The elders have been prayerfully considering and discussing where God would like to take Salem in the coming months and years. We invite you to be a part of that process as we seek to discern God’s leading for our congregation.
In the Bible, God’s people have often set aside time to fast and pray. We invite you to take Mondays between now and the congregational meeting (June 24th) to ask God to give us wisdom and insight into where he is leading our congregation.
Using the information below, choose a style of fast that fits your health situation and lifestyle. We encourage you to sacrifice as a way of indicating your reliance on God and your seriousness in seeking His face, but we ask that you be wise in the way you approach it.
As you fast, use the time you would normally spend on eating or preparing food to read the Bible and pray. If you sense God laying a verse on your heart or if you have any impressions you believe are from the Holy Spirit, write them down and share them with the elders. Often God speaks to many people in similar ways or lays the same verses on their hearts. Other times He may use seemingly different ideas to bring together a larger theme. We want to be open to God’s direction and guidance as we seek His will for Salem!
On Fasting…
Fasting in the Bible normally means to withhold food and/or drink from your body in order to be more sensitive to God. In doing this, you deny yourself and discipline your flesh. In other words, there is less concentration on the body and more concentration on the spirit.
We are inviting Salem to fast that God might speak to us and make clear his will and purpose for Salem in the coming season. Fasting should be done deliberately, with no desire but to seek God. As we read in Job 23:12, “I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.”
There are three basic types of fasts:
The “Absolute Fast” which means no food (solid or liquid) and no water. This is the “Esther” fast for three days only. (You cannot survive more than three days without water. But with enough water, many have fasted up to forty days or more. See Acts 9:8-9)
The “Normal Fast” is abstaining from all food (solid and liquid) for a limited time, but not water (See Luke 4:2).
The “Partial Fast” is described in Daniel 10:3 and is abstaining from selected foods and drinks, but not complete abstinence from all foods and drinks (for example, a juice diet. See Daniel 1:8).
Be sensitive to the Scripture you read during the time of fasting, as well as sermons and other teachings you might listen to. Take notes, recording any spiritual insights you receive concerning the things you are seeking God about. At the end of the day’s fast or after several weeks, you may see a theme or pattern emerge from the things you’ve recorded. You may find God speaking to you through those things.
Other passages to read concerning fasting include Isaiah 58 (motive and reward of fasting); Acts 13:2-3; 14:23 (fasting and God’s commission to serve); Joel 1:14; 2:12 (fasting corporately); Matthew 6:17-18; 17:21 (fasting privately).
(“On Fasting” is adapted from a document produced by Two Rivers Church in Knoxville, TN)