1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,280 I had an eating disorder, Christian, from the time I was 2 00:00:02,280 --> 00:00:07,520 15 until the time I was 22 and I was all about dieting. 3 00:00:07,720 --> 00:00:12,120 And I heard your weight is an idol to you, Lisa. 4 00:00:12,120 --> 00:00:15,360 So I was like, all right, God, I repent of idolatry. 5 00:00:15,720 --> 00:00:19,520 And he said, now stop dieting and I want you to fast. 6 00:00:19,560 --> 00:00:23,400 And I was like, why wait? You just told me not to diet and 7 00:00:23,400 --> 00:00:27,240 now you're telling me to fast. And right away I heard the Holy 8 00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:30,880 Spirit say in Psalm 6910, David said. 9 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:37,600 I chastened my soul with fasting and so many times I've watched a 10 00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:43,680 fast in my life. Hey, I want to thank you for 11 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:47,720 watching the Lisa Vivira Podcast by actually sharing a gift with 12 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:50,520 you. It is a free ebook called Fast 13 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:52,800 forward. See, I don't know if you 14 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:57,440 understand the power of a fast. Most people when they hear the 15 00:00:57,440 --> 00:01:00,200 story of Jonah, they think about a whale. 16 00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:04,319 But there is a moment that I want to highlight in that story. 17 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:09,320 God had sent the prophet to decry against the city of 18 00:01:09,320 --> 00:01:11,680 Nineveh. It was filled with wickedness 19 00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:15,800 and he prophesied pending judgement. 20 00:01:16,160 --> 00:01:19,920 But listen to this. The people of Nineveh, this is 21 00:01:20,040 --> 00:01:23,360 crazy. Believe God and proclaim the 22 00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:27,800 fast put on sackcloth from the greatest to even the least of 23 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:31,400 them. And God said, I've heard their 24 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:35,240 cry, I've seen them humble themselves, and he deferred the 25 00:01:35,240 --> 00:01:38,000 judgement. I believe our nation is on the 26 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:41,760 threshold and I am inviting you to declare a fast. 27 00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:44,520 We're coming out of the holidays, or maybe you're just 28 00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:48,320 seeing this right now and you know that you have a hunger for 29 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:51,600 something more. I believe the fast creates a 30 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:54,200 greater hunger for the things of God. 31 00:01:54,280 --> 00:01:57,600 And so I'm excited for you to dive into this conversation 32 00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:00,680 around fasting. Welcome to the least of your 33 00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:03,160 podcast. And I am really excited about 34 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:06,640 today's message. This has been something that has 35 00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:10,120 been very transformative in my life. 36 00:02:10,120 --> 00:02:14,480 And that is the difference between dieting and fasting. 37 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:18,760 I believe that God has fasting as one of our spiritual 38 00:02:18,760 --> 00:02:21,520 disciplines. And so many people don't know 39 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:24,360 how to start a fast, don't know how to maintain a fast. 40 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:28,360 They have questions about it. But I believe that fasting is a 41 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:32,400 time of breakthrough, not that we change God's mind, but it 42 00:02:32,400 --> 00:02:34,880 changes us. And so I'm super excited. 43 00:02:35,120 --> 00:02:37,560 I've got my daughter, Law Christian joining me today and 44 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:40,440 we're going to be taking in some of the questions you guys ask 45 00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:43,080 us, answering them and discussing fasting. 46 00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:45,320 Yes, thank you so much for sharing. 47 00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:48,400 You have a whole book on this and there's this approach that 48 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:51,120 we do have questions on because people want to know the 49 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:54,520 difference in diet and fasting. But I think before we even go 50 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:57,120 there, can you share what is fasting? 51 00:02:57,120 --> 00:03:00,320 Why do people do it? Does God call to do it? 52 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:03,400 Give us give us a runway for this topic. 53 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:06,360 How about I tell you my personal entry into the world of fasting? 54 00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:09,360 So I had an eating disorder, Christian, from the time I was 55 00:03:09,360 --> 00:03:14,640 15 until the time I was 22, and I was all about dieting. 56 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:18,120 I had come in from school one day, my dad told me that I was 57 00:03:18,120 --> 00:03:19,920 fat. He told me I needed to take care 58 00:03:19,920 --> 00:03:24,160 of it. I restricted my food intake, ran 59 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:29,240 outside through the snow drifts in Indiana, and I watched my dad 60 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:33,360 approve of me when I lost weight and I began to associate. 61 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:35,400 Thin means you're worthy of love. 62 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:39,320 Thin means your discipline. Thin means you're in control. 63 00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:43,800 And so I carried that on into college and it, it morphed into 64 00:03:43,960 --> 00:03:47,520 a eating disorder and then I became a Christian. 65 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:51,280 And now Christians, it's interesting, they don't drink, 66 00:03:51,280 --> 00:03:55,360 which I had excessive drinking, excessive dieting, diuretics, 67 00:03:55,360 --> 00:03:58,720 laxatives, all that mess. But they eat at everything. 68 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:03,240 And so now I took my excessive personality and I put it on into 69 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:06,720 my Christian world and it translated to overeating. 70 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:11,080 And so I went from being too thin to overweight. 71 00:04:11,520 --> 00:04:13,880 And it wasn't healthy weight. It was, it was overweight. 72 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:17,839 And I remember just being angry at God, like it was his fault 73 00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:20,839 that I'd somehow given him my life and he made me fat. 74 00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:23,320 And even though it wasn't him, it was me. 75 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:26,840 And the turning point was when I couldn't fit into my wedding 76 00:04:26,840 --> 00:04:30,560 gown. And I had gone to try a slip on, 77 00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:32,000 try my wedding gown. And they're like, Are you sure 78 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:34,800 this is yours? And I'm like, yes, this is mine. 79 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:36,960 And they're like, we cannot even close this. 80 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:38,800 We can't even begin to close this. 81 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:45,520 And I came home mad at God, mad at myself, mad at everything. 82 00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:49,320 I just could see my dad's mind that my dad was like, he was 83 00:04:49,320 --> 00:04:51,680 already furious about what he had to pay for my wedding gown. 84 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:53,280 He was. And I thought. 85 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:56,400 You have to alter it. Well, there was no altering it. 86 00:04:56,400 --> 00:05:00,160 We're like 2 weeks away from my wedding and and maybe 4, I don't 87 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:01,360 know. It was very close. 88 00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:06,120 And I, I just started crying and I was just like, God, you know, 89 00:05:06,160 --> 00:05:08,720 I give you my life and I get fat now. 90 00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:13,720 And I heard your weight is an idol to you, Lisa. 91 00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:17,120 And I was like, idol golden calf. 92 00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:18,800 I mean, I'm a brand new baby Christian. 