My husband and I have decided to participate in a 40 day fast. We are motivated to do this first and foremost to save our marriage. We are determined to figure out a way to "stay together" and grow in our relationship with Christ and each other at the deepest possible level. I have never personally fasted before in this capacity, so I am excited to see what changes will take place in our lives. I know that God calls us to fasting and prayer in His word. I've heard story after story about miraculous change and restoration in people's lives.
I think the biggest part of our fasting experience will be the preparation. We will begin praying today by asking God to lead our hearts and reveal to us the details of our fast. I researched a little online today and found a few resources to help prepare us for our fasting experience. I chose 40 days because this is an meaningful number in the bible and how long Jesus fasted.
The most important thing I found is to sit down and come up with a list of specific goals. The next few days, I'm going to ask the Holy Spirit for guidance. I know what I want to fast for but I want God to take the reigns and show me what HE wants me to fast for. Here are a few ideas I have in mind.
In addition to growing closer to God (which is a given) and obviously the most important area, we will choose 3 more areas to focus on:
Our marriage relationship (quality, intimacy, and overall restoration) A GIVEN
Financial situation (new opportunities, debt, saving, spending, giving etc.)
Personal character
Kids character
Relationship with kids (overall family dynamics)
Home affairs (simplify, de-clutter, organization, balance)
Spiritual habits/discipline (daily quiet time, reading bible together, reading related materials such as books, messages, etc)
Family health & well being
We also need to prepare spiritually. We will begin to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal our weaknesses. Forgive past discretions and reject worldly desires.
Then, we will decide what to fast from. I think there are numerous categories to choose from. I do not think it matters what you fast from as long as you feel that abstaining from particular thing will help you reach your goals for the fast.
We will pick 3 food groups to fast from:
grains, meats, sugar/sweets, coffee, alcohol, dairy, processed/refined foods, eating out
We will pick 3 from a group of habits/behaviors:
Social media
Technology-free time and cell phone usage (tv, surfing the internet, texting, reading `blogs, games, etc.)
unnecessary spending (anything we don't NEED)
(Brian will add to this list)
Things that are allowed on the fast:
water, fruits/fruit juices, vegetables, beans, nuts/seeds, any plant based foods, fish, olive and coconut oil, salt/pepper, spices (dry and fresh)
Things to DO during the fast:
daily quiet time/reflection
bible study (together)
pray together
read relevant materials (books, magazines, etc.)
rest
scale down schedule
more "family" time
more sex
listen to praise and worship music
listen to podcasts (spiritual)
date nights (as often as possible)
Ok, so this is just the beginning of our brainstorming and ideas for our fast. I will be blogging daily about the ups and downs of our fast. I created this blog for US so at the end of the 40 days we can look back and see the results, see how much we've grown, and at some point be able to share our experience with others.
