Girls Gone Bible - Prayer & Fasting | Girls Gone Bible

Episode Date: March 15, 2024

This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/GirlsGoneBible and get on your way to being your best self. GGB FRIDAYYYYS.♡ we hope you guys enjoy this episode where we talk allll about spiritual fasting. the benefits of spiritual fasting, our experience with it, how its (literally) changed our life and faith. draw near to God and He will draw near to you. we love you guys so so much. Jesus loves you more. -Ang & Ari if you’d like to support Girls Gone Bible 🙏🏻🕊️🤍 Paypal- https://www.paypal.me/girlsgonebibleinfo Venmo- https://www.venmo.com/u/girlsgonebible HEY WHILE WE'RE HERE. WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO RATE & LEAVE COMMENTS ON SPOTIFY & APPLE PODS. IT HELPS US. OK BYE NOW LOVE YOU

Hey guys, I'm Ari and I'm Angela and we're Girls Gone Bible. We're a faith-based podcast. We talk about Jesus, God, life, mental health, everything under the sun. A couple things you guys, Angela and I have been loving your prayer request. Please. The best thing, I just love this. I literally want to do this every week. Please. This has been a blessing for Angela and I. Make sure. I just want to say, in your prayers, if you don't mind just putting your name at the bottom, because I feel like prayers are so much more powerful when we can say your name.

So loving the prayer requests. We have been in deep prayer for you guys. And we just love you guys so much. I just have so much gratitude for you guys. I just, oh, just reading all your comments on YouTube. I just love you guys so, so much. Your comments just, you have no idea how much they mean to us and what they do to our souls. And it's just funny, like, hearing you guys be like, you have no idea what, how much they mean to us and what they do to our souls. And it's just

funny, like hearing you guys, but you guys healed me. You guys got me out of this place and truly from the bottom of our hearts, you heal us. You get us through our days. You get us through our hard moments. So you truly are our family and we just love you. And thank you so much. We love you guys so much of this prayer thing that we did in the comments was, like you said, the best thing we've ever done. And I even I love what you said about the name. Please write your name. And I even had another idea, too, because we had so much fun going through and praying for everybody. But I was thinking, what if let's do it again?

You put your prayer request in the comment. And how about when you comment your prayer request, go to the comment underneath yours and to the like latest prayer request and you can pray for that person. And then we do it like a chain. So whenever you put your comment, just look who is underneath you and pray for that person, whatever they needed prayer for. And that will just like, it'll just be a community prayer, all of us praying for each other. And we'll still pray for you guys.

But I just think it's a great way to practice prayer in and of itself. If you're not a prayer, this is a great way to start. I have chill bumps all over my body because the best thing that we do in our lives is we pray for other people. Even when it's hard for us to get through our own days, to be someone that can pray for others, Jesus sees everything and he multiplies your blessings when he sees you praying for others. So, and faith, I've said it before, but prayer is healing. If you pray for somebody else to receive healing, you'll receive healing yourself. Prayer brings you closer to Jesus. Prayer helps you practice spiritual authority, praying for other people. You would think that like praying for somebody else will like give some of yourself away or give away energy or make you, you know,

or take something from you, but really you're getting when you pray for others. So I think about when I used to wake up and not like when I didn't have God and I just didn't pray, like, I don't even know to wake up and to not pray before my day. It just sets up your whole day. How can you not, how can you go into a day that you don't know without talking to God first? So just make sure when you wake up, you find time in the morning to just talk to God before you start your day. It will change your whole day. Yeah. And just talk to him all throughout the day. Yeah. So, so what's up? What's up sister? I love you you so much stories but i don't think we have time i wanted to tell about my spider phobia because people like to laugh on their oh that's really

funny and how you and how you pulled up out of the bath should i tell that yeah so you guys i gotta get a husband i am way too in my masculine energy with Ari I don't know what I would do without you truly I will sit down and think sometimes and I'm like what would I do without you I don't know what I would do without you no I was after because her and I had fasted we did a two-day fast it was we had so many breakthroughs it was but I was on a high afterwards and I had fasted. We did a two-day fast. We had so many breakthroughs. But I was on a high afterwards, and I'm just driving, and it's 7 p.m., and I'm just on this Holy Spirit high, and I have worship music blasting. And if you guys don't know already, please don't judge me. I know it's really embarrassing. I had gone into a little fender bender about four months ago.

There was a spider in my car, and I had a panic attack. For anyone who's new to watching, I have a severe phobia of spiders. And so I got in a little fender bender on the highway because there was a spider in my car. Anyways, so I'm driving, and I don't know why, but I get spiders in my car. I've never— It is a sick joke how many spiders you get. Who sees spiders in their car? Like, it's—

All over your house. I'm on your couch, spider. I'm in the shower, spider. It's literally pathetic. Like, I am, like, so sick of it. I want to give my car away. Like I want to move. Like, I don't know what to do you guys. Anyways. So I'm driving and all of a sudden, what do I see crawling up over my head? This big spider. I go, okay. All right. I'm trying not to panic and crash so I'm like looking up but looking at the road

and I calmly like pull over to the side of the road and there's cars flying they're beeping at me and I get out and my whole body shuts down my throne's closing but I'm trying to remain calm because I don't want to act the way I did Angela was at dinner so I didn't want to call her. So I'm pacing back and forth for about 45 minutes. This man on a bike comes driving by. People are screaming at me because I'm on the side of the road, you know, but I can't think straight. I go up to the man, you know, when you're so desperate for help, like you don't care who it is. You'll just ask anyone. He didn't speak English and he was on this bike. And I go, sir, I'm so sorry. Hi, I'm Ari.

