Types Of Fasts

 

There are several different ways you can fast.  The list below has been taken from

Joy Haney’s book, When Ye Fast.  I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to develop a lifestyle of fasting in their walk with God.

·        No food or water 1 to 3 days, but never more than three days.

·        Water only.

·        Three day, water, honey, and lemon: Honey and lemon are natural cleansers for your body.  This is a good cleansing fast.  The honey will also give you strength.

·        Juice fast:  No food, only juice.  Fruit juices should not be mixed with vegetable juices.  Fruit juices should not be made with sugar.

·        Combination fast:  Juices with an addition of hot herbal tea with honey.

·        Daniel’s ten-day fast:  Pulse (grains, lentils, and vegetables) and water only.

·        Daniel’s 21-day fast:  No bread, desserts, juices or meat.

Water for three days then broth for strength day 4.  Water                                again 2 days, then broth.  This regime is followed until the fast                                   is complete.

Here are two recipes for broth used during longer fasts:

1) Gently boil carrots, onions, parsley, and spinach (only until softened but still dark green).  Put all in blender and blend into a broth to drink.

2) Do the same as above, but instead use tomatoes, carrots, sautéed garlic, and onion.

It is good to end a fast with grape juice.  Slowly enter back into eating with fruits, cooked vegetables, and toast.

FASTING AND YOUR HEALTH

NUTRITION

Good nutrition is not a 20th century revelation that is sweeping America. This revelation existed in the Garden of Eden.  God, Himself, looked at all the trees He had created for food and saw they were good!

God created all the foods necessary to produce a nutritionally balanced diet.  He then reemphasized nutrition through dietary laws written for the Jewish people under the law.  Although the Lord used the dietary laws to oftentimes differentiate between clean and unclean, studies have proven that there are parasites within unclean animals that can be harmful to the human body.

To prove how important the proper diet is to a believer, let us take a look at the life of Daniel.

In Daniel chapter 1, the first step the king took to assimilate the Hebrew children into the Babylonian culture was that he changed their diets.  “And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king’s meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king.”  In virtually every culture, food is used as a means of assimilation into that culture.

Now, Daniel and the three Hebrew children were the only four mentioned, out of all the young men brought into the king’s palace, who purposed in their hearts not to compromise the laws of God for the favor of man.  Because of this, God gave Daniel favor with the prince of the eunuchs.  This resulted in the granting of Daniel’s request to eat “pulse” (vegetables) and drink water for 10 days.  The results were glorious.  Daniel 1:15 reads, “And at the end of ten days their countenances were fairer and fatter in flesh than all of the children which did eat the portion of the king’s meat.”  The word goes on to say that, “As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.”

The children who compromised their convictions are never mentioned in the Bible.  They ended up assimilating into the Babylonian culture and forsaking the commandments of God.

Nutrition plays a very active role in keeping our temples consecrated unto the Lord.  Much of what we call food is in reality fats, sugars, and chemicals that are producing dangerous chemical and psychological imbalances within our bodies.  These imbalances affect not only our physical endurance and productivity, but also our mental abilities to process information, concentrate, and make decisions.  All of these are necessary for producing God’s best and for blessings in our lives.

Many of our physical illnesses can be completely cured by proper nutrition and fasting.  Isaiah 58:8 teaches us that fasting brings forth healing speedily.

WHAT’S IN THE KING’S MEAT TODAY?

FAST FOODS

There need not be a lot of explanation about fast foods.  The Word teaches us that anything done in haste comes to nothing.  This is true with your eating habits also.  Fast foods provide little nutritional value for your body.

The only real benefit is that they satisfy hunger pangs temporarily.  In addition, eating fast foods builds up toxins (poisons) in your body.  This makes fasting more difficult because of the physical hardship experienced while the body is cleansing itself of these poisons.

Fasting alters the way you think about food.  After cleansing your body on a fast, you are less likely to want to refill it with junk.  You always can return to old habits, but it’s better to start new ones.  If you are going to eat out, either choose healthier fast foods, or invest in a balanced meal at a more formal eating establishment.  All other times prepare nutritious meals at home and eat what is prepared.  This will save a significant amount of money and headaches (unnecessary suffering)!

PROCESSED AND FAT-FREE FOODS

Processed foods are foods that have been altered in some way from their original state.  These alterations improve the shelf life of a food, but often destroy the nutritional value of that food.  Many of the chemicals found in processed foods have been found to be cancer causing and addictive.  In addition, many processed foods contain high quantities of sugars that have numerous, unhealthy side effects.

It is wiser to invest in fresh ingredients, fresh food and the extra time needed to prepare meals in larger quantities.  Leftovers can be easily frozen in individual meal sizes.  This is not only cost-effective, but it’s much more nutritious and satisfying.

Fat free foods do not alter a person’s eating habits.  Rarely do people who eat fat free foods lose the weight desired, but what they sacrifice in calories they gain in chemicals.  It is wiser to eat purer food products and simply cut back on how much is eaten.

SODA

I remember a time, many years ago, when my car died in the parking lot of my workplace.  Upon examination, it was found that the battery cables were corroded.  Therefore, I took baking soda and a toothbrush and preceded to clean the cables.  While I was cleaning them, a girlfriend suggested using Coke.  So I tried it.  To my amazement the Coke instantly dissolved the corrosion, the car started up promptly thereafter, and off I went!  Can you imagine what soda can do to a stomach?

