We here at Echoes of Love Ministry encourage all to take on a new challenge or to possibly strengthen and bring increase from and to your prayer life.
So, Let's Fast.
What are the different types of fasting?
Since there are countless types of fasting, it would take a lifetime to lay out all the options, but I can share the basics to help you find the type of fasting that will help you draw nearer to God.
Know that each one has pros and cons and you should weigh them wisely. In all honestly, as we practice various types of fasting and prayer you'll learn a lot from each form. Most of the time we'll fail at a fast, but you Will learn from it nonetheless.
Be okay with failing. See each attempt at fasting as a practice run to find the right path forward toward a spiritual breakthrough.
1. A 40-Day Complete Fast (No Food or Water) Moses and Jesus both give us examples of a 40 day complete fast. note please that they give extreme examples by having no food or water for 40 days. Consult you doctor before fasting from all food and water for more than 24 hours.
"So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did not eat bread or drink water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments." (Exodus 34:28 NASB)
"And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry." (Matthew 4:2 NASB)
2. A Complete Fast The duration of a complete fast could range from part of a day to an entire day to several days or weeks. This was the most common in the scripture.
"Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a fast journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions. For I was ashamed to request from the king troops and horsemen to protect us from the enemy on the way, because we had said to the king, "The hand of our God is favorably disposed to all those who seek Him, but His power and His anger are against all those who forsake Him." So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and He listened to our entreaty." (Ezra 8:21-23 NASB)
3. A Partial Fast A partial fast can also vary in duration from part of a day to weeks. While th complete fast abstains from all food for a time, a partial fast abstains from certain foods or drinks for the time. The most common partial fasting is often called a 3 day spiritual fast while others fast 10 days, 14, days, 21 days, 30 days or even 40 days.
In Daniel, we see believers who ate only fruit, veggies and drank water for 10 days to honor God while in captivity.
"Please test your servants for ten days, and let us be given some vegetables to eat and water to drink." (Daniel 1:12 NASB)
4. The Daniel Fast is a partial fast What is the Daniel fast according to the Bible? The basic idea behind this fast is to have no meat, no tasty bread, no wine, no oils for his skin, for 21 days.
"I did not eat any tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all until the entire three weeks were completed." (Daniel 10:3 NASB)
These would have been things that satisfied Daniel. Why does this world latch onto the specifics of his fasting? The power that came and the answers to prayer that he saw are something we long for today. Note please, however, that fasting and prayer were his habits. The Daniel fast was not powerful because of what Daniel gave up, but rather because of the humility of Daniel's life.
A humble Christian who fasts will see answers and feel refreshed regularly.
5. A Non-Food Fast For those of us with a medical condition, the non-food fast is the safest way to practice this spiritual discipline. In Scripture, we see several examples of non-food fasts.
Some examples: Oils (Daniel 10:3) Sex (1 Corinthians 7:5; Exodus 19:15) Unholy things such as foods, items, people, places, practices, etc. - (Joshua 3:5)
6. Group Fasting A time of group fasting can be powerful on a personal and corporate level. This type of fasting can be a variation of any of the different types of Biblical fasting. The point is not that everyone is fasting from the same thing, but that they are fasting about the same thing.
Lent is a 40-day fast that delivers join in together preceding Easter every year.
Christians all over the world fast to prepare their hearts to celebrate the resurrection of Christ.
At other times, a group may fast over a need in their church or the salvation of a loved one. Others may fast together over their marriage or children.
The concept is simple but the power that comes when two or more are gathered in His name is great! (Matthew 18:20)
7. Isolation Fast While Jesus does not give us a detailed outline of things to abstain from during a fast He does show us how effective isolation is for fasting. Jesus often withdrew from His disciples to spend time alone with God (Luke 5:16)
Time alone with God is hard to find but it is one of the most effective of all the different types of Biblical fasting. In the 21st Century, time alone with God could look like:
No other people around
Your Bible (no Bible app with ads to distract you)
Zero Internet
A notebook (no tablet distract you)
No Radio
Possibly device-free
No social media
Alone. In solitude. No distractions from hearing God's voice. This type of fasting takes practice and great planning to achieve. Time alone with God is powerful for reaching Spiritual Breakthrough! Try it. Plan to drive to work tomorrow without the radio on. Spend that time talking and listening to God and see how it feels.