How To Fast And Pray For Beginners: A Quick Guide

If you are just beginning to understand the power of fasting and prayer and are looking for a way to go about it intelligently, then this post on how to fast and pray for beginners is for you.

There are no hard and fast rules to fasting and praying, but there are common sense practices that you will need to pay attention to so that your fast can be effective and result oriented.

Plus, you also want to be sure that you do not go off spiritually and physically when you fast by pushing your body too far.

This is why you need to be guided.

It may surprise you to know that as amazing as fasting may be and the results it commands, a lot of unlearned and very zealous believers have actually lost their minds and some even died in the process, because they went to the extreme.

It was because they were not taught the how to fasting and praying.

You don’t want to use a very strong spiritual weapon like fasting (that is supposed to be for your lifting) to destroy yourself.

That’s why this post on how to fast and pray for beginners is a must for you and every other beginner.  

Ready to ride with me?

Let’s go.

READ ALSO: Things To Avoid When Fasting And Praying

How To Fast And Pray For Beginners

The following are 17 practical steps on how to fast and pray for beginners.

Now, there may be more, but these ones are necessary and sufficient to begin.

1. Let the Lord Inspire Your Fast

Unless, you are involved in a group fast, like church, ministry and fellowship group fast, your personal fast must be inspired of the Lord.

What that means is that, you should not just sit down and decide to fast because you think it is good and or because you need spiritual power, or because others are doing it, no.

If you must fast, let it be that it is the Lord that is calling you to it.

You will know when God calls you to a fast, the Holy Spirit will put the desire in your spirit.

And you what?

When God calls for a fast, He supplies the grace for it too.

Now, you may want to say, ‘but what if I am passing through difficult times and having real spiritual challenge with life, should I wait for God to call me to a fast before I fast seeing I need a change?’

Well, at times, unpleasant situations in life may inspire you to fast, but in all, just be sure the Lord is the one leading you.

You may also even want to fast because you have a strong desire to seek the Lord, to get closer to Him.

This also is not bad, but just be sure the Lord is leading the way all the time.

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. (Romans 8:14, KJV)

2. Start Small

Now, if you are a beginner when it comes to fasting and praying, please learn to start small at the first few instances.

What this means is that you should not go for a 21 day fast when you have not even fasted 12 hours before all your life.

So start by fasting for 12 hours, then 24 hours, then 3 days and on and on before you start going for 21 or 40 days.

Even at that, it is advisable to not fast for more than 3 days if you doing total (dry) fast.

If you will do 7 days fast, please be drinking water or any other liquid (like fruit juice – non carbonated drink).

That way you are hydrated all the time you are fasting and will also have strength to really pray.

By the way, your body can survive without food for 21 days, but it will not be able to survive without danger, hurt, damage and injuries (done to the body) without water for that long.

I trust you got that.

3. Have The Right Attitude

To be able to fast and pray effectively, you must have the right mental attitude.

The conditioning of the heart in faith that you are going to meet with the Lord and that your meeting with Him is for good must be what you have settled in your mind.

Without faith, without the right attitude, without the right frame of mind in faith, confidence and absolute trust in the love, mercy and power of God, fasting is no good.

When you go fasting, go with expectations, go with a high spirit, with joy that you are going for a special meeting with the Lord.

4. Be In Good Form Physically

Again, for a beginner, you must be sure that your body is in good health and form before you fast.

You cannot be sick and still be talking about fasting.

You cannot be hypertensive and be fasting, unless the Lord instructs you to.

So, know the condition of your health before you decide to fast.

Plus, know the condition of your body so that you will be able to determine the kind of fast you should go for.

There are different types and ways to fast you know!  

5. Have A Goal For The Fast

As said above, you don’t fast aimlessly, you must fast with an objective, a well-defined goal in mind.

6. Prepare A List Of Prayer Points

Seeing you have identified your aim of fasting, that aim will guide you to preparing a list of prayer points before and as you fast.

Write down everything you need to pray about so that you can stay focused and on point.

7. Schedule Your Prayer Time

Another powerful fact about how to fast and pray for beginners is the idea of scheduling a prayer time all the time you fast.

Now, you can’t just be half hazard and unorganized with your time, you must decide that so and so time will be spent in prayer all through the period of fast.

And you must do well to keep to the time.  