Hi. I know this is going to be a little weird. Sorry, I can't really breathe. There's a spider crawling up my inside of my car. I can't get back in it. Do you mind helping me? He goes, ah, okay. Sorry. Thank you. By the grace of God, Angela calls me and she goes, Hey, what's up? I go, I've started bawling my eyes out. I'm like, I can't breathe. I don't know what to do. I can't get in the car. She's in the bath. I hear her get out of the bath, put her clothes on. She's there in six minutes. She gets out of the car. She sees me. I'm shivering. She goes, get in my car and take it home. And she takes my car home. And then I'm in the car. I don't have a fear of spiders, but like, I don't like them. I don't want to be near them. I'm in this car. And I literally felt like there was like a monster

in the car with me. I'm so messed up about this spider. I have a prayer request. If you guys could just be praying for me and my severe spider phobia, that would mean a lot. I wonder if it came... No, I guess that was after the fact. Please, Angela. What? What? I wonder if it came later. What? No, I wonder... It's probably in my friggin' head. No, I thought it was

on my brain. Maybe that's why you're getting headaches. Oh my god, Angela. Please stop. Okay, okay okay Ari is also a hypochondria I'm not gonna be mean because someone said I was never mind you are a beautiful young woman no you can tell him I am you guys I, I am a hypo, hypo. Hypo. I am a hypochondria. Is it hyper? Hypo.

It's so weird. Like, I've lived in America my whole life. I'm from Boston. And I, like, fail to speak English sometimes. Like, I don't know words. I don't understand. It's not okay. I can't believe you.

That is the funniest thing you've ever said. Oh, my gosh. Anyways, okay. Well, we always have to get the funnies out in the beginning because we shoot the sheep all day long. Okay, guys. We're going to move on right now, I promise. If you guys knew us a year ago, I'm so glad you're on this journey with us.

Because if you knew us a year ago, every other word. And the cuss words. Every other word was cuss word. And we physically can't do it anymore. No, it's been almost like a year. I will actually show you in my Jeep. Shoot the sheep. That is too good.

I haven't said the F word in a year. I'll literally show you the day that it was the last time I cussed. Don't cuss. It's not good. Okay. Anyway, so today, you guys, we're talking about fasting, fasting and praying. We've talked about fasting so many times on here. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament teach the value of fasting. It's

abstaining from food and drink for an extended period of time. It can vary. It is voluntary. It's not involuntary fasting. You don't do it as a diet. You don't do it to lose weight. You don't do it because you're forced to or because you don't have food, you do it as a choice. Um, and there's many reasons why, and we're going to talk about all of it, but fasting is mentioned over 70 times throughout scripture. And we have so many examples of fasting in the Bible. And it, and it, it's a choice, but it's something that we definitely need to do. And over and over and in the Bible, it doesn't say if we fast, it says when they fast.

So it's crucial. And I just started to fast and boy, is it life changing. So I'm excited to go over everything because it's definitely needed in our walk with Jesus. It's truly, actually life changing in your spiritual life. Can I ask you how long you've been fasting for? I fasted. You didn't fast when, in our friendship, right? You've been fasting? No, no. So I, the first time I ever fasted, I think was, it was when I first started reading the Bible. I think it was like three years ago, maybe. Really? The first time ever, but I never actually, I think I would do like

20 hours and I did it with caffeine and water. You know what I mean? I never did like a true, real fast that hurt and that cost something. Yeah. So the first time that I ever really fasted, the first time I ever did a true fast and I love, and I promise this is real. This was a new Bible and it was the first, or it was, it was a new journal. And this is the first entry that I have in this journal. It's Wednesday, July 19th. What year? Last year, 2023. Okay. So the first time I ever fasted was because when we first started Girls Gone Bible, we were doing two episodes a month. That's all we could handle. It was a lot. We were so new. We were so like, we were scared. Like we were, we were prepared and we were excited, but we were scared. We did not feel, it had become something so big, so quick that we were like, we have so

many people relying on us and so many eyes that we just want to do the right thing, make the right decisions and like represent Jesus well. And my biggest issue was, what are we going to talk about? I was like, how do you have, and people were requesting us, they were begging us to do a podcast a week, an episode a week. And I was like, what are we, we can barely handle two a month. What are we going to talk about every single week? And I remember, and at the time too, we had already hit mental health. We hit relationships. We hit our testimonies. What else is there to talk about? You know what I mean? I had no idea. And so I heard about spiritual fasting and I, and I was like, okay, you know what I'm going to, and I heard that like, if you have questions, God will, you'll leave the fast with most of those questions answered.

So I was like, I went into this the fast with the intention of God. What what are we going to do with this podcast? Like, what are we going to do? What are we going to talk about? Yeah, I can't. We can't sit here and give relationship advice all day. So Wednesday, July 19th. This is I like this is so real.

I said every episode needs to start with a story from the Bible. It's like God had literally started downloading like everything, what we're going to do step by step. He gave it like a literal like game plan for us. Every episode needs to start with a story from the Bible, not just a couple of verses, like a real Bible study. And this was because God was like, I am giving you so much influence and you better steward it well. And the only way you can do that is if I am the very foundation, like not just a little bit, not just a little piece. This isn't going to be just like a lifestyle podcast with a little bit of Jesus. This is a Jesus podcast that is like solely used to bring people to me.

And then I wrote, which is just so funny. We're so dramatic taste and see that the Lord is good. Psalm 34. I have tasted and seen all the darkness of the world. So take it from me as a witness that the Bible is right. The Lord is good. That is so good. These are just thoughts that I was going to, and I talked about other stuff, but, and then I said, we never have to worry about running out of things to talk about on Girls Gone Bible. We have the Bible, so many stories. I'll never forget when you called me and you were like,

hey, so we're going to read the Bible every week. And I go, that's it. I know because we were both freaking out. We were like, what are we going to talk about? It changed everything on the podcast. I mean, because we were both freaking out. We were like, what are we going to talk about? It changed everything on the podcast. Oh, 100%. I mean, it's helped me in my faith. Being able to study stories and read them all with you guys and learn together.

