A call to prayer and fasting
From August 16 through September 6th, Gateway will be focused on 21 Days of Prayer. During this time, as a church body, we will be concentrating on a time of prayer and fasting. We must seek God first in prayer and trust in His power alone to create a lasting impact in our lives, our church, our community, and our world. There is real power when we do this collectively as a church.
As we face a global pandemic, economic instability, and uncertainty in our nation, we believe the truth of Hosea 10:12, which says, “It is time to seek the Lord, until He comes and showers His righteousness on you.”
Let us seek the Lord together through a season of prayer and fasting.
You will find resources on our website to help guide you through this season of prayer.
Fasting
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
In this type of fast, you drink only liquids, typically water with light juices as an option.
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.
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.
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.