The goal of fasting is to draw nearer to God. Biblical fasting always has to do with eliminating food for a spiritual purpose; it hits the reset button of our soul and renews us from the inside out. It also enables us to celebrate the goodness and mercy of God and prepares our hearts for all the good things God desires to bring into our lives. Fasting is a tool that helps us deny our flesh, showing that our flesh doesn't control us, but rather the Spirit of the Lord within us.

Remember, your personal fast should present a level of challenge, but it is very important to know your body, your options, and, most importantly, to seek God in prayer and follow what the Holy Spirit leads you to do. Some people may choose to fast from social media, television, or from some other vice; while these things may be good and helpful, consider also fasting from food to some degree. Below are some suggestions of common fasts.

In this type of fast, you drink only liquids, typically water with light juices as an option. This type of fast can bring extreme renewal, however, can be difficult to sustain over an extended amount of time (i.e. 28 days). If you feel the Spirit is leading you towards this option you might want to consider consulting your physician. 

This type of fast involves removing certain elements from your diet. One example of a selective fast is the Daniel Fast, during which you remove meat, sweets, and bread from your diet and consume water and juice for fluids and fruits and vegetables for food.

This fast is sometimes called the “Jewish Fast” and involves abstaining from eating any type of food in the morning and afternoon. This can either correlate to specific times of the day, such as 6:00 am to 3:00 pm, or from sunup to sundown.

This fast is a great option if you do not have much experience fasting food, have health issues that prevent you from fasting food, or if you wish to refocus certain areas of your life that are out of balance. For example, you might choose to stop using social media or watching television for the duration of the fast and then carefully bring that element back into your life in healthy doses at the conclusion of the fast.