inbox each morning, sign up below.
Let’s encourage and challenge each other as we continue to grow as disciples of Jesus during these 21 Days!
