transcript

Speaker 1:
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Speaker 2:
[03:00] Thank you.

Speaker 1:
[03:00] Dave Clayton, Pastor Kevin Queen. We are so glad you are both here. Thank you.

Speaker 2:
[03:04] So honored.

Speaker 1:
[03:05] Dave, glad to have you back. It's been a few years. Sorry about that. No, you've been busy.

Speaker 2:
[03:10] It's me.

Speaker 1:
[03:10] Yeah, nobody believes that.

Speaker 2:
[03:13] Nobody believes that. It's a joy to be here.

Speaker 1:
[03:16] Thank you. Pastor Kevin, tell us again. I think we may have talked about this in 2019, but you've got six more, seven more years under your belt. A friendship with Dave. Tell us about the two of your friendship here in Nashville.

Speaker 3:
[03:28] Yeah. When our family moved to Nashville, we really didn't know anybody except for you, Annie. The good news is when you know Annie, you get to know Annie and then everybody in the city. It was actually, we've been here for maybe a year or so, and Dave and I had a mutual friend that was like, you guys need to meet. So I think we met up for coffee. We were supposed to meet for coffee, and ended up having to meet at the church. There were a bunch of books on revival that were on my bookshelf. And Dave was like, you read those books? And I was like, yeah, I love those books. And so he had read a lot of the same books.

Speaker 2:
[04:06] Nerdiest start to friendship.

Speaker 3:
[04:07] That was it. And we knew. That was. And so we really, from that point, we just decided to start to get some pastors together to pray in the city and at the same time to begin friendship. And Dave was like, we're just going to talk on the phone. And so like we talked, he said, I think at one time, he said, we talked on the phone like a bunch of middle school girls. So like we were just, so we just pick up and just share about our day, highs, lows. And it was really in this kind of organic friendship that really this, this partnership for what God's doing in the city, really a partnership in ministry, partnering together, which is really probably unique in that, sadly, maybe unique in that our churches are mile and a half down the road from each other. And, but really has been, I think has been instrumental just even in the heart of God and what he had, what he has for, for been able to be a part of together. It's really special. So, so just grateful for that, for that friendship.

Speaker 1:
[05:02] Dave, talk about that part a little bit because in a lot of cities, towns, the Methodist pastor and the Baptist pastor are not friends because if people switch churches, so does their tithe, so does their Instagram post, so does their whatever. And so, how, how easy or hard is it to be friends with other pastors in the city?

Speaker 2:
[05:25] I mean, honestly, I think it's really easy. Like I think it's, I understand the complexity of it, you know, but I think sometimes the complexity of being friends with other pastors is just built in the wrong worldview. So like when, when you think your job as a pastor is to control a larger piece of the quote unquote market share, then you can't help but view other people as competitors or, you know, but I think when your worldview is, hey, we've been commissioned by God, not just to the city, but to the region, to the nation, to the nations. Like we can't shrink the Great Commission.

Speaker 1:
[05:59] Yes.

Speaker 2:
[05:59] And we can't do it by ourselves. And not only have we been given this huge mission, but we've been given that mission behind enemy lines. We're in the middle of a war, which means if I was on a battlefield and I found out another dude from Georgia came to help me, I'm excited that the dude from Georgia is there. So it's like when, I think when our view is like, hey, we have a mission that's too big for us. We have a battle that's too big for us. And then suddenly we start looking, it's like, hey, where are my friends? Where's the help? Where are the people that God has brought? And so it makes it, I understand why people get stuck in isolation. It makes, I understand it, I lament it, trying to break that in our city. So it's a joy to have like legitimate friends. He's the type of guy, and he is the guy, when I realized I double booked something and thought, oh no, I can't be at staff retreat, our staff retreat. I'm like, Kevin, can you come? Yeah. Can you come? And he jumps in, and our people, it's like, oh, he's one of us. We feel the same about you at Crosspoint. That's the way we feel. So anyways, it's a gift.

Speaker 1:
[07:10] So talk to the pastors who are listening, who wish this existed in their city. What's the first step?

Speaker 2:
[07:17] Well, I think you just have to go first. You have to make the phone call, and you cannot microwave friendship. And so I think a lot of times, is anybody in leadership, they already feel like they have too many relationships to manage and not enough time. And so the idea of going, well, I'm just going to build a friendship that takes a whole lot of time, and you can't microwave it. And so I think what Kevin was referring to, when we first hung out, we said, hey, let's just choose to be like good friends, and now we have to get in the reps. So we're just going to call each other. You don't have to have a reason. I'm just, you know, I'm driving home from the grocery store. I'm just going to check in on you. So let's do the work.

Speaker 1:
[07:57] It doesn't have to be an hour every time. It doesn't have to be.

Speaker 2:
[08:00] No, let's just do the work. Let's decide that we're going to be friends, and then let's do the work. And yeah, so I'd say somebody has to go first. You know, you have to do the work, and it's so worth it. The time though, I would never want to go back to doing ministry, you know, in your own little silo, even within your church, like within our church, we have a huge, just amazing team of people that I'm very close friends with. But I think to get the great commission done in our city and beyond, we have to have friendships that go beyond our little local space.

Speaker 1:
[08:36] That's great. Go first. Our friend John Iacov says, give everyone else the gift of going second. So give the other pastors in your town the gift of answering the phone, because you're going to be the one who calls. That's great. Pastor Kevin, we are here to talk about fasting, and talk about particularly 40-day fast. It is so weird to talk about fasting. Even on our practice day yesterday, I felt so strange being like, now I'm hungry, because it just feels weird. Why is it feels so weird to talk about fasting?

