15 Keys to Successful Fasting
Pray - This is the #1 thing to help your fast. You can do much more with God than without Him. Jesus can give you POWER and Strength to help you have a successful fast. To really help you pray and stay positive, we have developed Positive Prayer CDs & God's Bible Promises CDs. Listening daily will help you stay encouraged and inspired. Listening to the Bible Promises will build your FAITH. You definitely need Faith to fast! Fasting IS NOT EASY. Without renewing your mind and getting strength, you will fall into the ways and temptations of the world! Phillipians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
Read the Bible – Stay on our free One Year Bible Reading Plan. The Bible is your “spiritual food” during fasting. As you read and “feed” on God’s word, revelation from the Holy Spirit will begin to flood your mind. Psalms 119:103 says, “How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Associate with positive, faith-filled people who will encourage you during your fast. Do not associate with people or in places that will drag you down, take away your faith, or tempt you with eating. It is wise to stay away from things like church dinners or restaurants. If some friends or church members are fasting with you, support and encourage them. However, you must determine that you will succeed with your fast whether anyone else does or not. Jesus will strengthen you!
Yield your will to God’s will – God will be speaking to you throughout your fast. It is important to lay aside anything that God reveals to you that is separating you from His will. Give all to God - Your time, money, goals, dreams, vision, and purpose. Get in unity with God! Be empowered and guided by the Holy Spirit. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit. Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
Expect Blessings – Keep a PEN AND PAPER both with you and by your bed. Write down the revelations and dreams that God gives you. Remember, one good revelation from God can change your life forever. God wants to bless you. Visualize yourself with God’s Blessings before actually possessing them, Have Faith & Belief for Miracles! Keep a great positive Attitude! When you crucify your flesh with fasting, spiritual blessings will overflow in your life!!
Receive Your Blessings – Open up and receive the many ways that God wants to bless you, and give you Favor! During Your Fast, God will begin pouring out many blessings in all areas of your life.
Speak Victory – Affirm and Confess God’s Words, over all other opinions or circumstances! Speak and Believe God's many Bible Promises to bless your life!
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PREPARATION - A few days before your fast, and at least a few days after your fast, eat and drink very healthy.
DRINK - At least ONE GALLON of liquid every day - Purified water is the most cleansing of all drinks. Each night before bed, refrigerate one gallon of purified water. Have it your goal to drink the whole gallon the next day. If you are doing a juice fast, you can also supplement your water with 100% pure vegetable or fruit juice (freshly squeezed is best), herbal tea, vegetable broth, and 100% pure fruit smoothies.
RELAX AND LISTEN – Get plenty of rest and sleep – Do not overdue yourself physically. Get away from the hustle and rat race of life, and get alone with God. Go for walks, take a relaxing bath, relax in a swimming pool, go fishing, etc. Get quiet so you can listen to God.
INCREASE POSITIVE OR SPIRITUAL INPUT – (Positive Prayers, God's Bible Promises, Bible reading, Christian TV, Praise & Worship music, etc.). Your spirit becomes extremely open during your fast. Strengthening your Spirit will allow you to hear God's voice clearer.
DECREASE NEGATIVE OR WORLDLY INPUT - (secular movies, video games, secular TV or radio, negative association, etc.). Worldly input especially weakens you when fasting. Feeding your flesh makes your flesh stronger. A strong flesh could cause you to quit your fast. Deny your fleshly desires and shut off worldly distractions. Your victories will come as your spirit is stronger than your flesh!
ELIMINATION - The Standard American Diet (SAD) is filled with processed food, chemicals, and toxins. These toxins lead to heart disease, cancer, premature aging, and many other diseases and sicknesses. During your fast, your body will begin to totally cleanse itself of these poisonous toxins and bad cells. Bad breath, headaches, and tiredness are all signs that your body is cleansing and healing itself. It is important to expedite this elimination with a daily shower or bath, a dry brush message, and regularly going to the bathroom. As the poison and other bad cells leave your body, you will feel better, feel younger, and look better than ever!
FAST IN SECRET - Jesus said in Matthew 6:18, "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." Your fast is mostly between you and God, so you should tell very few or no people (unless you are doing a corporate fast with other faith filled Christians). You can encourage more people and give your testimony of what Jesus did for you AFTER you break your fast. It is especially important to not tell people who have low faith and high negativity that you are fasting. They will likely discourage you. If you hear too much negativity and discouragement, it will increase your chances of quitting your fast. Always keep a positive environment during your fast.
GIVE ALL THE GLORY TO GOD! - Never become proud because you are fasting. Always give all of the Praise, honor and glory to Jesus in all that you do!
About Fasting:
The first 3 Days are the hardest for most people. If you fast correctly, around the 4th day, you will step into another world! Hunger will likely disappear or be greatly reduced. Your sense of smell will magnify. Your spiritual "ears" will hear the whispers of the Holy Spirit louder than you have ever imagined. God will begin to reveal things to you. Your body will begin a serious cleanse, and begin to destroy all of your bad cells. Excess weight will fall off! You will begin to look and feel younger! With Prayer and Fasting, people have been cured of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and more! The ministry of Jesus began after a successful 40 day fast! There are MILLIONS of testimonies for the benefits of fasting!
Water Fasting or Juice Fasting?
Most people recommend a Juice Fast. In today's world there are so many more toxins than there were in the days of Jesus. Most people's bodies are filled with these toxins, and juices and smoothies help the body to eliminate toxins and sustain your energy.
For Juice Fasting, try to use the most RAW fruits and vegetables that you can. They are filled with nutrition and live enzymes that will help to cleanse your body of any bad cells. Many people have testimonies of being healed through juice fasting.
TIPS FOR JUICE FASTING: The 2 most important tools for an easier juice fast is a high powered blender, and a kitchen scale. These will make your juice and smoothie preparation MUCH EASIER! For a blender, we recommend the Vitamix or Blentec if you can. These powerful blenders make all the difference. It makes it much easier, and opens up a lot more recipes that require less work. A kitchen scale is also awesome to have. Instead of measuring cups all over, you simply put the blender on the scale, and measure the item weight you need into your blender. So much simpler!
If possible count your calories for your juice fast. You rarely want to go over 50% of the calories you need for the day. There are a lot of good recipes on the internet for juicing, green smoothies, and other healthy smoothies.