STEPS TO HELP YOU FAST Fasting is very important in many areas of a Christians life, especially for those seeking to be raptured determined to crucify the flesh. This is just to help those that either wish to do it more regular or those that have thought about it, but needed something to guide them along. HOW TO BEGIN YOUR FAST How you begin and conduct your fast will largely determine your success. By following these seven basic steps to fasting, you will make your time with the Lord more meaningful and spiritually rewarding. STEP 1: Set Your Objective Why are you fasting? Is it for spiritual renewal, for guidance, for healing, for the resolution of problems, for special grace to handle a difficult situation? Ask the Holy Spirit to clarify His leading and objectives for your prayer fast. This will enable you to pray more specifically and strategically. Through fasting and prayer we humble ourselves before God so the Holy Spirit will stir our souls, awaken our churches, and heal our land according to 2 Chronicles 7:14. Make this a priority in your fasting. STEP 2: Make Your Commitment Pray about the kind of fast you should undertake. Jesus implied that all of His followers should fast (Matthew 6:16-18; 9:14,15) For Him it was a matter of when believers would fast, not if they would do it. Before you fast, decide the following up front: • How long you will fast - one meal, one day, 2 days, a week, several weeks, forty days (Beginners should start slowly, building up to longer fasts.) • The type of fast God wants you to undertake (such as total dry fast, water only, or water and juices; what kinds of juices you will drink and how often) • What physical or social activities you will restrict • How much time each day you will devote to prayer and God's Word Making these commitments ahead of time will help you sustain your fast when physical temptations and life's pressures tempt you to abandon it. STEP 3: Prepare Yourself Spiritually The very foundation of fasting and prayer is repentance. Unconfessed sin will hinder your prayers. Here are several things you can do to prepare your heart: • Ask God to help you make a comprehensive list of your sins. • Confess every sin that the Holy Spirit calls to your remembrance and accept God's forgiveness (1 John 1:9). • Seek forgiveness from all whom you have offended, and forgive all who have hurt you (Mark 11:25; Luke 11:4; 17:3,4). • Make restitution as the Holy Spirit leads you. • Ask God to fill you with His Holy Spirit according to His command in Ephesians 5:18 and His promise in 1 John 5:14,15. • Surrender your life fully to Jesus Christ as your Lord and Master; refuse to obey your worldly nature (Romans 12:1,2). • Meditate on the attributes of God, His love, sovereignty, power, wisdom, faithfulness, grace, compassion, and others (Psalm 48:9,10; 103:1-8, 11-13). • Begin your time of fasting and prayer with an expectant heart (Hebrews 11:6). • Do not underestimate spiritual opposition. Satan sometimes intensifies the natural battle between body and spirit (Galatians 5:16,17). STEP 4: Prepare Yourself Physically Fasting requires reasonable precautions. Consult your physician first, especially if you take prescription medication or have a chronic ailment. Some persons should never fast without professional supervision. Physical preparation makes the drastic change in your eating routine a little easier so that you can turn your full attention to the Lord in prayer. • Do not rush into your fast. • Prepare your body. Eat smaller meals before starting a fast. Avoid high-fat and sugary foods. • Eat raw fruit and vegetables for two days before starting a fast. WHILE YOU ARE FASTING Your time of fasting and prayer has come. You are abstaining from all solid foods and have begun to seek the Lord. Here are some helpful suggestions to consider: • Avoid drugs, even natural herbal drugs and homeopathic remedies. Medication should be withdrawn only with your physician's supervision. • Limit your activity. • Exercise only moderately. Walk one to three miles each day if convenient and comfortable. • Rest as much as your schedule will permit. • Prepare yourself for temporary mental discomforts, such as impatience, crankiness, and anxiety. • Expect some physical discomforts, especially on the second day. You may have fleeting hunger pains, dizziness, or the "blahs." Withdrawal from caffeine and sugar may cause headaches. Physical annoyances may also include weakness, tiredness, or sleeplessness. The first two or three days are usually the hardest. As you continue to fast, you will likely experience a sense of well-being both physically and spiritually. However, should you feel hunger