Do You Fast...Yet?

This year marks the first year I have seriously fasted in order to draw closer to the Word of God. Do you fast yet?

Ever since I read Starving Jesus and learned how much the experience of fasting clarified the lives of the authors, I knew I could not go forward without a consistent fast.

So far it has become

• a tool for helping me rely on, look forward to, and have complete faith in the perfection of His written Word.
• a tool for giving me a desire to try and live His word to the best of my ability.
• a prayer strengthener.
• a tool for interrogating my threshold for sin.
• a vehicle for strengthening myself against temptation.
• a tool for clearly understanding the exact moment I am choosing something else in place of God.
• a tool for seeing God in all relationships around me.
• a compass for staying on track with His will - even when I don't know what God's plan is for my life.
• a device that helps me speak His word boldly.

Do you fast yet?

I don't know if there is a 'right' way to fast. I plan my fast for consuming coffee, water, or the prepared juices. Here's what I do: I plan for about 3 to 4 days of not eating. I buy a bunch of fresh veggies and fruit and juice them. I make one pitcher for fruit or red juice and one for green or vegetable juice. I carry my Bible with me everywhere. But in advance, I have in mind some passages that are special to me.

Then, I just start. I drink coffee in the morning, green juice in the afternoon, and red juice at night. And I drink water whenever I think about it - but not too much. Every time I begin to feel hungry, I pray into the hunger pang. Specifically, I pray that God would fill my hunger with his Word. Then I read the Bible.

Then I write about what I read - - if I happen to have any epiphanies.

During a fast - remarkably, I have never felt hungry for longer than 5 or so minutes.

Do you fast yet?

Here are the prayers I pray:

• The Believers' Prayer
• The Lord's Prayer
• Habakkuk's Prayer
• My own personal prayers

I usually read a passage of the Bible that is my regular reading (right now I am in Acts) and also I include either the Sermon on the Mount, and Isaiah's Ch. 58 on 'True Fasting'.

Do you fast yet?

Here's recipes for the juices:

Green:

• Celery
• Cucumber
• Kale
• Spinach
• Parsley
• Mint
• Rosemary (just a touch)
• Green Grapes or Green Apples (sometimes)

Red:

• Beets
• Carrots
• Strawberries
• Tangerines
• Sometimes - Blackberries, cantaloupe, red bell pepper or watermelon

Do you fast yet?

Enjoy discovering a new you and letting go of the old you.