SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
Calling all Curcillistas
Please join us for a special service as we humble ourselves before our God
and call upon His name that He would pour out His Spirit in West Michigan
and upon WestShore DeColores Ministries.
It is our heartfelt desire that WestShore DeColores Ministries would be surrendered
to the working of the Holy Spirit – that it would be an effective tool in the hands
of our God for reaching the lost and renewing the faith of Christians,
encouraging and equipping them to serve Jesus Christ more effectively
at home, in their church, and in the world.
What?
We are asking our brother and sister Curcillistas to join us for 24 hours of prayer
and fasting (as you are able) and to join us for a special prayer service on Saturday
morning, Jan 28th, 9:00-11:00.
Where?
CrossWinds Fellowship
1910 Ruddiman Rd.
North Muskegon, Michigan
When?
· From 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. we will praise and worship - inviting the presence
of our King - we need to “Prepare the way of the Lord.”
· Fasting (as you are able) will be from Friday morning, January 27th, and last until
Saturday morning, January 28th after the prayer service. Please feel free to fast
longer than one day. Several Curcillistas will be fasting for three days, a week,
or even more.
· The prayer service will begin at 9:00 a.m. and last until approximately 11:00 a.m.
FASTING GUIDELINES
The following are excerpts taken from two different books on fasting to help us get a glimpse into the spiritual discipline of fasting:
Fasting by Jentezen Franklin
“Fasting is the discipline that releases anointing, favor and the blessing of God in the life of a Christian. There are dimensions of our glorious God that will never be revealed to the casual, disinterested worshiper. There are walls of intercession that will never be scaled back by dispassionate religious services. But when you take steps to break out of the ordinary worship and worship Him as He deserves, you’ll begin to see facets of His being you never knew existed. He’ll begin to share secrets with you about Himself, His plans, and His desires for you. When you worship God as He deserves, He is magnified. The more serious you are about the fast, the more serious God will respond. Fasting brings the flesh off the throne.”
Fasting by Lynn Baab
“Fasting is the voluntary denial of something for a specific time, for a spiritual purpose, by an individual, family, community or nation. It is not done as a punishment. We inhabit a culture obsessed with liberty, but we habituate ourselves into bondage. We’ve forgotten what lack feels like and liberty tastes like. We fast to find a path between self-indulgence and excessive discipline. The goal is to remove something from our life for a season to get a glimpse of God. Fasting is a discipline of making room for God. Intimacy through prayer lies behind all Christian fasting, making it the primary motivation.”
Three things you must ask yourself before you fast:
1. What are my motives behind the fast?
2. What are the specific needs I am fasting for?
3. Am I determined to minister to the Lord during my fast?
Types of Fasts:
1. Water fast - refraining from all eating all food, but drinking only water
2. Juice fast - refraining from eating all solid food, but drinking fruit or vegetable juices or clear broth
3. Partial fast - refraining from eating one food or a group of goods; includes Daniel fasts, Eastern Orthodox fasts and many Lenten fasts
4. Daniel fast – eating only vegetables (variations of this fast are found on the internet and from other sources)
5. Eastern Orthodox fast - refraining from eating all meat, fish, dairy, eggs, oil and alcohol
6. Complete fast – refraining from consuming all food and liquids for a very short time. Many experts on fasting recommend avoiding complete fasts.
7. Fasting from something other than food – voluntarily denying something specific for a set time, for a spiritual purpose
NOTE: People with a history of eating disorders (anorexia, bulimia or frequent dieting) or medical issues (pregnancy, nursing mothers, diabetics) should consider fasting from something of other than food.
What makes fasting, fasting and not dieting is the state of your heart. You should be turning the time you would be preparing and eating into a time of prayer and reading the Word. As you hunger and thirst, you are reminded of the intense desires that you are fasting for and that should provoke you to pray. The length of time that you fast is between you and God. The most common time frames are 1, 3, 7, 21 and 40 days. I recommend that you start small. Fasting with someone helps with encouragement and accountability.
