40-DAYS PRAYER AND FASTING By Way Of Encouragement - Jim Wyatt Yesterday was the last day of fasting on a 40 day

fast unto the Lord, drinking distilled water and juice only, seeking God's face, turning from wicked ways, praying that God would send worldwide revival in 1997 beginning with me. His bride is torn and tattered, muddy and disheveled, bruised and battle scarred, but she is still His bride and He has promised she would be presented faultless and blameless. You may be contemplating a 40 day fast. May I encourage you to DO IT! I knew nothing about this great movement of God. I only knew since reading of Dr. Bill Bright's first 40 day fast two years ago I have wanted to do it. I tried last fall but had to stop because I was not drinking enough liquid and therefore was breaking out in a terrible rash and falling asleep, even while in the middle of prayer with someone and I was the one praying! I thought I was killing myself so I stopped. When I realized I was not drinking enough liquids and thereby flushing my system I wanted to try again. I had only fasted 19 days. The burden grew and I decided I would start on January 1 with the New Year and take each day as it came asking the Lord for the strength for each day but my desire was to go 40 days. Today I begin to eat again, though I do not really want to. I understand that is normal. I am writing to you to share with you, not only the encouragement to do it but also some warnings of what you will encounter. These may sound familiar because his tactics are nothing new. These are some of the thoughts that will come to mind. 1. You are doing it for the wrong motives: You are really only doing this so you will loose a few extra pounds. ANSWER: Let's face it, you will loose weight but you need to know you will probably gain it right back as it is the poorest form of dieting. If that is your only reason you will give up. I was honest with the Lord and said "Lord, I can't lie to you, I don't mind loosing those extra pounds I picked up over the holidays and I would be lying to you and myself if I did not say that would not please me. But you know my heart and you know my main reason is because my heart is breaking over the condition of the BRIDE. LET ME NOT WORRY OVER THE WIEGHT I WILL LEAVE THAT WITH YOU. And I don't have a scale so watching a needle never became a thing. Another motive: You are doing this because you think you are more spiritual than other Christians. You want others to look up to you. ANSWER: Don't tell anyone who doesn't need to know. Look your best everyday, smile, and keep your mouth shut. 2. You will kill yourself, you will harm your body. ANSWER: The worst thing that can happen is I will die and that is the goal for which I am striving, I will be with my Lord, so that is not bad! 3. Feeling sick, take medication, but you can't on a fast. ANSWER: drink herb tea. I even had an abscessed tooth but since I am in Lithuania the dentist did not prescribe antibiotics but rather rinse my mouth with chamomile tea. No antibiotics and abscess was gone in a few days! 4. Grouchy, grumpy, angry, "Eat something, you will feel better and be in a better mood." ANSWER: "Is food where we are to derive our joy? Oh, Lord deliver me from myself and all those broken records of the past. Thank you for showing me what a sinner I really am. Thank you for revealing to me MY sinful flesh and what it is capable of thinking and doing and saying even in the midst of such a spiritual high! You are my only righteousness!!!" 5. Fear of not being able to do my work, failure, pain, suffering . . . ANSWER: There is no failure with Him, we can trust Him for each day as He has promised the strength for each day. Forget 40 days, just take them one at a time. He does not send pain, I lost my physical desire for food and was not even hungry. I worked everyday, did not nap or rest during the day, cooked, entertained, and worked alongside my husband as usual. . .just a little slower and mellower. It did get easier (temptation was still there when I smelled food or watched someone else eat food) when I no longer had to cook because my husband joined me in the fast. I say all of this to encourage you to do it. You will never regret it. If the Lord taries I would like to begin each new year this way. May God bless you with daily revival as you fast and pray before Him who love you and gave himself for you. Until He comes. . . Juanita Wyatt Jim and Juanita Wyatt 40 is NOT a Magic Number - Teresa Seputis I just wanted to share with you that 40 is NOT a magic number. God has called some of us to fast for 40 days. If you are called to fast 40 days, then it is a good idea to obey God and look to Him for grace to do so. I would never encourage anyone to intentionally disobey God. However, there are many of us on this list who have NOT been called to fast a full 40 days... at least not on a water/juice fast. I am concerned that some of us are feeling pressure to fast harder or longer than what God has called us to do simply because He has called some others to harder or longer fasts. (It's not really "peer pressure" because no one on the list is pressuring anyone else. However, there through unintentional comparisons, enemy accusations, etc, some of us have been experiencing that pressure. The enemy comes to kill, steal and destroy.. and I am concerned that he is stealing some of our victory regarding fasting. I think he is doing this by trying to put us

