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First Thursday: A Call to Prayer & Fasting

About 1st Thursday

Introduced at the 2010 Annual Conference by the IGRC Cabinet, First Thursday

is an invitation to clergy and laity to join the Cabinet in a monthly day of prayer and

fasting in which we call upon Christ to send the Pentecost power of the Holy Spirit

upon the Church.

The format is not highly structured. Each congregation and group is encouraged to

be creative...do something different each month. Different monthly themes for each

First Thursday will be announced in the near future.

Bishop Palmer and superintendents will be holding special events around the districts and details will be announced as they unfold.

Revival has begun in the IGRC! Now is the time for us to return to the fundamentals of our faith. It's time to pray for a fresh wind of the Spirit. You are invited to join this movement as we pray that the Spirit will move upon us.

A Facebook group has been established as a place of discussion and sharing of ideas.  Join the First Thursday Facebook group... (requires a Facebook account and one must be logged into that account).

FAQ's About Fasting

What are we seeking?

We are seeking nothing less than clarity from God about our mission and purpose, power to live holy lives, opportunities to testify to the Gospel of grace, to share the love of Christ in tangible ways, and the courage to invite persons to commit their lives to Christ and become part of Christ's holy Church. (Cabinet Address, 2010 Annual Conference)

What is fasting?

Throughout Scripture fasting refers to abstaining from food for spiritual purposes. Its primary focus is upon God, and only secondarily upon the food we forgo.  The normal means of fasting involved abstaining from all food, solid or liquid, but not water.

Why should one fast?

In Scripture, fasting has two primary purposes: (1) personal or national repentance for sin, and (2) to prepare oneself inwardly for receiving the necessary strength and grace to complete a mission of faithful service in God’s name. Also, fasting expresses a hunger for God, a desire to deepen the spiritual life, an aid in personal and communal discernment, and a way to strengthen the connection with the Body of Christ. Group fasting can be a wonderful and powerful thing provided there is a prepared people who are of one mind in these matters.

What is the connection between prayer and fasting?

Fasting intensifies the focus of prayer. Jesus told his disciples that some spiritual accomplishments were possible only by linking prayer with fasting. For Wesley, fasting was a way to deepen the experience of prayer.

What are some scriptural references to fasting?

Exodus 24 and 34, 1 Kings 19, Matthew 4, Zech. 8:19, Luke 18:12, Matthew 6:16, Matthew 9:15, Luke 2:37, Isaiah 58, Esther 4:16, Daniel 10:3; Leviticus 223:27, Joel 2:15, 2 Chronicles 20:1-4, Ezra 8:21-23.

I can't fast from food. Are there other ways to fast?

If you cannot fast from food, then fast from: constant media stimulation; packaged, processed foods; needless shopping and conspicuous consumption; talking; judging others and ourselves; or an over-packed schedule.

 I'm a beginner. How can I "ease" my way into fasting?

For beginners, start with a partial fast: a restriction of diet but not total abstinence. Restrict your intake to fresh fruit juices. Limit your fast to not more than 24 hours.
Juice fast recommendation: fresh fruit and vegetable juices, herbal tea, vegetable broth, frozen fruit popsicles. Drink at least a gallon a day plus water. For this kind of fast, acidic juices like orange, grapefruit, and tomato may be too acidic and therefore bother one's digestive system.

Are there some helpful, practical hints?

1. Prepare spiritually before fasting ask for God's help. Remind yourself that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and food is God's gift.
2. Do not practice fasting if sick, traveling, or under unusual stress
3. If possible, reduce your normal activity while fasting.
4. Avoid heavy physical labor.
5. During a normal fast (all food and beverages) drink only water, but plenty of it!
6. Check with your physician for guidelines, especially if you are pregnant, diabetic, on medication, have chronic disease, unwell, or have an eating disorder.
7. Get extra rest the night before and after.
8. The day before, refrain from caffeine, sugar, red meat, poultry, nicotine and alcohol.
9. Decide who you will tell that you are fasting (Matt. 6:16-18)
10. Fill the time you would be preparing or eating food with prayer and meditation. Sing hymns, take a prayer walk, search the Scriptures.
11. Avoid television with all its tempting food ads and distractions.
12. Avoid chewing gum or eating hard candy because they release digestive enzymes that can make you hungrier.
13. When breaking your fast, eat a small healthy meal.

 Is there a Wesleyan pattern for prayer and fasting?

