Fasting & Praying

Here we are again, blessed to be in another new year and for me that means a new fast to get the year started right. As with years past, my church and I are doing the Daniel's Fast which is a restraint from meats and animal products along with any "processed" foods, like white rice, sugar, soda, etc.
This has been our fast for the last five years but we have normally only gone out 21 days. This year we are are going 40 days of fasting and prayer. I can tell you that many of the people doing this with me were a little skeptical but the level of participation has never been higher. There are those that have committed the beginning of the year fasting and prayer since the founding of the church and then there are those that are fasting for the first time in a long time. There are even some young people, who by there own admission want to "get a closer relationship with God!" by fasting and prayer. How amazing is that!

Now I know there are many that would be concerned. "Is this healthy?" "Is it safe for the young people?" "What about those that have medical conditions?" Well, I assure you that all of that has been taken into consideration and as a matter of fact this fast, just from a dietary perspective, is extremely healthy and has many, many benefits. But you don't have to take my word for it; there is a plethora of information available that talks about the benefits of eating healthy and of removing the processed foods from your diet. For many of those that are doing this fast with me, we are merely encouraging them to do what their doctors and health professionals have been asking them to do for a while....eat healthy.

But there is more going on here than just eating veggies or leaving the ham-hocks out of the black eyed peas; we are pressing in to create a greater relationship with God. Whats the relationship with food and our God? Well it is not food itself as much as it is excess. I will tell you about that in a later post....