under greater expectations regarding fasting than God has put on us ... then trying to make us feel guilty when we don't live up to those false expectations.) I have a friend who is on staff at a large Church. God called her to a Daniel fast (just plain vegetables). She was on this fast for about two weeks... in was incredibly hard for her -- harder than for me to do a liquid fast. She came under some intense spiritual warfare, which is not at all uncommon on long fasts, and remained faithful. She invited the Lord into the situation and saw some dramatic answers to prayer. Then, the grace and unction for fasting seemed to go away. I think that might have been because she'd completed her appointed fast time... but she had "40 days" in her mind because all of the other pastors at the church where she is on staff at were fasting 40 days. She struggled for a few days to keep the fast in her own strength and then finally gave up. She felt a bit bad and defeated at not going a full 40 days... when she had a right to be rejoicing at fasting as long as she had done. We certainly saw the hand of God move dramatically in her life and situation... and I suspect her fast was a smashing success. But I think the enemy stole some of her joy by making her feel bad that she did not go as long as the rest of the staff went. I heard a story today of one of the 40-day list members who has unsubscribed. He started what he believed would be a 40-day fast. During the fast, as he began to hear God's voice more clearly, God began to tell him that He only wanted him to fast 21 days. When day 22 came, he went ahead and broke the fast, as per God's instructions. But, if I understand the story correctly, he felt embarrassed by stopping the fast at 21 days when many were going 40, and he dropped off of the list. Here he had heard God's voice clearly and obeyed. In my opinion, he should be commended for hearing and obeying God's voice, not embarrassed for only fasting 21 days. How dare the enemy make someone feel bad for hearing and obeying the Lord! In my case, God called me to fast 21 days... He made that very clear to me before I ever started the fast, and also gave me clear instructions on what I could and could not have during the fast -- juices, water, decaf coffee and nonfat milk. At the time, I was really disappointed with these instructions because it sounded like such a wimpy fast... and lotsa folks on this list were doing a full 40 day fast, many of them water only for a large portion of it. I began to feel somewhat pressured... gee if folks who've never fasted before are do 40 days on just juices and water (no milk), then shouldn't I do likewise. "After all," the enemy whispered into my ear, imitating my own voice so clearly that I thought it was my idea, "I am the 'moderator' of this list... I should not be doing a fast that is shorter and easier than what some of the others are doing..." So, on day 1 I tried to do water-only fast... and nearly did not make it through the day. I went crying to the Lord for sympathy/help and instead I got a rebuke. God wanted to know why I was being prideful and disobeying Him by trying to do a harder fast than He had called me to. He told me that displeased Him, because He wanted me to obey Him, not try to impress Him. Then he brought me to I Samuel 15:22-23. I realized that my attempt at a water only fast was sacrifice instead of obedience and I repented. The Lord immediately forgave and restored me and put a grace on me to fast. You think I would have learned from that experience ... but no. I had heard clearly before I started the fast that God was calling me to 21 days. Yet, I keep seeking Him for permission to go a full 40.... after all, everyone else was. What I kept hearing from the Lord was, "what I have called you to is enough. Don't try to make it harder on yourself that I have called you to, or you will become discouraged and won't be able to obey even the part I have called you to." Near the end, I realized I was still struggling with a false expectation that I should fast 40 days instead of obeying what the Lord had told me so clearly before I started. I think that there was probably also some pride mixed in... after all, shouldn't the 'originator' of the 40-day list fast 40 days? What would people think of me if I only went 21? I finally prayed and asked the Lord to break off any expectations about this fast that were not from Him and to speak to me clearly about what He wanted me to do. Well, I learned that God is not fickle... He still only wanted me to fast for 21 days -- surprise, surprise. So I went ahead and broke the fast ... and I felt a little guilty about it even though I knew God was not calling me to fast longer. So I brought the guilt to the Lord and invited Him to shine His light in. Then He pointed out to me how the enemy comes to steal and destroy (John 10:10). I began to see how the enemy was trying to steal my joy/victory at completing my appointed fast and obeying God. I took authority over it and guess what... no more guilt. Then the Lord began to show me that I am not the only person on this list who the enemy has been trying to steal from. So my prayer for each person on the list is this: Lord please show each person exactly what type of a fast that you have called him/her to. Please show them if they are one of the ones who has been given expectations about fasting that exceed what You have commanded them to do. Please break off any false guilt or condemnation or pressure that the enemy is trying to put on anyone on the list. Please come and bring Your light and Your glory and Your clarity into each person's situation. Break off any false shame that the enemy would try to burden people with. Yet at the same time, give a real clarity and confirmation to those who have correctly heard your instructions about how long to fast for and what type of fast to do. Don't let anyone be talked into trying to do more than You have called them to do... yet at the same time, don't let anyone be talked out of doing the full extent of what You have called them to do. Give each person the discernment to clearly understand your instructions to them and give them the grace to obey those instructions without adding to them or taking away from them. And continue to reveal more of Yourself and more of the power of prayer to each of us. AMEN Blessings! - teresa

God's Protection During A Long Fast - Hector Vasland Dear Brothers and Sisters, I just feel that I have to share this testimony with you all. Though I have never previously written. I have been part of this list for a while and have always felt grateful for it. I cannot type so I haven't been able to say it, but I must say it now. Thank you, from my heart. By reading your postings. I have begun to learn how to fast (something I knew little about, in spite of all the books I've read on the subject). Most of all I have been continually encourage by you all when I have fasted. At times it was this list that help me to keep on going. I have found this list to be a great blessing and I thank our wonderful Father for how He has used you guys. Testimony: I'm in my 30th day of fasting (no solid foods-a real miracle for me) and I've continued to go to work as a cop. I want to give God the glory, because the other day He saved my life. After entering my apartment building. I walked upon a gang of armed men as they attempted rob the apartment of a drug gang. People were hurt and shot. But God chose to be glorified by my living. During the course of the battle I was surprise by a gunmen in my rear and God spare my life. At another point I was surrounded by the four gunmen and again the Lord spared my life. Then I ended up in a "Mexican standoff" with one of the gunmen and my weapon jammed, but God did not allowed him to shot me. This happen yards from my own apartment. As my wife and three of my children listen to the gun fire, knowing that I was involved. My Lord Jesus has called my family to live in this city. So we are not going anywhere else. Jesus promised me a long time ago that He can raise and keep a Christian family in the inner city. As a witness to those who are hopelessly stuck here and to does who are would think that He has abandon the city. God is here. I'm still in little trauma, but even more grateful for the love of our Father. Please pray for N.Y.C. and protection for my family. God bless, -Hector P.S. Am I going to stop fasting? I think not. Physical and Spiritual Aspects of Fasting There are a lot of different views on fasting. Some people feel that it is not really a fast unless you take ONLY water. Others feel it is OK to take in any non-nutritive foods (such as sugar-free soda, tea and/or decaf coffee (as long as you only use artificial sweetener and fake cream in it). Others feel it is fine to include juices. Others find it OK to have a glass of non-fat milk per day on long fasts, as long as you stick strictly to liquids. Pretty much everyone agrees that things like milkshakes and other liquid desserts are NOT valid for a fast. But the opinion which should really count is the Lord's opinion... I recommend not doing a long fast unless the Lord has called you on one. And if the Lord does call you on one, then ask Him which type of Fast He is calling you to. My first ever fast was a 10 day fast (I don't recommend that you fast that long for your first fast unless God expressly calls you to.) I took nothing but water on that fast. I had no clue about guidelines for breaking long fasts and broke it with two doughnuts and a cup of coffee. It was only by the grace of God that I did not get extremely sick.... sometimes God protects us from stupid mistakes when our heart is in the right place. But I would not presume on His grace by fasting (or breaking the fast) unwisely. Remember that the point of the fast is to obey and honor the Lord and to draw close to Him. I find that on long fasts, I am able to discern His voice more clearly than when I'm not fasting. Not everyone has that experience. Some feel only tired and irritable and even further from God on a fast, but find that place of intimacy after they have completed the fast. It is important to have the right motives when fasting. Please do not view fasting as somehow spiritually twisting God's arm and obligating Him to answer your prayer. It does not work that way. God is NOT very prone to being manipulated. Instead, view the fast as a time to separate yourself unto the Lord, to put seeking Him above satisfying your bodily needs, with the intent of allowing Him to touch and change you. Look at the fast as getting yourself more in tune with Him rather than as getting Him to do something for you. It is very important that we do not get our focus on the fast as through the act of fasting is of merit in and of itself. Rather, try to keep our focus on God and drawing more into intimacy with Him, of being able to hear His heart on a matter. But you will be aware that you are not eating... your flesh will start to cry out for food. It will try to consume your attention. On my first 40 day fast, I dreamed that I was eating and it was a very realistic dream. When I woke up, I thought I'd broken the fast and started repenting to God for doing so. He told me it was just a dream and I had not really eaten anything. Your mind and your body may crave food. It might even play weird tricks on you. You might find it advisable/necessary to take this to the Lord and ask Him to help you with it. He is usually willing to help you (give you strength and will power to fast) if He has called you to do so. As in all spiritual things, "without Christ we can do nothing" (John 15:5b). The physiology of a fast goes something like this... the first 3-5 days you get really "hungry" and start feeling weak. Then your body begins to switch over to consuming energy form stored fats. (Unfortunately, it also breaks down non-fat tissue... so this is a terrible and unhealthy way to diet. Don't fast to loose weight. You will probably gain it all back and a bit more when you start eating again.) After a while your body stabilizes and you feel more energy and also don't feel hungry. A rather unpleasant side effect is that you will usually have diarrhea for several days as your digestive system shuts itself down and then you won't have any stool type of activity. Note that what I

described is for the total types of fast -- water only or water and non-nutritive liquids. If you take juice or skim milk, you will find the first few days easier, but will tend to stay hungry longer. Your body will probably switch over to burning stored fat (as in the water fast) but it make take longer to do so. In one sense you stay stronger by putting the sugar from the juices into your system, but in another sense you get weak because you don't switch over to the burning-fat-store type of energy as fast. The tradeoff on this effects different people differently, depending on their metabolism. It is not uncommon to get dizzy or light-headed on a long fast, especially if you end up getting up rapidly from a sitting or laying position, or if you are exerting yourself physically too much. You will find that you get cold easier - in fact, sometimes I can't stay warm on a long fast, even if I turn the thermostat up to 80 degrees (where my nonfasting husband is literally melting). I find that it is unwise to consume cold things while fasting... especially things like chewing on ice cubes. If you do that, you do get a bit of a sensation of eating, but you also end up getting so cold that you can't get warm again for a long time. Drinking hot liquids seems to help... even if it is just hot water. It is very unwise to exercise strenuously while on a long fast. Many people find that the can continue working the duration of the fast if they are careful to curtail most physical activity. When I'm on a long fast, I cut back my walking as much as possible and drive more. By all means do not do any exercise types of activity like jogging or playing volleyball or going dancing during a fast unless the Lord has explicitly spoken to you to do so. Some people wisely curtail their activity and still find that they need to take some sick days to just rest in bed during a long fast. Again, different people seem to handle this differently, based on their constitution and such. I can usually work the whole time I'm doing a long fast if I am very careful to curtail all other physical activity, but I usually get very tired. (I also usually take juices and a glass of non-fat milk on a long fast, which helps me with the physical endurance.) I will often go to be very early when I'm fasting. Sometimes I get into a phase where God will wake me up in the middle of the night to pray. Usually I don't feel much like praying when He wakes me up... I feel more like I have insomnia. I am often groggy when this happens and it takes a while to figure out I'm supposed to be praying. After I pray on whatever topic(s) He has on His agenda, it becomes easy to get back to sleep again. But if I don't pray through His agenda, I usually have a great deal of difficulty getting back to sleep. Sometimes the level enemy attacks and spiritual warfare goes way up on a long fast. In fact, on both of my 40 day fasts, I came under a much greater degree of spiritual warfare than I usually experience. It was almost as though the enemy was trying to wear me down and get me to give up on the fast. Another common thing that happens when we fast is that we subconsciously expect God to give us special privileges because we are fasting... things He does not necessarily plan to do. For example, one time when I was on a long fast, I was trying to park somewhere where it was very difficult to find a spot. Since I was weak from my fast, I expected God to give me a close parking spot and was miffed with Him when He did not do so. I was complaining to Him and He set me straight by asking me why I thought that I merited special privileges just because I was fasting. Also, I expected Him to protect me from enemy attack. It was a real eye opener to me on my first 40 day fast when I had more severe bad things than usual happen to me... such as my car being broken into and my favorite coat being stolen, the diamond being stolen out of my wedding ring by a dishonest jeweler, and on and on. I was so overcome that I started to have attitude problems and God had to give me a little lecture on having a pure heart... trust me, you don't want to get that type of lecture from Him! It is not fun, especially when He is right and you know you are in the wrong. So, watch your expectations during a fast and guard your heart and your attitude. Expect that spiritual warfare and enemy attacks will be higher than usual when you fast. Don't be disappointed if the fast is not the ultimate spiritual experience where you are walking on cloud nine and on the mountain top. There will be times like that, but there will be lots of times that are not like that. In fact, during some parts of a long fast, you may feel "father away" from God than when you are not fasting. This is not unusual.
Finally, be careful on breaking a fast. Many find the breaking of a fast harder than the fast itself, because your digestive system turns back on and you start getting really hungry. You have to eat wisely and in small quantities. This is hard to do... you want to stuff yourself. But if you do that, you will probably get very sick. I usually breakfast with plain bread types of food, gradually adding back in fruits and vegetables and eventually regular food. Personally, I do very well with milk or cheese in breaking a fast, but many people get sick from that. Also, be advised that you will may experience some diarrhea as your digestive system begins to turn itself back on. This is fairly normal and should not be a cause for alarm. There is a weird spiritual dynamic that seems to happen around breaking a fast. Lots of times you feel so close to God by the end of the fast that you don't want to come off of it. There is sometimes a bit of a fear that you might loose the spiritual ground you gained or loose that ability to discern His voice. Remember that God created us to eat, that is part of how He made us. Even Jesus broke His 40 day fast and went back to eating. God does not expect us to fast indefinitely. He wants to be Lord of our fast, including Lord of breaking our fast after the prescribed time period has ended. Be sure to invite Him back into your eating just as you invited Him into your fasting. Finally, don't assume that 40 is the magic number. The Lord has called me to a lot of 2 and 3 week fasts. I have only ever fasted more than 3 weeks on three occasions: a 31 day fast in October of 1993, where AD2000 intercessors were systematically praying through the 10-40 window; a 40 week in the fall of 1995; and a 40 day fast in the Fall of 1996. Be sure not to set a goal of fasting longer that the Lord has called you to fast. It is much better to check in with Him and set a 14 day fast as per His calling than to assume you will fast 40 days when He has only graced you for 14. As with any other area of your life, be sure to invite Him into the fast. Ask Him to lead and guide you and empower you and teach you and speak to you on the fast. I hope this info is helpful. I am not an expert on fasting, but this is what I've learned from my experiencs doing so, plus a bit of teaching and advice I've picked up from others in the process. Blessings. -teresa

Letter from My First 40 Days Fast This letter was sent privately to a friend who had started his 40 days fast just after I'd ended mine. Somehow something technical went wrong and it ended up going to a list of over 500 people. I was horrified/embarrassed... but the Lord used this very candid letter to prompt many people on this list to fast and pray. It details some of my very real struggles during my first 40 days fast, Aug - Sept of 1995... Date: Fri, 29 Sep 95 08:41 PDT hi. I hope your fast is going well. I found on mine that starting on about day 6 I started feeling really unspiritual. I had no interest in reading His word, worship, prayer, etc. I would force myself to do a little each day but I felt farther from God than before I started fasting. In addition to this, my sinful nature kept manifesting -- I found that I was more irritable than usual. All I wanted to do was to watch TV and play computer games. I did not want to talk to those who I oversee/pastor at Church and I became very concerned because part of the purpose of the fast was to hear God more clearly and to draw closer to Him. It felt very much like I was going the other direction, which made me question whether or not there was any merit in doing this fast. From day 6 to the middle of day 13, it was a definate "low" for me spiritually. I would pray and ask God whether or not He wanted me to continue this fast -silence. I consulted a few of my more mature intercessor friends about this, and they said that unless I get a clear word from the Lord to the contrary, I should obey what I last heard when I was in a place to hear clearly -- which was to fast for 40 days. Since it was kinda hard to hear clearly at this phase in my fast, they suggested I go with the last clear direction I had. So I kept fasting, despite the fact that I felt more carnal than ever before in my last year and a half. Everything came to a "head" for me on day 13. I was tired, grouchy and irritable. I was supposed to be captain of our renewal ministry team that night and I couldn't imagine myself praying for folks that night, much less captaining. I had seen a Pizza Hut commercial advertising their new pizza with cheese in the crust. For the last three days, that was all I could think about. I had been waiting in line for 15 minutes to get on BART (our subway system) and someone cut directly in front of me and took the last seat, which should have been mine. I was so angry that I actually made a nasty remark to that person. Then I felt kinda horrified with myself. I noticed how "ugly" my nature had become and wondered what type of Christian witness I had become. Furthermore, I still did not feel close to the Lord, which troubled me because I'm used to being in very close intimacy with Him. I was troubled over it and decided on the way home to forget the fast because it seemed to be drawing me further away from God, not closer to Him. I got off the subway and walked 10 minutes to my car, then I had a 25 minute drive home. As I started that drive, I began making plans about how I would get a Pizza Hut pizza (i.e, drive to a Pizza Hut vs telephoning and having them deliver it), what type of toppings I wanted, etc. Of course, it had to have the cheese in the crust, etc. Well, my mouth was really watering and I could hardly wait to get home and order. But as I drove, I decided that maybe I should run it by the Lord, just in case He had an opinion. So I told Him that this fast was drawing me away and that I was going to have a pizza and asked Him how He felt about it. About then, He started reminding me how He had called me to this fast, how I'd had alot of energy and vigor on this fast, how my chronic sickness (a digestive disorder) had not acted up since I'd started fasting, etc. It became clear to me that He wanted me to continue the fast and that He was not as concerned about my feeling distant from Him that I was. It became very clear to me that this was a choice of wills -- His or mine. I knew I had to lay aside my will for His, but it was SO hard. I began to weep -quite literally. I told Him that I did choose His will over mine, but that this was too hard for me and I needed Him to help me. I quite literally died to self just then -- it was the hardest thing I've ever done. When I got home, I did NOT order the pizza. Instead, I prayed. God spoke to me that a temptation was not really a temptation unless it was really tempting. He said that now I knew what it felt like for Jesus when He was tempted to turn stones into bread. God comforted me some, but I'd had a pretty good look at my sinful nature (not that I sinned, just that I had a clear revelation of how sinful I was by nature) and I was disgusted with myself. I felt really unclean. So, God told me to go take a shower -- an act in the natural of what He was doing in the spirit. The whole time in the shower I was disgusted and discouraged with my sinful nature and wondered if there was any hope for me at all. I cried out for Him to transform me, to make me more like Jesus. I told Him how much I needed Him to hold me in His arms and just love on me. God spoke to me in the shower that He would meet me powerfully that evening at the renewal. I was not sure whether or not it was really His voice, or just my own wishful thinking putting words into His mouth. I did not feel like going to the renewal that night, but I had to go because I had responsibility there. So I went. God came and met me powerfully. (I've already posted the details to new-wine). It was a major turning point in my fast. During this time, God told me that there would be three major temptations (and a lot of attacks) during this fast. He told me that I'd already been through and passed the first temptation -- laying down my lust for pizza for His will. He said that if I looked to Him and His strength, I would be able to get through all three temptations, but if I trusted in my own strength -- I'd fail. After that, I began to see more and more clearly in the spirit. All of the sudden, I was operating at a whole new higher level in the prophetic. It was a very powerful time and the fast became very dear to me. I did encounter some incredible attacks but God's grace was all over me to get through them. I made it a daily prayer that God would guard the attitudes of my heart, because I was not capable of guarding my heart on my own. Some really horrible things happened to me. I cannot imagine how I managed to come through them with no bitterness, no anger, no

unforgiveness and no fear. It had to be the Holy Spirit guarding my heart, because left to my own devices I would have had all of those attitude sins. I began to see evidence after evidence of His grace in my life. One of my own personal goals of this fast was 100% discernment of His will from not His will. Coupled with that I also wanted the grace to obey what I heard. He spoke to me and told me that He has granted this request, but that it is a process He will take me through to get there not an instantaneous thing. He said that it would be an accelerated process, but that it must be a process because the accountability to obey goes way up as the discernment goes up. I would get destroyed if I did not learn to obey as I learned to hear, which is why He makes it a process -- so that I can continuously practice obeying at the level I am capable of hearing at. I told Him I could hardly wait for the time when my discernment was close to 100% accurate. He sort of grinned at me and told me that one day I'd look back longingly to when I was not capable of hearing so clearly. He said that right now I can get away with all sorts of things that I won't be able to get away with then. He said that sometimes He will ask me to do things that I dont want to do and that I'll wish I did not know His voice so clearly so I would not have to do them. He said that I should not be discouraged by what He's telling me because there will be great joy and great victory in laying down my will for His will. As the fast came close to ending, I did not want to break it because I was enjoying such an increased level of intimacy with Him, of discernment into what He was doing at the moment and of increased power. I started seriously considering going longer. I was supposed to break the fast on Friday (Sept 22), but Todd Hunter (head of the US branch of AVC) was to speak at our renewal meeting that night. Wouldn't it be neat to extend the fast one day and to have that increased power/discernment to minister at this important renewal meeting?... God spoke to me and told me that it would be equally disobedient to fast longer than He told me to as it would be to break the fast early. He said that the critical ingredient here was not the fast, but the obedience. One of the major things that happened to me on this fast was a commissioning of sorts into a higher level of the prophetic. Just about everyone who I prayed for would come back to me later and say, "How did you know to pray such-and-such?" Also, I find that I am doing a great deal more directive prophesy during personal ministry. This is something I used to really shy away from. But God gives me a word of knowledge or two so that the person knows it's really Him. Then He gives the person directions as well as encouragement. For instance, He had me tell one man who I did not even was having marriage problems to be more patient with his wife and to stop treating her like she does not care about God's Lordship in her life. He said that He wants to lead and guide the wife and cause her to grow, but that the man is overly restrictive and does not give God room to move in his wife's life. God told him to bear her up in love and to encourage her, just as Jesus loves and encourages his church. They the Lord promised him that she would raise up and become the helpmate He'd created her to be, complete in Christ and able to love and trust him and to look to him for leadership in their relationship. After the ministry was over, he told me that I'd just hit the major issues in their marriage and that he had been sort of trampling and overbearing on his wife. He was very encouraged by this ministry because it was clear that God wanted to come into the relationship and bring His grace and fullness into it. (God is SO awesome, but you already know that). I would say that my walk is back to where it was before the fast in terms of intimacy with the Lord. I've had a pretty close relationship with Him for a few years now. But I am continuing to operate at a higher level in the prophetic and also continuing to have an increased level of discernment in the spirit. I felt that the Lord wanted me to share with you some of the struggles of this fast so that you would not be discouraged if you find yourself going through struggles on your fast. Sometimes we have to get into desperate situations so that God can come and show His glory. Without trials, we would not have those awesome testimonies of how He came and glorified His name in the situation! blessings! -teresa