FASTING TO WORSHIP

Luke 2 tells the story of an eighty-four-year-old prophetess named Anna. Verse 37 says, “She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.” Anna was devoted to God, and fasting was one expression of her love for Him.


Here, fasting was an act of worship to God. The Bible teaches us that worship to God must be done in spirit and in truth, which essentially means, that worship begins with an attitude of heart and posture of our spirit, and then manifests in our outward expressions and physical actions. When we worship, we center our thoughts and affections on the most high God, and we position ourselves to hear and receive from him. Lastly, our true worship is our commitment to responding to God in obedience.


May your fasting today be directed as an act of pure worship unto God



In Christ,
Pastor Anthony

FASTING TO REPENT

After Jonah pronounced judgment against the city of Nineveh, the king covered himself with sackcloth and sat in the dust. He then ordered the people to fast and pray. Jonah 3:10 says, “When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, He relented and did not bring on them the destruction He had threatened.”
(Excerpt from faithgateway.com)

Here, fasting was a necessary step towards repentance. As God’s children, we are invited to confess our sins to him, and embrace a lifestyle of consistent obedience. Let us humbly pursue an attitude of repentance today, as God strengthens our desire to be obedient to his will.
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In Christ,
Pastor Anthony

Dear Harvest Family,


We encourage you to set your hearts and a window of time, to pointed prayer and fasting this week. Here is a suggested focus for today.


FASTING TO PREPARE FOR MINISTRY
Jesus spent forty days and nights in the wilderness fasting and praying before He began God’s work on this earth. He needed time alone to prepare for what His Father had called Him to do (Matthew 4:1-17; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-14).


Here, fasting was a means to prepare the heart, mind and soul for the tremendous call of ministry. We are v very blessed at Harvest to have so much opportunity before us to serve one another, our community, and various parts of the world as the Lord leads. As we continue to see the Lord, let us be intentional in preparing our hearts for His service.


In Christ,
Pastor Anthony

Dear Harvest Family,


We encourage you to set your hearts and a window of time, to pointed prayer and fasting this week. Here is a suggested focus for today.

FASTING FOR DELIVERANCE AND PROTECTION
"There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, “The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him.” So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.  - EZRA 8: 21-23

Ezra declared a corporate fast and prayed for a safe journey for the Israelites as they made the nine-hundred- mile trek to Jerusalem from Babylon.


Here, fasting was a means to petition God for deliverance and protection from people and circumstances that threatened safety and security for the people of God. We certainly have no shortage of similar threats in our current day, so we follow this example, beseeching help from God, confident in the deliverance and protection we have in Him.


In Christ,
Pastor Anthony