Why do I fast?  Isaiah 58:6-9 says it all so well. 

"Is this not the fast that I have chosen:  To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens,To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke?   Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;When you see the naked, that you cover him,And not hide yourself from your own flesh?  Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.  Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.'NKJV

It is also a critical discipline when it comes to increasing our faith and power.  In Matthew 17 the disciples could not cast a demon out of a man.  Jesus exhorted them in Matthew 17:20-21.

So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.  However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting." 

Those are the main reasons why I fast.  Not to mention Moses, David, Elijah and Jesus all fasted.  Jesus said, once the bridegroom was taken away (He's the bridegroom) then we would fast.  I want to be like Jesus and follow in His footsteps.  The root word of fast in the Hebrew means "to cover the mouth."  The dictionary says fasting means abstinence from food or limiting food.

There are Different Types of Fasts

This is from one of my sons in the Lord.  He is doing an apostolic work through ORT.

Dear Dad Tim and Mum Brenda,

Receive many greetings from my wife, the children, widows, and all our connectors from Kenya and Tanzania.

Our CONECTer Pastor Daniel in Tanzania, of Mountain Prayer Center is doing fine. He has utilized Operation Rolling Thunder mobilizing the cities around the town there in Tanzania, and in Loitokitok, which is on the boundary of Kenya & Tanzania. God is using Pastor Daniel so wonderfully in winning more lost souls for Christ Jesus.

Pentecost is one of three feasts of the Lord where all of Israel were to celebrate.  It is also known as the Feast of Weeks and occurs 50 days after Passover. and part of its celebration included worshiping the Lord with freewill offerings and the first harvest of the sheaves.  It marked the end of the grain harvest.  It was also an occasion for covenant renewal.  For about 1500 years this festival served as a prophetic act proclaiming what was to come which was recorded in Acts 2 with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  It was part of the fulfillment of:

Acts 2:16-21 -  But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:   'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,  That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;  Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams.   And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy.  I will show wonders in heaven above
And signs in the earth beneath:  Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.   The sun shall be turned into darkness,  And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.   And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved.' 

What precipitated this outpouring? 

On May 22 I held a conference call for CONECTers who are using Operation Rolling Thunder (ORT) around the US to mobilize strategic prayer.  You can hear the whole transcript at www.ORTPrayer.org.  I'd like to highlight two reports.

Gainesville FL CONECTers, Carl & Brenda Krames - This was the 2nd year that Gainesville and students on the University of Florida campus used ORT.  They reported that the number of churches cooperating with the strategy doubled this year.  They targeted various areas of concern throughout the year and utilized corporate prayer events to continue to bring attention various issues specific to their city and state using the 7 spheres to identify targets.  Here are some of their results:

1. Healthcare- Target "that medical fraud would be exposed and eliminated in our state."   Answer:  The Gaineville Sun reported on May 10, 2012 that pharmacies in Tampa and Miami were caught in medical fraud and 2,637 pharmacies were identified for followup who were identified as extreme billers.
2.  Government - Target "Elections, God's willingness to help and our leaders."  Answer:  The Gainesville Sun reported on May 11, 2012 that state election officials announced the decision to screen the voter rolls.  (Tim's note:  Carl and Brenda met with the police chief and it has led to his request to meet with the Christian Pastors Association monthly for prayer and now the sheriff is invited as well.
3. Family & Government - Target "Life" - In this past year for the first time in the history of their state 4 pro-life laws were passed.  This is the result of continued strategic prayer combined with strategic action.

Whooping cough epidemic stopped through the Church in Jefferson County. 

Churches in Jefferson County WA used our strategy to mobilize prayer and establish councils to connect  in 7 spheres of society.  On Mar 27 they met and a County Commissioner asked them to pray about the whooping cough epidemic.  Last night I was with them when the director of emergency services addressed this Council.  As of April 13 there has not been one case reported.   From epidemic proportions to zero.

The PTLeader reported on 4/10/12 that the whooping cough had become an epidemic all though there were only two cases reported in the last two weeks (note the time the Church began to pray above).   The headline in the PTLeader on 5/15/2012 states "No New Cases Here Since April 13.."

In December the police chief asked them to pray about crime and it decreased by more than 50% compared to the Christmas holidays last year. Click here for Ap. Jake's testimony.

Are you looking to your faith in action to transform your community with real results?   This testimony is the power of a united Church working together.  Discover the strategy and principles this powerful series on "Strategic Leadership."  Click here.

For years I've heard people and ministers talk about the abuse of authority in the Church.  As the story unfolds they describe how it began with a teaching they heard on the need to be "covered" and the role of Church government.  They describe how a minister or an organization used this teaching to manipulate and control them.  Hence we tend to shy away from even wanting to use the term. 

In fact, human nature is often like a pendulum.  Rather than seeking balance the pendulum swings to another extreme.  Therefore we end up avoiding words or concepts that someone has abused.

Abuse does not negate the truth.  Rather than react to excess or abuse we need to find the truth and DO IT!

When you study the word translated "sin" in the bible you will find the root word comes from a concept of an archer shooting an arrow at a target.  To sin means to miss the mark.  I don't care if you shoot to high, to low, left or right all of these results "miss the mark."  Personally, I want to "hit the mark."