Shu Yan's Testimony

Below is a sharing from our fellow Crusader , Shu Yan. She is a Year 3 Nursing student in NYP. We hope that you will be encouraged by reading about her fasting experience as she shares her heart as a fellow student and Crusader.

Shu Yan (Right in the picture) with fellow NYP Crusader, Jolene!

I started fasting after reading Dr Bill Bright's book 'A Call For Revival' . Through that book, I was convinced that fasting is important, though it's often neglected in our Christian walk. I learnt that fasting must be done with right motives, and over and above all the spiritual benefits that fasting brings, fasting must first be about God. Through that book, I had all my doubts and questions about fasting answered, and I decided to try out fasting. I first set my objective for the fast and decided to do a 3-day juice fast (juice/plain water for meals). I hope to share with you what happened and how I experienced God through snippets from my journal during the fast.

Day 1:

"Sincerely wanted to fast as an act of my will, to confess my sins, to die to my flesh and to humble myself before Him. I confessed my sins. As I went throughout the day with prayer & fasting, I realized that it is easier to look to Him than before because I no longer depended on food, which often cause me to be self-sufficient."

(On first day, I prayed throughout the day for my heart's condition and situation. However that night I was so tempted to break my fast.)

"The pasar malam food was so delicious! For a moment, I looked to food more than to God. I remember reading somewhere in the book (Bill Bright's book) regarding such situations. Ha, I found it! It says that my 'self' will rise up and say 'Hey, this is as far as I want to go. Haven't we done enough?' That's the thought in my mind! But I remembered to not give up so that Holy Spirit can work thoroughly in me through the 3 day fast. It made sense why I read James 1 this morning. James 1:12, "Blessed is the man who persevere under trial because when he stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him"

Day 2:

"God has been revealing things to me. Things that I don't feel good about. Things like insecurities, unbelief, fear and even self-centeredness. I thought that I had gotten over with them. I confessed again, and I realized that many times I seek approval from men more than from God."

Day 3

"I woke up feeling stronger. Thank God for the strength. God is good. I believe God increases my faith. Today as I was sitting in the bus, I wanted to share with the lady beside me. Many things went through my mind like, "what if she's a Muslim" or "what if she don't understand". God reminded me of yesterday's QT. That faith without deeds is dead. (James 2) Thank God for the faith He gave me to act according to His Word. She is a Catholic from Philippines so I didn't share the gospel but prayed for her. I know God is working in me to help me die to my flesh."

At the end of the fast, I was humbled and I thank God for the spiritual renewal. My faith was stronger too and as I intentionally set aside time to seek Him, I really found Him so real in my life. However, everyone's experience is very different and you never what God can do in your life as you prayerfully seek Him! I hope that you too will allow God to lead you as you fast and pray! 

Bible examples of fasting and prayer

People in the Bible that fasted

Name	Duration	Scripture
Jesus	40 days	Matthew 4:2
Moses	40 days	Deuteronomy 9:9,18-19, Exodus 34:27-28
Elijah	40 days	I Kings 19
Daniel	21 days	Daniel 9
Paul, prisoners, and Roman troops	14 days	Acts 27:33
David	7 days	II Samuel 12:16-20
Esther	3 days	Esther 4
Saul	3 days	Acts 9:9-12
Nehemiah		Nehemiah 1:4 Exodus 34:27-28
Christians from Antioch		Acts 13:1-3, Acts 14:23
John the Baptist's Disciples		Mark 2:18
The people of Nineveh		Jonah 3:5-10
Apostles, elders, and church members		II Corinthians 6:4-5

Did you know…ACS Clock Tower?

Something closer to home is the ACS Clock Tower revival in Barker Road that took place in the 1970s! During then, a group of students were so hungry to seek God that they spent their break time gathering at the ACS Clock Tower of their school praying. Ultimately a revival broke out that impacted the whole school, the neighboring schools, estates and churches as well! Students started to no longer spent their break time playing, but gathering to pray!

Some of the participants who had been used by God to start this revival has now became Methodist Pastors today!

http://www.brmc.org.sg/aboutus/archives.asp

Haystack Movement

God wants to start revival in our campuses and He is still doing it today!

Haystack Movement started of on a Saturday afternoon in August of 1806, where a few Williams College students, gathered in a field to discuss the spiritual needs of those living in Asian countries. When a thunderstorm arose they took shelter in the lee of a haystack and continued to pray. This gathering came to be called "The Haystack Prayer Meeting." It launched the modern mission movement.