pains, increase your liquid intake. STEP 5: Put Yourself on a Schedule For maximum spiritual benefit, set aside ample time to be alone with the Lord. Listen for His leading. The more time you spend with Him, the more meaningful your fast will be. Morning • Begin your day in praise and worship. • Read and meditate on God's Word, preferably on your knees. • Invite the Holy Spirit to work in you to will and to do His good pleasure according to Philippians 2:13. • Invite God to use you. Ask Him to show you how to influence your world, your family, your church, your community, your country, and beyond. • Pray for His vision for your life and empowerment to do His will. Noon • Return to prayer and God's Word. • Take a short prayer walk. • Spend time in intercessory prayer for your fellow brethren, community's and nation's leaders, for the world's unreached millions, for your family or special needs. Evening • Get alone for an unhurried time of "seeking His face." • If others are fasting with you, meet together for prayer. • Avoid television or any other distraction that may dampen your spiritual focus. When possible, begin and end each day on your knees with your spouse for a brief time of praise and thanksgiving to God. Longer periods of time with our Lord in prayer and study of His Word are often better spent alone. BREAKING FAST Where possible try and break your fast with communion together with those that have joined you also. PRAYER POINTS FOR THE FASTING PERIOD Seeking God Psalms 25; Zachariah 4:9-10. 1. Lord, show me mercy and remember not my transgressions, forgive me in Jesus Name. Psalms 25:7 2. Lord, as I seek your face this period, I open up myself unto you Lord; I confess and forsake all my wrong doings, cleanse me, show me mercy and prosper me in Jesus Name. Proverbs 28:13 3. Father, let your goodness and your mercy follow me all the days of this year and throughout my life in Jesus Name. Psalms 23:6 4. Lord, as I work with you, may the fire on my altar never go out in Jesus Name Leviticus 6:10, 13 5. Lord, open my hears that I may hear you; Open my eyes that I may see you; Open my mind that I may perceive you; Open my inner man that I may hear and obey the your voice 6. I shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite me this year: for he that has mercy on me shall lead me, even by the springs of water shall he guide me in Jesus Name. Isaiah 49:10 7. Lord, every good thing that my hands have laid its foundation shall be completed by my hands in Jesus Name. Zachariah 4:9-10 8. Lord, as I pray for myself, I pray for your Church; every member, prayer partner nationwide; that as you Lord build us this new year; the gates of hell will not prevail against us in Jesus Name. Fruitfulness & Deliverance from evil Psalms 91, Isaiah 65:17-25 1. Father, help me that I will not labour in vain or bring forth in trouble in the Name of Jesus 2. Father, let every part of my life experience promotion that come from you in Jesus’ Name. Psalms 75:6 3. Lord, bless me and make fruitful and multiply according to your word this year and as I enter the New Year in Jesus’ Name. Genesis 1:28. 4. Let me experience your Power and Victory in every area of my life. 1 Samuel 17: 51-52 5. Lord, the terror that flieth by day shall not come near me and every arrow of the enemy shall return back to the sender in Jesus Name 6. I overthrow the citadel of sickness, weakness and fear in my life in Jesus Name 7. Lord, deliver me from the snare of my enemies and from the pestilence (drought) going round in Jesus Name. Psalms 91:3 8. Lord, all through this year, let me live to find favour before you and before men in Jesus Name. 1 Samuel 2:26 9. Lord, make your Church battle axe in the camp of the enemy in this Land in Jesus Name 10. Lord, I pray that you supply all my needs and those of your church, according to your riches in glory. Philippians 4:19 Thy Kingdom Come Matthew 6:9-15; 2 Chronicles 7:14; 2 Corinthians 8:7-15 1. Lord, let your righteousness and peace reign in this our nation; Cut off every evil plan of the wicked against this land and bring restoration in Jesus Name. Isaiah 62:1 2. Lord, we humble ourselves and pray for this land, heal our land of economic trouble O Lord and let honey flow again in Jesus Name. 2 Chronicles 7:14 3. Lord, let thy kingdom come upon this land as it is in Heaven in Jesus Name. Luke 11:2 4. Lord, let thy kingdom come upon your church, as it is in Heaven in righteousness, love, peace, Joy, increase, favour, power. Luke 11:2 5. Every wall of separation between brethren be torn down in Jesus Name That Lord will touch the heart of brethren to forgive one another of past hurts. That anger and