It's just incredible. It is the reason why it is what it is. Thank you, Jesus. The last thing, if you guys watched, we went on George Janko's podcast and we loved George and his fiancee, Shauna, so, so much. They're such wonderful, wonderful people. And we had this whole situation on George's where we kind of, we asked George about his cussing and we talked about our cussing and our swearing and how we had, you know, some

of the filthiest mouths ever. It was very normal for us. We never, even when I started the podcast, like I was, it was never even a thought in my mind that I would ever stop swearing. That was like weird to me. You know, it was like that weird Christian thing. This is the first time, July 19th, Wednesday, the last thing I wrote was, and I'll never forget it because this is the moment it changed for me. Fasting made me sensitive to cussing, cringe, cringed. As soon as I finished my fast, I called someone and they dropped an F-bomb. And I remember my whole body goes, like I felt it in my body that that was wrong.

And that was the moment that the Holy Spirit started to work in me. And I stopped swearing. And it wasn't even a choice. You know what's fun? I wonder actually if that breakthrough came moment that the Holy Spirit started to work in me and I stopped swearing. And it wasn't even a choice. You know, it's fine. I wonder actually if that breakthrough came from that fast. It wasn't even a choice that I made to stop swearing. I feel like I can't pinpoint the time, but I feel like I woke up one day and I felt disgusting when I said a bad word. I know. I'm trying to remember how it stopped because it almost feels like it just stopped.

I can't remember a time. I remember we were having a couple conversations being like, dude, we got to figure it out. We got to stop talking like this. I remember being so stubborn. And I had a friend and they would be like, how can you be talking like this? And I was like, you know what?

I'm from the East Coast. And it honestly makes you more real. So leave me alone, all right? That's so funny. That is so funny. But I don't even know how I used to speak like that. It's insane. Me neither.

And it really feels, and I know it's the truth, I never will again. It's like drinking from me. It's like once it's done, it's done. It's gone. Because once you, once you're so submitted to God and you know that it's a sin, the conviction gets louder and louder and louder. And you physically can't when you're so submitted to God, you can't, you can't do wrong. And sin is kind of like a stronghold. It is a stronghold. And as soon as that sin gets broken off of you and you can see clearly wrong. And sin is kind of like a stronghold. It is a stronghold. And as soon as that sin gets broken off of you and you can see clearly, it's like you no longer, he changes your appetite. Like, you know, you don't even want to do that anymore. It's like disgusting to you.

Like, that's how I feel about it. I can't, I will never, not in private, not to songs. Like, and it's not because I'm Christian now and everybody was looking at me and I can't do this. I genuinely, from the bottom of my heart, when I'm alone in the car singing to songs that have swear words, I don't say the swear words. Nobody's in the car with me. I'm not doing it for other people. I'm doing it because it's my... I just don't want to. It's deliverance. I never understood that. But when something breaks off you, don't want to. It's deliverance. I never understood that. But when something breaks off you, God can really break it off and it can be done for good. That's why we always have to have faith and hope that God can deliver us from things. That's why fasting is so good. Let's go. So

let's talk about the five. We just wrote like, you know, some things down that we want to go by. So let's go one through five, what the main points of fasting are. So fasting helps you draw closer to God. It helps you humble yourself before God. Fasting helps you resist temptation and grow in self-control. Fasting helps you pray and seek God's guidance. and grow in self-control. Fasting helps you pray and seek God's guidance. And lastly, fasting helps you show solidarity with others, aka a corporate fast. It's coming before him and saying, Lord, I'm weak. I need you. I need your power. I'm dependent on you because we all need to be

dependent on Jesus. Jesus spent 40 days and 40 nights praying and fasted before he did God's work. That's one of like the ultimate stories of fasting in the Bible is when Jesus went 40 days, 40 nights in the wilderness. It was right after his baptism. And he was tempted from Satan three different times. And one of the times while he was fasting, Satan tempted him and said, make this, if you're really the son of God, make this stone become bread. And Jesus was so hungry. And it's so funny that the enemy hit him in his weakness in that moment. He was so hungry and he told him to make it into bread. And Jesus replies with, man shall not live by bread alone, but every word that proceeds from the mouth of

God. And so I love what you said about being dependent on him. It just really ignites that dependency that like, I don't even need bread to sustain me because you sustain me. Yeah. I've fasted twice and each time the Lord led me to read John. I remember I was at your house and I was in the corner reading John. I just love John so much. But over and over again, I kept hearing him say, I am the bread of life. I am the living bread. And so anytime I would start to get hungry, I would think he is the bread. He is the living bread. He comes before the food.

I love Matthew 5 or 6, blessed are those who hunger for thirst, for righteousness, for they shall be filled. So good. So good. I love that so much. It's so good. One of the other great benefits of fasting is that it helps you humble yourself before God. Ari and I talk about it all the time. Either stay humble or get humbled. There is nothing more important than humbling yourself before God. When you fast, you receive reminders of your dependence on God and your need for His help and His guidance. In the Old Testament, we see that people often fasted as a way to show humility and repentance before God. And it reminds me of the scripture, if you humble yourself, you will be

exalted. But if you exalt yourself, you will be humbled. And there's something so humbling about fasting, you guys, when you fast and you deny yourself, you deny your flesh the ability to eat and to fulfill and satisfy that need and that hunger. Even the act of denying yourself the ability to chew is so humbling because you go and it's just this basic thing that we take for granted all day. And you don't realize how dependent you are on food. And honestly, fasting is a really good way to get rid of gluttony or overeating. Or like if you struggle with food addiction or obsession, like that's something that really, really can help with that. It's just so humbling to know that we are so unbelievably weak because just 24, we think we're all big and bad. And then you go 24 hours without

food and you become a withering frigging piece of grass. And you're like, whoa, I am nothing. If I didn't have Jesus, I would be truly nothing. We are weak. I'm sorry. I'm thinking about us on the couch together. Guys, if you do a hardcore couple day fast, it's really good to do with a friend because, man, Angela carried me through on that fast. It was her first time doing it. We'll get into it after. Fasting is a way to feed your spirit and starve your flesh. I love that so much.