93 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:20,200 I've been saved for about a year. 94 00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:25,160 And he said it's what you draw your strength from and what you 95 00:05:25,160 --> 00:05:29,080 give your strength to. And he said, if you'll repent of 96 00:05:29,080 --> 00:05:33,160 this idolatry, I'll heal you. And I'll tell you should weigh, 97 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:35,440 not shape, not glamour, not vogue. 98 00:05:35,840 --> 00:05:39,720 And I was like, what? God wants to be involved in my 99 00:05:39,720 --> 00:05:41,280 life. And so I was like, all right, 100 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:44,240 all right, God, I, I'm messing up. 101 00:05:44,280 --> 00:05:47,920 I'm really destructive. And it was the pattern is my 102 00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:49,360 mom's life, my grandmother's life. 103 00:05:49,760 --> 00:05:52,360 So I was like, all right, God, I repent of idolatry. 104 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:56,480 And he said, now stop dieting. And I want you to fast. 105 00:05:56,480 --> 00:06:00,160 And I was like, why wait? You just told me not to diet, 106 00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:02,000 and now you're telling me to fast. 107 00:06:02,520 --> 00:06:06,800 And right away I heard the Holy Spirit say a diet changes the 108 00:06:06,800 --> 00:06:10,280 way you look, but a fast changes the way you see. 109 00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:14,840 And Lisa, I need you to change the way you see everything. 110 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:18,160 So Christian, I opened up my Bible and I I looked in the back 111 00:06:18,160 --> 00:06:22,080 and I found all the scriptures on fasting and I just drank 112 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:26,480 water and juice for like 3 days. And instead of going to the 113 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:30,800 refrigerator, I went to worship. Instead of going to the 114 00:06:30,800 --> 00:06:34,720 refrigerator, I went for a walk. And I just, every time I would 115 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:37,080 get worried to be like, you're not, you're probably, you know, 116 00:06:37,080 --> 00:06:41,400 you need to eat your this, you need to do that anyway, 3 days. 117 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:45,800 And then God had to teach me how to live a fasted life because 118 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:48,400 apparently this is crazy, but it's true. 119 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:53,760 Apparently I have this gene that doesn't tell you when you're 120 00:06:53,760 --> 00:06:56,080 done eating. Tell them what it's called. 121 00:06:56,080 --> 00:06:58,160 It's. Hilarious the death pipe buffet 122 00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:03,120 you just I can't go on cruises. I can't no, they say you'll just 123 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:06,480 keep eating and so I had to be like God, you have to teach me. 124 00:07:06,840 --> 00:07:11,480 And so you know, I found so many people they think a fast is just 125 00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:13,960 a quick diet, but a fast is not a quick diet. 126 00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:17,840 A diet is a physical change and reset. 127 00:07:18,320 --> 00:07:22,960 A fast is a spiritual 1. And so I, I love that David said 128 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:28,440 in Psalm 6910, I chastened my soul with fasting. 129 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:33,320 And I think sometimes we don't understand that our soul gets a 130 00:07:33,320 --> 00:07:36,800 little preeminent in our lives and we need to actually put a 131 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:39,360 little lock down and say, all right, enough. 132 00:07:39,400 --> 00:07:42,400 I'm, I've been, you know, I want to turn to some of the questions 133 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:45,280 that we have now because I know I saw a couple of them. 134 00:07:45,560 --> 00:07:48,040 And these are things I always get asked. 135 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:52,520 I want to share with you about a phenomenal opportunity. 136 00:07:53,040 --> 00:07:57,960 I love to study the Word of God and logos.com back slash Bevier 137 00:07:57,960 --> 00:08:01,840 is going to give you an opportunity to have a 60 day 138 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:05,120 free trial. I love that you can actually 139 00:08:05,120 --> 00:08:08,960 deep dive into all of these different commentaries they are 140 00:08:08,960 --> 00:08:14,200 bundling together. Listen to this 190 resources. 141 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:16,640 You can try out Logos for yourself. 142 00:08:16,640 --> 00:08:19,360 You could do a deep dive into the word of God. 143 00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:24,640 All you've got to do is go to logos.com back slash bevier to 144 00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:27,880 start your free trial. You know when David said Chasen, 145 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:30,760 we think is that punish? And actually the word Chasen 146 00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:35,880 means to discipline, purify, refine, clarify. 147 00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:41,600 So get back clarity and to improve discipline is training. 148 00:08:41,799 --> 00:08:47,280 And so many times I've watched a fast in my life, be that reset 149 00:08:47,280 --> 00:08:51,800 the reprogram or the clarity or the clarifying agent in my life. 150 00:08:52,400 --> 00:08:55,800 OK, I have to ask this coming from your background, which I'm 151 00:08:55,800 --> 00:08:58,000 sure you're not alone. Maybe women listening to this, 152 00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:00,120 coming from your background, I'm an eating disorder. 153 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:02,680 That's a different type of discipline in your body. 154 00:09:03,040 --> 00:09:07,760 So how did you right? That's punishment, yes, not 155 00:09:07,920 --> 00:09:10,600 purifying. How did you learn to reshape 156 00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:14,040 your mind and even your body's response to because they're both 157 00:09:14,040 --> 00:09:15,360 restrictive, right? Right. 158 00:09:15,400 --> 00:09:17,840 But for different purposes. How did you reshape your mind 159 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:21,560 and heart to even welcome the benefit of fasting without 160 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:23,960 keeping that punishment mentality going? 161 00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:26,200 Yeah. So, you know, I saw food as 162 00:09:26,600 --> 00:09:30,240 something that hurt me, something that was in like, OK, 163 00:09:30,320 --> 00:09:33,800 I'll either take it away and it's a punishment or I, I can, I 164 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:36,280 can eat everything in the refrigerator or nothing. 165 00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:41,320 I couldn't be normal. And so for me, having a pause, 166 00:09:41,720 --> 00:09:46,400 having a fast, you know, was kind of this reset and then a 167 00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:51,320 reframe that food was something to be thankful for, that it was 168 00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:54,640 something to celebrate. But I didn't live to eat. 169 00:09:55,080 --> 00:09:58,480 I ate to live. And I think too many people, 170 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:01,080 they're eating their emotions. I watched my mom do that. 171 00:10:01,080 --> 00:10:02,520 I watched my grandmother do that. 172 00:10:02,800 --> 00:10:06,840 And I had to say, all right, God, I have had this in the 173 00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:10,560 wrong place. Fasting was a way for getting it 174 00:10:10,640 --> 00:10:13,280 into the right place. And so many Christians, you 175 00:10:13,280 --> 00:10:16,040 know, they come out of they come out of a hard season. 176 00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:18,480 Maybe they come out of the holidays, or maybe they just 177 00:10:18,480 --> 00:10:21,520 really need to hear from God and they think the fast is like a 178 00:10:21,520 --> 00:10:23,200 hunger strike. They're like, all right, God, I 179 00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:25,240 need to hear from you. I'm going to fast and you're 180 00:10:25,240 --> 00:10:28,720 going to talk. But really a fast is more about 181 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:32,080 our receptivity than God speaking. 182 00:10:32,560 --> 00:10:36,760 And, and I love how our nation, I mean, we're, we're in a 183 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:41,120 situation right now where our nation needs women to fast. 184 00:10:41,120 --> 00:10:46,320 I really believe that, you know, I love how Esther hidden away it 185 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:49,080 in a in a Kingdom born for such a time as this. 186 00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:51,000 And I have to believe that each and every one of us. 187 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:53,840 It's just not a nice little phrase for Esther, but it is 188 00:10:53,840 --> 00:10:56,320 something that is a mandate for every daughter of God. 189 00:10:56,320 --> 00:10:58,440 If you're alive right now, whether you're a grandmother 190 00:10:58,440 --> 00:11:02,680 like me or whether you're a young girl, you are alive at 191 00:11:02,680 --> 00:11:05,000 such a time for this. And God has brought you into to 192 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:06,880 the Kingdom for such time as this. 193 00:11:06,880 --> 00:11:10,080 And so for me, I wanted to know that purpose. 