Speaker 3:
[09:05] Yeah. I think that's part of the discipline, even in the way that Jesus set things up. He said, let it be private. Let it be something that you don't broadcast. Don't go and let everybody know what you're doing, because even that practice forms humility. It's obscurity. It's the things where God does the deeper work. I think it, but what you're doing, Annie, and through teaching and through the leadership and through helping people practice, like a coach at the gym would work through. There's this component to it that's necessary in this. Really, I've learned a lot of this from Dave, because Dave has a lot of reps of leading a church through a corporate fast. I remember even coming into the pastoral ministry and never let a church, never let a group of people through that fast, figuring out how do we do this? Maybe that would be helpful even to talk about when we're to set up the framework of how do you lead a group of people through a fast in the same way and talk about something that's so personal and can be so private and do that corporately.

Speaker 2:
[10:24] I mean, I think we're just touching on tension, right? This tension of what's it look like to do this in secret and what's it look like to do in community? And can you do something faithfully in secret while also doing something faithfully in community? And I think a lot of times, it's more of a tension to manage than a problem to solve. But we tend to fall in one ditch or the other. So it's just like me by myself and nobody knows. Or it's everybody knows everything. And I think our world tends to kind of swing on that pendulum. So I think in our community, just trying to figure out, hey, everybody doesn't need to know everything. But it'll probably be helpful if you have a couple of people that know enough to help you walk faithfully into what God's called you to, to spur each other on. So we've tried to just kind of live in that tension between faithful secrecy, faithful community in all things, whether it's prayer or fasting or generosity.

Speaker 1:
[11:23] And when Jesus is so clear of like, keep it to yourself. And yet, we want to, I mean, we saw it when we did it. So we're recording this right after our corporate fast. Everybody's hearing this Monday coming up. So same week. You know, even doing that day, I felt a little bit weird talking about it. But it's also a practice that I learned because I saw other people doing it. Right? So how do we, let's talk about fasting in general in y'all's lives. How often, what are your fasting rhythms? Tell me your like life fasting rhythms.

Speaker 3:
[12:00] Yeah, one of the things that has been helpful for me, and Dave talks about this and you might want to, like what do you do with the rhythms of daily, weekly, monthly, annually? And so I think when I look at fasting in my own life, I try to look, is there consistency too? So I have certain things that I've set up like, okay, this is the fast that I do every week. This is the fast that I do.

Speaker 1:
[12:28] Do you fast every week?

Speaker 3:
[12:29] Yeah, we have, we do a Tuesday prayer time. So, and again, it's strange having the conversation because part of it is like, it's intimate in that there are some things that are just, even with the, even the Lord. So I'll just say there are certain practices that I have, and it may not be every single week, but there is this kind of alarm clock in my soul is that, okay, now is the time to fast because even when we look at like, before our elders meeting, we fast that we take in to that time.

Speaker 1:
[13:03] A meal, a day?

Speaker 3:
[13:04] The day leading in, leading in to. So there's like the monthly. There's the annual, there's part with the, with awaken and with churches coming together. And that's really one of the first things that Dave and I worked on. I remember he shared, he was like, hey, I had this vision, I had this, I didn't feel like the Lord has given to us. So we started talking about it and really calling churches to come together and fast and pray for February. And I love that it's February because there's 28 days in February. That's right, shortest, shortest month.

Speaker 1:
[13:34] Yeah, I'm only going to not do awaken and leap years.

Speaker 3:
[13:36] That's right.

Speaker 1:
[13:37] I'm unavailable for 29 days.

Speaker 3:
[13:38] But there was something about having that annual rhythm that was good as well. So anything you'd add?

Speaker 2:
[13:46] Yeah, every year can be a little bit different, but I found having a few things that kind of keep me anchored. So each month, I typically have a fast that I'm going to lean into each month. That can kind of change throughout the year, the season, the need, the pressure point. But hey, here's what I'm going to do this month. Then typically throughout the year, we do a fast at the beginning of the year that's an extended fast. Then typically at some point in the fall, we'll do some sort of extended fast.

Speaker 1:
[14:18] How many days do you consider extended? What does that mean?

Speaker 2:
[14:21] In various seasons, that can be different. So an extended fast could be three to seven days, depending on the season. Sometimes it's 21 days. Sometimes it's a month. Sometimes it's 40 days. But having something that goes beyond just a few days, where we're going to set aside a period of time to really get with God, go after something with God. So typically when I think about it, what's my fasting rhythm this month and what's my fasting rhythm this year? And then sometimes I get even a little more granular than that and go, hey, do I have a weekly practice? I think in our culture right now, people tend to talk about fasting primarily as a daily practice. So you hear that a lot.

Speaker 1:
[15:01] Intermittent fasting, yeah.

Speaker 2:
[15:02] Right, so I think when our culture thinks of fasting, they almost think of a daily fast because of how it's talked about in the culture. But I've found if I think from big picture to small, that just kind of works for me. And Sydney and I in different seasons will sometimes say, hey, we're going to fast every week for a while for this or because of this. So we just try to evaluate that together.

Speaker 1:
[15:24] Talk for just a second and then we'll jump into these extended fast conversations. Talk for a second about raising kids in homes where there's fasting. How do you model that? How do you invite them into that? It's one of the things that we have talked about a little bit is like, how do you do a practice day with That Sounds Fun Community and the Spirit Stronger Community while you're feeding your kids? And how do you invite your kids in to fasting? What does that look like?