bitterness be rooted out. 1 Peter 2:1 6. Lord, let there be manifestations and performance of your word and prophecies that have come forth in Jesus Name! Victory & Blessing 1 Corinthians 15:55-57; Jeremiah 33:6-11 1. Lord, this year I decree and prophecy Joy and Victory in my tabernacle and my dwellings in Jesus Name 2. Lord, let me experience your blessing that make rich without sorrow in Jesus’ Name. Proverbs 10:22 3. Father, release your blessing that will terminate struggle in my life upon me in Jesus’ Name. Proverbs 10:22 4. Lord God my Father, give me power, ability and ideas to create wealth that will go beyond my generation in Jesus’ Name. Deut.8:18 5. Lord, the pestilence that walk around by night and the destruction that waste by day, called recession, will not come by my dwelling in Jesus Name. Psalms 91:6 6. Lord, all through this year, let me live to find favour before you and before men in Jesus Name. 1 Samuel 2:26 7. In the Name of Jesus, no evil shall befall me neither shall any plague come into my dwelling; Psalms 91:10 8. I command every agent or power acting against my breakthrough to be permanently paralysed in Jesus Name Power Against Spirit of Delay Daniel 10:10-21; Isaiah 45:1-11; Isaiah 49:24-26 1. Let me experience your Power and Victory in every area of my life. 1 Sam 17: 51-52 2. Lord let every chain of life binding me from moving forward in life be broken today in Jesus’ Name. Acts 12: 6-10 3. Father, every Iron Gate set against me from entering into my place of prosperity, increase, fulfillment, and greatness be opened in their own accord in Jesus’ Name. Acts 12:10 4. Every delay in my journey of life be removed in Jesus’ Name. 5. Lord, I pray every of my lost blessing should be restored in Jesus Name 6. Lord, deliver me from the snare of my enemies and from the pestilence (drought) going round; Psalms 91:3 7. Lord, cover me with your feathers and let me dwell under your wings that I will not experience trouble in Jesus Name. Psalms 91:4 8. Father, let every gate blocking the fulfilment of your prophecies concerning my life be broken in Jesus’ Name 9. Lord, every gate keeping my blessings out, break in pieces and cut in sunder the bars of iron Blessings of Hands, Body & Storehouses Deut 28:1-14; Genesis 22:14-18 1. Lord, release your prosperity on my business and the work of my hand in Jesus Name. 2. Lord, rebuke every devourer for my sake and prosper the works of my hand (Job, business, career, finance) in Jesus Name. Mal. 10:11 3. I break myself from every circle of failure in Jesus Name 4. I command all contrary trees growing in my business and my life to be uprooted in Jesus Name 5. Lord, let not the lot of the wicked fall upon my business and the fruit of my ground in Jesus Name. 6. Lord, may my morning, noon-day and evening of my life never be wasted or spent in misfortune in Jesus Name 7. Father, let the kings of this land love me and prefer me above all others. And let me be placed in the position of honour by kings in Jesus Name. Esther 2:17 Marriages & Homes Psalms 127; Genesis 2:21-25; Mark 10:9; Mal 2:16 1. Lord, from the wells of our salvation, we draw joy for our homes in Jesus Name. Isaiah 12:3 2. Father, Every plant in my home that you have not planted, Lord, uproot in the name of Jesus Matt 15:13 3. Lord, pour your oil afresh upon my home in Jesus Name. 4. Lord, let rejoicing and joy fill our homes in Jesus Name. Ps 118:15 5. Father, let every storm raging in marriages be still in Jesus Name. 6. Father, let every evil plan or attack from my enemies concerning ‘My Home’ fall and stumble in Jesus’ name. Psalm 27:1-2 7. Father, give us rain and release your financial blessing upon our home in Jesus Name. Leviticus 26:4 8. Father, let every wall of Jericho that has been erected against my home from prospering, moving forward, be brought down in Jesus’ Name. 9. Every stranger; men or women, situations or circumstances in home; obey me, submit to me and fade out of my home/marriage in Jesus’ Name. Psalm 18: 44-48 10. Father, fill my children with your spirit of truth, give them a heart that loves truth and follow after it. Proverbs 12:22, John 14:15-17 11. Father, No weapon of the enemy that is formed against my home, my marriage, Children and family will prosper and every tongue be condemned in Jesus’ Name. Isaiah 57:17 12. Father, let every burden and yoke of evil that have been placed upon marriage, my home, family and Children shall be broken now by the reason of the anointing in Jesus’ Name. Isaiah 10:27 13. In every way that the enemy has held my husband/wife and my Home a captive or prey whether lawful or unlawful, let there be a release in Jesus Name. Isaiah 49:24-25