CAFFEINE

There are some benefits to caffeine.  It produces increased mental alertness.  It stimulates the burning of extra calories.  However, there are also other important facts to consider when consuming caffeine.

First, caffeine is a drug, and it is addictive.  It also has been associated with heart disease, birth defects, digestive disorders, breast cancer, fever, headaches, and anxiety.  In addition, it has been associated with depression.  Caffeine also releases insulin.  Insulin causes blood sugar to drop, which in turn creates hunger pangs.

Anything, that controls you needs to be brought under control by you.  Those who consume large quantities of caffeine often find it more difficult to fast. The withdrawal from caffeine can cause numerous side effects, but those who have kicked the caffeine habit feel better physically and emotionally.

 REFINED FLOURS

Refined flours lack approximately 80% of essential nutrients found in whole-grain flours.  Whole-grain flours contain many B vitamins that aid in the absorption and metabolism of proteins; help the body use fats; and assist in the formation of red blood cells.  They also contain vegetable oil and vitamin E as well as protein.

SUGAR

Sugar is this nation’s most popular food additive.  We consume 10 times more sugar than all the 2,600 or so food additives combined, except salt (a distant second).  Next time you go shopping, check the ingredient lists on the processed foods you buy, count how many of them contain sugar.

The only benefit of sugar is the calories, only 4 per gram.  There is not enough time to describe the ill-effects of sugar.  Let it suffice to say that excessive sugar intake can affect you physically, socially, and mentally.  Many of the disturbing emotional problems today’s children suffer could be corrected by reducing the amount of sugar in their diets.  The severe concentration problems among Americans today can most assuredly be

reversed by diet.  The saddest thing that sugar does to your body is that it destroys many of the important nutrients your body processes after eating.  This results in a weakened immune system, among other things.

WHERE DO YOU BEGIN?

Begin by praying and asking God to direct you into a lifestyle of eating that pleases Him. Start fasting 1 to 3 days a week to rid your body of toxins that have accumulated over time and that are poisoning your body.

Start planning meals, including desserts. Buy more fresh vegetables and fruits. Replace excess use of red meat with chicken or fish.  Buy whole-grain breads.  Stock up on staple foods such as grains, spices, potatoes (a great nutritional investment), rice, onions, garlic, oil, etc.

Finally, make nutrition a family affair, get everyone involved in the planning, cooking, and serving of meals.  Try new and different recipes. Study scriptures pertaining to food and dietary customs in the Bible.  Once you and your family get a taste of the real thing, you will find yourselves eating better, feeling better, and fasting better!

EXERCISE, IN ITS PLACE

Exercise aids in the cleansing process a body goes through while on a fast.  Besides being a present-day craze in our society, exercise is necessary because of our sedentary lifestyles.  As Christians, we must keep exercise in its proper perspective.  One rule of thumb I endeavor to live by is, “Do not do for your body what you will not do for God.”  Many of us will spend precious time, resources, and strength to be physically fit, and yet

our spiritual man is frail, flabby, weak, and starving from malnutrition.

I found that prayer within itself was (and still is) good exercise for the body.  Many (not all) saints wouldn’t have excessive weight problems if they gave themselves to the basics of the kingdom, prayer, fasting, and the study of God’s word.

Weight control and exercise are only important in relationship to your physical well-being and life span here on earth.  As a member of the kingdom of God, you are not judged according to your physical appearance (this is how the world judges you), but you are judged according to your spiritual appearance.  Are you adorned in holiness?  Clothed in meekness?  Is the wisdom and power of Jesus demonstrated in your life?  Do you have an excellent spirit like Joseph or Daniel?  Is your outward appearance modest? Do people see and hear Jesus when they meet you?

The words penned in Romans 14:3 and 12-13, clearly reveal God’s perspective in the whole matter of eating, exercising, etc.  Understanding and acting upon these inspired words will cause us to enter into the seventh dimension of God’s kingdom, Love.

“Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him”  “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.  Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.”  Romans 14:3 and 12-13

BENEFICIAL EXERCISES

Walking is one of the best ways to exercise.  If you choose to walk, walk at least 20 minutes at a time (It takes 20 minutes of continuous aerobic exercise to increase your metabolic rate).  This will help your metabolism and blood circulation as well as strengthen your cardiovascular system, and your muscles.  You can also combine your prayer time with walking.  Go on a prayer walk.  Find a quiet area and just talk to Jesus while you are walking.  Before you know it, you will have prayed an hour and exercised

too!

SCRIPTURES FOR MEDITATION

The following scriptures have been compiled to help you stay focused while fasting.  Take time to read them and meditate on them before and during a fast.  You will find strength in the Word.

Romans 13:14  “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.”

James 4:8-10  “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.  Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.  Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy to heaviness.  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”

Galatians 2:20  “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

Romans 12:1-2  “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God”

Romans 6:12  “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.”

Matthew 6:16-18  “Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast.  Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.  But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.”

Matthew 17:19-21  “Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?  And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.  Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.”  (Prayer and fasting purges

unbelief and releases faith that moves mountains!)

Philippians 2:3  “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves:” (Fasting should humble your soul.  This scripture can be used in conjunction with Isaiah 58:9)