194 00:11:10,080 --> 00:11:14,040 What is the purpose behind that? And for Esther, hers was a 195 00:11:14,040 --> 00:11:16,880 position of influence and rescue for her people. 196 00:11:17,240 --> 00:11:20,800 And when Mordecai, who was her uncle, came to her and said, OK, 197 00:11:20,800 --> 00:11:23,160 listen, you know you're not going to escape. 198 00:11:23,280 --> 00:11:25,000 You think you're in the palace, you think you're going to 199 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:27,000 escape. She immediately goes, all right, 200 00:11:27,520 --> 00:11:31,200 this is bigger than me. You ask the Jews and Sousas to 201 00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:33,680 fast. I'm going to ask my handmaidens 202 00:11:33,680 --> 00:11:35,160 to fast. And if I die, I die. 203 00:11:35,160 --> 00:11:38,240 But she got to the place where she's like, all right, I'm going 204 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:40,960 to fast. And I'm going to, while I'm 205 00:11:40,960 --> 00:11:45,800 fasting, prepare a banquet for the king, which is interesting. 206 00:11:47,200 --> 00:11:49,480 Like I'm always like if I'm fasting, everybody's evening. 207 00:11:49,480 --> 00:11:52,720 What I don't like in my household, but it shows the 208 00:11:52,720 --> 00:11:57,200 principle of the fast, that the fast isn't just denial of self, 209 00:11:57,200 --> 00:12:02,120 but indulging the king. And so when I fast, I'm actually 210 00:12:02,320 --> 00:12:06,600 setting aside time for my king. I'm preparing A banquet. 211 00:12:06,600 --> 00:12:08,760 I'm saying, God, I'm giving this time to you. 212 00:12:09,160 --> 00:12:11,280 I want you more than my daily bread. 213 00:12:11,280 --> 00:12:15,600 I want you more than than whatever I would try to satiate 214 00:12:15,600 --> 00:12:18,320 myself with. So a fast is really about 215 00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:22,640 reframing who God is to us and who we are to him. 216 00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:24,560 And then, you know, of course we know this story. 217 00:12:24,560 --> 00:12:27,160 She makes 1 banquet and then she's fasting. 218 00:12:27,160 --> 00:12:30,720 So and then she makes another banquet and then she cries out 219 00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:33,480 for the head of her enemies and the rescue of her people. 220 00:12:33,720 --> 00:12:36,960 And I feel like right now we need some people who understand 221 00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:42,440 that when we fast, we actually have this greater opportunity to 222 00:12:42,440 --> 00:12:45,280 petition. That leads into one of the 223 00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:48,080 questions we have is how do you know it's time to fast? 224 00:12:48,080 --> 00:12:51,600 Is it something that God tells you to do, or something you do 225 00:12:51,600 --> 00:12:54,360 to even just make that invitation to His voice 226 00:12:54,360 --> 00:12:56,240 available? Well, I think it can be both. 227 00:12:56,240 --> 00:13:00,280 I think it can be like, Hey, I've come through a season where 228 00:13:00,320 --> 00:13:03,400 maybe I'm a little over indulgent, you know, and, and I 229 00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:06,760 think, you know, that can even go to what we do fast because I 230 00:13:06,760 --> 00:13:09,280 think some people say, well, I, you know, I'm, I'm breastfeeding 231 00:13:09,280 --> 00:13:10,960 a baby. I can't fast. 232 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:13,600 Yeah, yeah. So 24 hour water fast while 233 00:13:13,600 --> 00:13:16,360 breastfeeding, let me tell you. That would be hard, easy. 234 00:13:16,440 --> 00:13:19,080 That would be hard. But but there's always something 235 00:13:19,080 --> 00:13:21,720 you can fast. And what I used to tell people 236 00:13:21,720 --> 00:13:24,080 is fast. What is holding you back? 237 00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:27,280 Fast where you're going to those different places. 238 00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:32,480 So entertainment, Oh my gosh, fasting entertainment is one of 239 00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:36,120 those things that everybody can do. 240 00:13:36,440 --> 00:13:39,680 And if they're like, I can't, I, I because of health reasons, I 241 00:13:39,680 --> 00:13:42,520 can't fast because of, you know, I'm diabetic, whatever. 242 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:47,360 You can always fast something that is taking you away from the 243 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:49,920 presence of God. You can fast to the distractions 244 00:13:49,920 --> 00:13:52,880 that are in your life. And so we want to just say, God, 245 00:13:52,880 --> 00:13:55,840 I'm going to separate myself self to you. 246 00:13:56,160 --> 00:14:00,120 And I actually like to start a fast with communion and say, all 247 00:14:00,120 --> 00:14:04,560 right, God, I'm I'm, I'm going to, I'm going to break bread. 248 00:14:04,960 --> 00:14:09,040 I'm going to honor Jesus's death, burial and resurrection 249 00:14:09,040 --> 00:14:10,960 in my life. And I'm going to begin and I'm 250 00:14:11,080 --> 00:14:13,360 I'm going to fast. But I also don't think there's 251 00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:17,360 anything wrong with just saying, hey, this is a Holy Week. 252 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:20,320 I'm going to we're going to fast during this week or we're going 253 00:14:20,320 --> 00:14:23,880 to fast at the beginning of the year and just do a Daniel fast 254 00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:27,200 or a juice fast or whatever. I think that we don't. 255 00:14:27,200 --> 00:14:30,920 I think we look for more excuses not to fast and reasons to fast 256 00:14:31,640 --> 00:14:34,920 in our culture. Going off of those times of I, I 257 00:14:34,920 --> 00:14:37,840 just want to present this fast. Where do we see in the Bible of 258 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:40,600 when people fasted or the purposes they were fasting for? 259 00:14:40,600 --> 00:14:43,760 I mean, you mentioned Daniel. Right, Ezra is another one I 260 00:14:43,760 --> 00:14:46,000 love. Ezra 821 says I proclaimed a 261 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:47,520 fast. He didn't say God proclaimed. 262 00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:51,400 He said, I proclaimed a fast so that we might humble ourselves 263 00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:55,400 again like David did, humble ourselves before our God and ask 264 00:14:55,400 --> 00:14:59,520 him for a safe journey for us and our children and with all 265 00:14:59,520 --> 00:15:02,000 our possessions. And when I read this, I think 266 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:04,360 that so many people think, well, he was going on a journey. 267 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:08,560 No, I think we're all wanting to transition from where we are to 268 00:15:08,560 --> 00:15:11,480 where we could be and got it. He's saying, I'm not just 269 00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:15,320 fasting for myself. I'm fasting for myself, my 270 00:15:15,320 --> 00:15:20,160 children and our possessions. And when we just proclaim, say 271 00:15:20,160 --> 00:15:23,360 God, I'm going to I'm going to I'm going to declare a fast 272 00:15:23,640 --> 00:15:29,440 because I want to humble myself before God and ask for safety, 273 00:15:29,800 --> 00:15:33,160 direction, protection, provision. 274 00:15:33,400 --> 00:15:36,720 He wanted got to take him from one place to another place. 275 00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:38,920 And so many people are in a season of transition. 276 00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:41,880 I'm hearing so much about job. You know, people are so 277 00:15:41,880 --> 00:15:44,800 concerned about AI causing them to lose their job. 278 00:15:45,040 --> 00:15:47,560 All these different things, transitional things, people 279 00:15:47,560 --> 00:15:50,720 coming out of school feel like they have no jobs available to 280 00:15:50,720 --> 00:15:53,960 them or people are in a season of singleness and they're hoping 281 00:15:53,960 --> 00:15:56,240 to get married. For me, Christian, when the 282 00:15:56,240 --> 00:15:59,880 first time I fast, I was single and getting ready to get married 283 00:15:59,880 --> 00:16:03,360 and I knew that God was taking me on a journey from where 284 00:16:03,480 --> 00:16:08,200 everything was about me to everything would be about us. 285 00:16:08,200 --> 00:16:11,160 That's great awareness. Yeah, it's totally. 286 00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:14,400 And I was, I was leaving my father's house and building a 287 00:16:14,400 --> 00:16:17,200 house with my husband. And so I feel like I needed to 288 00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:20,000 fast. And you know, again, I did not 289 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:23,560 have an example of how to do that well. 290 00:16:24,160 --> 00:16:28,560 I knew certain things I didn't want to do, but I had never seen 291 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:33,320 a family begin with God as the center of the household. 292 00:16:33,960 --> 00:16:35,120 So. Seeking that wisdom. 