God likes it when you set specific time to meeting with Him.

He like it best, when you keep to the time, and when you keep it promptly.

8. Choose A Place Of Prayer

Of course, having set time to meeting with the Lord, you also would need to set a specific place to meet with Him.

A specific time and a specific place to meeting with the Lord are two facts that will change your fasting and praying life forever.

Great men and women of prayer have time and special places when and where they meet with the Lord daily.

9. Do A Lot Of Worship

While the purpose of your fast is really to seek God by staying off food and other things that distract, you must also know that the inroad to the throne room of the Father is worship.

Bowing in prostration before the Lord, kneeling before Him, lifting up of your hands to the Lord and making of music in your heart and mouth are acts of worship.

God cannot resists a heart of worship, He cannot help the fragrance and incense that comes from a heart of worship.

Why because worship helps you connect and relate with His holiness, which is the highest nature of God.

Worship the Lord!

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10. Fellowship The Lord

Closely related to worship is fellowshipping the Lord through the Spirit.

Love the Lord, commune with Him, talk as you would to a friend or spouse with the Lord all the time.

This is the most beautiful part of our walk with God.

The Lord is not just only your Savior and Lord, He is your friend.

Talk to Him all the time, whether you are praying or not.

Learn to always talk audibly to the Lord.

He’s with you all the time.

11. Spend Quality Time To Really Pray

Make sure you do not make the mistake of fasting without really having the time to pray.

That may just be hunger strike.

You must take quality time to really pray.

That’s why you’re separating yourself from everything in fasting.

12. Pray With Faith And Expectation

If you are not in faith, you prayers will not be answered and the whole exercise will be an exercise in futility.

So as you pray, pray with expectations.

You are not just marking time and having a jamboree with God, you fasting and praying on purpose.

Mix faith with your prayers.

That’s what delivers answers to prayers.

13. Read and Study the Word for God’s Voice and Instruction

When you pray, you talk to God, but when you read and or study the word, the Lord in turn speaks to you.

So you must take the time to consume scriptures like never before when fasting and praying.

Sure, God will speak to you in many other ways, but through studying the scripture, you are hearing His clearest voice, you are seeding up your spirit with His life, which is His word.

This is such that when the Lord now even want to speak to you by His Spirit, He will have something in you already to speak to you from.   

14. Get Quiet To Hear God Speak To You

After you have worshiped, fellowship the Lord, pray and study His word, you will need to quiet down a bit so you can make room for God to quietly speak to your spirit.

You do this by taking a little time to rest, take a nap or just relax.

15. Set Time To Meditate On Scriptures

Another beautiful practice that you must know as a beginner seeking to know how to fast and pray, is that of meditating on the word.

To meditate is to mutter scriptures to yourself.

It is to talk scriptures (the scriptures you have studied) to yourself as one that is soliloquizing.

There’s power in muttering God’s word to self.

16. End The Fast With Prayer Of Thanksgiving

Every fasting and prayer expedition must begin and end with thanksgiving.

By thanksgiving, you are expressing your faith in God for answer to prayers.

You are acknowledging God ahead for answer to prayer.

You are even conditioning God for the answer to your prayer.

When you thank God for something you have not seen, you condition His integrity to making good His promise, and by and large, He will make it happen.

17. Break Your Fast Slowly

Last but not the least on facts on how to fast and pray for beginners is to learn to break your fast slowly.

Please, depending on the length of your fast, you must learn to break your fast slowly.

You cannot eat heavy meal to break a fast.

Eat light, drink tea and beverages, take soft drinks, eat fruits and drink plenty of liquid for a few days until your system reset again before you start to eat again as you used to.

PEOPLE ALSO READ: Benefits And Fasting And Prayers

Conclusion

Nonetheless exhaustive, these facts on how to fast and pray for beginners are intended to help you with simple spiritual and natural practices that make fasting and prayer effective.

Take it slowly if you are just starting out learning and practicing fasting and prayer and then walk your way to a pro with time.

And for you who are already experienced in the practice of fasting and prayer, this post on how to fast and pray for beginners can be a go-to resource for you when teaching newbies on this all important subject.

You can refer them to it or simply teach it to them from here.

Experienced or newbie, I do hope this post has helped you.

Let me know if it has.

God bless you.

All the best!

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