I’m wondering about “true fasting” today…

We are gearing up for a “24/7 week of prayer & fasting here at Every Nation London, starting on Sunday afternoon from after our West Congregation “Vision Focus 2008″ service.  Basically we cover every hour of the week with someone specific signed up to pray, and we encourage people to fast for at least one of the days. So together we’re praying and fasting 24/7, and we end off with an awesome all together “Praise & Prayer Encounter” on Sat 2nd.   

We never make a big deal to challenge anyone to fast from food for the whole week; only if they really feel personally led to.   One reason is that most people have full-time jobs, and I am just not convinced that extended fasting (more than say 3 days) was really intended to be done in a busy environment which doesn’t make room for contemplation, reading, prayer, and meditation.   Jesus seemed to try to get away from people when He fasted.   As well as clearing our plates, isn’t clearing our diaries just as important for a “true fast” today?    My diary for next week looks like any other week, except for a few one hour 24/7 prayer slots I have committed to.  To be honest, my flesh actually likes being busy while I’m fasting because the business is a distraction to the fact that I AM HUNGRY.  I think we need to consider going further. Maybe a fast from TV for a week would be more effective for some, allowing some quite contemplation and prayer during the evenings. Maybe fasting from lunch for a week, giving that daily hour to prayer every day, would be more of a “true fast.” Remember, fasting without prayer/connecting with God is simply starvation, or at best an unhealthy way to diet.

Make no mistake, fasting has been a great blessing to me, and my life was radically impacted during a 10 day fast last year leading up to the Global Day of Prayer, even though I didn’t change my diary much then either. But I still feel that there’s more to it.  Maybe clearing my diary may be a truer fast that clearing my plate.  Maybe entertainment is at least an equal craving to eating for us today. How did they spend their evenings back in Jesus times?   I found that for me the key to fasting is DESIRE.  Since my fast I have woken up most mornings with this hunger in my spirit: I desire to meet with You Lord. Its got me out of bed. It helps me restrain myself from all sorts of sinful thoughts and actions. DESIRE drives me to figure out the true fast, and the true fast fulfills my desire.   What can I possibly clear off my diary… or is this just my attemt to get out of clearing my plate? What do you think?

Fasting is a hit…

I noticed a HUGE increase of traffic to my blog last week, and wondered why… till I read pastor Steve Murrel’s “the reluctant leader” blog and realised that our massive church in Manila as well as our church in Nashville were having a week of fasting & prayer, and he had referred to some of my previous blogs on fasting last year… I trust that some of my thoughts helped someone…

Here in London we are preparing for our Launch-the-year “24/7″ week of prayer & fasting starting on Sunday 27th Jan which is our west congregation Vision Sunday 2008. We get individuals to commit to filling one hour slots of prayer over the whole week, and after just one day of signing up the week is just about covered – it usually takes a lot more effort to get it filled – I think its a sign of where we’re at here in London: Hungry for God. Hungry for breakthrough.  Recognising that is “by His Spirit.” Hungry to do whatever it takes. Like Jesus said: “When you fast…”

Fasting Day 10…Expecting more power

Saturday 26th: Today is the final day of our Every Nation London “24ten” – ten days of prayer & fasting. We’ve had every hour covered in prayer by one or more people, and had a bunch of people fasting from anywhere between a few meals to all ten days. What now?

Fasting is not an end in itself, and nor just a means to an end. In itself, it enriches the spirit, but through it, it impacts your world.

In Luke 4 we read that “Jesus, being full of the Holy Spirit, was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, and He ate nothing…”   Then after His fasting and overcoming temptation, the Scripture records that He came out “in the power of the Spirit.” Though I have some idea, I don’t know exactly what that means. Whats the difference between “being filled with the Spirit” and “being in the power of the Spirit?” Whatever it means, its what Jesus had after resisting temptation (including “bread” to meet His hunger need) and came out of His wilderness fast. He then went into the synagogue “as His custom was” (ie everything seemed the same as before), but having read from the book of Isaiah He declares that “today this word is fulfilled” and that “the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon Me.” Jesus goes on in this power to “preach the gospel (Good News) of the Kingdom of God.”

As you come to the end of a time of fasting and prayer, believe for a greater “power of the Spirit” released in your life. I have faith for more of this in my own life and ministry, and I believe that we will see it in the life of our church, our city, and the nations.

To all the awesome Every Nation London’s, thank you for standing together in prayer & fasting. It is a huge blessing and privilege for Ali & I to lead this church. Tomorrow is Pentecost Sunday, when in Acts 2:1 the disciples were “all together in one accord,” and they received an empowering that changed them and the world. I look forward with expectation to our “all together in one accord” tomorrow…

Fasting Day 9…the reward

Day 9 – Friday 25th – This Blog is part of our ten days of fasting & prayer focus at Every Nation London.  

 Jesus, teaching on fasting right after teaching what is known as “The Lords Prayer in Matthew 6, gives some food for thought (excuse the pun..food seems to slip in there often!) says:  “When (note:not “if”) you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full…..

