The Ekklesia Society has some brief, practical information about fasting here.
Opening Verse
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be alway acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength and my redeemer.
Psalm xix. 14.From The Psalms of Ascent
He that now goeth on his way weeping, and beareth forth good seed, * shall doubtless come again with joy, and bring his sheaves with him.
LORD, remember David, * and all his trouble:
How he sware unto the LORD, * and vowed a vow unto the Almighty God of Jacob:
I will not come within the tabernacle of mine house, * nor climb up into my bed;
I will not suffer mine eyes to sleep, nor mine eyelids to slumber; * neither the temples of my head to take any rest;
Until I find out a place for the temple of the LORD; * an habitation for the Mighty God of Jacob.
He that now goeth on his way weeping, and beareth forth good seed, * shall doubtless come again with joy, and bring his sheaves with him.
From the One Hundred Twenty Sixth and One Hundred Thirty Second Psalms (1928 Book of Common Prayer, USA)
Preparatory Reading
To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
II Corinthians 12:7-10, NIV
Prayer of Oblation
Lord, I am going to deny my desire for (specify what will be given up) for (specify duration of your fast). I believe that your grace, strength and power can be abundant for the needy weakness of my flesh.
I offer this fast on behalf of the GAFCON pilgrims. Make me able to pray for them in accordance with your purposes: let your grace overcome the selfishness of my flesh; let your strength overcome the weakness of my flesh; let your power overcome the limitations of my flesh. I ask this for your sake, Christ Jesus. Amen.
Specific Prayers for GAFCON
Specific areas to pray for include courage, strength, vision and wisdom for the Primate and other faithful Anglican leaders in the global church; that God may speak to His church, give clear direction for the Anglican Church worldwide and glorify His Name.
Church of Nigeria
For Study and Contemplation: From the Second Morning Lesson
One day some people said to Jesus, “John the Baptist’s disciples fast and pray regularly, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees. Why are your disciples always eating and drinking?”
Jesus responded, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.”
Then Jesus gave them this illustration: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and uses it to patch an old garment. For then the new garment would be ruined, and the new patch wouldn’t even match the old garment.
“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine must be stored in new wineskins. But no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine. ‘The old is just fine,’ they say.”
Luke 5:33-39, NLT
Prayers of Recollection
Call these to mind throughout your fast, especially when aware of discomfort.
- When fasting from food: "...man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD." (Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4)
- When fasting from drink: "But (King David) refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out before the LORD." (II Samuel 23:16; I Chronicles 11:18)
- When husband and wife mutually offer abstention from marital relations (see I Corinthians 7:5 for guidance): "...my lord's men are camped in the open fields. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife?" (II Samuel 11:11)
- When fasting from other amusements or behaviors: "O let not mine heart be inclined to any evil thing; * let me not be occupied in ungodly works with the men that work wickedness, neither let me eat of such things as please them." (The One Hundred Forty-First Psalm).
A Reading to End the Fast
And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
Matthew 6:16-18, NLT
Concluding Prayers and Collect of the Day
V/O Lord, show thy mercy upon us.
R/And grant us thy salvation.
V/O God, make clean our hearts within us.
R/And take not thy Holy Spirit from us.
O LORD, who never failest to help and govern those whom thou dost bring up in thy stedfast fear and love; Keep us, we beseech thee, under the protection of thy good providence, and make us to have a perpetual fear and love of thy holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Second Sunday after Trinity
2 comments:
I will be away from the computer much of the day, but I hope some folks will be fasting and receiving some insights.
This morning, I spent some time with Luke 5:27ff. After convicting me of my own hard-heartedness and self-righteousness, I believe that God led me into some prayer direction for GAFCON:
Jesus warns that "new wine will burst the old skins" and also explains that "those who have tasted the old wine like it and are not quick to accept the new."
GAFCON is about new wine, but also about how to represent our Lord to those who prefer "the old." Two of GAFCON's sessions will be about those involved in world religions and those who are secular - those who have tasted "old wines" and are will not easily receive the new wine of Christ.
Let us pray that the GAFCON pilgrims will be made Christlike. Let them be as our Lord is revealed in Isaiah 42 - persistent and constant in bringing the Gospel to the ends of the earth, but amazingly gentle. Let them be patient in making old skins new, that the new wine may be received. Deliver them from any temptation to force new wine into old skins, bursting the skin and spilling the wine.
And let us pray for "old skins" in Anglicanism, world religions, and secular worldviews, that they be made new to receive Christ and enter the Kingdom of God.
Thank you for this post. It's one we should refer back to throughout the remainder of these 40 Days.
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