To Fast or Not to Fast?

Our 30 Days of Prayer for Global Awakening here at the Prayer Wall is coming up soon! We will journey for a month through every nation of the world, praying for unreached peoples, persecuted Christians, their persecutors, and for every heart to awaken to Christ’s love, including our own.

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Our dates parallel Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting. As we pray for Muslims to encounter Christ in powerful ways, do you feel God leading you to engage in a fast of your own? If you’ve never done that before or you’ve had a bad experience, check out our So You Think You Can’t Fast page.

I have found that if I call myself to a fast, it’s extremely difficult to follow through on, but when the Lord calls me, the joy of obedience kicks in and any temptation to gratify my own selfish desires fades away in the intoxicating beauty of His felt presence and the excitement of drawing near.

WARNING: Before you embark on any fast, please make sure you have your doctor’s approval, especially if you are pregnant or have known health complications. 

The Parallel fast on our So You Think You Can’t Fast page and also in the 30 Days of Prayer for Global Awakening, Volume 2 book is an especially meaningful fast to consider for these 30 days. During Ramadan, Muslims throughout the world will rise to eat breakfast before dawn, and then not eat again until after sunset, at which time families will gather together to feast. Faithful Muslims also abstain from selfish pleasures, give to the poor and help those in need during this time of fasting. As you pray for them to encounter the Lord in powerful ways this coming month, would you lovingly consider fasting in a similar way?

Dinner and a Prayer: Another meaningful idea to add to the Parallel Fast above or just do on its own (however God is leading you) is to cook an international dinner with recipes from whichever area of the world you are praying for that day. Scroll down to the bottom of the 30 Days page or look in the back of the 30 Days of Prayer for Global Awakening, Volume 2 book for the “Dinner and a Prayer” section to find menus from around the world and suggestions for meaningful prayer times you can involve your children in, as well.

Does the Lord want you to invite others to join in prayer during this time? Your church? A Bible study or prayer group? Family? Friends? Neighbors? Would He want you to set up a conference call or chat group so you can pray together daily? Ask Him.

If you would like the full-color book, 30 Days of Prayer for Global Awakening, Volume 2 for your quiet times, order it soon from MoreThanAConquerorBooks.com or from Amazon, as it takes at least ten days for printing and shipping.

Lord, we ask You for an awakening all across this nation and the world. May every home, city, nation, tribe and heart hunger to know You as the One True God. For those who have never heard Your name, Jesus, make Your name known now. Meet them in their dreams. Bring Christians across their path to show them love. Get up in their face, so close they can see the never-ending flame in Your eyes burning with boundless love. Invade their space. Let them feel You there with them, closer than their skin. Be their Safe Place, where they can lay down all their anxious fears and rest in the safety of fear of the Lord. Tear down every idol. Shake the things this world has stood upon. And speak, Lord, so loudly there will be no doubt in anyone’s mind that You alone are God and You alone are good. Psalm 29 says Your voice is “powerful.” It breaks the nations, and shakes the earth. Show Yourself strong. Let no one say Your arm is too short to save. Reach into every corner to heal those who are hurting, restore what has been lost, and save those who have not yet believed. Strengthen Your church. Give us courage to stand in the face of persecution. Bring the downfall of evil governments, and open the way for peace, especially in the lives of those who have only known abuse, oppression and war. Teach us how to pray for our neighbors, both near and far. And bring forth a mighty revival all across this earth. Tear down every wall that has been set up against You. Set captive hearts free. And usher in a new era of openness to the Gospel like never before. Meet every heart right where they are. Flood them with Your truth, grace and love, so they will know without a doubt that You are the One they’ve been looking for. May they fall to their knees in worship, receive Your salvation, and follow You alone. In Your name. Amen.

Mikaela Vincent and her husband are missionaries who live by faith, trusting in God to provide for their needs as they pray for and share Christ with the nations. If you would like to help their ministry through a donation, or by shopping at Mikaela’s online bookstore, click the buttons below:

For 30 Days of Prayer for Global Awakening, Vol 2, and powerful resources for deepening your prayer life and breaking free from anxiety and other strongholds, visit MoreThanAConquerorBooks.com.

Any proceeds this author receives from the sale of the deep devotional Bible studies and other MoreThanAConquerorBooks.com books mentioned in this post go to shining Christ’s light in the darkness and seeing the nations come to Him. 

Thank you for your support! If you have any questions or want to help with this ministry, please contact Mikaela.