Church Fast Information
Dear Church Family,
Twenty twenty-four has been such an adventure this last year and I am so grateful. With “refined” and “precise” being the words God gave us this year, together, we have grown, overcome and reached new depths in our relationship with Christ. It has truly been a year of God’s faithfulness and truth. I see that changing in the year to come, in fact, as I have been waiting on the Lord to speak about the direction of our church in 2025, I have heard the Lord call us to return to our first call, in that return to the very fundamentals that define us. This is a different season where the Lord is calling us into a depth of calling. In many ways from the ways of a child to the ways of an adult. A maturity to lead and influence to a place in our city that God is leading us into.
I am asking you to join with the rest of our church in a week of prayer and fasting. This fast will begin the evening of January 19th and on the evening of January 24th. To reiterate, our focus this year will be to see how we partner with God in returning to the simple faith that will lead us to grow deep in our hearts and souls, and then outward in our expression of God’s simple truth and love to our city. To this end, we want to invite you to first specifically ask God for His guidance and provision. Second, to set aside specific times of prayer, morning, noon and night. Last, to fast as instructed below, during these five days.
Why Christians Fast
I realize some in our congregation might be new to the practice of prayer and fasting. So, I wanted to provide some additional instruction and explanation on why we fast and how to fast. When we fast, we forgo food as a source of physical nourishment and strength to remind ourselves of our need to rely on God for spiritual nourishment and strength. Fasting is done in combination with a commitment to pray and study God’s word. As Jesus taught, Christians “do not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).
We want to focus this particular fast on praying for God’s will and provision for the upcoming year. To use an analogy, we give a tithe of our income to show that all we have comes from God and ultimately belongs to Him. In the same way, I want our church to fast for this week of the year to show that we are committing the entire year to Him. We are praying that all we do in 2025 will be an act of worship to Him, in accordance with His will, and by the strength He provides.
How to Fast
When Jesus taught on fasting, he decried the legalistic tendencies of the Pharisees to turn fasting into a competition done for vain glory before men. So, I want to stress that fasting should not be legalistic, and no one should feel the need to “compete” with anyone else in terms of how they fast. There are many ways to fast and each member of Vineyard Church should feel comfortable to fast in whatever manner they feel called by God. Here are a few ways that Christians have historically fasted:
There is no single “correct” way to fast and fasting should be neither competitive nor legalistic. If you start out fasting with one method and feel the need to switch to another method of fasting, know that God loves you just the same and desires to work in your life regardless of your method of fasting.
Commitment to pray and study God’s word
As mentioned previously, we are fasting in conjunction with a commitment to pray and study God’s word in order for Him to be our source of spiritual strength and nourishment. One option that you may enjoy is this website Sacred Spaces (https://www.sacredspace.ie/) or the reading plan on our app (google) / (apple).
To this end we will hold a series of prayer meetings and open the church for all who are interested in coming together and praying for these themes and areas.
In Christ’s Adventure,
Rick
Twenty twenty-four has been such an adventure this last year and I am so grateful. With “refined” and “precise” being the words God gave us this year, together, we have grown, overcome and reached new depths in our relationship with Christ. It has truly been a year of God’s faithfulness and truth. I see that changing in the year to come, in fact, as I have been waiting on the Lord to speak about the direction of our church in 2025, I have heard the Lord call us to return to our first call, in that return to the very fundamentals that define us. This is a different season where the Lord is calling us into a depth of calling. In many ways from the ways of a child to the ways of an adult. A maturity to lead and influence to a place in our city that God is leading us into.
I am asking you to join with the rest of our church in a week of prayer and fasting. This fast will begin the evening of January 19th and on the evening of January 24th. To reiterate, our focus this year will be to see how we partner with God in returning to the simple faith that will lead us to grow deep in our hearts and souls, and then outward in our expression of God’s simple truth and love to our city. To this end, we want to invite you to first specifically ask God for His guidance and provision. Second, to set aside specific times of prayer, morning, noon and night. Last, to fast as instructed below, during these five days.
Why Christians Fast
I realize some in our congregation might be new to the practice of prayer and fasting. So, I wanted to provide some additional instruction and explanation on why we fast and how to fast. When we fast, we forgo food as a source of physical nourishment and strength to remind ourselves of our need to rely on God for spiritual nourishment and strength. Fasting is done in combination with a commitment to pray and study God’s word. As Jesus taught, Christians “do not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).
We want to focus this particular fast on praying for God’s will and provision for the upcoming year. To use an analogy, we give a tithe of our income to show that all we have comes from God and ultimately belongs to Him. In the same way, I want our church to fast for this week of the year to show that we are committing the entire year to Him. We are praying that all we do in 2025 will be an act of worship to Him, in accordance with His will, and by the strength He provides.
How to Fast
When Jesus taught on fasting, he decried the legalistic tendencies of the Pharisees to turn fasting into a competition done for vain glory before men. So, I want to stress that fasting should not be legalistic, and no one should feel the need to “compete” with anyone else in terms of how they fast. There are many ways to fast and each member of Vineyard Church should feel comfortable to fast in whatever manner they feel called by God. Here are a few ways that Christians have historically fasted:
- Non-food fasts. Christians can choose to fast from things other than food. For example, one might fast from watching TV, social media, the internet, etc. and commit some of
- Daniel Fast. This form of fasting is modeled after that practiced by the prophet Daniel as described in Daniel 10:2-3. A Daniel Fast consists of eating only fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and liquids, while abstaining from meat, processed foods, rich foods and sweets. For an example of the Daniel Fast see: https://ultimatedanielfast.com/ultimate-daniel-fast-food-guidelines/.
- Time of day fasting. Christians can choose to fast during a certain portion of the day. For example, one might fast during the lunch hour and instead commit this time to prayer. Another popular form of this fast is to fast from sun-up to sundown with a small meal being eaten before dawn and/or after dusk.
- Fasting from solid foods (water, juice, tea, etc. allowed).
- Fasting on water alone. If you have never fasted before I DO NOT recommend a water only fast for an entire week as your first introduction to fasting. If you have special health needs (ex. Diabetes, Hypoglycemia, etc.) I would recommend consulting with your doctor before attempting a water only fast.
There is no single “correct” way to fast and fasting should be neither competitive nor legalistic. If you start out fasting with one method and feel the need to switch to another method of fasting, know that God loves you just the same and desires to work in your life regardless of your method of fasting.
Commitment to pray and study God’s word
As mentioned previously, we are fasting in conjunction with a commitment to pray and study God’s word in order for Him to be our source of spiritual strength and nourishment. One option that you may enjoy is this website Sacred Spaces (https://www.sacredspace.ie/) or the reading plan on our app (google) / (apple).
To this end we will hold a series of prayer meetings and open the church for all who are interested in coming together and praying for these themes and areas.
- Sunday (Jan. 19th) 6pm in the Sanctuary. Prayer for the lost in our community.
- Wednesday (Jan. 22nd) 6pm at the church. Prayer for the youth and young adults of the city and Vineyard Church.
- Thursday (Jan. 23rd) 6pm at the church, in the Cafe. Prayer for the kids (birth-6th grade) of Vineyard.
- Friday January 24th 5pm in the Conference Room prayer for revival.
In Christ’s Adventure,
Rick