It is that time of the year!
14 Days of Fasting & Prayer
We are so glad you have decided to participate in a time of prayer, fasting and personal devotion to start the New Year. There really is no better way to reset our spiritual compass and bring about refreshing in every area of our lives than through prayer and fasting.
Prayer
As you prepare for the next fourteen days, it can be tempting to start thinking of a laundry list of prayers you'd love to see answered. But we really want to encourage you to keep this simple. Think about the top two or three things most pressing on your heart and zone in on those with God. Write these down, and be open to hearing what God wants to show you in those areas. The breakthroughs, miracles, and answers to your prayers will be byproducts of drawing closer to Jesus.
When praying, make your primary goal to know Jesus more and experience Him. Pray prayers of total surrender, and aim to glorify God with your life. Focus first on what's right about Him, such as his goodness and His greatness, and see everything else through that filter.
And most importantly, make time to pray daily. Don't overcomplicate this! Just talk to God. Have that place and time where you can seek Him everyday. If you don't plan to pray, you won't. If you find it a challenge to disconnect from the busyness of your day, engaging in worship music is a great way to prepare your heart for prayer.
As corporate body, our primary prayer focus will be for the LORD to SEND A REVIVAL. We need a REVIVAL in our homes, churches, schools, neighborhoods, cities, counties, nations, but most of all IN OUR HEARTS.
CORPORATE PRAYER
Monday - Friday we will have corporate prayer twice daily (6AM & 6PM). Join us mornings for daily devotions, and evenings for a time of prayer focused on REVIVAL.
For the morning daily devotions, we will be following a track from the Bible Engagement Project ("ADULT SMALL GROUPS: LISTEN").
You can go to the Bible Engagement Project website to create a FREE account, or you can download the FREE app from your App Store.
*SPECIAL NOTE*
We are excited to bring back our in-person prayer nights that will take place Friday evenings (January 12th and 19th) in the UPPER ROOM (RT Youth Room) beginning at 6PM!!
Fasting
Important Note: Fasting requires reasonable precautions. If you have any health concerns, please consult your physician prior to beginning your fast, especially if you are taking any medication, have a chronic condition, or are pregnant or nursing a baby.
WHAT IS FASTING?
“Fasting is a deliberate abstinence from any form of gratification to obtain a spiritual goal.” -Tony Evans
Let me say this out the gate: Do not let what you eat or do not eat become the focus of your fast. Keep the main thing the main thing, which is drawing closer to God. Remember, this is a time to disconnect enough from your regular patterns and habits in order to connect more closely to God. Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s talk about fasting a bit.
When most people start fasting, there is typically some level of discomfort. However, it is possible to get used to the fasting routine pretty quickly. Quite simply, you must learn to fast in a way that works for you.
While any true fast does involve abstinence from food or at least certain types of food, typically, different fasting combinations work better for different people. The goal to having a successful fast is all about finding what we like to call your Fast Zone, and that is different for everybody and can change depending on the season you are in.
The best way to describe your Fast Zone is that it's the place where you feel light and spiritually in tune. Your mind is easily focused on God and spiritual things. You have an increased spiritual energy-you can feel the fast working. Just like runners know what their target heart rate is to see the benefits of their physical training, the Fast Zone is similar in a spiritual sense.
Finding your Fast Zone can be a little like “trail & error.” Let's say during the fast you are mostly consuming fruits and vegetables, but now you want something different. Should you eat beans? If you can eat beans and stay in your Fast Zone, go ahead. But for some people eating beans takes them out of the zone. Should you eat peanut butter? Probably not. Peanut butter is more of an indulgence, and not many people can stay in a Fast Zone while enjoying indulgences.
Should you completely cut out caffeine? It depends. The great thing is, when you fast, your body automatically craves less caffeine. If you can stay in your Fast Zone with a little caffeine, great. If you are going on a longer fast and want to cut it out of your diet completely, that's great too. But ease yourself off and make it your goal to be completely caffeine free about two-thirds of the way into your fast.
There isn't one approach that works the same for everyone. Follow the Holy Spirit, mix it up, find what works for you, and stay in your Fast Zone!
If you drink coffee regularly, one of the worst mistakes you can make is to fast for one to three days and cut caffeine out abruptly and completely. Please don't do that or you will spend this time grumpy and in withdrawal instead of enjoying God's presence.
IF WE WANT TO BE CLOSER TO GOD, WE MUST DENY OURSELVES OF WHAT WE WANT TEMPORARILY IN ORDER TO MAKE ROOM FOR WHAT WE NEED ETERNALLY!
As a corporate body, we have put together this recommended fasting regimen that is a hybrid of Intermittent Fasting and the Daniel Fast. See below for details.
FASTING SCHEDULE
Daily from 8 PM to Noon. (Food intake allowed from Noon to 8 PM)
FASTING FOODS TO EAT
ALL FRUITS - Apples🍎, peaches🍑, berries🫐, grapes🍇, pineapples🍍, oranges🍊, bananas🍌, melons🍉, etc. [Fresh/raw, frozen, dried, juiced, or canned in their own juice - not syrup].
ALL VEGGIES - Squash, lettuce/kale/greens/cabbage 🥬, carrots 🥕, broccoli 🥦, asparagus, corn 🌽, potatoes 🥔, sweet potatoes 🍠, etc. [fresh/raw, frozen, dried, or canned].
WHOLE GRAINS - Brown rice, oats, barley, grits, hot cereal, whole-wheat pasta, etc.
OTHER NATURAL FOODS - Beans and peas 🫛, seeds and nuts 🥜 , oils, rice milk, soy milk, water, healthy beverages and smoothies [with no sugars or artificial preservatives[, spices, herbs, tofu, soy vinegar.
SWEETENERS - Honey, agave nectar.
FOODS TO AVOID DURING THE FAST
AVOID EATING - Red Meat 🥩, White Rice 🍚, Fried Foods, Fast Foods, Caffeine & Caffeinated Beverages 🥤, Sugar & Artificial Sweeteners, Dairy Products [butter, milk, eggs, etc.]
Throughout this time of 14 Days of Prayer & Fasting, we ask that you be mindful of the amount of television, social media, and video games you consume.
(if you have medical concerns, please consult your physician for how you
can best join in this time of consecration).