293 00:16:35,280 --> 00:16:38,240 So I was like, God, I'm fasting. And I really felt like I kept a 294 00:16:38,240 --> 00:16:41,320 journal during that time because we don't want to just do a 295 00:16:41,320 --> 00:16:45,400 hunger strike, like I said, and just be quiet and, and not, you 296 00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:47,640 know, like write things in our journal. 297 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:51,840 We want to listen and then record what God might whisper to 298 00:16:51,840 --> 00:16:53,760 us. And that might just be a passage 299 00:16:53,760 --> 00:16:55,200 of Scripture he tells you to go to. 300 00:16:55,560 --> 00:16:58,280 It might just be, you know, Lisa, I'm so proud of you, 301 00:16:58,560 --> 00:17:00,080 Christian. I'm so proud you set it aside 302 00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:01,960 this time. But I really believe that 303 00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:06,680 fasting is about retuning the voice of God in our lives. 304 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:09,400 It's like my husband always says that God is always speaking. 305 00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:12,000 It's like a radio broadcast, but you have to get on the right 306 00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:13,640 channel. And fasting actually helps us 307 00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:14,680 get on the right channel. Yeah. 308 00:17:15,560 --> 00:17:18,800 I love that you encourage us and anyone listening that we don't 309 00:17:18,800 --> 00:17:22,400 do this simply for our benefit. But as you've shared, there are 310 00:17:22,480 --> 00:17:26,280 actual benefits to fasting. Can you share some of those and 311 00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:29,240 yes, maybe even how to how do you keep your heart in that 312 00:17:29,240 --> 00:17:31,720 posture of making sure you're not fasting for the wrong 313 00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:32,280 reasons? Well. 314 00:17:32,320 --> 00:17:34,880 First of all, again, going back to fast, it's not about food, 315 00:17:34,880 --> 00:17:37,400 it's about separation. You know, it's, it's not about 316 00:17:37,400 --> 00:17:40,720 food, it's about consecration. It's not about losing weight. 317 00:17:41,240 --> 00:17:44,600 It's about being loosed from every weight and sin and a guilt 318 00:17:44,600 --> 00:17:46,480 consciousness and a shame consciousness. 319 00:17:46,480 --> 00:17:50,000 So, you know, we go into a fast and if you go into a fast just 320 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:51,520 to lose weight, that's what you're going to get. 321 00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:55,760 But if you go into the fast and you say, God, you are my reward. 322 00:17:55,760 --> 00:17:59,080 And so I love Isaiah 58 and I'm going to start with first time 323 00:17:59,120 --> 00:18:02,040 it says, is this the kind of fast I have chosen? 324 00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:05,680 Only a day for a man to humble himself. 325 00:18:05,960 --> 00:18:10,200 Is it only for bowing 1's head like a Reed or for lying on 326 00:18:10,200 --> 00:18:13,440 sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast? 327 00:18:13,440 --> 00:18:16,160 A day acceptable to the Lord? I mean, man, these people are 328 00:18:16,160 --> 00:18:17,960 going way further than we do nowadays. 329 00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:20,800 It's like what I for one day turned off my TV. 330 00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:24,040 Well, listen, I believe that the American Christians, we need to 331 00:18:24,040 --> 00:18:26,920 fast and Christian, here's here's the thing. 332 00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:31,400 I remember being in a season that was full. 333 00:18:32,320 --> 00:18:37,560 I was a mother and I was, you know, busy and and I was like, 334 00:18:37,880 --> 00:18:39,520 God, I'm not hungry for your word. 335 00:18:39,520 --> 00:18:43,400 I'm just surviving right now. And he said, Lisa, in a nation 336 00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:47,960 like America filled with abundance, if you want to 337 00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:51,360 develop a hunger for me, you're going to have to fast some of 338 00:18:51,360 --> 00:18:55,720 these other things because maybe I wasn't doing anything bad, but 339 00:18:55,720 --> 00:18:59,560 I was putting in things that just filled my time and I was 340 00:18:59,560 --> 00:19:02,280 avoiding some other things. I knew at that time, Christian, 341 00:19:02,280 --> 00:19:06,520 I'd had two children and I just, I knew that God was calling me 342 00:19:06,760 --> 00:19:10,640 deeper and I was scared. So I was I was doing things that 343 00:19:10,640 --> 00:19:15,200 kept me busy, but not sacred, not focused. 344 00:19:15,720 --> 00:19:18,320 And and he was like, come on, Lisa is this is what? 345 00:19:18,320 --> 00:19:21,280 And then the Israelites, they had reduced the fast to 346 00:19:21,280 --> 00:19:26,160 religious motions, sackcloth, ashes, and God was like, hey, 347 00:19:26,320 --> 00:19:28,760 that's not what I'm really looking for. 348 00:19:28,760 --> 00:19:33,240 They lost contact of the heart of the matter behind the fast. 349 00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:36,680 And then he goes, he asks the question, is not this the kind 350 00:19:36,680 --> 00:19:41,400 of fast I've chosen to lose the chains of injustice, to untie 351 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:45,400 the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break 352 00:19:45,520 --> 00:19:48,080 every yoke. Is it not to share your food 353 00:19:48,080 --> 00:19:51,120 with the hungry and to provide the poor wander with shelter 354 00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:53,920 when you see the naked, to clothe them and not turn away 355 00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:56,760 from your own flesh and blood. So God is actually saying, well, 356 00:19:56,760 --> 00:19:58,680 you're not busy with just yourself. 357 00:19:59,960 --> 00:20:02,400 It frees you to have an awareness of others. 358 00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:06,840 Also I believe when he's talking about break every yoke for me. 359 00:20:07,240 --> 00:20:10,320 It broke the yoke of an eating disorder going on a fast. 360 00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:12,560 It breaks the yoke of distraction. 361 00:20:12,760 --> 00:20:16,280 It breaks the yoke of self focus, self-centered self 362 00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:19,120 consciousness. I believe almost everybody could 363 00:20:19,120 --> 00:20:23,800 easily go on a social media fast and it would be really healthy, 364 00:20:23,880 --> 00:20:27,840 healthy and helpful for them. And then God goes through the 365 00:20:27,840 --> 00:20:31,640 whole thing and said, he says, if you do these things, if you 366 00:20:31,720 --> 00:20:35,840 honor the kind of fast I honor, and then verse 8 it says, then 367 00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:39,000 your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will 368 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:41,800 quickly appear. Then your righteousness will go 369 00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:44,760 before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. 370 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:47,560 Then you will call and the Lord will answer. 371 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:52,680 You will cry for help and he will say, here I am and I mean, 372 00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:57,440 I don't even know if we could get any better promises than 373 00:20:57,440 --> 00:21:00,240 that. Families deserve safe, wholesome 374 00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:04,840 biblical resources and that is why I love Brave Books now. 375 00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:08,040 Brave Books is a Christian children's entertainment 376 00:21:08,040 --> 00:21:10,120 company. They have biblical truth like 377 00:21:10,120 --> 00:21:13,080 courage, identity, forgiveness and more. 378 00:21:13,120 --> 00:21:16,800 When you join the Brave Book Club, you get a new book 379 00:21:16,800 --> 00:21:21,320 delivered to your home every month and free access to Brave. 380 00:21:21,320 --> 00:21:26,280 Plus there's streaming platform you can get 20% off when you use 381 00:21:26,280 --> 00:21:30,680 the code bavier at bravebooks.com back slash 382 00:21:30,920 --> 00:21:34,000 bavier. Healing, proximity, 383 00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:38,840 Righteousness, we've even seen which this kind of goes back to 384 00:21:38,840 --> 00:21:41,920 that, that line, that very fine line of, you know, why am I 385 00:21:41,920 --> 00:21:43,640 doing this? But a rise in the health 386 00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:46,680 industry of fasting for health benefits. 387 00:21:46,680 --> 00:21:50,000 And, you know, sidebar, we had an amazing episode with both 388 00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:53,280 Jordan Rubin and Dr. Axe around the health benefits. 389 00:21:53,280 --> 00:21:57,600 But you know, is there a spiritual closeness that that 390 00:21:57,600 --> 00:22:00,680 even comes from that of, you know, as we're talking about the 391 00:22:00,680 --> 00:22:02,680 healing, where's the little? Right. 392 00:22:02,680 --> 00:22:05,760 Well, I mean, here's the thing, when your body isn't digesting 393 00:22:06,120 --> 00:22:08,720 food, it has an opportunity to heal. 394 00:22:08,920 --> 00:22:11,880 But again, we, we know that God is the ultimate healer, not 395 00:22:11,880 --> 00:22:13,520 fasting. We know that God. 396 00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:17,240 So what we're doing is we're positioning ourselves to receive 397 00:22:17,240 --> 00:22:19,280 a healing from him. So we already talked about the 398 00:22:19,280 --> 00:22:22,200 first one disciplining the chest and our soul, then the next one 399 00:22:22,640 --> 00:22:27,280 changing our appetites. You know when you fast sugar, 400 00:22:27,960 --> 00:22:30,520 you come off if you're fast. Yeah. 401 00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:34,120 And you're like, oh, sugar doesn't taste quite as good as 402 00:22:34,120 --> 00:22:37,240 it did beforehand. And you know when you when you 403 00:22:37,360 --> 00:22:40,520 actually have a fast, what's happening is you're setting 404 00:22:40,520 --> 00:22:43,640 yourself apart for certain things that just said, wait, I'm 405 00:22:43,640 --> 00:22:44,640 looking at Acts 13. Two. 406 00:22:44,640 --> 00:22:47,040 It says set apart for me. Barnes and Saul for the work. 407 00:22:47,040 --> 00:22:51,840 I have called them too. So when we actually have a 408 00:22:51,840 --> 00:22:56,480 setting apart, then the things that we used to enjoy previous 409 00:22:56,480 --> 00:22:59,880 fast we don't enjoy so much. So social media, whether it's 410 00:22:59,880 --> 00:23:04,240 entertainment, whether it's unhealthy food, again, the food, 411 00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:07,240 the food is the emphasis. That's your reward and that's 412 00:23:07,240 --> 00:23:09,920 not a bad thing. But if you're like God, my body 413 00:23:09,920 --> 00:23:11,400 is the temple of the Holy Spirit. 414 00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:16,200 This body is an entrustment. I am supposed to worship you 415 00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:19,680 with my God presented a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable. 416 00:23:19,920 --> 00:23:25,360 So we don't have the right to mistreat our body when it is 417 00:23:25,360 --> 00:23:29,120 something that God gave the death of his son to purchase 418 00:23:29,120 --> 00:23:31,880 from me to be a good stir with. And then fasting increases 419 00:23:31,880 --> 00:23:35,000 capacity. I love that. 420 00:23:35,040 --> 00:23:38,040 You know, Esther again had capacity by fasting. 421 00:23:38,240 --> 00:23:42,080 I've also got fasting brings answers to prayers when that 422 00:23:42,080 --> 00:23:46,760 whole idea of we call, he answers no, we know Jeremiah 423 00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:49,240 says even before we call, he's already answering and he wants 424 00:23:49,240 --> 00:23:51,120 to show his great and money things we know not of. 425 00:23:51,360 --> 00:23:55,280 So I have to believe that when we call, we heard the answer. 426 00:23:55,840 --> 00:23:57,680 Almost like a Q-tip, a spiritual. 427 00:23:57,920 --> 00:24:00,640 Q-tip opens up our ears. Able to. 428 00:24:00,880 --> 00:24:02,960 Hear and then the the healing one. 429 00:24:02,960 --> 00:24:05,440 Fasting leads to quick healing. Then your light will break forth 430 00:24:05,440 --> 00:24:08,280 like the dawn and your healing will quickly appear. 431 00:24:08,720 --> 00:24:11,920 I also believe we, we know now, it's not like your body's over 432 00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:15,160 here and your brains over here and your spirits over here and 433 00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:18,440 your souls over here. When you have bitterness and 434 00:24:18,440 --> 00:24:21,560 unforgiveness and things like that, it affects your body. 435 00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:25,240 And so when you're fast, God deals with very root issues that 436 00:24:25,240 --> 00:24:28,560 when you can go to the root of something, then the healing can 437 00:24:28,720 --> 00:24:32,160 spring forth because you've you've uprooted that thing that 438 00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:34,960 has been defiling to you because this is a bitter root defiling 439 00:24:35,400 --> 00:24:38,440 many. And right now we have a we have 440 00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:41,640 quite a bit of bitterness and definement in the body of 441 00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:43,520 Christ. Fasting opens doors to God's 442 00:24:43,520 --> 00:24:47,000 protection is provision. Fasting looses the chains of 443 00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:49,680 injustice. I know there's a lot of people 444 00:24:50,160 --> 00:24:53,280 that would probably see more results if they'd go off of 445 00:24:53,280 --> 00:24:57,760 social media decrying injustice and went into a prayer closet, a 446 00:24:57,760 --> 00:25:01,080 fasting and prayer for a returning of injustice. 447 00:25:01,440 --> 00:25:03,920 He frees the oppressed, breaks every yoke. 448 00:25:03,960 --> 00:25:08,480 And when we take our eyes off our self and look around at 449 00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:11,120 others, you know, one of my favorite quotes is when you set 450 00:25:11,120 --> 00:25:13,160 people in motion, they heal themselves. 451 00:25:13,680 --> 00:25:19,040 And so we want to set, we need to set ourselves in motion so 452 00:25:19,040 --> 00:25:22,360 that healing happens and not just sit and study ourselves, 453 00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:27,160 but get up out of the dust of self reflection and, and look 454 00:25:27,160 --> 00:25:31,440 out and see what's going on be get into motion to actually 455 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:33,120 reach out to other people and just look at us. 456 00:25:33,120 --> 00:25:36,280 And then fasting motivates us to provide food for the hungry. 457 00:25:36,320 --> 00:25:39,040 I mean, there's when you're not, you're not using it, you can 458 00:25:39,040 --> 00:25:40,680 give it to somebody else. And I do think there's a 459 00:25:40,680 --> 00:25:43,600 hoarding spirit that fasting deals with. 460 00:25:45,360 --> 00:25:47,200 Well, I love that you're connecting the, you know, the 461 00:25:47,200 --> 00:25:50,480 spiritual, the physical, the emotional and you know, even we 462 00:25:50,480 --> 00:25:53,000 see Jesus, he took times of fasting and he took time to 463 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:55,080 break bread with strangers and friends alike. 464 00:25:55,080 --> 00:25:58,280 So that that heart posture you're saying is really like, 465 00:25:58,280 --> 00:26:00,600 how is that driving us? Why are we eating? 466 00:26:00,600 --> 00:26:02,560 How are we eating? How are we commuting? 467 00:26:03,040 --> 00:26:05,080 I do think there's this factor of we're talking about the 468 00:26:05,080 --> 00:26:07,520 benefits. There are some people that might 469 00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:10,760 say, Lisa, I've tried fasting. I feel like I'm no good at it or 470 00:26:10,760 --> 00:26:13,880 like you, I've never seen some of these examples modeled. 471 00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:17,000 I'm a new Christian. I love that you and Addison on 472 00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:20,280 the last episode talked about the guilt with prayer and even 473 00:26:20,280 --> 00:26:22,400 we want to enter prayer with grace, not guilt. 474 00:26:22,400 --> 00:26:25,560 So how do we enter fasting with grace, not guilt? 475 00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:29,040 Because we've had some questions come in of I feel guilty. 476 00:26:29,040 --> 00:26:32,120 I can't even complete a 24 hour fast, whether that's food or 477 00:26:32,120 --> 00:26:34,560 social media. Where would you encourage those 478 00:26:34,560 --> 00:26:37,680 people to start? I think first of all, if, if I 479 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:41,440 was in a position where I where I felt like, Oh my gosh, I can't 480 00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:45,240 even turn off my phone social media wise for 24 hours, I would 481 00:26:45,240 --> 00:26:46,560 have to answer the question, why? 482 00:26:47,280 --> 00:26:49,880 Why? But what is it that? 483 00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:52,960 What is the root of that? Because it sounds like they're 484 00:26:52,960 --> 00:26:55,920 trying to do the thing without dealing with the thing. 485 00:26:55,920 --> 00:26:58,320 They're trying to do the fast without dealing with the root 486 00:26:58,360 --> 00:27:01,360 of. Why is that so necessary for 487 00:27:01,360 --> 00:27:03,640 them to feel like they have to be on social media? 488 00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:06,200 You know, they can't step away. And I'm not saying that to guilt 489 00:27:06,200 --> 00:27:08,800 them. I'm saying I think a fast is an 490 00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:12,480 opportunity to answer a bigger question about do they feel left 491 00:27:12,480 --> 00:27:14,480 out? Are they feeling insecure? 492 00:27:14,760 --> 00:27:17,800 Are they, you know, are they trapped in comparison? 493 00:27:18,080 --> 00:27:20,640 You know, do they feel lonely? What is going on? 494 00:27:20,800 --> 00:27:22,760 Is, is social media idle to them? 495 00:27:22,760 --> 00:27:26,040 Do they need to have positive affirmation from outside 496 00:27:26,040 --> 00:27:27,640 sources? And if they don't get that, 497 00:27:27,640 --> 00:27:30,240 they're like, they feel like they're going to be left behind 498 00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:31,840 or lost. They need to answer those 499 00:27:31,840 --> 00:27:35,040 questions. And again, I think that if you 500 00:27:35,040 --> 00:27:38,120 say, all right, God, I'm going to start small and believe big. 501 00:27:38,760 --> 00:27:39,880 Well, how to work with you on that? 502 00:27:40,320 --> 00:27:43,360 You know, I did a three day fast was my very first fast was three 503 00:27:43,360 --> 00:27:46,200 days. But he, he asked me to do that. 504 00:27:46,200 --> 00:27:48,560 And I know this is going to sound really silly, but I 505 00:27:48,560 --> 00:27:54,080 literally this was back in 19808282. 