Trends : Campus Awakenings from the Recent Past, records revivals that started from campuses in the United states and how its impact are still being felt today, because of the fervent prayers of a handful of students.

http://forerunner.com/boston/X0003_Campus_Awakenings.html

Reclaiming the campus for our God!

Reclaiming the campus for our God!

Why do we want to do this? Because we want to be zealous for God’s name and reclaim our campuses for God! We may not see immediate results of God’s work right after the 10 days of prayer and fast, but we know that it will impact the many years to come, just like the reason we’re here doing this is because people before us prayed as well!

Students are history-makers

Students are history-makers

All throughout history, students have been starting significant movements in this world that have shaped nations to this day. (Eg: Communist movement) . God has used students who are zealous for His name to start revival in their own campuses, and ultimately, the world.

How do I prepare spiritually and physically for the fast?

Spiritual and physical preparation is vital for sustaining our fast.

Spiritual preparation

In these days leading up to Engage 2007, we urged you to prepare yourselves spiritually to seek God’s face.

The following is an excerpt from Dr. Bill Bright’s website which describes aptly how to prepare spiritually for the fast:

In preparation for this special time with God, I strongly urge you to examine your heart, and detect any un-confessed sin. Scripture records that God always requires His people to repent of their sins before He will hear their prayers.

King David said : Come and hear, all of you who reverence the Lord, and I will tell you what he did for me: For I cried to him for help, with praises ready on my tongue. He would not have listened if I had not confessed my sins. But he listened! He heard my prayer! He paid attention to it! Blessed be God who didn't turn away when I was praying, and didn't refuse me his kindness and love. (Psalm 66:16-20)

In your prayers, confess not only obvious sins, but less obvious ones as well, both the sins of omission (did not do what was right) as well as the sins of commission (do what was wrong) .

These may be experiences like leaving your first love for our Lord:

• Worldly-mindedness
• Self-centeredness
• Spiritual Indifference
• Unwillingness to share your faith in Christ with others
• Not spending sufficient time in God's Word and in prayer
• A poor relationship with your spouse, your children, your pastor, or other members of your church

Another great way to prepare for your fast is to practice what I call "Spiritual Breathing." The concept is simple, but it has changed my own life and that of millions of others.

Like physical breathing, Spiritual Breathing is a process of exhaling the impure and inhaling the pure. If you knowingly sin, breathe spiritually to restore the fullness of God's Holy Spirit in your life. You exhale by confessing your sins immediately when you become aware of them, and you inhale by inviting the Holy Spirit to re-take control of your life. As an act of faith, trust Him to empower you. During the fast, spiritual breathing-constant reliance on the Holy Spirit-will enable you to resist temptation, not only to sin but to abandon your fast.

Physical preparation

If you decide to fast on a particular day, you should eat smaller meals a few days (or at least 1 day) before your fast instead of suddenly abstaining from food completely. The mentality of stuffing yourself for a last meal before your fast will not work too! Rather, cutting down on your meals a few days before you begin the fast will signal your mind, stomach, and appetite that less food is ok.

Weaning yourself off caffeine and sugar products will help to ease your initial hunger or discomfort at the early stages of your fast as well!

What is prayer and fast all about?

By definition, prayer and fasting is a time to voluntarily go without food in order to focus on prayer and fellowship with God. There are many examples in the Bible of why people fast, but fasting is the first sign of humbling of oneself before God and repentance.

Fasting is a very powerful spiritual discipline that will enrich your spiritual life. However fasting is not a means to twist God's arm to get what we pray for, because whether we fast or not, God will only answer prayers according to His will. (John 5:14-15)

Then what's the purpose of fasting?

Put simply from Dr. Bill Bright's website on prayer and fasting, he has listed in simple terms the benefits of fasting:

• Fasting and prayer can restore the loss of the "first love" for your Lord and result in a more intimate relationship with Christ.
• Fasting is a biblical way to truly humble yourself in the sight of God (Psalm 35:13; Ezra 8:21). King David said, "I humble myself through fasting."
• Fasting enables the Holy Spirit to reveal your true spiritual condition, resulting in brokenness, repentance, and a transformed life.
• The Holy Spirit will quicken the Word of God in your heart and His truth will become more meaningful to you!
• Fasting can transform your prayer life into a richer and more personal experience.
• Fasting can result in a dynamic personal revival in your own life-and make you a channel of revival to others.