Don't you? So fasting helps you resist temptation to grow in self-control. So by denying yourself food and other comforts, you learn to rely on God's strength and resist the temptation to give into your own desires. Guys, willpower is just not enough. If you are looking to break addiction or any strongholds you might have in your life, willpower and doing it by your own might is just not enough. And I swear I have learned so much through this fast. I can't believe I didn't start this years ago. I really encourage you guys, if you guys are, you know,

you can't let go of something or you need to be delivered or you need answers or you just, you know, you want to trust God, but you can't stop tossing and turning at night. Or you want to stop sinning, but then you give in. This is, fasting is just the answer to what you need to do to be delivered from that. I know that because I got delivered from so much through this two-day fast that I just did. It reminds me of Isaiah 58.6. It says, is not this the fast that I choose to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the

yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? That is how powerful fasting is. yoke. That is how powerful fasting is. Okay, guys, this episode is sponsored by Better Health. A lot of us spend our lives wishing we had more time. The question is time for what? If time was unlimited, how would you use it? The best way to squeeze that special thing into your schedule is to know what's important to you and make it a priority. Therapy can help you find what matters to you so you can do more of it. As you guys know, I am the biggest cheerleader for BetterHelp. It has impacted my life in more ways than you guys know. When I was going through my healing journey, it was so easy, affordable. I went right online. I matched with a Christian therapist and they helped me in more ways than I can even talk about. It was the best decision that I could have made for myself. And I really encourage

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That's betterhelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash girlsgonebible. Thank you, BetterHelp, for sponsoring this video. And I just say then while we're here that Matthew 17 what Ari is talking about how you can be truly you can have such breakthrough from fasting that you will actually be delivered from things there's a scripture from Matthew 17 20 to 21 Jesus said to them because of your unbelief for surely I say to you if you have faith as small as a mustard seed you will say to this mountain Jesus said to them, some demonic oppression that you cannot be delivered from without prayer and fasting. Yeah, I mean, when we come before him and we give him our weakness, he gives us strength. When we give him our sin, he provides us with holiness.

That's what fasting is, you guys. James 4, verse 17, so whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him, it is a sin. That just speaks for me to the situation of like, sometimes during a fast, your flesh starts to talk to you crazy when you're fasting. It'll start saying to you, just have a little this, just have a little that. You don't have to tell anyone. The way that your flesh, like for me, I'll never forget the first time I did a two-day fast. My, it was, it was probably like 24 hours in. My, my flesh started talking to me so crazy. I did it

with another person to do like, you know, for accountability purposes. And my flesh starts going, just have a little water, just have one cup of coffee. You don't have to tell anybody. And I'm somebody who like does not like I do not do the right thing just when people are looking like I do it when they're not looking. And so it is so unlike me to say, do this and just don't tell anybody. It was so crazy. So I love that of saying, like, if you don't do what is right, even though you know what is right, that's a sin. So don't cheat yourself in a fast. The thing is that so much of our culture tells us, oh, just do what feels good. Yeah, just do you.

Do what feels good. That couldn't be more incorrect. We need to do the right thing even when it's hard. Yeah. You know? Absolutely. But it's so funny you say that because when you fast, that little voice is so loud being like, just take a little sip. Yeah. Just eat. Go ahead. You're going to have a panic. You're

going to die. Just do it. You don't feel good. This isn't good for you. The headaches coming, something you're going to pass out. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I love what it says though. You're the thing about, so resist, resist. And what is it? Resist in the, you will be able to overcome temptation. The, one of the best things about fasting for me is that it practices spiritual discipline. And that is what you need to overcome. Temptation is the power through Jesus. And it's also something that you can practice. So when you're practicing fasting and you're denying yourself, you're resisting, you're resisting the urge to go into this and you're depending on God's power to get you through instead. And so you practice that through fasting. And then, so when you're in a situation where you're faced with temptation and you're being

tempted, you're able to resist that and rely on God's power, just like you did in the fast. able to resist that and rely on God's power just like you did in the fast. It's a practice. Oh, it's so true. Yeah. It strengthens you in that area. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. No, that was such a good point. I love you. You seek God's guidance. By fasting, you can set aside distractions and focus more fully on seeking God's will and direction for your life.

In the Bible, we see that people often fasted and pray together in times of crisis or when seeking God's guidance. For example, Acts 14, 23, the early church leaders were trying to choose additional leaders. They fasted and prayed until the Holy Spirit provided the direction they needed. Seeking God's guidance. This is one of my main reasons for fasting is I love God's guidance. I love God's voice. And when I don't know what to do, you will find me in a fast because it's just

as if I leave that thing. And it's not that like you, most of the time you don't even experience your breakthrough or reward in the fast. It's oftentimes afterwards, a week later, maybe way later, long down the line, you'd be like, oh, I think this was from that fast that I did. But for me, it's as if I leave a fast with so much clarity and I just have like a stronger connection to God. And because of the removal of the distraction of eating, we have no idea how much drinking and eating consumes us. Even if you're someone who doesn't even, you think you don't eat that much, it truly is the biggest distraction. And so to remove that, it's kind of like how we say we must decrease while you increase. It's as if you empty yourself and God fills you to the brim.

