Fasting Intro

Hey everyone-

Below, you will find a letter written to the 16 missionaries headed to Mexico in just two short weeks! We have decided as a group to fast together in preperation for the trip, and just seek God so we can be better prepared for what He has planned for us! I know whatever He has planned- it is going to blow our expectations out of the water!

So where do you come in? Starting Sunday May 25th, we are starting a daily fasting devotional, and we wanted to open this up for anyone that wanted to join with us in prayer for the trip, or wanted to join us in fasting for another reason. We are going to do this for 7 days. Below you will find the original email written to my Missionary team, but I think it has some valueable information on fasting for anyone, not just for someone going on the trip. You can also find a more practical guide to fasting HERE.

Hey guys-

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

- Matthew 5:6
 

I am hungry guys. I am hungry for what is in store for us in Mexico. This is my 3rd trip in a row, and I have no sort of "this again" feeling. I have no idea what God is going to do, and there is no ceiling on my expectations!

In preperation for our trip, I am going to be doing some fasting. I wanted to take the time to invite you to prayerfully consider doing the same. It could take many forms, and the choice is up to you, but the ultimate goal is to prepare our hearts and minds for the trip. I have always considered a fast as a way of realigning ourselves with God, searching after him, and also eliminating distractions.

You will seek Me and you will find Me when you search for me with all your heart.

-Jeremiah 29:13
 

I believe strongly that what we are approaching is something that we need to be prepared for. I believe we should seek repentence and forgiveness for any lingering sin in our lives that might give the devil a foothold while we are in Mexico. In the gospels, you will remember a man possessed by a demon that none of the disciples could expell, and Jesus said that "this kind can only be brought out through prayer and fasting." I am not saying we are going to do exorcisms down there, but if we need to, I want to be ready. ;-) I want to pray for us, for the people of VCH, for the people of Nuevo Laredo, for God's triumph over enemy strongholds and for general safety.
 

²¹ I proclaimed a fast by the Ahava River,so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us, our children, and all our possessions. ²² I did this because I was ashamed to ask the king for infantry and cavalry to protect us from enemies during the journey, since we had told him, “The hand of our God is gracious to all who seek Him, but His great anger is against all who abandon Him.” ²³ So we fasted and pleaded with our God about this, and He granted our request. - Ezra 8:21

For me, when I fast, food is normally secondary to the fast (and this may just be me). I normally try to fast from many forms of media, i.e. web browsing for fun, video games, movies, tv, and secular music. I have found that even just doing a "media" fast really helps you to free up more time than you realize! It also takes away some of the constant bombardment by the world, via commercials, web ads, etc. Use this time that is freed up to pray, read your Bible, read encouraging books that encourage spiritual growth, practice your Spanish, etc.
 

Next up, food. Food, like I said, can be a primary or secondary focus of the fast. No matter what, during a fast, I suggest to really try to eat healthier, cut out some snacks if possible (especially unhealthy ones), and fast food all together. Sadly for most, myself included, I think it can also be good to detoxify and eliminate caffeine from your menu. (AHHHH!!!!) Kicking my Mountain Dew addiction is always my way of reminding myself, and telling God that I will rely on Him to give me the strength and energy to move through the day! Many people enjoy the Daniel fast, sticking to fruits and veggies. I have fasted in the past doing a mainly liquid diet, drinking milk, smoothies, etc. You can actually have a fairly balanced diet this way with the help of some protein enriched products. You could even do a partial fast, not eating for a full portion of the day (like sunrise to sunset). Maybe it is a combination of these plans. Maybe it is just limiting your portions to smaller amounts, or maybe it is giving up food altogether, the choice is up to you! Whatever you do, as you do it, pray, and remind yourself and God why you are making the choice to do so!
 

Duration: this can vary. I would like us to maybe come together and fast as a group for a solid week before the trip, in whatever form you come to after praying over this idea. My thoughts are May 25th through June 1st. The only thing different about this week will be a daily devotional I send out every morning. It will give you things to think about and things to pray about.
 

I have done the fasting route where you are rigid and don't eat anything, don't watch anything, no matter what, and if you slip up, you are just done, the fast is over. This is silly and I think it gets into a legalism we should avoid. I may try to do this fast for a two weeksfrom May 17th to June 1st. I can tell you right now, I will have a full meal(s) on my wife's birthday on May 23rd, and will probably go watch the new X-Men movie, as we are both very excited for this! I will probably also eat a full meal on May 24th and May 31st at some weddings I am going to, where I am sure I will end up dancing to some secular music! :-) But the rest of that time, I want to be eliminate distractions to try to press closer to God before this trip. The important thing is to plan it out. If you do, it helps the devil not to make you feel guilty for breaking the fast. I will do two 5 day fasts, and there is nothing wrong with that! This really is just a preface to the fasting you will be forced into on the trip when your cell phone doesn't work the same, you don't have a laptop, and you might not always have the food you want in Mexico.

 

 

As a reminder, Jesus repeatedly tells us not to boast about our fasting (Read Matthew 6:16, Luke 18:9), so if we do this, let's do this in humility, recognize this as our statement of dependence on God and what HE is going to do, not what we can do.

 

 

I hope this gives you some time to think and pray over this idea. Let me know what you think! Your feedback to my emails is always appreciated!

Trusting in Him-

Jeremy

Questions or comments- get a hold of me at Jeremy@carrstmission.com