Actually, I’m going to switch over to The Message Translation…chew (there it is again!) on this from Matthew 6:16-21:

16-18“When you practice some appetite-denying discipline to better concentrate on God, don’t make a production out of it. It might turn you into a small-time celebrity but it won’t make you a saint. If you ‘go into training’ inwardly, act normal outwardly. Shampoo and comb your hair, brush your teeth, wash your face. God doesn’t require attention-getting devices. He won’t overlook what you are doing; he’ll reward you well.

 19-21“Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.”

Living/fasting for the “reward” of the Father, versus the reward of the world, is what satisfies the spirit. The reward of this world is eaten (there it is again!) by moths, corroded, and stolen, but the reward of the Father is forever. Ultimately His reward is “THE KINGDOM OF GOD.” In fact, this is what tomorrows blog will be about, as we prepare around the world for the “Global Day of Prayer”,  for which we will join over 20,000 Christians in West Ham Stadium for passionate praise & prayer on Sunday afternoon.

We also end our “Lord, Teach us to pray” series this Sunday, where I will preach on “The Gospel of the Kingdom” – for Every Nation Londoners, please remember that we have a “together service” in Stratord east London this Sunday – NO WEST SERVICE.

Keep seeking His Kingdom…

Fasting day 8…loosing weight…

This blog is part of our Every Nation London “24ten” – ten days of prayer & fasting to see “Gods Kingdom come, His will be done, in London and our church.”

One side effects of fasting is loosing stacks of weight quickly. Most of us need/want that. Problem is, fasting never leads to permanent weight loss unless you add some good discipline of healthy diet, some exercise, and drinking loads of water as a regular daily routine.

But most of us also need to loose weight in other ways. Its been amazing what I have been able to go without during this fasting time. I have walked past so many shops/cafe’s (I never realisised that there were SO MANY of them around EVERYWHERE!) with delicious goodies displayed in the window, when usually at least half of them would have tempted me to enter, buy, and consume.  I have resisted, and lived to tell!  Lately I have been conscious of something when wandering into various stores - Clothes, electronics, DIY, bookshops, airport duty free - and just having thoughts like “I don’t really need this” and “the one I’ve got is good enough and still works” and “I’ve already got one/a few of those, havent I?” – just a inner nudge to be be sensibly restrained rather than just consuming for consuming’s sake. 

I also watched part of a program on anorexia on telly last night, and of course that is the flip-side of losing weight, of whatever kind.  Some people get “spirit-anorexia” or “soul-anorexia” – not very pleasant. I am not proposing being a miser, but at least in fasting let us consider the disciplines we need to embrace so that we dont just put all the weight back on again. If you do this, fasting will become a great weight-loss program….

The writer to the Hebrews recognised that we can all carry “weight” of many kinds which will hinder us in life, and has some good advice: Hebrews 12: 1-3   Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.

Fasting Day 7…The mystery of the empty stomach

My good friend and awesome mega-church pastor/ discipleship guru from Manila Philippines, Joey Bonifacio, wrote a great little book titled “The mystery of the empty stomach” (Check out Joeys great blogs through my links on the right) (Joey keeps encouraging me to write a book, so blogging is an attempt to make a start – I do have a rough manuscript outline stored somewhere on this computer, so watch this space…)

There is a “mystery” to the empty stomach. Fasting is a mystery. How does it work? What really happens? I would not call myself an expert on fasting in any way, but I am sure that fasting is more a spiritual art than a spiritual science. It doesn’t work with according to a formula.

There is certainly enough Biblical and testimonial evidence to show that something powerful happens when we fast.  I believe that fasting releases things, but not even necessarily the things we foccus on.   Its more about us hearing Him, than Him hearing us. Its more about focussing on Him, than getting Him to focus on us. Its more about the mystery of “seeking first the Kingdom of God, and being right with Him”, and seeing “all these things added to us.”

 There was a season in my early Christian life (this was before being in “full-time” ministry ?!) where I fasted one day every single week. It was a discipline to fulfil my desire for God as above. I have also at times fasted for specific things. Once I did a quasi-spiritual “grape-diet” for 21 days focusing on an illness I had. The only result I got is that to this day I cant eat green grapes without some strange reaction in my jaw!   As a leadership we have also fasted for wisdom and direction, and God seems to have spoken and guided in significant ways.

Its not about a formula to get Gods attention, but more about “drawing near in faith” and seeking His Kingdom through an empty stomach, a hungry heart, and a spirit overflowing with thanksgiving… Just know that God is up to something good!

Fasting Day 6…Why?

Tuesday 22nd May – This blog post is part of our Every Nation London “24ten” – a ten day prayer & fasting focus.

Yesterday someone asked me the question: What are you and the church fasting for? What is the goal of this fast? What do you want to get out of it?

I don’t think that fasting should be seen as something to do only when you want to/need to add some muscle to getting a prayer answered. I don’t think fasting is something we add to prayer when prayer alone doesn’t seem to be enough. When Jesus’ disciples couldn’t cast out a deaf and dumb spirit, and they asked Him why they couldn’t but He could, He answered: “This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”  (Matthew 17)  But did Jesus fast before He prayed for her? No, not right there. But it seems that He had a discipline of fasting and prayer. He demonstrated a desire and delight in the Father, that drew Him as the Son of Man to seek out God the Father in prayer and fasting.  Fasting is more a spiritual disciple aiding a desire, rather than being something to add to prayer when prayer alone doesn’t seem to work.

So what am I fasting for?

1. Chiefly we are joining with 1000’s of Christians all over London to pray in the Global Day of Prayer focus: “Lord, let Your will be done and Your Kingdom come in London.”
2. Personally I am fasting out of DESIRE. A desire for His presence and His power. I desire more anointing and fruit from what I feel called to do. Jesus came out of His wilderness fast “in the power of the Spirit” (Luke 4:14) – I desire that in and through my life. I desire that in our church and in this city.

If you are/have/are going to fast for a day or more, whats your DESIRE? (Consider leaving me a comment telling your desire. Stating something publicly is a powerful act that empowers and activates your will – so come on, tell us what your Kingdom desire is…) 

More about the discipline of fasting and some of my previous fasting experiences tomorrow.  May Your Kingdom come, Lord….

Fasting Day 5…giving them something to eat

MONDAY 21st – This Blog is part of our Every Nation London”24ten” – ten days of prayer & fasting for London and the church.  

It was my turn to make dinner for our kids last night. I’m not the best of cooks – scrambled eggs is about as good as it gets (Of course I can also “braai-beque” pretty well – But I do make the BEST scrambled eggs ever, a sort of German/English mix – delicious, especially with buttered fresh soft white bread on the side…). After 4 days of fasting those eggs definitely looked/smelt like the best ever!  As I served this best ever dinner speciality, I realised again that it is so easy to consider your own needs and what you are denying yourself during fasting, even sometimes being envious of those who do have what you desire.

One part of fasting is identifying with Jesus who put aside His own glory for a season of eternity (?) to identify with fallen man and bring good news to the poor, and bread of life to the hungry.

Listen to how Isaiah 58 speaks about “The fast God has chosen”:

 6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
       to loose the chains of injustice
       and untie the cords of the yoke,
       to set the oppressed free
       and break every yoke?

 7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
       and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe him,
       and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? (If you wish, read full chapter text here)

I don’t know exactly how to apply this practically in New Testament fasting, but it does remind me that I have so much to be thankful for, and so much to give. I am surely among the top 1 % of blessed people on the earth. There are so many needs in my neighbourhood and all over the planet. My prayer is: God, do something in me & us to be more conscious of and willing to serve others in greater need than ourselves. Fasting to give, is more purposeful than fasting to get…

Fasting Day 4 + Your Sermon preview…The power of agreement

This is the Sunday sermon preview, and this is also the fasting truth for SUNDAY the 20th:

I have a great expectation for an awesome God encounter this Sunday. We’re coming to the end of our “Lord, teach us to pray” series (ends next Sunday at our Together service in the east), and I am hearing encouraging testimonies of people stirred to new places in prayer. It’s one thing to pray alone, but Jesus also taught about “where two or three agree on anything in my name, it will be done by My Father in heaven.” With this and much other teaching He reveals that it is definitely “not good (nor intended) to be alone,” and that really there is no such thing as a “private faith.” God is not a one-child parent. You’re born-again into family, called the church, which has local expressions all over the planet. We’re going to discover that God loves a SYMPHONY, and that there’s a big difference between the command the love everyone, and the call to be planted in agreement with a certain symphony of brothers and sisters.

The real Lords prayer is found in John 17, where “may they be one” seems to be Christ’s greatest desire…

Most people are primarily concerned with knowing their purpose and their place. What God? Where God? But I have often said that finding your people is as important as finding your purpose. Its like a puzzle piece and the picture on the box. The piece definitely has a purpose, but without the rest of the pieces, and a picture (vision) to make sense of the whole, that purpose makes no sense and will never be fulfilled.

Don’t miss Gods symphony tomorrow… there’s a part He’s assigned for you to play.  

PS – if you are in our West London congregation, remember we have a 24hour House of Prayer On-site in our community centre in Barons Court, from midnight till midnight on Sunday. Why not come in for an hour sometime during the day and join this SYMPHONY OF PRAYER.

Fasting Day 3…He was hungry

SATURDAY 19th – This Blog is part of our Every Nation London “24ten” - a 10 day focus on prayer & fasting:

In Luke 4 we read: “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.”

“…He was hungry” - That’s an obvious side-effect of this fasting thing! Even for Jesus. There’s no way around it.  An empty stomach is one thing, but an empty heart is quite another. We need to learn the art of filling the heart, and satisfying the spirit. Jesus was first tempted to turn a stone into a loaf of bread. Satan appealed to His physical need, but Jesus said something profound: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

Food and other stuff of this world regularly spoils our hunger for what we really really want: The Bread of life. Think about this menu to help your hunger:

1. “Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty” – John 6:35
2. “I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food” – Job 23:12
3. “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work” – John 4:34

To help your hunger, help yourself to a good dose of the Bread of Life! Do you have any to meditate on today?

PS – If you have time, check this amazing YouTube video (8 minutes long) from the Kruger Park as an example of the hunger instinct…