506 00:27:54,680 --> 00:27:57,960 I walked into the grocery store and I was like, Holy Spirit, I 507 00:27:57,960 --> 00:28:00,920 don't know what to do. I don't know how to fast. 508 00:28:01,360 --> 00:28:04,800 And I walked up and down the aisles and I got distilled water 509 00:28:05,200 --> 00:28:09,800 and unfiltered apple juice. And I found out later that those 510 00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:12,120 are two really great things to fast with because they're non 511 00:28:12,120 --> 00:28:15,320 acidic and it was healthy. I'm not giving medical advice, 512 00:28:15,320 --> 00:28:20,040 but that's what I did. It was like an apple Berry and I 513 00:28:20,400 --> 00:28:24,400 drank water and I mixed it with juice for three days and it got 514 00:28:24,400 --> 00:28:27,840 rid of the cravings. But that didn't mean that there 515 00:28:27,840 --> 00:28:31,920 weren't times where I thought, oh, I don't know, it's 24 hours 516 00:28:31,920 --> 00:28:35,560 and I, I don't know if this is working and I don't know, I 517 00:28:35,560 --> 00:28:38,320 think I need to eat. What if my muscles, I mean, all 518 00:28:38,320 --> 00:28:42,560 those things fight your brain, but you just that's why I would 519 00:28:42,560 --> 00:28:45,800 go for a walk. That's why I would worship. 520 00:28:46,040 --> 00:28:47,960 That's why I would read my Bible. 521 00:28:47,960 --> 00:28:51,360 I would do something that would move me outside of it. 522 00:28:51,760 --> 00:28:55,160 And then again, you know, if you're fasting and God is your 523 00:28:55,160 --> 00:28:59,160 focus, ask him. He might say, I just want you to 524 00:28:59,160 --> 00:29:02,040 fast dinner, or he might say, you know, whatever. 525 00:29:02,080 --> 00:29:04,680 And then just do it. But one of the things that we 526 00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:09,200 all need to be clear about is we, we can enter a fast, but we 527 00:29:09,200 --> 00:29:10,880 can't. We don't want to make vows that 528 00:29:10,880 --> 00:29:13,840 we break. We don't want to say I'm going 529 00:29:13,840 --> 00:29:16,160 to do 2 days and then break it at one. 530 00:29:16,520 --> 00:29:19,880 Just just start. If you feel like God is saying 531 00:29:19,880 --> 00:29:24,240 it, just start and just say I, I, I think it's good to set 532 00:29:24,240 --> 00:29:26,760 something, but not vow, if that makes any sense. 533 00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:30,240 Like I'm going to be like, OK, you know, barring none of my 534 00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:32,560 children get sick, barring that, I don't, you know, I'm going to 535 00:29:32,560 --> 00:29:36,080 fast for the next three days. And what I'm going to do is it's 536 00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:38,360 going to look like I'm fasting lunch for the next three days, 537 00:29:38,360 --> 00:29:41,440 or I'm fasting everything or, and only drinking water, or I'm 538 00:29:41,440 --> 00:29:43,680 only doing herbal, you know, whatever that is. 539 00:29:43,880 --> 00:29:47,720 But you can do it. But you need God's grace even to 540 00:29:47,720 --> 00:29:50,440 go on to fast. So just ask him to partner with 541 00:29:50,440 --> 00:29:52,560 you. And I think that you can start 542 00:29:52,560 --> 00:29:54,800 small. I think you can say I'm going to 543 00:29:54,800 --> 00:29:58,080 just not have dinner tonight and I'm not eating again till I get 544 00:29:58,080 --> 00:30:00,520 up in the morning. I just think people, they, they 545 00:30:00,520 --> 00:30:03,320 start really big and then they're disappointed with 546 00:30:03,320 --> 00:30:06,640 themselves. And this isn't about, this isn't 547 00:30:06,640 --> 00:30:09,720 about you. This is about him, right? 548 00:30:10,480 --> 00:30:15,840 What is the verse around Jesus once obedience over sacrifice 549 00:30:15,840 --> 00:30:19,320 mean and you know, as you're saying, not make vows, but make 550 00:30:19,320 --> 00:30:23,080 these gifts. And even if God's calling you to 551 00:30:23,080 --> 00:30:27,520 fast, like how does that work into our discipline and our 552 00:30:27,520 --> 00:30:30,120 diligence when it comes to fasting, whether it's food or 553 00:30:30,120 --> 00:30:32,880 social media? Because as a as a young mom, I 554 00:30:32,880 --> 00:30:34,560 hear some things and I think it's easy. 555 00:30:34,560 --> 00:30:37,560 Like the, there's the flesh and the spiritual side of me is OK, 556 00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:41,400 I have two children probably cannot go that long on low 557 00:30:41,400 --> 00:30:42,720 energy. But then there's the other side 558 00:30:42,720 --> 00:30:44,920 of, you know, the can you not tarry with me? 559 00:30:44,920 --> 00:30:47,920 Like how much limits do you think we're giving ourselves out 560 00:30:47,920 --> 00:30:52,240 of ease versus grace? Yeah, I mean, first of all, I 561 00:30:52,240 --> 00:30:56,760 mean, going back to motive, this is not something that you're 562 00:30:56,760 --> 00:31:01,000 doing to make God do something. This is so it's like God knows 563 00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:03,640 if you're breastfeeding a baby, he's not going to want your baby 564 00:31:03,640 --> 00:31:05,400 to starve. He's not going to be like, well, 565 00:31:05,800 --> 00:31:08,080 I, I want you to stop breastfeeding your baby or I 566 00:31:08,080 --> 00:31:11,080 want you not have enough milk. So I think that you can, we can 567 00:31:11,080 --> 00:31:15,720 use common sense and wisdom and say, in this case, what do I do? 568 00:31:16,400 --> 00:31:18,520 What do I do? And, and I believe he'll speak 569 00:31:18,520 --> 00:31:21,080 to you. But again, if, if it's about a 570 00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:25,880 guilt offering, God's like, no, I, I'm not, you know, Jesus was 571 00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:27,960 your guilt offering. Let's not, let's not do that all 572 00:31:27,960 --> 00:31:29,480 over again. This is not about a guilt 573 00:31:29,480 --> 00:31:32,560 offering, but again, it's about a sensitivity to the spirit. 574 00:31:32,560 --> 00:31:36,000 So for me, fasting means I'm going to be uncomfortable 575 00:31:36,480 --> 00:31:38,080 because I'm used to being distracted. 576 00:31:38,800 --> 00:31:40,320 It it means I'm putting my phone down. 577 00:31:40,480 --> 00:31:43,560 I mean, it'd be very stupid to not eat and then have your phone 578 00:31:43,560 --> 00:31:45,160 in your hand. That's just that. 579 00:31:45,320 --> 00:31:48,120 That's not a fast. That's just you getting hungry. 580 00:31:48,480 --> 00:31:52,360 So we want to be people that when you actually are fasting, 581 00:31:52,560 --> 00:31:56,040 you've created capacity and room for you to hear from God. 582 00:31:56,320 --> 00:31:58,320 You notice I would have worship music ready. 583 00:31:58,560 --> 00:32:01,840 I would make sure I've set a part time where I can rest 584 00:32:02,400 --> 00:32:04,280 during a fast. You should actually rest. 585 00:32:04,520 --> 00:32:06,520 I love how Addison talked about when you first wake up. 586 00:32:06,800 --> 00:32:09,600 I even find God whispers to me a lot when I'm falling asleep. 587 00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:14,000 Keep a journal, have the time. It's, it's hard for young moms 588 00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:16,640 to do that, but you know what they they don't have to be on 589 00:32:16,640 --> 00:32:18,840 social media. There's there's absolutely no 590 00:32:18,840 --> 00:32:21,280 reason why breastfeeding mothers or pregnant women need to be on 591 00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:25,200 social media for a day or two days or whatever it is they they 592 00:32:25,200 --> 00:32:27,480 can do that. So I don't, I know there's other 593 00:32:27,480 --> 00:32:28,640 people that would disagree with me. 594 00:32:28,640 --> 00:32:30,240 They say a fast is always about food. 595 00:32:30,880 --> 00:32:33,680 I don't believe that. I believe it's about anything 596 00:32:33,800 --> 00:32:35,760 that is an obstacle between you and God. 597 00:32:36,840 --> 00:32:38,400 That was one question a lot of people had. 598 00:32:38,400 --> 00:32:40,480 So thank you for for answering that. 599 00:32:40,480 --> 00:32:43,560 I have one more practical and then one a little bit more 600 00:32:43,760 --> 00:32:46,640 hopefully ending encouraging and inspiring for the people 601 00:32:46,640 --> 00:32:48,880 listening for the practical sense. 602 00:32:49,080 --> 00:32:52,280 You know, I love that the Holy Spirit told you water distilled 603 00:32:52,280 --> 00:32:55,240 apple juice like that is really practical, but LED in the 604 00:32:55,240 --> 00:32:57,000 spiritual way. Do you have any practical advice 605 00:32:57,000 --> 00:33:00,120 for people coming off a fast of how to not just get back in the 606 00:33:00,120 --> 00:33:02,880 throes of things or even if you are going in a time without 607 00:33:02,880 --> 00:33:06,000 food, how to help your body? He's back into food. 608 00:33:06,200 --> 00:33:09,000 Well, I know that nowadays there's so much information 609 00:33:09,040 --> 00:33:11,880 online, healthy ways to come off the fast. 610 00:33:11,880 --> 00:33:13,920 You do not want to go out and get a hamburger. 