Speaker 2:
[15:51] Yeah, I mean, that's actually been a really rewarding thing for us. Part of the thing that brought Sydney and I into fasting was we were actually like really, really brought us into fasting. We were in Kenya. We were going to be there for a few weeks working with different church leaders. And we showed up with our kids who at the time were four, two and almost one.

Speaker 1:
[16:12] Oh my gosh.

Speaker 2:
[16:13] And so we show up and we're with this community that we've never been with before. And I was blown away by the leaders, blown away by the community, but in particular, our host family, they had kids who at the time were 13, 11 and 9. 13 and 11. Yeah. 13 and 11 years old. And I was watching the way these kids were interacting with the Lord, interacting with their parents, all these things. And we were like, what is the secret sauce? Like what is going on in this family? So one day Sydney and I were talking with our host and we said, what's up? What's the deal? And she said, well, you know, we just came out of a 30-day fast and were like, wow. Like you and your husband. She said, no, the whole church. And I said, what about your kids? She goes, oh, they absolutely fast with us. And I said, okay, help me understand that. And they started explaining. We realized, oh, there's levels, there's things that they're doing, but it was the first time we caught a vision for how fasting with young kids can really set them up, you know, for the future. And so we've loved over the years just taking a small step. I mean, even when they're really little, hey, we're going to fast from snack time today, and we're going to do a prayer walk, or we're going to worship together, we're going to pray for our neighbors. Just little things and inviting them into, how do you discern a fast? How do you decide what you want to do? How do you, and watching that build, and we're still learning, they're still learning, but we thought, man, what if we could give them 18 years of practice? So then when they get out of the house, they figure out how to walk into it on their own. And so that's what we're aiming at, but it's been very rewarding.

Speaker 1:
[17:51] I mean, I started being taught fasting as a freshman in college. So I mean, I'm sure it happened before that in my life, but I remember at UGA, it was just, this is part of our community, a 21-day fast. And I was like, okay. So truly, by the time I was an actual adult on my own, fasting wasn't this ethereal thing. It was like, well, this is what you do. And so I was so thankful that it was written into my code a little bit. Kev, how did you teach? Because you also have daughters and women and fasting and bodies and it can be really hard.

Speaker 3:
[18:23] Yeah, I think one of the things for us, and we probably didn't begin to invite them into it until they were teenagers. So when they were teens and we were here as a church, so it was, it was awesome. But I think being those trusted voices that they can ask the questions, they can have the conversation. So I think that's been one of the things. Moving forward for, I know, for Ree, Daniel Fast is something that's a pathway for her. And so there were times where the kids were invited and they participated in that. And then there were other times where they went on, did their own thing. So we really, we let their interest level and their desire be led to their level of engagement. But now, it is, it really is. And so when I look at, like, you know, Durham who's in college, just even having conversation, talk through. And what's really fun is when, you know, one of the kids will come and say, Hey, I'm thinking about doing this. And so it's not something necessarily that we've that we've set up, but it's something that the Lord has dropped into their spirit. And then to be to be able to be that kind of coach and disciple them through that, that for me is like the most most fulfilling because then they're learning to discern the voice of God. And even to navigate that space with grace, you know, to be that voice of grace, because there's two ways to fall off the gospel horse, right? I mean, it's either through, it's either through legalism or through like licentiousness and just like living like the world. So like, but helping them to walk through these disciplines and these practices with grace is, is one of the most rewarding things as a parent.

Speaker 2:
[20:06] I have this really funny memory. So as a kid, I didn't practice fasting, but I, I watched my parents practice fasting. Oh, wow. And I remember, you know, my dad, one time he was fasting for something. I don't know why. And we had Olive Garden.

Speaker 1:
[20:22] Oh my gosh.

Speaker 2:
[20:23] As a family. And, and we're praying and I grabbed one of those breadsticks.

Speaker 1:
[20:28] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[20:28] And my dad's head is bound and I rubbed the breadstick on his lip.

Speaker 1:
[20:32] Dave on his upper lip.

Speaker 2:
[20:33] Yeah, like true story. And it was, it was hilarious. And, and I like that story. And one of the reasons I think about that often is, you know, now my kids love doing that to me. They think that's the funniest thing. They'll try to rub food on my face when I fast. But the reason I love that story is my dad. He never seemed miserable when fasting. He actually, it's like, and I bet you some of those fast were pretty hard. He was at the dinner table. He was giving up food but not fellowship. He was leaning into God, but he was not angry and short with us. So even though I wasn't learning the mechanics of fasting, my earliest experience with fasting is this makes my dad better. This is rich. So I've told him that before, because sometimes he's like, man, I wish we would have done more mechanics. I'm like, you maybe gave me the best thing you could have given me, which was like, I had to taste and see that the Lord is good. And when you are with him like this, you are good. And so I just think even sometimes there's a lot of pressure on parents. They go, I want to figure out how to do this more with our kids. It's like, well, how do we just let them taste and see the goodness of God? As we're walking with God, how do we give them baby steps? You know.

Speaker 1:
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Speaker 3:
[25:44] Prescribed? No, I don't think so. I mean, I don't think that, I mean, in fact, if somebody came to me and they were like, hey, I want to fast 40 days, I was like, do you really? I did, I did. So I would probably try to talk somebody out of it in the same way that when I felt called to ministry, I had people who tried to talk me out of it and said, if you can do anything but that vocational ministry, go do that. And so that was how I discerned a call. And I think that a 40 days is a substantial amount of time. It's, I think you really want to, you want to count the cost and you want to discern like, is this something that God is calling me to do? Because that's the only motivation. If God and His grace calls you to it, His grace will sustain you through it. But I think that discerning that is just as important as entering into it.