And it's just, it's the most beautiful thing to remove all those distractions. And I just want to say that if you ever are in a situation where you feel like you've lost your passion for Jesus, fasting will reignite that so quickly because you remove everything that stands between you and Jesus. So if you feel like I'm not on fire for God anymore, I lost my passion for him, I lost my hunger for him, fast. Do a one or two or three day, if possible, fast, and it will bring you right back to where you want to be. Do you know, it's so funny you say that because that's exactly what I experienced when I did it. When, because I always say when I was going through my hard times, that's when I felt closest to him. And when I was so hungry and hurting, I, it was like, I was in that church that day. I had, I had to like rely on him and I'll,

and I remember being in bed and like groaning and be like, Jesus, I need you, please give, and it felt so good to rely on him and to have that close with, to have that closeness with him again. You know, I always, I, I, I wish I brought my journal, my fasting journal, but I always say when, whenever I start fasting, I always say, God, my, I'm getting weak. My prayers are getting shorter and my voice is getting quieter. Please hear the cries of my heart. It's just the most beautiful thing that he will, he feels that dependence that we feel on him. And there's something about when that food empties your body and you're just completely empty and you can hear so clearly, it's loud. His voice is loud. The words on the page on the Bible are loud. You understand. I

hadn't eaten or drank anything in 24 hours and I'm just flying through John and I could understand every single word on the page. And it was like, the words were just coming off the page. There was something about being empty and reading the Bible that just, I, and I, and typically you would, you would be exhausted and you wouldn't be able to see straight. And I was, and then I was like, you know, that's why guys, another thing when you fast real, and I had to learn this from the first fast I did, cause I was so hungry that I just wanted my mind to be occupied. So I would just be on my phone or I put on a show on Netflix. That is the worst thing you can do. And it was one of the most beautiful experiences. And I understood more than I had

ever. And I had read words and things were coming alive to me that didn't before when I had read John before. So yeah, there's something about being completely empty and just reading that Bible that makes it so much more intimate. Well, thank you for saying that about the phones. That's something that I, from now on, I'm really going to be serious about deleting social media off my phone because the truth is when fasting gets hard, and it does get hard, and we'll get into that, it is such a good distraction from the hunger pains that you're experiencing to go on your phone. So that's something that we're really going to do is get off of our phones completely, get off of social media. Can I read really quickly this little part of Exodus? So

it's Moses. This is something that I was reading in Exodus and it really stood out to me. So there's something you guys about,'re all about discipline spiritual discipline um morning routine discipline and physical discipline it's all it's all interconnected and it's all really really important so there's this moment in in exodus chapter 17 where the people of israel were at war with the amalekites and Moses commanded Joshua to choose some men and go out and fight the army of Amalek for us. Tomorrow, I will stand at the top of the hill, holding the staff of God in my hand. So Joshua did what Moses had commanded and he fought the army of Amalek. Meanwhile, Moses, Aaron, and Hur climbed to the top of a nearby hill. Listen,

as long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage. So as long as Moses's hands are raised in obedience towards heaven to what God told him to do, he was winning the battle. His hands were positioned toward heaven. So every time his hands, he had a physical obedience to God. Every time his hands were raised, they would win the battle. The second he did what God told him not to do and put his body down, they started losing the battle. And I was just, it's so incredible to think that physical obedience brings spiritual release. So his physical obedience was winning him a battle in the unseen world. And it's all connected. And there's something about this physical obedience and discipline

and sacrifice and doing something that costs so much that breaks things off of you. It is the most powerful. Fasting is not fancy. It's not fun. It's not cute. But it's powerful. It is the one. I don't. It has truly changed my life.

It has given me a confidence in my faith to know that because you will go through dry seasons. You'll go through cold seasons. You'll go through seasons that are so tough that like I can't even bring myself to pray. But we have this tool of fasting that reignites, that restores, that redeems, that like truly will bring your spiritual life back. Yeah, there's there's there's just something about it. Honestly, I even when there were things that because when I after the end of my fast, I just pray, I pray out loud, I talk to God and there were things that were coming out of me.

I was, I was repenting of things that I didn't even know I was doing wrong. And it felt so good to release that. There's something about being completely empty and just coming before him so weak and being like, just pouring everything out. Things will pour out of you that you didn't even know that you had been holding on to. You know, there's something about just being so weak before God. You're just, it's like, it's incredible. It really is. I, I looked different. I woke up up. And I know you said that sometimes the breakthrough doesn't happen till, sometimes the breakthrough is not going to happen the next day. It happened

for me. I woke up. I was like, I feel new. I was almost, I don't know what was going on with me. I think I was reverting back to old patterns, old thinking habits a little bit. And so I needed that reset. I needed that closeness with God. I needed to talk to him in a really intimate way. And so he did that for me. And I feel like I had gotten tested the other day, actually. There were things that I was reminded of that sometimes would have been really triggering for me. And I saw it and I was able to snap right out of it. And that's called deliverance. And that's what fasting does for you. And I had prayed that. I said, God, deliver me from this. I'm starting to revert back to old ways. I'm starting to think about things and dwell on it a little bit. That's been the biggest battle for me, you guys, though, you know, I always talk about my overbearing thoughts. And so I constantly have to work on that. And so yeah, I, it was, I just can't even believe

what that fast did to me, I could see clearly, I almost felt heavy, like right here in my stomach. And I just, I feel like all that gunk is out. Like, I just feel new. It's beautiful. feel like all that gunk is out. Like I just feel new. It's beautiful. Let's talk a little bit. So what I saw in Ari was truly, I just love, I just love experience seeing what God does in other people's lives. It's just so cool because you truly look like a different person from going into the fast to afterwards, you had something lifted off of you, burned out of you. And I want to get to this whole burning thing, because I kept on saying that to you throughout the fast. So Ari and I have both done one day fasts. And I've done one day fasts millions of times where I would do coffee and water, which

that's definitely something you can do. You can just abstain from food if you want to. But I know for me, I have a horrific caffeine addiction. And so if I really want to feel the effects of fasting and feel the cost and sacrifice, I have to get rid of the caffeine. Absolutely. So even I do a one day fast weekly where I do no water, no coffee. It's usually every Friday. And then I started recently doing two day fast. I've only done it a couple of times.

