21 Days of Fasting and Prayer – Positioned for Harvest – January 2-22, 2011

Scriptures and Quotes on Fasting:

Joel 2:12-13 – "Now, therefore," says the LORD, "Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning." So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm."

The Apostle James says, "Come near to God and He will come near to you. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up."

Bill Bright says, "Fasting prepares us for the deepest and richest spiritual communion possible. It clears and liberates our minds to understand what God is saying to our spirits. It conditions our bodies to carry out His perfect will."

Preparing for the Fast:

Bill Bright gives us the following suggestions about preparing for your fast in his book, "The Coming Revival."

1. Set a specific objective – Why are you fasting? We are fasting at South Greenwood to prepare ourselves for the coming harvest season.
   
2. Prepare yourself spiritually – This begins with confession and repentance of any sin in your life. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any area of your life that is not surrendered to the Lord Jesus Christ.
   
3. Evelyn Christenson, internationally known authority on prayer gives a list of possible sins:
   

• I Thessalonians 5:18:
  "In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." Do you worry about anything? Have you failed to thank God for all things, the seemingly bad as well as the good? Do you neglect to give thanks at mealtime?
  
• Ephesians 3:20: "Now unto Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." Do you fail to attempt things for God because you are not talented enough? Do feelings of inferiority keep you from trying to serve God? When you do accomplish something for Christ, do you fail to give Him the glory?
  
• Acts 1:8:
  "But you shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and you shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." Have you failed to be a witness with your life for Christ? Have you felt it was enough to just live your Christianity and not witness with your mouth to the lost?
  
• Romans 12:3 - "For...I say to every man among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think." Are you proud of your accomplishments, your talents, and your family? Do you fail to see others at better than yourself, more important than yourself, in the body of Christ? Do you think as a Christian you are doing quite well? Do you rebel at God wanting to change you?
  
• Ephesians 4:31 "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice." Do you complain, find fault, and argue? Do you have a critical spirit? Do you carry a grudge against Christians of another group because they don't see eye-to-eye with you on all things? Do you speak unkindly about people when they are not present? Are you angry with yourself? Others? God?
  
• 1 Corinthians 6:1"Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, that you are not your own?" Are you careless with your body? Are you guilty of not caring for it as the temple of the Holy Spirit in eating and exercise habits? Do you defile your body with unholy sex acts?
  
• Ephesians 4:29 "Let no unwholesome word proceed out of your mouth." Do you ever use filthy language, tell slightly off-color jokes? Do you condone others doing so in your presence, in your home?
  
• Ephesians 4:27 "And do not give the devil an opportunity."
  

Do you fail to see you are a "landing strip" for Satan when you open your mind to him through satanic music, occult electronic games, pornographic literature, computer chatrooms, yoga séances, psychic predictions, occult movies and literature? Do you get advice for daily living from horoscopes rather from God? Do you let Satan use you to thwart the cause of Christ in your church through criticism, gossip, and non-support.

• Romans 12:11 - "Not lagging behind in diligence. "(NAS) "Not slothful in business. " (KJV) Do you fail to pay your debts on time? Avoid paying them altogether? Do you charge more on credit cards than you can pay when due? Do you neglect to keep honest income tax records? Do you engage in shady business deals whether as an employer or employee?
  
• 1 Corinthians 8:9 "But take care lest this liberty of yours somehow become a stumbling block to the weak." Do you feel you can do anything you want because the Bible says you are free in Christ? Even though you were strong enough not to fall, do you fail to take responsibility for a weaker Christian who has fallen because of your example?
  
• Hebrews 10:25 "Not forsaking our own assembling together." Are you irregular or spasmodic in church attendance? Are you skipping prayer meetings? Have you neglected family devotions?
  
• Colossians 3:9 "Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices." Do you ever lie? Exaggerate? Do you fail to see little white lies as sins? Do you tell things the way you want them rather than the way they really are?
  
• 1 Peter 2:11 "Beloved ... abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul." Are you guilty of a lustful eye toward the opposite sex? Do you fill your mind with pornography or sex oriented TV programs, movies, books, and magazines? Do you indulge in any lustful activity God's Word condemns —fornication, adultery, and perversion?
  
• 
  John 13:35 "By this all men will know you are My disciples, for you have love for one another." Are you guilty of being a part of factions and divisions in your church? Would you add fuel to a misunderstanding or help correct it? Have you loved only the ones in your church, feeling those of other denominations are not of the body of Christ? Are you secretly pleased over the misfortunes of another? Annoyed by their successes?
  
• Colossians 3:13 "Forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone, just as the Lord forgave you, also should you." Have you failed to forgive anybody anything that person might have said or done against you? Have you turned certain people off? Are you holding grudges?
  
• Ephesians 4:28 "Let him who steals steal no longer,' but rather let him labor." Do you steal from your employer by doing less work, staying on the job less time than you are paid for? Do you underpay?
  
• Ephesians 5:16 "Making the most of your time, because the days are evil." Do you waste your time or that of others? Do you spend time watching TV trash, reading cheap books, procrastinating?
  
• Matthew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters ...you cannot serve God and mammon (riches)."
  Is your goal in life to make as much money as possible? Accumulate things? Have you withheld God's share of your income from Him? Is money your God?
  
• Matthew 23: 28 "Even so you too outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."
  Do you know in your heart you are a fake, just pretending to be a real Christian? Are you hiding behind church membership to cover a life still full of sin? Are you faking Christianity for social status, acceptance in your church or community? Do you smile piously during the Sunday sermon but live your sin all week? Are you the person in your home you are trying to impress people you are?
  
• Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, ... honorable, ... right pure, ... lovely, ... of good repute, if there is any excellence and f anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things." Do you enjoy listening to gossip? Passing it on? Do you believe rumors or partial truths, especially about an enemy or your competitor? Do you fail to spend time every day reading the Bible? Do you fail to think on the things of God — only good and true and pure things — always?
  

Make your list on the basis of the above questions and whatever else God says to you. Claim the promise of 1 John 1:9 – "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Prepare Yourself Physically:

Never start a long period of fasting without first consulting with your pastor and your physician.

Things that we can fast:

1. Television
   
2. Sweets
   
3. Soda/Coffee/Tea
   
4. Entertainment
   
5. Meals – lunch – supper – breakfast
   
6. Recreation 

Remember that you must take this time to pray and seek the face of God. Just to miss a meal to lose weight is not fasting. There must be a spiritual purpose attached to our efforts of self-denial.

Fasting Resources:
Books:
Fasting Forward, Advancing Your Spiritual Life Through Fasting by Billy Wilson, Pathway Press, 2005
Fasting for Spiritual Breakthrough, A Guide to Nine Biblical Fasts by Elmer L. Towns, Regal Books, 1996
The Power of Prayer and Fasting, 21 Days That Can Change Your Life by Marilyn Hickey, Warner Faith, 2006
The Hidden Power of Prayer and Fasting, Releasing the Awesome Power of the Praying Church by Mahesh Chavda, Destiny Image Publishers, 1998
Fasting, Opening the door to a deeper, more intimate, more powerful relationship with God, by Jensen Franklin, Charisma House, 2006
Websites:
http://www.billbright.com/howtofast/
http://www.inplainsite.org/html/fasting.html
http://www.allaboutprayer.org/prayer-and-fasting.htm
http://www.freedomyou.com/level%202/Fasting%20Page%20Guide.htm