Speaker 1:
[26:40] Yeah, it certainly isn't on a Saturday you think you should do it and on a Sunday you do it. Yeah, no, it is a much longer prep and process. And all three of us have done a 40 day. Yes, I think, yeah. And so Dave, my question is, if Jesus didn't prescribe it to us, then is it something everyone should try? Is this like a, it's not like a goal, right?

Speaker 2:
[27:04] Right, you know, when I think about, and there's tension in this, so you know, as disciples of Jesus, I think on the one hand we go, anything we see Jesus do, we want to do.

Speaker 1:
[27:15] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[27:16] And so I think when Peter saw him on the water, he's like, well, of course I want to get out on the water and walk with you.

Speaker 1:
[27:21] Right.

Speaker 2:
[27:21] So on the one hand, you know, part of discipleship is, I see Jesus doing something and I want to imitate Jesus. And at the same time, we also recognize that within that, there are principles, there are layers, there are, so Jesus calls us to carry our cross.

Speaker 1:
[27:40] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[27:41] But he carried a unique cross, right? And so we know how to do that with, as we follow Jesus, we look at Jesus' life. And so I think one thing is, is we don't want to turn imitation into a prescribed, formulaic pursuit. I think that's really, really dangerous. I think also that it's worth noting, I think especially for whatever reason with Extended Fast, we have this temptation to only hear Extended Fasting through one particular lens. So for instance, and what I mean by that is, somebody will say, oh, 40-day fast, that must mean water only. And I know we're not talking that way, but a lot of times when people start thinking about Extended Fast, they begin to really narrow in on what they even mean by that. So I would say, I think every follower of Jesus would be greatly blessed to give extended periods of time fasting. That doesn't mean they have to fast in one particular way. And I know you've talked about that a lot on the podcast, but I think just keeping that in mind, even as you're thinking about something longer, there's something about that extended time, I'm getting away with God, and I'm gonna let God get all of my attention. You know, fasting is not about us trying to get God's attention. He's already paying attention. So, this is not like one last-ditch effort to get God to pay attention to my needs, my wants, my hopes. Fasting is about us giving God all of our attention. And something happens when we begin giving Him all our attention. So, in that regard, I think every disciple of Jesus should be serious about going, I want to set aside an extended period of time where I'm giving God as much of my attention as I know how to give Him. And what shape does that take in my eating, in my drinking? How do I discern that? Those are really important questions. How do we not be legalistic? But I do think it bless people. I think you need to be really careful about what you jump into. What type of fasting you do.

Speaker 1:
[29:45] Yeah, because there is this, maybe it's not in everyone, maybe it's in competitive people, maybe it's in me the most of like, okay, last time I did seven days of liquid, but I had juice and broth. This time, I'm going to go, but it's not like that, right, Pastor Kevin? There's not like, it's not weights at the gym that we're trying to get. Okay, after I did 21 days three times, now I'll try to do a 40. It's not like that.

Speaker 3:
[30:11] I mean, one of the things I think about when Jesus fasted and prayed for 40 days, Jesus fulfilled all righteousness. So he fulfilled, like whatever it is we're talking about, he already fulfilled it. So the invitation is grace. It's not trying to outdo last time. It's not, well, I'm going to be an ultramarathon. So I would encourage people to just take a deep breath and know Jesus already, he already fulfilled it. But I think when we look at what his 40 days did, what the picture is, is that Jesus fulfilled where the nation of Israel, in the wilderness, when they were wandering and they're grumbling and they're playing in the 40 years, Jesus fulfilled that before his ministry. And I was just, I was thinking this morning about this idea that he's baptized, he's coming from obscurity, from being a carpenter, he's baptized. The Father said, You're my beloved, beloved son with whom I'm well pleased. He receives that word from God in his baptism. Then he's driven. It said the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness where he was tempted, you know, he was tempted by the evil one. For 40 days, there was this preparation period before his ministry. So I think it's helpful to think about extended fasts as being a way that God prepares us for something that he has prepared for us. So maybe if I just put, even when we look at like Moses with his 40 day fasting before the law is received and then afterwards, after, yeah, he goes back up Sinai, fast and pray again, Elijah with the 40 days, there seems to be this pattern of preparation where God will use seasons of preparation almost like in this liminal space, in the space in between in a transition. It's a way that the Lord kind of, that he anchors the soul in that, you're my beloved with whom I'm well-placed. God gave the hug before the fast. You know, what was it he did? Jesus didn't get that from God after the fast. He got it before, but I think God gave him that word to sustain him in that so that he knew and to drive that deep before his ministry began.

Speaker 1:
[32:12] Yeah, that's interesting you say that because when I think of my life, I've never leaned toward, I should do a 40-day fast when I'm making a decision. That is, I should fast tomorrow, I should fast for three days, I should fast for a week. But what, and I'd love for you, tell us about why you have fasted for 40 days before, because it has always been preparation. So maybe when people, maybe this is what people bring into their mind when they're thinking of we're moving to a new city, I'm starting a new job, I'm transitioning to maybe I'm getting married or having kids. Will you tell a little bit about your rhythm?