But the first two day fast that I did came with such a massive breakthrough that I'll talk about in a little bit that was actually so life-changing you probably wouldn't believe it. But I do want to talk about Ari and I's two-day fast. So you and I did a two-day fast where we do one day of water and then another 24 hours of absolute nothing. So no water, no food, nothing. And, you know, eventually I think we can move up to like a two-day absolute fast with no water. But there's something about when I did, the first time I did a two-day fast, when I, there's something about that second day that rolls over into the third day that is so incredibly painful.

And the only reason we're talking about like about it like this, saying that it's painful and saying that we struggled, it's simply for educational purposes only. So you guys know what to expect. There is a scripture. There's a verse in Matthew 6, 16 to 18 that says, Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites with a sad countenance, a sad face. For they disfigure their faces so that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have the reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that you do not appear to

men to be fasting, but to your father who is in the secret place and your father who sees in secret will reward you openly. So the point is you do not want to fast like a hypocrite who's going around saying, look at me. I'm fasting. I'm so good. I'm so righteous and holy. I'm doing this for God. No, you want to go and you want to, I don't think it's that you can't tell anybody, but you certainly are not running around telling everyone bragging about if you have to tell somebody, if it makes sense, if you're in conversation like it's fine but you wash your face and you don't act like it's hard we're only telling you guys how hard it was so that you guys can know what to

expect because god forbid you're alone and you think you're dying because sometimes it might honestly feel that way so the first time I fasted I had this moment on the second day where it got so heavy that I thought that I developed a fever. And you felt that too, where you got super hot, you get sweaty, you honestly feel like you're going to throw up a little bit. I thought that I had a fever. I was getting so hot, cold sweats, whatever. And I thought about this situation where, you know, when you guys are sick and you get a fever, typically people will take medication to suppress that fever to bring it down. But they don't know people are don't even know that fevers will typically come because your body turns up the heat inside to fight off the bad bacteria that's in your body. Your body is actually, the fever is a good thing.

It's your body's using that fever to burn out the bad, to burn out whatever it is that's making you sick. And it's like the same thing in fasting. When you're fasting, it's as if your body is turning up the heat and spiritually, whatever is bad, whatever is making you sick is getting burned out of you. And so when you were struggling, especially that second day, and you were like, like, you didn't know, you didn't know it was going to feel like that. I kept telling you, it's supposed to hurt.

It's a burning out of you. Again, like Jesus said, like some things can only be taken out by prayer and by fasting. And those things get just like burned and purged out of you. Well, think about your spirit is one with God. So it's crucial for us to burn and purify all that stuff out that we're holding on to. It's more than just our minds and our hearts. It's our soul. Yeah. You know?

Yeah. She saved me from that fast. I'm telling you, you guys, because the first time I ever fast, I still had caffeine and I had the water. Yeah. I just didn't eat. And I did have a couple of breakthroughs. The second fast is what?

Whoa. I mean, the no water and the no food is, it hurts, but it truly is supposed to hurt. It's a sacrifice. And I am so glad I did it. And I think from here on out, that's how I do my fast. I actually want to try to do a three day one. We will. We will. And that's another thing. Ari and I did the fast together. Typically when I do a one day fast, I don't need to do it with anyone, but I really, when I do a two day fast or anything more than one day, like

I do want a partner and I encourage you guys, if you could do it with someone, I think that would be great. You know what I love too about us fasting together? We did this twice and there's a moment at the end of our fast where we come together and we come in agreement and we start praying for each other and we start praying out loud, worshiping together, praying for our families, praying for what we want together, praying for what we want to be delivered from. And there is something so powerful when you and I come together in agreement and we start praying, praying for each other's families, praying for what we want.

I just, there's something that breaks off in that moment of praying together and that last hour of just sacrifice and hurting. And it's just, it's so powerful, you guys. So yeah, I really encourage you, if you have a friend that you can do it with. And in that last hour, you come together and you pray and worship out loud. Well, yeah, that's called corporate fasting

when you do it with other people. And it's supposed to be like a community thing. In biblical times, people sometimes fasted to show their unification with others who were suffering or in need. For example, in Nehemiah chapter one, verse four, Nehemiah heard that a group of Israelites were suffering and in need of help. So he wept, he fasted and he prayed for them. Esther did as well. Before she approached the king to tell the Jews that they should fast for three days without food or drink, she fasted in the same manner. So it's a way to unify with the body of Christ and to do it together and to support one another. Yeah. What? Should I tell this? Yeah, I want to, what? Well, really quick, I do want to say, so David in Psalms 109 verse 24, David said something.

He said, my knees are weak from fasting and I am skin and bones. So it's just, you know, it says all throughout scripture that, you know, like we said, fasting is hard. It's sacrificial. said fasting is hard. It's sacrificial. But in those moments when you are hurting and you ask God to come through for you and he does, I was in bed hurting so bad. And I'm like, Jesus, come through for me, please take it away. Let me sleep. And he comes through and you just have those moments with him where you're like, oh, thank you, Jesus. Like that closeness with him where he comes through for you and he will in that fasting and you just, that bond, it's such an incredible thing. It's beautiful because fasting increases the effectiveness of your prayers and it decreases

the desires of your flesh. Like the authority that you receive in your prayers the it's just everything in your life will amplify spiritually it's the most beautiful thing yeah and it shows you that you're not in control yeah you have you're like you're in this weak moment and you can't be in control my whole life life, I try to control everything. And if you're someone who tries to control your life, fasting is a great way to release that control. And God shows you, you're not in control. I am. So what broke off in your, what were you looking for? What came to you in your fast? If you don't mind sharing. Yeah.

I'm going to tell you guys about. Oh, wait till you hear this story. This is great because I just want you guys to understand that every story we ever tell on here is absolute thousand million percent truth. Truth. Okay. And I have already testified for this. Can I just say one thing? Yeah.

Okay. And I have already testified for this. Can I just say one thing? Yeah. So after I, so after I saw her, I didn't do this two day fast because I looked at her and I, this is before I really knew about, um, no eating, no drinking for two days. And I looked at her and said, you're crazy. Good luck. And after I saw the miraculous change that happened to Angela, I said, when and what time I need to do it. So go ahead. I have never experienced anything like this in my life. So, okay, I'm going to let you guys in on a little something. So I was talking to a guy, okay. And he and I, great person, great situation, like wonderful, wonderful human, um, liked him, liked him. Everything was fine. Everything was good. I was in a situation where I like knew that God, I knew underneath that God wanted me to

be single. I knew it. I know that he does. He did. He does. And he does for a little while until the time is right and whatever he wants. I hadn't been single in literally like a very, very long time. is right and whatever he wants. I hadn't been single in literally like a very, very long time. But I was just honestly, like I had been in relationships for so long that I was really afraid to be alone. And so I kept having kind of what I would describe as like filler relationships. And I knew that God was, he's, it was coming to an end. He was like, you are not doing this anymore enough. Like, first of all, I need need you completely alone to prepare you for the person who is going to be actually in your life how you knew that too I know you did everybody everybody did I knew it I knew it I just didn't want to anyway so I'm talking to this guy and we actually do this two-day fast together and it was such a beautiful

intense situation not together like he was it was like over the phone, like he was not near me. And I go into this fast, liking this guy, thinking everything is good. Right. And like really being like, I just don't, I, I, I just in that moment did not feel like I could be alone. Right. And I also didn't want to, like, I loved being with someone, having a relationship, whatever. I leave the, even throughout the fast, I'm like, okay, like, whatever. I leave it even throughout the fast. I'm like, okay, like this guy. And we are bonding through this fast. There's something spiritual that happens when you fast with someone. It's like when you do spiritual practices with someone, it's really, that's why you have to be careful who you do it with because you really do bond

with that person. And so still throughout it, I'm like journaling and I'm like very happy with the whole situation. Two days. days and my intention I had many intentions for this fast but one of them was God show me if this person is the person for me or if you actually do want me to be alone the way that I'm feeling that I know that you do but like can you make it clear can you get me out of this can you just please just make it so clear like if you don't want me in this it's fine just get me out of it because I'm not strong enough. I wrote that in my journal. I'm not strong enough to get out of it myself right now.

So I need you to intervene on this. Two days later, God himself, it's as if he came down and took whatever feelings, attraction or romantic anything that I had for this person. He took it out of my heart completely. I was floored. Absolutely, I was looking at this person, and I was not looking at them the same. Any feelings that I had for them were gone.

Gone. I thought he was my brother. I was like, what is happening i had no okay can we be real it was just i can't even i was in awe because you typically wouldn't just up and go like you're a writer you You're like a rider. Like, you don't, unless someone really gives you a reason, you stick by that person. Yeah, 100%.

I couldn't believe it. You were like, yeah, I'm done. It was, but you handled it so, it was insane. I literally, it took me about. Two days. It took me two days after for that to happen. And then, but then it took me almost a week to even process what happened. The breakthrough that happened. I mean, talk about, there are some things that can only come out by prayer and fasting, even the

desire and the need to have a relationship. You guys, I was freed from it. I truly with my whole heart thought that I could not be alone. I thought that I would die without having like some sort of male support in my life. It's just been that way for a long time. Watching your growth and because you and I, it's honestly, you guys, miraculous. It has been the biggest blessing for me. I'm not even kidding or trying to be dramatic. Like, I was getting nervous because I was like, I don't know. Because I know how much you love love, you know? And so seeing you be so good on your own is just awesome.

And I knew that I would. I have you out of myself. Yeah. You know I would die if you got a boyfriend what am I gonna do please I can't think about I'll lose it but you don't even you're you're good like you are standing you're I'm so good I'm so I knew that I would be it's just the enemy truly will put things in your head that aren't even real and it's that's why you have to step out in faith in what God is

asking you to do, because when you get there, you'll actually realize that everything that the enemy was putting in your head didn't even come true. He was telling me I couldn't be, that's not, and I know subconsciously I am independent. I have, I have gone through, you know, I do stand good on my own. I know how to be, I can do everything, but he put it in my head that there's just no way. It was so cute. I said to her, are you doing okay? She goes, yeah, yeah, no, God wants me to be on my own. So I'm just, you know, I'm good.

I was like, that is, like, she just can hear God's voice. And when God tells her to do something, she does it. And she doesn't dwell. She doesn't look back. She's just like, yeah, this is what God wants me to do. Oh, it's for a year, too. I go, oh, it's for a year. Yeah, he said he wants me to be single for a year.

I just need to focus. You're so cute. I have a feeling. I think it is a year. I don't know. We'll see. And I don't think that God is literally putting a time stamp on anything, but I know it has to be.

I just simply cannot have any more relationship I just can't have another relationship okay I can't I can't I can't be in the middle I can't when she's in a relationship I'm in a wither and I can't be honest to God I know please don't drag me through the mud anymore. I'm so sorry. No, I'm just kidding. Do you have an, I actually am like, oh, yeah, it's 1030. Wow. Can I just say one more thing about what fasting has done for me? And I think it's the same for you. It has given me such an insane trust in God and in his word that I thought that I had. I thought that I believed what the Bible

said before, but now after fasting, nothing, there is nothing more beautiful than seeing what God says in his word come like manifest in your life. When he says in Matthew 17, 21, however, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting. I literally saw that come true in my life, that there are things that can only come out through prayer and fasting. And there's so many other things. I've seen breakthroughs in my mental health, in many different areas of my life, in my family. Honestly, for Girls Gone Bible,

I think that after a couple of, I've seen some breakthroughs in that. There's just been, God rewards the sacrifice. He gives grace, which is unmerited favor. He will show so much favor. Whatever you do in the secret place, God will reward you openly. I'm not saying to fast to receive a reward. You should fast to want to get close to Jesus, but you will get rewarded. There is so much

blessing that is released. There's so much favor that is released through the sacrifice of fasting. I've seen it in my own life. I've seen beautiful things happen since I started fasting, just favor and favor and favor. And I'm so grateful to God for it. Yeah. I, um, I'll just make this quick because I, um, not only did I feel like I had so many strongholds broken from that fast, but during my fast, I kept asking, what do you want me to, I prayed for you guys a lot and I just said, what should I share? And what, what do you, what do you want me to, what's next? Like, and, and have it come alive in the Bible. And so I just kept reading. And everything I kept reading was about being a servant. I was reading James during my fast, James 1 verse 27, pure and genuine religion in the sight of God, the father means caring for

orphans and widows and their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. And then I kept reading. And then again, Luke 3, verse 11, John answered, Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none. And anyone who has food should do the same. And I just meditated on this, and I meditated on this, and I just want us all to get to the point where we, because listen, beauty and, and, um, beauty and, and so, and attributes and skill and, you know, social media and taking good pictures. Okay. It's, it's all good, but it's all a mirage.

pictures, okay, it's all good, but it's all a mirage. And we know this because when we get it, it's fleeting. It's good for a moment, but when we are a servant and that's what we are called to do, and I want all of us to get to the point where we are helping people. I want you guys, and this is what fasting does. It helps you be more compassionate. It helps you be more kind. It opens your heart up. After my fast, I felt at peace. I felt more patient. I felt more compassionate. I am on this mission right now. I woke up the next day and I'm like, what can I do? What can I do to help others? I want you guys to get to the point where you're putting hands on people, praying for people. I want you guys to be out at a grocery store and you see someone in need and say, hey, can I pray for you? That's if we can all get to that point in our faith where we are servants, because that's what we are called to do. It's so much more than than, you know, being in

business and working and our attributes. It's so much more than that. The most fulfilling thing we can do is be there for one another, help people. And I know you guys, I'm telling you right now, if we can all get there, this world is going to be so good. I want this next generation for all of us to be doing that. And so that's why I just think fasting is so good. I just think fasting is so good. And yeah, I just encourage you guys, even if you're in a hard time, just be there for others. It's going to heal you. It's going to rise you up and it doesn't go unseen.

And those blessings that you are giving to other people are going to come back tenfold. Amen. Yeah. I mean, one of the reasons that fasting has that effect on you to be so kind and good to others is because it causes you to abstain from selfishness. Like even the selfishness of being like, I'm hungry and I'm going to satisfy that hunger. It just takes your attention off of yourself and brings it to God, which brings it to his people. I love that you said that so much. I, you know, Ari and I are

not masters at fasting yet, obviously. There are so many resources online. We also want to encourage you guys to use wisdom when you're fasting. Be aware of yourself. I mean, you know, eating disorders can come into the equation with this. Health issues. You have to be careful. That's you, you know, just use wisdom. I encourage you to do it with other people. If you go to church, talk, you know, with maybe some church leaders and, and, and go online and look up what type of fast could be best for you. I would start maybe with a one day fast, no food, maybe do water, maybe don't, if you can handle it, listen to yourself. And there's a balance between, you know, not listening to the enemy and your flesh that is discouraging you,

but also then making sure that you're safe. That's what's most important to us. Definitely stay safe and be with other people and then look up what kind of different fasts there are. Yeah. Yeah. There's just so much, so much goodness, so much beauty that comes from sacrifice. And God will see it. Whatever you do in the secret place, he will reward you openly. Do whatever God tells you to do. I mean, pray about it. Say, what kind of fast do you want me to do?

And when do you want me to do it? You know? And he will give you those answers. And we'll encourage you guys. I do, you know, maybe we'll even start like a, we'll put it up on the stories. I fast practically every Friday. I'll do no water, no caffeine, nothing, just absolute fast. Maybe you can do just water like Thursday to Friday.

Maybe we can create a thing and do that together, do it once a week. We just. I really want to do a fast with you guys. That would be so fun. We'll probably do it. And I want to hear about all your breakthroughs and what happened. We have to do that.

We're going to figure it out and do that. And we'll put up a box and then... Oh, that's so good. We'll put up a box and say every... Okay, that's so cute. Okay, guys, we love you so much. We hope that this blessed you, that it was educational.

We honestly, we loved doing this. We love teaching. We have a heart to teach because we just love you guys. And our whole mission is that you know Jesus better and that you get closer to him. Oh, by the way, I set up a Facebook community group, a Girls Gone Bible community group that you guys can go and chat and pray together and talk together. And we're going to chime in and help you guys and talk to you guys. If you guys have any other ideas of a community group that you want us to start,

let us know in the comments. But yes, I just started that. So Facebook Girls Gone Bible Community Group. Amen. And also don't forget about the prayers. Write in your prayer requests and then please pray for the person underneath. And honestly, even if you have a word of encouragement for them, write it on their comment. Let's all do this together. It's a community thing. Girls Gone Bible is not us. It is us and him. Thank you guys for loving us the way that you do.

We love you so much. If you knew how much we pray for you guys. We love you guys. We love you guys so much. Why you knew how much we pray for you guys. We love you guys. We love you guys so much. Why do I do that? May the Lord bless you and keep you. May he make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May he turn his face towards you and give you peace.

We love you so much. In Jesus' name. Jesus' name. Jesus name.