Fasting and Prayer

Have you ever tried not eating? I mean anything...at all.....? Well, that is exactly what I am doing. I'm not doing it to diet. (although, I can't say I'm not looking forward to the weight loss) I'm fasting to deepen my relationship with God. Prayer and fasting. Its actually not my idea. A few weeks ago our church starting mentioning a church wide fast. They asked everyone to pray about it and then whoever wanted to join in could join in. They've given us a lot of materials on fasting....different types, what to expect, etc. And they've asked us to focus on praying for our leadership during our fasting. I'm actually focusing on a multitude of things while fasting, but leadership is definately one of them (especially the leadership of our country!!) I have chosed an all liquid diet. No solid food for 21 days. Oddly, I'm fairly confident I can do it. Every time I feel a hunger pang, I just pray. We'll see how I feel in a couple of days...

Surprisingly, fasting is supposed to do a wealth of good not only spiritually, but mentally and physically as well! Its supposed to detoxify your body, making you healthier from the inside out. Apparently, once your body doesn't have to spend energy on processing food, it gets bored and looks for something else to do. So it begins cleaning. I'll tell you one thing (and keep in mind, I'm only 23 hours into this fast!) it makes a person tired!! I don't think I'm cranky yet...emphasis on the yet.

This morning in church we talked about Og, the giant from Deuteronomy 3. Og's bed was 6 feet wide, by 13 feet long. I can't imagine how big this guy was!! We talked about how the Israelites defeated Og and his army because the Lord was with them. So we are supposed to concentrate of defeating the giant 'Og' in our lives. Whatever it is, we can defeat it with God on our side. So I am making food my 'Og' and I will overcome!