Cleanse Your Body, Free Your Spirit
The Healthy Heart Plus two-week fasting program

We would like to invite you to join us for our two week fasting challenge. Why challenge? With the fasting program, we will be practicing a special type of discipline with our bodies. This discipline will enable us to honor our bodies and take care of them Spiritually, Physically and Emotionally.

We hold fasting programs on a regular basis. Check back often for the latest schedule. For more information on our fasting programs, please email info@healthyheartplus.com.

Why We Fast:

There are several reasons for fasting:

• Healing - Fasting is a way to cleanse the body so that it can repair. Psalm 139:13-19
• Protection - refer to Queen Esther in the book of Esther.
  
• Clarity of God's divine guidance - Daniel- fasting gave him wisdom and protection.
  
• For missionary purposes - You will have your own personal testimony after this fast.
  
• Power - We will have power to overcome overwhelming circumstances. Mark 9:14-29

This is not about losing weight… (although that may be a bonus), it is about receiving the gifts and blessings that God has for us. In every Bible story related to fasting, ultimately, the people were blessed. Fasting is a way of humbling ourselves before God. When we humble ourselves to God, we demonstrate faith in Him.

It is exciting that we as a church congregation have chosen to be a living sacrifice unto God… so that we can hear God and God can hear us. Get ready and watch your faith work and move mountains for you and for our church as a whole. We can succeed at this fast because of our love for God. After all, He loved us so much that he gave His only Son so that we might have life and have it more abundantly.

Preparing to Fast:

Prepare yourself mentally and physically... Pray and ask for God's strength along the way.
Consult with your doctor about your fast… Please, if you are on medications prescribed by your doctor, continue to take them. A multivitamin is highly recommended. If you are pregnant or have a specific health condition, consult with your doctor.

Prepare to be blessed collectively and individually… Suggestion: get a notebook and write down what your requests are to God. Be specific. Put them in an envelope addressed to Him. Leave it in His hands. You are now ready to begin.

Matthew 6:16-18

It is our belief that every Child of God should at some point in their Christian walk incorporate the discipline of fasting. Many questions have risen out of the mouth of many Christians concerning this topic. What is fasting? Why should we fast? Why is it so important for me to fast?

Fasting is the voluntary abstinence for a time from various necessities of life such as food, drink, sleep, rest, association with people and so forth. The purpose of rejecting these things for a longer or shorter period of time is to loosen to some degree the ties that bind us to the world of material things and our surrounding as a whole, in order that we may concentrate all our spirituality upon the unseen and eternal things.

So many times in the life of a believer, we are challenged to constantly focus all of our attention on the things of this world. And consequently, all of our decisions are fully made based on what we can naturally see. Sometimes we allow what we can naturally see to cause us to miss what God is saying to our spirit. Jesus explains to his disciples who faced a challenge and failed in Mark 9:29 that "this kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting." So fasting allows our physical man (flesh) to decrease that our spiritual man (soul) may increase. So it our prayer that the believers will join us in developing a discipline of prayer and fasting that we may become more in tuned to the things of God.

DISCIPLINE FOR THE FAST

NOURISHMENT FOR THE BODY AND SOUL

Fasting is the most powerful Spiritual discipline of all the Christian disciplines. Through fasting and prayer, the Holy Spirit can transform your life. The awesome power can be released through you as you fast through the enabling of the Holy Spirit. If done right and properly, fasting will not only prove to be a spiritual blessing, but physical blessing as well. Fasting is the condition of the heart, not the number of days.

Fasting is not just denying yourself certain foods; it is exchanging the needs of the physical body for those of the spiritual. If you dissipate your energy on numerous errands or just busy doing "busy" work to neglecting time with God, you will starve both physically and spiritually. You will find yourself frustrated or even discouraged with your fast instead of being benefited, uplifted and blessed. The more time you spend with God in fellowship, worship and adoration of Him and the more you read and meditate upon his word the more meaningful your fast will be.

Discipline:

Although fasting is primarily a spiritual discipline, it begins in the physical realm. You should not fast without specific physical preparation. Physical preparation makes the drastic change in your eating routine a little easier so you can turn your full attention to the Lord in prayer. Consult your physician first especially if you take prescription medication or have a chronic ailment. Some people should not fast without professional supervision. They include:

• Women who are pregnant or nursing
  
• Individuals who take insulin, or who suffer from any other blood sugar problem such as hypoglycemia
  
• Person who have tumors, bleeding ulcers, cancer, blood diseases, or who have heart disease
  
• Those who suffer weakness or anemia
  

You will find it helpful to begin by eating smaller meals before you begin the fast. Resist the urge to have that "last big feast" before the fast. Cutting down on your meals a few days before you begin the fast will signal your appetite, mind and stomach that less food is acceptable. I recommend weaning yourself off caffeine and sugar products to ease your initial hunger or discomfort at the early stages of the fast.

During the first few days, you may feel tired and irritable; lightening your workload and cutting down on strenuous exercise would be a good idea to maintain your health. Rest as much as your schedule will permit. Although fasting is full of blessings, it is not always easy for some, do not be surprised if you experience mental and physical discomforts. Inner conflict may occur when you deny yourself the pleasure of eating delicious food. You can find yourself saying "this is a far as I can go, I am finished". Pray.

Some physical effects may include hunger pangs, changes in elimination, light-headedness, changes in sleeping and dreaming patterns, aches and pains. Headaches or stomachaches may be a result of sugar or caffeine withdrawal. Lower back pain may indicate you are dehydrating, drink plenty of water. Also expect to go to the bathroom because of all the water you will be drinking.

Weight loss will occur but rest assured that the weight will taper off after 2 to 3 weeks. Remember that if you place your focus on what you are eating, or should I say not eating, and take your focus off the Lord you are basically on a diet and not fasting. Stay focused.

Remember when we approach the end of the fast please reintroduce foods slowly and with caution. It is not necessary to reintroduce all the foods at once. You may want to consider leaving some of the foods out of your diet permanently.

Fasting and prayer will fulfill II Chronicles 7:14. " If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.