Fast Track to God. CanGod Make Us Hungry for God?

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Cody Griffin
5 years ago
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1 Fast Track to God CanGod Make Us Hungry for God?

2 Matthew 6:16-18

3 Matthew 6: When you fast,do not look somberas the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others 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.

4 What is Fasting? Simply put, fasting is the voluntary abstinence from food for spiritual purposes. A fast can last anywhere from one meal to 40 days without food, but our focus today is for 21 days. There are different types of fasts the most typical is to go without any food, some people will fast from food and water although you can only do this for a short time. There are limited fasts, when people will allow themselves juice or other liquid sustenance during their fast.

5 There are partial fasts, where you will give up certain types of food for a period of time. Many people do this during lent when they will give up sweets, or meat, or something else for the 40 days from Ash Wednesday to Easter. Today we are focusing on a 21 Day Fast; starting tomorrow 01/09/2017 thru 01/29/2017. This is all in preparation for our 40 Day Lenten Season. My hope is that we have a 21 Day church wide fast. There is a 21 Day Fasting Page on our Website to share our journey, by sharing our comments after we have completed our fast.

6 Fasting from other things besides food? While we are going to primarily concentrate on fasting from food, people will also fast from: T.V., Video Games, & Online Computer Games Social Media, Facebook, Twitter, Snap Chat, etc Talking on the Phone, Texting, or Face Timing. Coffee, Energy Drinks, Alcohol, Tobacco, E- Cigarettes, etc

7 Fasting from other things besides food? You can fast from anything that is habitual in your life. It is good to fast from the things that you obsess about it reminds you that you can get by without them. When we fast, we want to be sure we are truly denying ourselves of what we want, so we can focus on what God has in store for us.

8 Is Fasting a Christian Tradition? The simple answer is yes. Everyone of importance in the Bible practiced fasting: Moses, David, Elijah, Esther, Daniel, Anna, Paul, Jesus, just to name a few. When Jesus taught on fasting, he would say when you fast, not if you fast. He assumed that we would fast. It is not just the great people of the Bible that practiced fasting, but also the great pillars of the church down through the ages that practiced fasting as part of their regular spiritual discipline.

9 Why Fast? Fasting can increase our hunger for God Because Jesus expects it (Matthew 6:16-18) For Guidance (Acts 14:23) For Intensity in Prayer (Ezra 8:21-23) As a Sign of Mourning (Nehemiah 1:4-6) To Show Humility in the Presence of God (Psalm 35:13) For Worship (Psalm 51) For Spiritual Strength (Luke 4:1-11)

10 Drawing Us Closer To God Fasting reminds us that we can get by without most things in our lives for a time, but we cannot get by without God. The first and mainpurpose of Fasting is to draw us closer to God.

11 Fasting Uncovers What Rules Us! More than any other single discipline, fasting reveals the things that control us. This is a wonderful benefit to the person who longs to be transformed into the image of Jesus Christ. We cover up what is inside us with food and other good things, but in fasting these things surface. If pride or fear control us, it will be revealed almost immediately.

12 The Elite of All Spiritual Disciplines Out of all the Spiritual Disciplines fasting is the most like physical exercise. It is both physical and spiritual and it builds our faith muscles so that we can withstand the certain trials and low spots that lie ahead for all of us.

13 Fasting can be earnest prayer. Fasting can help humble ourselves. Fasting can be a sign of repentance. There are many more reasons to fast and you can download our 21 Day Fasting Journal for more details from our website, or reach out to us, and we will make sure you get one.

14 It s one thing to know about God, but it s a different thing to be known by God. Ask yourself,what am I allowing to come between me and God s presence?

15 No matter where you are in life or what challenges you face today, I invite you to devote yourself to be in His presence, feast on His word, and worship Him daily, pushing everything else aside, so that you will know Him and carry His presence into any circumstance.

16 Imagine the blessings God has for you if you prepare your heart and surrender it all to Him. Pray and ask God to reveal His Kingdom agenda for your life and say,not my will, but thy will be done.

17 During this time of prayer and fasting, trust that He is waiting for each of us with promises abundantly above and beyond what we could ask or imagine. Prayerfully consider what God is asking you to give up that you would decrease and He would increase in your life.

18 Starting tomorrow on January 9, we will begin this 21-Day Prayer & Fast journey together, and I look forward to where God will take us.

19 21 Day Fasting Journal On our website at you can download the.pdf file of the 21 Day Fasting Journal. Or, you can me at Or, you can call or text me at

Encounter God Through Prayer and Fasting

1 Encounter God Through Prayer and Fasting Exodus 3:1-5 1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came