Why Fast?

Howbeit, this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting . . . Matthew 17:21

The spiritual warfare in which Christians must engage requires prayer and fasting.

How to Fast

The word fast is a reference to abstaining from something. Fasting may be minimal or extreme. What matters is that you and God covenant together and you keep the covenant. Better to plan a lenient fast and exercise a more stringent one than to plan a more stringent fast and “cheat” on it.

The devil is a liar. He will tell you that this should not or cannot be done. God is truth. He will empower and reward you.

Types of Fasting

• nothing by mouth from dinner Tuesday until breakfast Thursday (approximately 36 hours).
• nothing by mouth from dinner Tuesday until dinner Wednesday (approximately 24 hours).
• no food for 24 or 36 hours — take in beverages (non-alcoholic, of course) as you want them.
• no food or beverage except juice or water for either 24 or 36 hours.
• nothing but water for the chosen time frame.
• eat breakfast before sunrise Wednesday, then eat nothing until supper after sunset. May or may not consume beverages, juices, or water during fasting period.
• eat only uncooked foods (fruits and vegetables) for the designated period of time.

During the time that you would normally have been preparing and eating food, find a quiet place to meditate, read the Scriptures, and pray. Focus on the specific reason(s) you’re fasting, but open yourself up for the LORD to speak a special word to you.

For guidance for longer periods of fasting, click here.

For What Do We Pray?

The Disease — Sin: 

• Pray that Salvation will come to those who need to receive it; globally, locally, and in our homes and families.

The Symptoms — Destruction:

• Pray for God’s Spirit to bring His children to obedient service of Him daily.
• Pray for revival to sweep across the institutional and invisible church around the world, around the corner.
• Pray for unity within the body of Christ, across race, gender, and denomination — that we will fight sin, not each other.
• Pray for our local congregation to be all that God would have us to be . . . that resources will be found to fulfill the work God has for us.
• Pray for our Pastors to always submit to the leading of the Spirit of God.
• Pray for our homes and families that the Spirit of God will hover there, moving mightily in each one’s life.
• Pray for our young people to experience success in school and other activities as they develop toward adulthood.
• Pray for those whose bodies are torn by disease that healing may be complete.
• Pray for those Christians whose lifestyle is contradictory to the will of God that they may submit and see victory.
• Add your prayer concerns . . .

Christians have for too long lived in a state of pathetic powerlessness. Pathetic because the very name Christ is the name of power.

There are many reasons why we remain powerless, nonetheless. Sin, both personal and universal, remains the primary reason. Ignorance of what is possible comes a tremendously close second.

It is my prayer that, because the LIGHThouse (Sharing Life In God’s Highest Terms) is embarking upon this new stage in our pilgrimage, everyone who participates will find the rich reward that comes from a life walked with God.

We have been comfortable and complacent for too long. It is time to get away from that which is traditional and predictable so that God can pour out upon us that which is deliverance.

Each week as we gather for our Sunday worship, we will share information to add to our prayer and fasting. I encourage you to contact us with both praises and needs that you might know that your burden is shared by others who share your faith.

If, by chance, you are not currently active in a Christian congregation, we invite you to consider making us your church family. But if not us, it must be someone who walks with Christ, the Savior of the world.

Serving because Christ saves . . . to the uttermost,

 Denise Watts-Wilson, Pastor