In a nutshell, fasting forces us to take our eyes away from ourselves, our needs, and the world, and to focus and rely on God for the strength, provision, wisdom and transformation we need.

What happens when I pray & fast?

There are definitely certain physical and spiritual symptoms to expect when you are fasting.

Some common physical symptoms are:

1. Hunger pangs
2. Light headaches and dizziness especially if you do not reduce your activity level
3. Bad breath (There could be more to this list)

These are some common physical symptoms that you may experience when you fast. They are not cause for worry if it is not severe and you are physically healthy. Remember to drink lots of fluid during your fast! And try to limit the amount of physical activity you do during this time.

Other than the physical symptoms, our fast also affects us spiritually and emotionally.

Examples are feelings of frustration, irritation or restlessness and feeling weak spiritually. Just as our body goes through detoxification when we fast (that's why we experienced some of those physical symptoms), fasting forces what is hidden in our sinful nature to come out and unless we depend on and come to God, we will struggle in our own strength.

We hope to encourage you to persevere on in your fasting and don't feel disappointed or give up easily thinking you've failed in your fasting just because you're experiencing these feelings, because the "detoxification of our nature" must finish its work while we depend on God to do what He wants in us.

What do I do when I pray and fast?

If you've never fasted before or do not understand the purpose of fasting, you most probably do not know what you should do when you fast.

Someone once said, fasting without prayer is dieting, and it's true! When you fast, you're saying

"God, I choose to turn away from my routine, busyness and my needs to seek You because You're more important than all these."

So when you choose to fast from your meal, or even your usual time surfing the Internet, make sure you stop being busy for that moment to be with God reading His Word and pray. You can use the Engage prayer booklet given to you to guide you in your reflection and prayer. Remember, the point of your fasting is to focus on God, so be conscious of God throughout the day because He will reveal Himself to you when you least expected it!

What kind of fast is there and how to decide what kind of fast is for me?

Type of fasting

Supernatural absolute fast

Total abstain from food and water. This should only be attempted when God showed you very clearly that this is the fast you should take because it can only be done with God's sustenance.

Total/Normal Fast

Abstain from solid foods and beverages for 24hours. Take only water.

Partial/One-meal Fast

Abstain from solid food for extended part of the day. Take only water. You may fast from sunrise to sundown or from breakfast to afternoon tea. Or sacrifice one full meal a day, e.g. Lunch fast or Dinner Fast

Daniel Fast

Abstain from meats and other favourite delicacies. Take only small portions of fresh vegetables, fruits and juices.

Lifestyle Fast

Abstain from activities that distract such as television, computer games, MSN, etc.

So what kind of fast should you take?

We should pray and ask God what kind of fast does He wants us to go through and He will guide you with the Holy Spirit.

The most important thing to consider about your fasting is your motive.

What are your motives and objectives for fasting? Set certain objectives and write down the areas of your life or things you are going to trust God for as you pray during this period.

For whatever fast you choose to take, remember to consider your health condition and if need to, consult a doctor.

Should I tell people I’m fasting and what should I tell them when people ask why I’m not eating?

People think that we should not tell anybody when we're fasting because of what Jesus said in Matthew 6:16-18.

What Jesus really meant was to guard our hearts against the sin the Pharisee committed, that is spiritual pride, to gain recognition for themselves. It's important to have the emotional and spiritual support of other Christian brothers and sisters, that's why in your own campus during Engage there are prayer meetings where Crusaders can gather to pray together.

When people asked you why you're skipping your meal, people are usually satisfied with an answer like "I have other plans for lunch today" or "I'm fasting". If they see you on a regular basis where they can notice that you're not eating every lunch time, then it will be good to let them know that you're fasting. Do not feel ashamed or as if you have something to hide, rather see this as a very good opportunity to start spiritual conversations with your non-Christian friends. If this is one concern that you have now, why not pray and ask God for wisdom to know what kind of answer you can give that is according to Colossians 4:6.

"Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." Col 4:6

If you would like to read up more, you may visit these websites:
Your personal guide to fasting and prayer: http://www.billbright.com/howtofast/index.html

All about prayer: http://www.allaboutprayer.org/prayer-and-fasting.htm