Welcome to the Victory Blog

We want to invite you to join us for 30 Days of Prayer and Fasting beginning January 2nd. If you’ve never fasted, now is the best time, as this is a joint venture! In the New Testament, Jesus made mention of when we fast - not if - telling us that this should be a regular discipline in our lives. Also, we encourage you to join us each Sunday evening at 6pm in V1 for a time of Corporate Prayer and Worship. When we fast and pray together, tremendous breakthrough is released, and we’re excited to see what God will be doing through this fast. Won’t you join us?

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In order to help you in this venture, we’ve compiled this information:

Types of Fasts - You may choose a “Daniel’s Fast” - a diet consisting of fruits and vegetables, or you can participate in a total fast, consisting of water only, or a liquid fast of fresh juices. Other ways to participate include fasting from television, radio, internet, or anything that you recognize as having control over your life. Fasting is something the entire family can participate in to varying degrees - each person in their own way.

About Fasting - It is much easier to fast while active. Fasting will cause hunger pangs initially, but you will get the energy you need from stored fat in the body. If you are under the care of a physician, please seek his/her advice regarding the level of participation that is best suited to your physical condition.

Why Fast? - Fasting is the most powerful spiritual discipline of all those discussed in the Bible. Through fasting and prayer, the Holy Spirit can transform your life and produce incredible results. Prayer alone is mighty, but when combined with fasting it produces a powerful force which hell cannot prevail against.

Filling Ourselves during a Fast - The secret to being filled with the Spirit of God is first to empty ourselves. Through fasting, we empty ourselves of food so that He can fill us. Food is man’s greatest carnal impulse. Fasting helps you to master this appetite. When you can control the strongest appetite, you can gain control of the other carnal appetites as well. Your appetite acts as a prayer alarm. Instead of eating to satisfy your cravings, you pray. This keeps you focused all day long. We replace pleasures of the flesh with spiritual pleasure. Psalm 34:8 says, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” Taste is a trigger which sets off certain physical and mental reactions or connections. When you taste the Lord through fasting and prayer, it triggers various reactions in your heart.

Best Ways to Prepare Physically for the Fast - While hunger pangs and weakness can be expected, you need not dehydrate, faint or get sick while fasting. There are several ways to prepare yourself physically for a healthy fast:

Days before the Fast

1. Stop eating foods that are high in caffeine or sugar.
2. Begin drinking more water than usual.

Day before the Fast

1. Eat something small every two hours.
2. Avoid foods with caffeine or salt.
3. Drink plenty of water.

Final Meal before the Fast

1. Plan your final meal early enough in the afternoon so there’s no rush to finish before your fast begins.
2. The menu of this final meal should contain high carbohydrates and low salts.
3. Do not eat too much in the meal before the fast, but drink plenty of water

Good Advice for Ending Your Fast - After 30 days of fasting you may be tempted to “jump right back in” and eat some of the foods you’ve missed. However, it’s much better to ease back into your normal eating habits rather than suffer from an upset stomach by loading it with foods it’s not ready to digest. Here are some healthy ideas for ending your fast:

1. Begin with the simple B.R.A.T. diet recommended for upset stomachs - Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Toast
2. Begin with brothy soups and avoid heavy carbs and proteins
3. Eat something small and light every two hours and drink plenty of water

Here are some questions we have received about this fast and our answers to them:

Q. Can you provide us with the additional scriptures on fasting as well as the types of fast?

A. Here is a good online resource that lists all the major scriptures on fasting: http://www.dianedew.com/fasting.htm

Q. Are we supposed to fast continously for the 30 days or do we break at some point in the day for example after 6pm?

A. The direction of your individual fast is completely a personal decision between you and God. For the Victory 30-day Fasting and Prayer, there are no set rules regarding which types of fast you choose or how long you fast during the day. Many people choose to follow the Daniel Fast for 30 days or split their fast up into four separate weeks of different fasts such as water only, fruits, Daniel fast, etc. Some are being led to Media fasts or other types of fasts depending on what God is trying to do in their personal lives. The main objective is that as a church we are joined together in fasting and believing God for strength and blessing for our church, our families, our nation and our world this year.

Q. I am married, is sex allowed during the fast?

A. Regarding sex during a fast, as a married couple you are allowed to have sex during a fast unless both you and your spouse are in agreement to abstain for a certain period of time. Essentially, one spouse cannot call a sexual fast without the agreement of the other spouse. However, a sexual fast doesn’t necessarily have to coincide with other types of fasts.

Q. I was wonder if I may participate in the 30-day fast even though I’m not a member (yet)?

A. Absolutely, we welcome your participation and partnership with us in the season of fasting.\

Q. Do we have a daily Scripture or prayer focus? What about a booklet like we’ve had in past years?

A. No, we as a church did not feel directed by the Lord to limit our prayers to specific topics each day. Instead, let us encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit to lead you according to His will. It’s amazing how the Lord harmonizes the prayers of His people when they are seeking Him. To get a sense of what is going on in the church as a body, let us also encourage you to take part in the Thirst services each Sunday evening at 6pm (if you’re not doing so already).