611 00:33:14,280 --> 00:33:16,240 You do not want to go out and get a piece of pizza. 612 00:33:16,480 --> 00:33:18,960 I mean, you can, but you're going to have a rough re entry 613 00:33:18,960 --> 00:33:21,360 process. And so I know there's ways to 614 00:33:21,360 --> 00:33:24,480 tell you how to like come back in on fruit or different things 615 00:33:24,480 --> 00:33:27,600 that are much easier on the digestive system. 616 00:33:27,600 --> 00:33:30,240 So I don't want to give that advice, but I, I would really 617 00:33:30,240 --> 00:33:32,640 encourage you if you're doing a food fast to do that. 618 00:33:32,640 --> 00:33:36,080 And then, hey, if you're doing a social media or entertainment 619 00:33:36,080 --> 00:33:40,600 fast, why not temper that too? Why not say I've been full off 620 00:33:40,760 --> 00:33:43,440 of social media? I'm going to only check social 621 00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:48,560 media once a day or I'm going to check it twice a day and and you 622 00:33:48,560 --> 00:33:51,360 can bring it back because when you've when you've done a fast, 623 00:33:51,360 --> 00:33:55,760 you've increased your capacity for God and decreased an 624 00:33:55,760 --> 00:33:58,840 appetite for constant affirmation from complete 625 00:33:58,840 --> 00:34:01,080 strangers. So you want to entertainment. 626 00:34:01,320 --> 00:34:03,360 I'm not going to watch something every single night. 627 00:34:03,360 --> 00:34:07,320 I'm going to read. I'm going to do something that 628 00:34:07,320 --> 00:34:08,880 is beneficial. I'm going to go outside and go 629 00:34:08,880 --> 00:34:10,679 for a walk. I'm going to work in my yard. 630 00:34:10,679 --> 00:34:14,560 I'm going to do something that takes me outside of my normal 631 00:34:14,560 --> 00:34:18,520 pattern because I've done a reset on my, you know, what was 632 00:34:18,520 --> 00:34:21,600 holding me back? And again, I think that those 633 00:34:21,600 --> 00:34:25,199 are very practical ways. You don't want to just go into a 634 00:34:25,199 --> 00:34:28,400 fast one way fast for three days, come out of the fast and 635 00:34:28,400 --> 00:34:29,840 go right back into the same place. 636 00:34:30,080 --> 00:34:33,400 You should be able to have done some resets and hopefully the 637 00:34:33,400 --> 00:34:38,080 Holy Spirit has talked to you. And whenever God says I want you 638 00:34:38,080 --> 00:34:43,840 to spend less time on social media, it's not because he's 639 00:34:43,840 --> 00:34:47,000 trying to punish you. It's because he's saying I want 640 00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:51,840 more time speaking to you. I want more time with you. 641 00:34:52,080 --> 00:34:55,080 I want you to have more time with your family, with your 642 00:34:55,080 --> 00:34:59,000 husband, with constructive things, more things outside. 643 00:34:59,200 --> 00:35:03,400 This is not healthy or helpful. So he's, he's never being 644 00:35:03,400 --> 00:35:06,360 punitive. He's redirecting you so that you 645 00:35:06,360 --> 00:35:08,760 can have a healthier path forward. 646 00:35:09,840 --> 00:35:11,520 OK, I did lie to you. I have two more questions. 647 00:35:12,080 --> 00:35:15,560 One just came up. We're in Western society where I 648 00:35:15,560 --> 00:35:19,120 feel like some people may actually need to have a fast 649 00:35:19,120 --> 00:35:22,040 within a working capacity. I think we've understood now 650 00:35:22,040 --> 00:35:26,760 like Sabbaths and, you know, the beautiful necessity of a Sabbath 651 00:35:26,760 --> 00:35:30,600 even and time away or your Sunday routine extended time 652 00:35:30,600 --> 00:35:33,480 away. What does that look like without 653 00:35:34,800 --> 00:35:38,760 dodging obligations but also not making your work, your strength, 654 00:35:38,760 --> 00:35:41,280 or your God? So like if someone's at work 655 00:35:41,280 --> 00:35:44,640 9:00 to 5:00. Sure, like maybe they've done a 656 00:35:44,680 --> 00:35:48,120 nine to five, five days a week for years and they're just 657 00:35:48,120 --> 00:35:49,920 either saying, hey, I'm, I'm kind of burnt out or I 658 00:35:49,920 --> 00:35:53,000 prioritize my work. I check my emails before I spend 659 00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:55,040 time with God. My work's just really demanding 660 00:35:55,040 --> 00:35:57,760 and I have this tension with my family dynamic. 661 00:35:57,760 --> 00:36:01,080 Like how can a family approach that with, you know, honoring 662 00:36:01,080 --> 00:36:03,640 their workplace and their families need for income? 663 00:36:03,640 --> 00:36:07,080 But also, if God's saying, hey, this really has become an idol 664 00:36:07,080 --> 00:36:09,160 in your source of strength, that I need that to be me. 665 00:36:09,880 --> 00:36:14,160 Yeah, I mean, I do think you could do it after work or 666 00:36:14,280 --> 00:36:19,000 lunchtime or before work. And I again, you have the 667 00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:21,520 capacity to not check your emails until a certain windows. 668 00:36:21,520 --> 00:36:24,760 You could, you could you could have specific windows where you 669 00:36:24,760 --> 00:36:27,600 do things. I mean, I don't think people I 670 00:36:27,600 --> 00:36:29,120 always fast on the weekend though. 671 00:36:29,320 --> 00:36:32,360 I mean because if it's if I've got to be responsible during the 672 00:36:32,360 --> 00:36:36,480 week to be a provider for my family, then during the weekend 673 00:36:36,720 --> 00:36:39,680 I have the chance to do that. And again, just make different 674 00:36:39,680 --> 00:36:43,160 choices after work, work and then talk, talk about the things 675 00:36:43,160 --> 00:36:45,960 of God with your family. Don't talk about just things 676 00:36:45,960 --> 00:36:48,520 that you would normally talk about, but just say, guys, I 677 00:36:48,520 --> 00:36:51,800 really, I really feel like I want a greater hunger for God. 678 00:36:52,080 --> 00:36:54,400 And I realize I've gotten really complacent. 679 00:36:54,760 --> 00:37:00,120 I realized that I just go to church on Sunday and I listen 680 00:37:00,600 --> 00:37:02,240 and I do nothing during the week. 681 00:37:02,680 --> 00:37:06,440 And I'm, I'm sad about that and I want more. 682 00:37:06,760 --> 00:37:10,360 And so I'm going to be reading through, you know, these 683 00:37:10,360 --> 00:37:12,840 passages. Do you want to do that with me? 684 00:37:13,040 --> 00:37:16,800 Or I'm going to watch instead of watching a show, I'm going to 685 00:37:16,800 --> 00:37:20,880 watch, you know, something that's a scriptural teaching 686 00:37:21,240 --> 00:37:24,920 where I'm going to feed my soul instead of distract my soul. 687 00:37:25,120 --> 00:37:26,800 And I think there's just ways around it. 688 00:37:27,080 --> 00:37:30,560 I, I mean, I know, I know that, you know, work shouldn't be the 689 00:37:30,560 --> 00:37:32,920 problem. I do find that there's there's a 690 00:37:32,920 --> 00:37:36,480 shocking amount of time that people spend on their phone at 691 00:37:36,480 --> 00:37:38,600 the end of the day that have absolutely nothing to do with 692 00:37:38,600 --> 00:37:42,600 work. And then I would also love to 693 00:37:42,600 --> 00:37:46,600 hear for those listening that you know, are might make getting 694 00:37:46,600 --> 00:37:48,520 their feet wet for the first time with fasting. 695 00:37:48,520 --> 00:37:52,440 Do you have any stories of when you experience true breakthrough 696 00:37:52,440 --> 00:37:54,480 or clarity? You know, I love that you shared 697 00:37:54,480 --> 00:37:56,840 about your wedding and then like the healing and. 698 00:37:57,640 --> 00:37:59,960 Yeah, I did get thin enough to wear my dress. 699 00:37:59,960 --> 00:38:00,760 I didn't ever. See that? 700 00:38:00,760 --> 00:38:03,440 So we're here dressed on the aisle, but is there times as a 701 00:38:03,440 --> 00:38:06,480 mother or a wife or a leader that you know you, you 702 00:38:06,480 --> 00:38:08,800 interceded even not just for your own behalf, but for 703 00:38:08,800 --> 00:38:12,240 something greater that can leave us with this inspiration of the 704 00:38:12,760 --> 00:38:15,760 beauty and. Benefit It was really important 705 00:38:15,760 --> 00:38:19,480 for me to know the voice of God and I I was really tired of 706 00:38:19,480 --> 00:38:22,880 hearing everybody else say that Oh, God said this to me and I 707 00:38:22,880 --> 00:38:24,880 was like, what was he talking to everybody? 708 00:38:24,920 --> 00:38:27,680 I mean, I was reading scriptures and I would be touched during 709 00:38:27,680 --> 00:38:30,680 songs, but I was like, what? I don't, I'm not, I'm not 710 00:38:30,680 --> 00:38:32,600 hearing the way it seems like all these other people are 711 00:38:32,600 --> 00:38:34,800 hearing now. I will say when I first became a 712 00:38:34,800 --> 00:38:37,840 Christian, I do feel like God whispered into my heart a lot. 713 00:38:38,080 --> 00:38:40,200 And then it felt like I went through kind of a season of 714 00:38:40,200 --> 00:38:44,400 famine and, you know, I was busy and I knew he loved me and I 715 00:38:44,400 --> 00:38:48,600 went to church and I served in the local church, but I knew 716 00:38:49,040 --> 00:38:50,360 that there was something missing. 717 00:38:50,680 --> 00:38:56,040 And so I, I had to say, I'm going to set aside some things 718 00:38:56,040 --> 00:38:58,720 and, and it was in my journal where I wrote things out and I 719 00:38:58,720 --> 00:39:02,360 said, like, all right, God, I, I want to know you. 720 00:39:02,360 --> 00:39:04,000 I want to know your will from my life. 721 00:39:04,320 --> 00:39:08,440 I, I feel like I hear about you, but I don't hear from you. 722 00:39:09,280 --> 00:39:13,160 And so tell me. And that's when he said, you're 723 00:39:13,160 --> 00:39:15,600 going to need to fast. No, this wasn't for my wedding 724 00:39:15,600 --> 00:39:18,000 dress. This was to hear again. 