Speaker 3:
[32:43] Yeah, and with each fast, I think there has been, I mean, I've kind of stumbled my way through it as well. So it's not as clean even in the moment. We can talk about things in the past, like, oh, and I have bad. I mean, I remember, I remember with the first fast, it was from a place of desperation. It was, I think God's calling me to something else. I just don't know what it is. And I need Him to reveal that to me. It was, Ree is pregnant with our first child, and she's carrying this baby. And there's this connection that she has, mind, body, soul, spirit, with this child that's being formed in her womb. And I don't know how to be a dad. And I don't know how to be a husband and a dad. And I've seen that take people out. And so there was this place of desperation that, God, if you don't show up and prepare me, I'm going to screw this up big. I may screw it up, but I need, there was this desperation of, and so one of the prayers that I prayed before Raleigh was in the womb and Ree was carrying Raleigh, I prayed, God, would you change me or change where I'm at? That was a vocational shift. So there was a sense of like, God, there's another call. Would you change me and make me really content where I'm at? Or would you change where I'm at? That was part of it. The other was, would you prepare me to be a daddy? Would you prepare me for that? Would you prepare me to be a husband and a daddy? And so it wasn't because I was great that I did this. It was because I was aware of my brokenness. And like I needed God to help prepare me for that.

Speaker 1:
[34:21] So for each child you did, before you had each kid, you fasted?

Speaker 3:
[34:27] With each of them. With Bolton, I quit early. I stopped early.

Speaker 1:
[34:32] Do you know the story, Dave?

Speaker 3:
[34:33] I do.

Speaker 1:
[34:34] I love this story.

Speaker 3:
[34:35] Sorry, Bolton, I know. You're destined to get 450. I was so tired of it. I was like, Ray, let's have three kids. Three kids are good. And God had called us and He blessed us with Bolton with the fourth. But I remember getting into that and I was just tired of fasting. And I was like, I can't have one that we don't. But I got about 30 days in. I just told Ray, I think I'm done. And I think it's grace. We're good. We're done. And we're so gracious. And she's like, OK, well, if that's what God's given you. And I remember Bolton was probably one and a half, two. And there was just, you know, how it is with any kids. There's just a season of time where it's just hard.

Speaker 1:
[35:18] And meanwhile, you've got a three, five, six year old or something like that.

Speaker 3:
[35:21] So we're all, I think we have four, five and under at the same time. And we had, I was, you know, working on, I was going to school and I was pastoring, you know, pastoring church. And I told Rea, I think I'm done. Well, I stopped. And then here we are a year and a half down the road. And I just remember having a dream. I don't remember what happened in the dream, but I remember when I woke up in that space, kind of when you're, I just remember being burdened in my dream for Bolton. And I feel like the Lord said, I want you to finish the fast. And I remember waking up and being like, ten more days, ten more days. I need to give it ten more days. And I felt like the Lord said, you can, you can give it ten more days, or you can go back and do forty and I'll give you the heart of the finisher. And I knew that was a lie that had been spoken over me when I was, you know, there had been somebody that said, you're a quitter, you know. And I just feel like that was something that the Father orchestrated because he's like, I want to give you something. So it was grace. He was like, I want to give you something that you didn't have before. And I want to break off that lie that was spoken. So I want somebody else to tear up.

Speaker 1:
[36:45] I promise I will. Thank you for telling us that. And can we nut some bolts for just a second before we go to Dave? And all four of those was the eating and drinking the same? Did you do the exact same thing?

Speaker 3:
[36:55] No, no. So there's this Bill Bright, you remember the right campus crusade for Christ. He has a 40 day guide to fasting. And so that was the first fast that I did. And it was very strict. It was water, you would have to make your own juice, you would have to make your own broth if you did vegetable broth. And so it was a very strict, with each with each fast, I began to understand, manage that tension of how to not stay focused on the intake. And so I gave myself a little bit more latitude of like what liquids. So for me, it became like a liquid-based fast that I just over time began to kind of dial in what fasting works best for my body. And so, yeah.

Speaker 1:
[37:47] Dave, tell us when some of your 40-day fast times and why.

Speaker 2:
[37:53] You know, initially it really started as just sort of a, it felt like obedience and consecration. And I would say the idea of preparation, I love that connectivity between preparation. And I think I kind of grabbed on to that later on in my journey. But initially, it was just recognizing that idea of consecration. It's like, man, there is still just too much of the world in me. You know, just feeling that, it's amazing. God gets the people out of Egypt quickly, and then takes a long time to get Egypt out of them. Yeah, right. And just realizing, it's like, man, God, you have rescued me. And there's still so many parts of me that do not look like you. And so I think my first venture into extended fasting started primarily just about consecration. God, I'm not as hungry for you as I want to be, because I have satisfied my soul on the junk food of the age. I've just gotten so used to being full on things of the world. And so I think it really began in that place of consecration. You promise, if I hunger and thirst for you, I will be filled. But before there's the filling, there has to be a hunger and thirst. And I'm not as hungry as I want to be. That's good. And not in a legalistic way, but just like, Lord, consecrate me. Set me apart. So part of it was about that. And then another part of it was this idea of obedience. And once again, I'm not saying obedience, like you have to do a 40-day or a 21-day fast to be a follower of Jesus. More this idea of, God, am I willing to do things that don't always make sense with my logic, simply because I see you doing them and see you talking about them? And so I think what I realized is there were two, and this is still true, but when I started fasting more regularly, I realized there were still too many places in my life where it was like that bottom-shelf obedience. You know, it's like with our boys, I'm like, hey, if you only obey me because what I asked you to do made sense to you, then you actually didn't obey me. You just, you did what I said because it lined up with what you already wanted to do.

Speaker 1:
[40:15] Yikes, Dave!

