Emmanuel Church is embarking on a 21-Day Fast.
January 8, 2024 – January 28, 2024
The goal of fasting is to draw closer to God by eliminating distractions for a spiritual purpose. A fast hits the reset button on our soul and renews us from the inside out. It also enables us to celebrate God's mercy and goodness and prepares our hearts for the abundant life He wants for each of us.
TYPES OF FASTS
Your 21-Day Fast should be challenging, but it is important to consider your health, your options, and most importantly, the guidance of the Holy Spirit as you decide on what type of fast to pursue.
Complete Fast
Drink only liquids, typically water and/or light juices as an option.
Selective Fast
Remove certain foods from your diet. A common form 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
Abstaining from entire meals for a designated amount of time. One example of this is the "Jewish Fast" which is a full-day fast that begins with sunset in the evening and continues until sunset the next day. A minor fast day begins with dawn and ends at darkness. This can be correlated to specific times of day such as 6 am to 3 pm.
Soul Fast
This fast is a great option if you do not have much experience fasting food, have health issues that prevent you from fasting from food, or if you wish to refocus certain areas of your life that are out of balance. You might choose to stop using social media or watching television for the duration of the fast and then carefully bring that element back into your life in healthy doses at the conclusion of the fast. Set limits on your screen time and/or your media use. You might give up certain movies and television entirely or just at certain times of the day or week. You could also say no screen time after a certain time of day. Or delete the social media app you use the most. Then, use that time you would have spent on a screen in prayer and studying the Bible.
Remember, fasting should be cause for joy, not misery! Focus on God, not on what you are giving up. Don’t beat yourself up if you stumble or lose focus. Just pick up where you left off and keep going.
What are you hoping God shows you over these next 21 days?