Fellowship Memphis

Lent includes the 46 days between Ash Wednesday and Resurrection Sunday. This year it begins on February 22. During Lent, many believers set aside a time of fasting and prayer in anticipation of Easter. Some traditions rest from the fast on the 6 Sundays in honor of the weekly celebration of the Resurrection. This leaves 40 days for fasting, commemorating the 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness before the start of His public ministry.

The Bible describes numerous examples of and reasons for corporate and individual fasts. In Samuel 7 and Nehemiah 9, Israelites fasted as a sign of repentance and seeking forgiveness. Similarly in Jonah 3, the Ninevites showed their repentance through a fast. Fasting can also serve as preparation for a significant movement of God. In Exodus and Deuteronomy Moses fasted as he was receiving the tablets of the covenant. In Acts 9, Paul fasted after Christ appeared to him on the road to Damascus. Paul also fasted and prayed with Barnabas when they appointed elders in Acts 14.

According to Scripture, a fast that honors the Lord coincides with a heart yielded to God and made manifest by working for justice in the world. This means clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, and fighting for the poor and oppressed. Lent provides us with a unique opportunity to join with believers around the world in seeking God and becoming more intentional about the mission He has given us.