Speaker 2:
[40:16] It's like true obedience. True obedience is, dad, I think you're nuts. I don't want to do that, but you love me and you've asked me to do it, and I'm going to do it. And I realized I have, in way too many spaces of my life with God, just flowed in that place of casual lower-shelf obedience. And so, you know, Jesus looks at his disciples when they're getting, like, basically ridiculed for their lack of fasting. And he says, well, this isn't the season for it. He goes, but that's coming. And he doesn't say, if you fast one day, he says, hey, when you fast, like, this is going to be a part of your life. And I just thought, okay, Lord, that is not a part of my life. And so, for me, it started with consecration and obedience. And then that idea of preparation really began to come in like, oh, wow, okay. We have kids that are moving into the next season of life. How do I prepare for that? Oh, Sydney, hey, we're discerning this. I wish I would have had the framework, perspective, wisdom to do some extended fasting before our kids were born. I didn't have that piece then. So it's like, okay, Lord, I didn't have that then. But I have that as I'm going into middle school, as I'm going into high school. I wish I had it then, but I have it now. So Lord, how do we walk it out now? And so that preparation piece came on later for me. But I would say now it's some combination of all three. I don't know that I ever go into a fast like, man, I'm so pumped for this.

Speaker 1:
[41:57] I am usually the first two meals. And extended fast, you're like, here's day one, let's crack it out. And then day 18, you're like, I ate everything.

Speaker 2:
[42:05] But the weird part is, and I know you've experienced this, you know, there's, you know, fasting is associated with mourning for a reason, with loss for a reason, because there's like that just kind of gradual death to self day after day. So I don't ever as a very comfortable, you know, self-managing type of person, I don't look forward to that kind of journey usually. But you get into it and you meet God in such unique ways, then you begin to go, oh, this is awesome. And so it's crazy is now here we are, we've been fasting as a church corporately for like 10 or 11 years now. And it's amazing how now as we approach a fast together, I see people like, like perking up. Because they go, well, the fast, that is going to be hard. But man, God did this and God did this and God did this. And remember when God did this. And so now our primary association, kind of like when I think about my dad fasting as a kid, or my mom fasting, my primary association is, man, that brings out God's best in us. And so I have started thinking about long fasts, less about what I have to let go of, and less about what I'm going to lose, and less about, I mean, that stuff's all there. But it's more like, man, what are we going to, what are we going to take hold of? Or maybe more importantly, who's going to take hold of us again? What's going to happen? So that's begun to shift.

Speaker 1:
[43:30] I've never cried at the end of a fast, except the one time I did 40. I cried this Saturday before Easter. And I was like, I will, I can't believe I get to eat tomorrow, that like food is just available. But also to our friends, I'd say there's a lot of research around how you exit fast and how you enter fast are really important. So you don't go the next day and eat a pizza for sure. Well, if you want to be sick as a DOGG, you can, but-

Speaker 2:
[43:55] Some choices have been made.

Speaker 1:
[43:57] Yeah, yikes, Cam. But I remember standing at Crosspoint and just feeling so teary and crying, being like, but will God and I go backwards? This has gotten me to a place I didn't know. I think what I've learned in that, I'm going to write more about my fast on our, it's spirituallystronger.com, so we don't need to talk about mine. But I'm going to write about it this week. But I think I've learned that fasting doesn't accelerate you toward God and then back you up. It accelerates you and then that's your new starting point. It just kind of like you go and then you plateau and then you go and then you plateau versus climbing up a mountain and then sliding back down for the next month or whatever. Has that been y'all's experience that it accelerates you and your relationship with God?

Speaker 2:
[44:46] I think it can. I've had seasons where it worked, maybe not the fasting piece, but I've definitely had seasons where I went backward.

Speaker 1:
[44:58] Really?

Speaker 2:
[44:58] Yeah. I think that had less to do with the fast and more to do with my immaturity. What happened is I allowed myself or stretch myself out, and I did not think about how to come back. I really opened myself up to the enemy and my flesh. I think when we're walking in maturity and in community, what you described is exactly how it's supposed to be. Because I think they're supposed... I almost imagine like an infinity symbol.

Speaker 1:
[45:31] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[45:31] And I think the Christian journey, I think marriage, I think parenting, friendship, I think fits in this infinity circle symbol. On one side, you have consistency. The other side, you have intensity. And I think in every area of growth, we need both consistency and intensity. And so when I... I think the areas, the times when I really kind of hurt myself or maybe went backwards, it's when I had intensity without any plan for consistency. And so it's like the person who in marriage spoils their wife and takes her on an amazing anniversary trip, and then he doesn't talk to her for a year. It's like, that's not going to work, brother. You can't have intensity without consistency. But at the same time, if you have consistency, you do all the daily stuff, but you never have moments where you just get stretched a little. You also get stuck there. So I think you need both for those things to work together. I think fasting is a lot like a season of plowing and planting. And I used to expect it to be a season of harvest. So I would expect, oh, I'm doing a long fast. I'm going to get, get, like all this stuff. And I do think God rewards us with some quick fruit to bless our hearts. But I think so often it's actually the downstream. It's like you are reaping. So what you're talking about, I think, is it's that downstream, you know.

Speaker 1:
[46:57] When I teach about fasting, I often say there are times where you are merely putting money in a bank and God will write that check whenever God wants to. So I mean, it was, I fasted in the spring and that August, that July or August, I was sitting in an event and the Lord said, we fast for moments like this. And I was like, oh, you're about to write the check for the time I, and so I'm always like, put in that bank account, Lord, whatever you need. Because when Jesus said, these only come out by prayer and fasting, we don't know that he was fasting right then.

