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PRAYER & FASTING

January 8-28, 2024

Every January, we like to begin the new year with 21 Days of Prayer & Fasting. We encourage our church family to join us in both prayer and fasting as a spiritual next step that can bring clarity and revelation into your life.

As you practice seeking Him first through prayer, He will move on your behalf like never before. You will start to see the power of prayer impact your relationships, work, family, and every area of your life. Whether you join us in person or online, we would love for you to be part of 21 Days of Prayer.

The goal of fasting is to draw nearer to God. Biblical fasting always has to do with eliminating distractions for a spiritual purpose; it hits the reset button of our soul and renews us from the inside out. It also enables us to celebrate the goodness and mercy of God and prepares our hearts for all the good things God desires to bring into our lives. Remember, 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.

Types of Fasts

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.

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 you do not have much experience fasting food, 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 and then carefully bring that element back into your life in healthy doses at the conclusion of the fast.

Timing of a Fast

At Local Church, we encourage fasting for 21 days each year in the month of January. This is part of 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting, a season of focused prayer as a church family. You may also choose to fast at other times during the year for your own spiritual development. It’s very typical to fast a single meal, a whole day, or three days or more. The timing of your fast is not as important as the strength of your focus on God as you fast.

Scripture References

Matthew 6:16-18

Matthew 9:14-15

Luke 18:9-14

Acts 27:33-37

Nehemiah 9:1-3

21 Days Resources

Watch one of our previous sermon series as Pastor Mike discusses the power prayer and fasting can have in our lives. We’ve included a couple guides, articles, and blogs to help you in your prayer time each day of this fast.

Watch Sermon Series

Pastor Mike has a great sermon series on why we fast and pray, along with another series on Dangerous Prayers. Check them both out on our Youtube channel.

21 Days

Dangerous Prayers

Pray First Prayer Guide

We don’t have to follow a specific formula to talk with God, but practicing different ways to pray can help us find deeper purpose and connection to Him through our prayer time.

This book is designed to give you several prayer models. You don’t have to master all of them at once; you can select a different prayer model each day and spend time working through it at your own pace. You can go in any order you want, and you can even spend a few days on the same model as you become more comfortable with it.

Bible Reading Plans

We’ve added a few Bible plans through the YouVersion app that you can utilize while on your daily fast.