A day of fasting for John Wesley began after the evening meal the day before his fast day until the evening meal on the day of his fast. During this time he did not take solid food but fasted and focused much of his time in prayer.

Who is invited to participate in the "First Thursdays" prayer and fasting?

Anyone seeking spiritual revival! All United Methodists in the Illinois Great Rivers Conference (140,000 strong!) are invited to discover the spiritual power in this regular discipline that Jesus commended, the early church practiced, and John Wesley followed for more than half a century. All desiring to join the movement of God’s Spirit in our area are invited. All seeking to grow in love of God and neighbor and deepen the spiritual life in community with other United Methodist Christians are invited. Pastors and local churches are encouraged to invite entire communities to join with us as we begin this adventure with God!

Resources on Prayer and Fasting

Books

A Celebration of Discipline-The Path to Spiritual Growth, by Richard Foster, HarperCollins.
In the 20 years since its publication, Celebration of Discipline has helped over a million seekers discover a richer spiritual life infused with joy, peace, and a deeper understanding of God. For this special twentieth anniversary edition, Richard J. Foster has added an introduction, in which he shares the story of how this beloved and enduring spiritual guidebook came to be.

Hailed by many as the best modern book on Christian spirituality, Celebration of Discipline explores the "classic Disciplines, " or central spiritual practices, of the Christian faith. Along the way, Foster shows that it is only by and through these practices that the true path to spiritual growth can be found.

Dividing the Disciplines into three movements of the Spirit, Foster shows how each of these areas contribute to a balanced spiritual life. The inward Disciplines of meditation, prayer, fasting, and study, offer avenues of personal examination and change. The outward Disciplines of simplicity, solitude, submission, and service, help prepare us to make the world a better place. The corporate Disciplines of confession, worship, guidance and celebration, bring us nearer to one another and to God.

Foster provides a wealth of examples demonstrating how these Disciplines can become part of our daily activities-and how they can help us shed our superficial habits and "bring the abundance of God into our lives." He offers crucial new insights on simplicity, demonstrating how the biblical view of simplicity, properly understood and applied, brings joy and balance to our inward and outward lives and "sets us free to enjoy the provision of God as a gift that can be shared with others." The discussion of celebration, often the most neglected of the Disciplines, shows its critical importance, for it stands at the heart of the way to Christ. "Celebration of Discipline will help motivate Christians everywhere to embark on a journey of prayer and spiritual growth.

Fasting: Spiritual Freedom Beyond Our Appetites, by Lynn Baab, Intervarsity Press
We live in hungry times. Ours is a consumer culture, predisposed to quickly fill the cravings of body and mind. The idea of fasting--the voluntary denial of something for a specific time, for a spiritual purpose--sets us immediately on edge. But Lynne Baab makes the case that anyone can fast. Fasting is an expression of freedom. Free from the patterns and habits that mark everyday life, from time to time we can move beyond our appetites into meaningful encounter with God. In Fasting you'll discover an ancient Christian practice that extends beyond giving up food to any regular activity in our contemporary lives. You'll see how taking a break from eating--or driving, or checking e-mail, or watching television--opens us up to discover new things about ourselves and God and the world around us. You'll see that while not everyone should forgo food, anyone can step out of routine to feed the soul. In a time of great spiritual hunger, God invites us all to a feast: fellowship with the Creator of the universe, where all our truest needs are identified and attended to.

Soul Feast: An Invitation to the Christian Spiritual Life, by Marjorie J. Thompson, Abingdon Press
In this 10th-anniversary edition of a classic spirituality guide, Marjorie Thompson provides guidance and help to those who wish to explore the riches of Christian spirituality. She offers a framework for understanding the spiritual disciplines, as well as instruction in developing and nurturing those practices.

This book is ideal for both the individual reader and the church study group.

Includes a foreword by Henri Nouwen and a new introduction from the author.

Articles and Sermons

John Wesley's 27th sermon, Upon Our Lord's Sermon on the Mount, available online.

Hymns and Choruses

Come and Find the Quiet Center, Shirley Erena Murray, #2128, The Faith We Sing

Grace Alone, Scott Wesley Brown and Jeff Nelson, #2162, The Faith We Sing

O Lord, Hear My Prayer, Taize, #2200, The Faith We Sing

Goodness Is Stronger Than Evil, Desmond Tutu, #2219, The Faith We Sing