Four Things To Remember.

1 .Why Fast? What Kind of Fast?

Fasting opens the door to a deeper, more intimate, more powerful relationship with God. Denying your appetite for God’s purpose focuses you beyond yourself and highlights your hunger for God and your dependence on Him.
"I sought the Lord and He delivered me. Taste and see that the Lord is good." (Psalm 34:4,8) "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.: Matthew 5:6 Jesus taught us to prayer and fast, saying, “that this kind does not go but by prayer and fasting”. (Matthew 17:21) Fasting accompanied prayer in the critical breakthroughs throughout the Bible.
I ask you to consider doing without something you love during this 40 days of prayer and fasting from 22 February – 1 April, which is the period of Lent. The decision as to what you fast from is up to you! Why not ask God his invitation for you and let God lead you in a life enhancing season, “unto the Lord.”
1.Some people will give up caffeine, sweets, a meal a day, or food on 1-3 days each week, or food for 40 days ingesting just water, juice and broth.
2.Some will fast from TV / Facebook etc and spend this time in prayer.
3. Some will do a Daniel Fast which basically means going vegetarian! Your food choices might include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds and oil, and exclude animal products and processed foods, such as flour products, preservatives, additives, sweeteners, flavourings, caffeine or alcohol. Daniel 1:12, 10:3 "Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink... I ate no pleasant food (bread), no meat or wine came into my mouth nor did I anoint myself at all...”

2. Purification ( Purity of Heart, Soul and Mind )

What is Purity?

In a physical sense, purity is the condition or quality of being pure; freedom from anything that debases, contaminates or pollutes. In an emotional and mental sense, purity is freedom from guilt, shame and evil tendencies. In a spiritual sense, purity is using the Spiritual Light (called in esoteric teachings the "Mother" Light because all of the physical plane is said to be the Mother, while the Father is said to be all of Spirit) in accordance with God’s Will, i.e. not for selfish purposes but for raising the All.

Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

(Matthew 22:36-37)

Purity is a quality of God and it is our basic quality, when we are aligned with God - when we are being our True Self. Purity starts in the heart, with the intention to follow the will of God, which is our Higher Will. Like the blessed Mother said when Archangel Gabriel announced that she would conceive the future Messiah:

Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. (Luke 1:38)

Purity implies unselfishness, loving our brothers and sisters, and willingness to serve a greater good. It also implies honesty - being willing to see where we may have impure motives, impure thoughts and deeds, and then to gradually purify ourselves from them.

The moment of coming back to God and saying "God, I've been impure, I've followed the ego and false desires. But now I am back and I am ready to walk the true path. Please guide me". This is the moment of baptism by water - the moment of repentance for our sins, of seeing all that is impure in us, and choosing a different course of action: I want Life, I want Purity, I want my True Self!

This decision starts in the heart, with a sincere remorse for the impurity that we lived so far, and with the decision that we wouldn't hide from God any more. Whatever weakness and imperfection surfaces, we are willing to face it and surrender it. Maybe it will take days, maybe months or even years, but we are willing, for we know it is not the part of who we are in God.

Jesus said "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." (Matthew 5:8).

3.How to let go of impurities?

We are not required to be perfect before we face God. We are required to have a pure heart and willingness to surrender our attachments. And how do we do it? By loving God more than the things of this world. When we say "please God, take this false desire away from me, I don't need it any more". Or "take these thoughts away, I don't need them", or whatever attachment or impurity we are dealing with. But letting go of impurities can be tricky because we think we need them.so be careful.

4. Surrender: Loving God more ....

Once we return to God and start walking with Him, we will turn to Him whenever we are faced with a challenge. Whenever we feel there is an attachment or impurity, we will pray and ask for it to be taken away. Each of us will have one issue that is the major stumbling block keeping us from Being the Christ. For some it will be fear of the unknown, for some self-condemnation, for some the need to be accepted by others. This could very well be the original reason of our fall, which we are faced with again and again over more lifetimes. And now is the time to deal with it - to decide to love God more and to simply let go ........

all the very best.......

-  Kiran Babykutty