Speaker 2:
[47:26] Right.

Speaker 1:
[47:26] So there's some sort of deposit.

Speaker 2:
[47:29] Right.

Speaker 1:
[47:29] There's some sort of bank account that God can pull from, that you don't have to be fasting right in the moment for fasting power to be used.

Speaker 2:
[47:38] That's it. That's it. And I think that's the, I think that's kind of that key behind that Mark 9 moment.

Speaker 1:
[47:45] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[47:45] You know, on both ends, you know, I think his fasting gave him, or was part of the thing that unlocked that power in the moment.

Speaker 1:
[47:53] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[47:54] And then in the same way, you know, he doesn't say, hey, if you pray and fast, then these things happen instantly either.

Speaker 1:
[48:00] Yeah, that's right.

Speaker 2:
[48:01] In that same, I still think strongholds are broken. I think the enemy is dealt with in the context of prayer and fasting. So for those moms and dads that are listening, they still have that prodigal who's 10 years in, and they're praying and fasting for strongholds to be broken. Jesus is a truth teller.

Speaker 1:
[48:17] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[48:18] He only tells the truth.

Speaker 1:
[48:19] Yes.

Speaker 2:
[48:20] And I think sometimes I bring so many of my expectations. I did the fast, I did the thing. I haven't seen the shift, I haven't seen the breakthrough. And he's like, I'm keeping the promise. Yeah, but you just keep walking with me, so I feel that tension in almost every fast.

Speaker 1:
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Speaker 3:
[51:38] Yeah, I think that's part of the process of discerning the voice of God. I mean, I really think that the journey of discerning God's voice, I think God always sounds like love. Like, I mean, his motivation is always love. And so, I would encourage somebody, you know, don't start with 40. Start with a pray and ask, is it a one day? Is it a three day? Is it a seven day? Like, start there so that you can begin to discern His voice. I think that would be a first step. I think there are...

Speaker 1:
[52:13] And that's less about earning your way to the next one and more about learning the rhythm.

Speaker 3:
[52:17] Learning the rhythm and learning the voice of God.

Speaker 1:
[52:19] And hearing, yeah, that's great, Kevin.

Speaker 3:
[52:20] If God calls you to a one day and you fulfill a one day, like that, your obedience is what matters. And so, that's the same as if God calls somebody to a 40 day and they fulfill.

Speaker 1:
[52:30] I mean, I've had threes that were harder than sevens.

Speaker 3:
[52:33] Right.

Speaker 1:
[52:33] Have you all? I mean, like, I've had threes that about wore me down.

Speaker 3:
[52:36] Yeah. And I think the timing and when it is and look at the calendar, I think there's wisdom. I really do think it's a count the cost. I think it's, it's looked just like the person who's building the house and they don't count the cost and all this, there's the foundation. You know, you drive by that same foundation, you're like, hey, something happened. So I just think the discernment, I think having somebody who's a little further down the road that you can have, hey, I'm praying about this. Would you pray about this with me? Here's what I think, I think while it is something that is a secret, it is something that's private, at the same time, I think there's a great value in relationships and even in the discernment of the process.

Speaker 1:
[53:15] Yeah, who do you tell? When I did mine, I told you, I met with you before, I met with my counselor before, I met with my doctor before, and I kept all three of you updated the whole time. Who do you guys tell when you're going to do an extended fast beyond maybe one or three days? Who needs to know?

Speaker 3:
[53:33] Yeah, that's a good question.

Speaker 2:
[53:35] You know, Sydney and I, I mean, these are things we discern together, my life, and Kevin and I, and then some of the guys that I walk in close discipleship with. That doesn't always mean we talk through every detail of the fast. Sometimes it's just as simple as, hey, I'm getting ready to enter into a season. Would you pray with me? Check in, see how I'm doing. I think I mentioned this earlier, but I do think it's key, you know, even with the 40-day fast, you know, sometimes I'll encourage people, it may be, you're just giving up lunch every day for 40 days.

Speaker 1:
[54:07] And that counts as a 40-day fast.

Speaker 2:
[54:09] That's a 40-day fast. Hey, I am fasting from sun up to sundown. I am, you know, because if you've ever had one of those moments where you go on vacation and it takes you a few days to unwind before you relax, you know.

Speaker 1:
[54:22] And then you have to turn around and come home. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2:
[54:24] So sometimes the idea of an extended fast is, hey, you're just trying to give God space to get your full attention again. And so, you know, even just making a shift over an extended period of time, having somebody to check in on, you know, I find that to be more important than what are all of the rules about what I'm letting go of or what am I... It's more about, hey, I'm trying to just give God space and in whatever space I'm giving him to then dedicate that space back to him. So if I'm giving up lunch, then I want to use lunch for him. I'm not going to now work through my lunch, you know. Which I've done that before. There's times where I have been so focused on what I'm letting go of, I never let God into that space. And those are the worst kinds of fasts. But when I can...

Speaker 1:
[55:10] Oh, yeah, because then you're just hungry and mad.

Speaker 2:
[55:12] It's like I'm hungry and I'm mad. I don't feel any closer to God. It's like, no, the purpose is to connect with God.

Speaker 1:
[55:20] I've gotten to the end of fasts and been like, that was a waste. I just didn't eat and I didn't have an additional eight minutes in prayer. And it was so frustrating.