725 00:39:18,480 --> 00:39:21,200 And he was like, put away. The, the only distraction we had 726 00:39:21,200 --> 00:39:25,080 back then was magazines. Put away the magazines, limit 727 00:39:25,080 --> 00:39:28,360 your phone conversations, let things go to the answering 728 00:39:28,360 --> 00:39:30,960 machine or you guys don't even have answering machines, but 729 00:39:31,160 --> 00:39:35,320 limit your intake, Lisa so that I can be the focus. 730 00:39:35,600 --> 00:39:38,560 And I had young kids, but you know you can get your kids to 731 00:39:38,560 --> 00:39:42,320 bed early and you can play worship music and you can read 732 00:39:42,320 --> 00:39:46,440 the word I To be honest with you, I very, very infrequently 733 00:39:46,440 --> 00:39:50,480 turned on television. I very rarely watched it when my 734 00:39:50,480 --> 00:39:53,280 kids were little. We might do like some children's 735 00:39:53,280 --> 00:39:55,040 programming in the morning and that would be about it. 736 00:39:55,400 --> 00:39:58,520 But that would be times where I would seize those moments. 737 00:39:58,800 --> 00:40:03,720 And I kept a journal where I would write in it and say, God, 738 00:40:03,720 --> 00:40:05,480 you can be anything but but silent. 739 00:40:06,040 --> 00:40:10,680 I need to hear from you. And, and I am, I'm sorry. 740 00:40:11,000 --> 00:40:12,720 I've filled myself with other things. 741 00:40:13,160 --> 00:40:15,560 Because that was easier and that was immediate. 742 00:40:15,880 --> 00:40:21,480 And, and I've always found that when I really set my heart, he 743 00:40:21,480 --> 00:40:25,240 whispers to me and then the word becomes alive when I'm reading 744 00:40:25,240 --> 00:40:27,520 and all sudden it'll quicken something in my spirit. 745 00:40:27,760 --> 00:40:30,160 And I can write that down. And it feels like as soon as I'm 746 00:40:30,160 --> 00:40:32,360 writing things down, it's just alive. 747 00:40:32,360 --> 00:40:35,960 But again, it takes intentionality and fasting in 748 00:40:35,960 --> 00:40:39,280 this time period of overt distraction. 749 00:40:39,480 --> 00:40:43,240 And, and to be honest with you, everybody's given over to, to 750 00:40:43,240 --> 00:40:46,560 their appetites. I think it had to has to begin 751 00:40:46,560 --> 00:40:49,760 with repentance. You know, God forgive me for 752 00:40:49,760 --> 00:40:53,920 being mastered by my appetites and distraction. 753 00:40:54,280 --> 00:40:57,320 I want you to be the Lord of every area of my life. 754 00:40:57,320 --> 00:41:00,560 And that that's how it begins. And like I said, it can start 755 00:41:00,560 --> 00:41:05,160 small and they can believe big. And I don't want people to set 756 00:41:05,160 --> 00:41:07,680 up to be like, oh, I'm going to do a 40 day fast. 757 00:41:07,680 --> 00:41:10,320 And then they're like, Oh my gosh, I'll ask you 45 minutes. 758 00:41:10,360 --> 00:41:11,200 Right? Exactly. 759 00:41:11,720 --> 00:41:14,200 And, you know, I know there's people that are way more godly 760 00:41:14,200 --> 00:41:16,800 than me that do those kind of things, but I don't think 761 00:41:16,800 --> 00:41:18,200 anybody starts there. Yeah. 762 00:41:19,640 --> 00:41:24,040 Well, you created resources, you have a book and other things 763 00:41:24,040 --> 00:41:26,000 around this. So where would you point people 764 00:41:26,000 --> 00:41:28,680 if they want some more help as they begin this or more 765 00:41:28,680 --> 00:41:32,280 direction getting started? Yeah, well, I mean, I first of 766 00:41:32,280 --> 00:41:35,960 all, I I want you to know that fasting is a spiritual 767 00:41:35,960 --> 00:41:38,160 discipline. It is not a punishment. 768 00:41:38,480 --> 00:41:40,360 It is a time to draw closer to God. 769 00:41:40,720 --> 00:41:43,240 It is not. It is about you separating. 770 00:41:43,240 --> 00:41:46,520 It is about you pursuing him. It is not about him being 771 00:41:46,520 --> 00:41:49,840 disappointed with you, but it is about you humbling yourself. 772 00:41:49,840 --> 00:41:52,600 All spiritual warfare begins with humility. 773 00:41:52,800 --> 00:41:55,640 So if you find yourself in a battle, you're saying I don't, I 774 00:41:55,640 --> 00:41:56,240 don't. Maybe. 775 00:41:56,520 --> 00:41:58,320 Yeah. I think a fast can actually set 776 00:41:58,320 --> 00:42:00,840 you up with a breakthrough where you can actually see what's 777 00:42:00,840 --> 00:42:03,760 going on instead of just being distracted. 778 00:42:03,760 --> 00:42:05,920 So again, I keep talking about distraction. 779 00:42:06,080 --> 00:42:10,360 I keep talking about appetite, I keep talking about sanctifying A 780 00:42:10,360 --> 00:42:14,200 consecrating a time to God. What would be wrong about this? 781 00:42:14,400 --> 00:42:17,240 What would be wrong about resetting these things? 782 00:42:17,240 --> 00:42:20,600 And I know when my boys were little, as a family, we would do 783 00:42:20,760 --> 00:42:22,400 for this month. We're not going to watch any 784 00:42:22,400 --> 00:42:24,720 television. My children were like, no, why? 785 00:42:24,760 --> 00:42:26,520 We're not. We don't need this. 786 00:42:26,520 --> 00:42:29,680 It's you guys that need it. But we would always find when we 787 00:42:29,680 --> 00:42:34,080 would come out of that, there would be a greater discernment 788 00:42:34,080 --> 00:42:37,200 and guess what? We were talking with one another 789 00:42:37,400 --> 00:42:39,760 more. There's so many conversations 790 00:42:39,760 --> 00:42:41,520 that need to be had, but they're avoided. 791 00:42:41,680 --> 00:42:44,520 Whether it's our conversations with God or our conversations 792 00:42:44,520 --> 00:42:47,840 with one another, that when we push aside those things that are 793 00:42:47,840 --> 00:42:51,200 separating us, we're going to actually find this freedom and 794 00:42:51,200 --> 00:42:53,200 that. And then it talks about breaking 795 00:42:53,200 --> 00:42:56,200 the yoke of bondage. I believe fasting can break the 796 00:42:56,200 --> 00:43:00,600 yoke of bondage of pornography. I believe that fasting can break 797 00:43:00,600 --> 00:43:03,040 the yoke of bondage of eating disorders. 798 00:43:03,360 --> 00:43:07,000 I believe fasting can break the yoke of gossip. 799 00:43:07,000 --> 00:43:12,240 It can break the yoke of having a constant need for man's 800 00:43:12,240 --> 00:43:16,240 affirmation, people approval, that fear of man, people 801 00:43:16,240 --> 00:43:18,480 pleasing. I believe that gets broken by 802 00:43:18,480 --> 00:43:20,720 fasting. So I believe if you bring it to 803 00:43:20,720 --> 00:43:24,200 God and you say God, I've wrestled with this for so long 804 00:43:24,200 --> 00:43:27,960 and I am not getting free, I believe that you can put it on 805 00:43:27,960 --> 00:43:31,440 the altar before the Lord and say, God, I'm humbling myself. 806 00:43:31,440 --> 00:43:33,000 I've tried to get free on my own. 807 00:43:33,160 --> 00:43:34,880 I've tried to do it in my own strength. 808 00:43:34,880 --> 00:43:36,800 I've tried to do it in my mind. I can't do it. 809 00:43:37,040 --> 00:43:39,680 You put it on the altar and I believe God will meet you there 810 00:43:39,680 --> 00:43:42,040 and he'll tell you. He'll say, hey, baby girl, this 811 00:43:42,040 --> 00:43:44,160 is what you need to do. This is what you can't. 812 00:43:44,200 --> 00:43:46,520 You know, if you've got baby girls, you've got kids. 813 00:43:46,520 --> 00:43:49,920 Don't worry about not eating, but you know where you've got 814 00:43:49,920 --> 00:43:51,760 room. Or you can have greater capacity 815 00:43:51,760 --> 00:43:54,440 for me. You can put this aside or that 816 00:43:54,440 --> 00:43:56,560 aside. And again, it's not God. 817 00:43:56,960 --> 00:43:59,600 We're not earning something from God. 818 00:44:00,080 --> 00:44:03,160 It's actually about creating a sensitivity to His voice. 819 00:44:03,160 --> 00:44:06,880 I want you to know that I believe that God's grace is on 820 00:44:06,880 --> 00:44:10,000 you when you prepare your heart and say God, I'm willing. 821 00:44:10,160 --> 00:44:13,120 So I'm just going to believe that God will grace you to fast, 822 00:44:13,600 --> 00:44:17,600 that God will speak to you and that you'll know how to fast, 823 00:44:17,880 --> 00:44:21,200 how long to fast, and what you're actually fasting for. 824 00:44:21,200 --> 00:44:24,920 I believe that you'll go into this fast with purity of heart 825 00:44:25,120 --> 00:44:27,840 and that God will astound you with the answers. 826 00:44:27,840 --> 00:44:30,640 And you've been some of you've been waiting a long time and 827 00:44:30,640 --> 00:44:34,040 you're afraid to pray and you're afraid to fast because you're 828 00:44:34,040 --> 00:44:37,040 afraid that God's not going to tell you what you want to hear. 829 00:44:37,040 --> 00:44:41,480 I just want you to know God is a good God and he wants to speak 830 00:44:41,480 --> 00:44:43,680 to you. And even if it is correction, 831 00:44:44,040 --> 00:44:47,200 don't be afraid. He's redirecting you. 832 00:44:47,200 --> 00:44:50,080 He's never taking anything from you to punish you. 833 00:44:50,200 --> 00:44:53,720 He's taking things from you to actually strengthen you. 834 00:44:53,720 --> 00:44:57,080 So I believe in this time of fasting, God wants to actually 835 00:44:57,080 --> 00:44:59,400 heal you. I believe he wants to break 836 00:44:59,400 --> 00:45:02,400 yokes of bondage. And so I'm thanking Father in 837 00:45:02,400 --> 00:45:06,840 advance for you touching and meeting all those that reach out 838 00:45:06,840 --> 00:45:10,320 to you with the since our sincere heart in Jesus name.