Fullness is dullness. Hunger is passion.
From Day 5:
“Fasting is the choice not to be physically full so that we might more fully know our need of Christ. Don’t fight this barrenness, turn it into praise. Watch as God forms a new kind of brightness in your spirit – songs of hope, not lamentation for lack. In the grace of God, your inner man is able to turn missed meals into melodies. The sobriety of fasting becomes a paradox of joy when we learn to embrace the gift of emptiness. Do this: locate how He is filling you, in the place food once occupied. Say yes, then exalt Him for the hunger, for that is precisely where you will be filed and transformed . . .”
From Day 6:
“Never forget, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was also food! Forbidden food. So, in a sense you could say Satan used excess food to lead them to destruction, with fruit that exceeded their permission to enjoy. Their desire was not wrong, only that particular meal. It was simply more than was good for them.
So, it is today with our own unchecked appetites! The message of fasting is not that food is explicitly evil, but that too much is an impediment to deeper life. God desires to bring revelation through moderation to our spiritually starved culture. With warehouse supermarkets sagging under the weight of all the excess – not one variety of mac ‘n’ cheese, but ten! Whoppers and Big Macs dueling for loyalty! Every meal a feast of seconds and thirds – your forty days of quiet, determined restraint may become the most shocking, unexpected, gracious invitation for others to follow the way of Christ . . .”
Table of Contents:
Foreword by Dennis Jernigan
Introduction
Section 1: Repentance – Days 1-20 in Psalm 40
Section 2: Rebirth – Days 21-40 in Isaiah 40
Appendix A: Occurrences of 40 in Scripture
Appendix B: Biblical Examples of Fasting
Appendix C: Health Concerns
Appendix D: My Routine During This Fast
Appendix E: Other Fasting Resources
Special Music to Accompany Your Fast
About the Author:
Dean Briggs is a husband, father of eight, and author of Ekklesia Rising. He leads Ekklesia Prayer Communities (EPC) network of prayer. Dean is also a trainer at TheCall’s Spiritual Air Force Academy (SAFA) on the campus of the US Center for World Missions in Pasadena, CA.
