You are invited to participate in the biblical practice of fasting with fellow believers in the days before Easter. This season you are encouraged to join others at Cedar in this spiritual discipline and discover the blessings and benefits that come from fasting.
To learn more about the biblical practice of fasting, you can listen to a sermon series on prayer and fasting for renewal by Pastor Steve. Or you can read "Fasting: Hunger = Power" from CJ Mahaney's book Disciplines for Life.
Disciplines for Life: Fasting: Hunger = Power
The Rewards of Fasting For Renewal - Matthew 6:16-18
How to Fast for Renewal - Matthew 6:16-18
Would you pledge to fast and pray for spiritual renewal?
“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
(Matthew 6:16-18 NIV)
"Fasting helps to express, to deepen, and to confirm the resolution that we are ready to sacrifice anything, to sacrifice ourselves to attain what we seek for the kingdom of God."
~ Andrew Murray
“The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie. It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world.” ~John Piper
"Remember that your fast is a privilege, not an obligation. It is the acceptance of a divine invitation to experience [God’s] grace in a special way." ~Donald Whitney
“... the contrast between our behavior and the word of Jesus is all too painfully evident. We forget that discipleship means estrangement from the world, and we forget the real joy and freedom which are the outcome of a devout rule of life. As soon as a Christian recognizes that he has failed in his service, that his readiness has become feeble, and that he has sinned against another's life and become guilty of another's guilt, that all his joy in God has vanished and that his capacity for prayer has quite gone, it is high time for him to launch an assault upon the flesh, and prepare for better service by fasting and prayer (Luke 2:37; 4:2: Mark 9:29; 1 Cor. 7:5).” ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship