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Water Fasting

Water fasting is a complete contradiction to the high-octane rush of the North American lifestyle.  Think of water fasting as a stripping down time, a period of brokenness, humility and profound inner reflection.  Due to a high metabolism, I find fasting on water difficult.  Water fasting for me is crawling under the covers in warm flannel pajamas, entering deep into that inner place of prayer with bible beside my bed.  The world around becomes obscure and far away.  Everything goes in slow motion and the things that yesterday were all too familiar, become strange and unimportant.  Values systems make quantum shifts, what was impossibly urgent becomes frivolous.  It is a deep dreamy state, an altered consciousness.

Not everyone finds water fasting so.  Those who have slower metabolisms find fasting on water a breeze.  They can walk for miles, exercise and generally feel energetic.  But for all, water fasting is a profound experience.  Mystics down through the ages have discussed its spiritual qualities.  Jesus fasted 40 day in the desert on water preparing for the confrontation with His arch-enemy Satan.  We, like Jesus, need to be prepared for battle.  Water fasting is a preparation to face the world with all its entrapments with a brand new perspective.  It becomes a point of comparison, for in the state of water fasting, everything is stripped to its bear essentials and the things that really matter come to the forefront, love, our connection with God, our goals and worthy dreams, what we are becoming and who we have become.   Material possessions reduce in value when fasting.  The inner spirit, relationship with God, and who we are in Christ, rise to view.  They become the nourishment to a groaning body.

Humble Yourself

Our position with God is unchangeable, forgiven, perfect and pure because of the work of Christ on the cross.  It is our posture that must change.  Surrounded with all our false props, we often become a proud independent people, where God becomes an appendage to our lifestyle, until trials hit, demanding us to go deeper. Fasting is a posture of humility, falling prostrate before God in silence. It is a time to remember just how dependant we are on Him.  We are weak frail flesh and during water fasting you will taste your frailness.  Think of water fasting as a Humility Maintenance Program.  Don't be alarmed by the word humility, many of the most powerful people in history were the people of great humility.  Moses was considered the meekest man on all the earth but also one of the greatest leaders we have ever seen.  Pride and independence are weakness, a cover-up for spiritual famine within.  Fasting strips away cover-ups and shows us our deep need for humility.

The Deep Detox

I have been on a thirty-day juice fast where I accomplished more, worked harder and experienced a greater sustaining energy than I did in a non-fasting state.  When day 20 hit, it was like fireworks.  My co-workers couldn't keep up with my zipping and zinging here and there, joyously whistling as I worked, every cell energized with fresh juices.  I did have some detoxification dips, but they were not immobilizing and after an enema and an extra ration of carrot juice, I was fine.  Not so with water fasting.  For me water is one big long detoxification, the deep detox, where all the toxins in my body become fuel.  The body is fully focused on burning up and clearing toxins.  Blood is saturated with carcinogens, mucus, trans-fatty acids and other byproducts of the North American diet.  We recommend juice fasting to those who have never fasted unless they have a calling by God to water.  And this is an important point, God leads people to water fasting in the 21 century and he will sustain you during a called fast.  But you can also call yourself to a fast from being sick and tired of your spiritual apathy, pressing in to make serious life changes.

Preparation for Water Fasting

Water fasting demands mental preparation, don't enter into day to by planning a ski trip.  If you are fasting for the weekend clear the calendar, the fast will be an event enough.  The less pressure and responsibility you have during a water fast the better.  Think of it a holiday away form the normal patterns of living.  We also recommended the week before your fast, you drink fresh juices and eat mostly raw fruits and vegetables to cleanse the body so that the detoxification during water fasting will be less aggressive.

Water Fasting For Healing

Water fasting cleanses the body aggressively removing toxins rapidly.  Water fasting can be more beneficial than juice fasting in combating more persistent forms of cancer, cleansing the tissues more aggressively.

Water Fasting for Weight Loss

If you are juice fasting, a few days on water occasionally will intensify the fast and assist with weight-loss if you have a slow metabolism.

Water Fasting Tips

1. Avoid water straight from the faucet.  Distilled water is the best for cleansing because of its inherent, magnetic properties and ability to absorb and suspend large quantities of toxins, flushing them from the body.  The perceived value of mineral water is misleading because the inorganic minerals are like huge boulders to the cellular membranes, making them impossible to assimilate.  Plants are able to break down the minerals from the soils, allowing them to be completely absorbable to the cells of the body.  The best water is distilled, secondly, spring or filtered. A Brita Filtration System is inexpensive and effective, but change the filter regularly.

2.  There are no calories or nutritional value in water. On a water fast you have given your body no options but to turn to its Life Bank for fuel.  This can create a problem when you have spent years depositing counterfeit fuel.  Living exclusively on dirty fuel during a fast takes tremendous courage, strength and prayer.   To ease into water fasting, we recommend juice fasting with periods of water fasting.  For example 3 days on juice, 2 days on water, 5 days on juice, then 3 days on water.  You can juice when you have to work and water fast on the weekend when you can rest.  This is my preferred method of water fasting.

Water Fasting Concerns

It is not advisable to water fast under the conditions of hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, schizophrenia or a chronic heart condition—but God rules over hyperglycemia, diabetes, schizophrenia and chronic heart conditions.  Hence, if you are called by the Holy Spirit to go on a water fast, in spite of how foolish it may seem to the world, we encourage you to be obedient.

DIZZINESS:

Be careful of dizziness and black outs.  The heart is resting as much as it can during water fasting. Before you stand up, take one or two deep breaths to get the heart pumping.  If you start to back out, sit down or crouch down on one knee.   This will immediately stop the dizziness.

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