Prayer & Fasting
Resources
Prepare to Fast
Why Fast?
Next Wednesday St. Andrew will mark the beginning of Lent with a 24-hour period of prayer and fasting. Some may ask, why is fasting important?
The reasons to fast are many. We fast to focus our minds. We fast to learn how to be master over our bodies rather than the other way around. We fast to intensify the experience of prayer. We fast to remember and pray for those who starve every day. We fast out of obedience. The list goes on and on.
Maybe it’s enough to say we fast because we are Christians. We believe the Bible is the Word of God. Richard Foster writes in Celebration of Discipline, "The list of biblical personages who fasted reads like a 'Who's Who' of Scripture: Moses the lawgiver, David the king, Elijah the prophet, Esther the queen, Daniel the seer, Anna the prophetess, Paul the apostle, Jesus Christ the incarnate Son."
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said "When you fast..." (Matt. 6:16). He assumes those who follow him are fasting. For Christians, fasting is to be somewhat commonplace. In light of this, it would seem as though the question to ask is not 'Why fast?' but, rather, 'Why would you not fast?'
Lent begins on Wednesday, February 18. We call this day Ash Wednesday. There will be a special service of prayer, along with the imposition of ashes on the forehead, at noon and again at 7pm. Each service will be followed by a simple meal of soup and bread to break the fast. You are welcome at these services whether you participate in the fast or not. You may choose to fast from something other than food.
To participate in the fast, first decide when when you want to break your fast; when do you want to eat? If you will come to the 12:00 Ash Wednesday service, you will stop eating after lunch on Tuesday. You will go without dinner and breakfast.
If you will attend the 7:00pm Ash Wednesday service, you will stop eating after dinner on Tuesday. You will go without breakfast and lunch on Wednesday.
Tips for fasting
Drink plenty of water.
Black coffee and plain tea are okay in moderation and can help prevent a headache.
As you begin the fast, do so in prayer. Ask the Holy Spirit to meet you here.
When the first feeling of hunger arrives, drink a tall glass of water and have a scripture ready to read. Remember any hunger you feel during this time is not real hunger. Your stomach, as Foster says, is a spoiled child that has learned that through complaining it always gets what it wants. We do not indulge spoiled children. They need discipline. Below is a suggested template can follow for hour-by-hour prayer prompts.
Next Wednesday St. Andrew will mark the beginning of Lent with a 24-hour period of prayer and fasting. Some may ask, why is fasting important?
The reasons to fast are many. We fast to focus our minds. We fast to learn how to be master over our bodies rather than the other way around. We fast to intensify the experience of prayer. We fast to remember and pray for those who starve every day. We fast out of obedience. The list goes on and on.
Maybe it’s enough to say we fast because we are Christians. We believe the Bible is the Word of God. Richard Foster writes in Celebration of Discipline, "The list of biblical personages who fasted reads like a 'Who's Who' of Scripture: Moses the lawgiver, David the king, Elijah the prophet, Esther the queen, Daniel the seer, Anna the prophetess, Paul the apostle, Jesus Christ the incarnate Son."
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said "When you fast..." (Matt. 6:16). He assumes those who follow him are fasting. For Christians, fasting is to be somewhat commonplace. In light of this, it would seem as though the question to ask is not 'Why fast?' but, rather, 'Why would you not fast?'
Lent begins on Wednesday, February 18. We call this day Ash Wednesday. There will be a special service of prayer, along with the imposition of ashes on the forehead, at noon and again at 7pm. Each service will be followed by a simple meal of soup and bread to break the fast. You are welcome at these services whether you participate in the fast or not. You may choose to fast from something other than food.
To participate in the fast, first decide when when you want to break your fast; when do you want to eat? If you will come to the 12:00 Ash Wednesday service, you will stop eating after lunch on Tuesday. You will go without dinner and breakfast.
If you will attend the 7:00pm Ash Wednesday service, you will stop eating after dinner on Tuesday. You will go without breakfast and lunch on Wednesday.
Tips for fasting
Drink plenty of water.
Black coffee and plain tea are okay in moderation and can help prevent a headache.
As you begin the fast, do so in prayer. Ask the Holy Spirit to meet you here.
When the first feeling of hunger arrives, drink a tall glass of water and have a scripture ready to read. Remember any hunger you feel during this time is not real hunger. Your stomach, as Foster says, is a spoiled child that has learned that through complaining it always gets what it wants. We do not indulge spoiled children. They need discipline. Below is a suggested template can follow for hour-by-hour prayer prompts.
Hour 1 - Awareness of God’s presence
Hour 2 - Thankfulness for my blessings
Matthew 7:9-11, 1 John 3:1
POEM: How We Spend Our Days - Annie Dillard
How we spend our days
is, of course,
how we spend our lives.
What we do with this hour,
and that one,
is what we are doing.
A schedule
defends from chaos
and whim.
It is a net
for catching days.
It is a scaffolding
on which a worker
can stand
and labor with both hands
at sections of time.
A schedule is a mock-up
of reason and order —
willed, faked,
and so brought into being;
it is a peace and a haven
set into the wreck of time;
it is a lifeboat
on which you find yourself,
decades later,
still living.
Each day is the same,
so you remember
the series afterward
as a blurred and powerful pattern.
POEM: How We Spend Our Days - Annie Dillard
How we spend our days
is, of course,
how we spend our lives.
What we do with this hour,
and that one,
is what we are doing.
A schedule
defends from chaos
and whim.
It is a net
for catching days.
It is a scaffolding
on which a worker
can stand
and labor with both hands
at sections of time.
A schedule is a mock-up
of reason and order —
willed, faked,
and so brought into being;
it is a peace and a haven
set into the wreck of time;
it is a lifeboat
on which you find yourself,
decades later,
still living.
Each day is the same,
so you remember
the series afterward
as a blurred and powerful pattern.
Hour 3 - My sins - forgive me Father
Hour 4 - The sins of others - people I need to forgive or people I need to pray for
Hour 5 - The beauty of creation
Hours 6-13 - SLEEPING
ZZZzzzzzzzz
Hour 14 - Those who are hungry today due to poverty or war or sin
Hour 15 - The lost in Auburn - spiritual darkness
Hour 16 - The pain in your life
Hour 17 - The Latinos of our church and all foreigners who live nearby
Hour 18 - The leaders of your church: Pastors, elders, deacons, teachers, life group leaders
Hour 19 - The goodness of your body
Hour 21 - Persecuted Christians
Hour 22 - St. Andrew’s near future - growth and health
Hour 23 - Choose one friend from St. Andrew and pray for them
Hour 24 - Pray for yourself as the season of Lent is upon us