Speaker 2:
[55:28] Right. Yeah. I've done that so many times. So I think just thinking that long game, having a few friends that know so they can pray, so they can ask, but less about the mechanics and more just...

Speaker 1:
[55:40] Yeah, we're not looking for accountability.

Speaker 2:
[55:42] No, no, no. Yeah. And that's one of the primary differences. But what you're asking, you're asking questions like, hey, is God getting your attention? How can I be praying for you? Where are you experiencing warfare? How can I help you create space? You know, so with Sydney and I, it's like, hey, what do I need to do so you can have more time with the Lord today?

Speaker 1:
[55:59] Yeah. Oh, that's great.

Speaker 2:
[56:01] One of the things that we've tried to do in our extended fast is we try to take a family prayer retreat. And that's maybe a whole other conversation.

Speaker 1:
[56:09] That's really cool, though.

Speaker 2:
[56:10] But what we try to do is to go, hey, let's believe that God's gonna do something fun and meaningful in this season. So they have that memory of, hey, as a part of this, we get away. And that's a way that we try to help spur each other on in it.

Speaker 1:
[56:25] Who do you tell, Kev?

Speaker 3:
[56:29] I ask myself, who needs to know?

Speaker 1:
[56:31] Yeah.

Speaker 3:
[56:32] And that's usually family.

Speaker 1:
[56:34] And then maybe the people you're sitting at a table with. Yeah.

Speaker 3:
[56:37] One or two close relationships. And I have to tell, if somebody's helping me organize a calendar or something. So I try to go back to that.

Speaker 1:
[56:47] That's great.

Speaker 3:
[56:48] Tell the people who have to know, who need to know. And then there is joy in the secrecy.

Speaker 1:
[56:54] Yeah.

Speaker 3:
[56:55] I think that's part of, because anytime you do tell somebody, I think if Henry Nowen wrote a book, In the Name of Jesus. And in that book, he talks about the three temptations of the wilderness for Jesus. And the first one is to be relevant. The second is to be spectacular. And the third is to, it had to do with like the kingdom, you know, he talks about with the kingdom's ambition, yeah. Which all three of those are kind of some of the temptation that we're talking about with fasting. And so I just think, I think fasting is this rebellion or this resistance against this cultural thing that I have to tell everybody, everything all the time. So I just like, don't miss the goodness of what God's gonna do in the obscurity. And like he talks about, go ahead and put on your cologne, your perfume, like have joy on your face, let somebody put a breadstick under your nose. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But like that joy, let that joy be the marker of the presence. It is my least favorite discipline and most fruitful. Like it is least favorite. I love to eat and I love to work out. I love some of the things I love.

Speaker 1:
[58:12] Right, you lose both.

Speaker 3:
[58:15] But both of those things can be addictions and really idols in my life. And so like what fasting does is it breaks down some of those idols, but then fasting can become an idol. It can become the thing that I'm about to.

Speaker 1:
[58:30] Being real proud of myself. I don't even think anybody else would have known, but it was an idol in my brain of like, well, I know how much I fasted in the last year. And that was like, ooh, girl.

Speaker 3:
[58:39] So I feel like what the Lord is telling me is helping me understand is that really the goal of all of it, whether you're eating or drinking or fasting, like focus on Christ, that any noise that goes down, that we would focus on. And Dave wrote a book on fasting.

Speaker 1:
[58:59] Yes, I was going to ask you, is that still available, Dave?

Speaker 3:
[59:01] Yes, it is still available.

Speaker 2:
[59:03] No, it's not. It is.

Speaker 3:
[59:04] It's not?

Speaker 1:
[59:05] It was on Amazon.

Speaker 3:
[59:08] He takes a lot of this. It's been really helpful for us as a church to offer it as a resource for people to begin to understand. And what I love about, he wrote it in such a way to help people who were new to fasting and help churches that were new to fasting.

Speaker 1:
[59:24] What's the title, Dave Clayton? Say it out loud.

Speaker 2:
[59:26] I do not want to say it.

Speaker 1:
[59:27] I know you don't. That's why I'm here.

Speaker 2:
[59:30] Do I have to say it?

Speaker 1:
[59:31] No. We're going to find it.

Speaker 2:
[59:36] We're going to link to it. Revival starts here.

Speaker 1:
[59:38] That's it. Revival starts here.

Speaker 2:
[59:39] Yeah. No. But I feel we're talking about it. I wasn't even trying to write a book. When I wrote it, I was really just trying to give some practical for everyday people in our church who go, I want to fast. That's a whole other thing. But the thing that you were saying about the temptation of Jesus, it's interesting in the fast, in Jesus' fast, the loudest voice seemingly was the voice of the enemy. And I just think there's just something so interesting about this whole conversation. And it's so important. The Lord led him there. You know, the father led him there to do something. The enemy shows up to try to steal it, as he always does. And I think sometimes even in extended fasting, there is this sense that even sometimes to move forward, I have to move backward. And so, okay, you know, last time I did 21 days, you might need to practice doing 7 days this time, simply to break the temptation of the enemy. Or last time you did juice only, this time do juice and a hamburger. Whatever it is, just to not let the enemy get his voice, his claws into those spaces. And it just takes...

Speaker 1:
[61:07] Yeah, because my pride would let me, I mean, I remember so clearly a couple of years ago going, okay, last time I just did juice, I did juice or whatever, this time, I'm going to do only water. And I was like, who am I competing against? And do I actually think God is going to listen or respond more if the liquid is clear than if it is from a fruit? No, what am I doing? And so I had to, and I've had to deal with that, Dave, of like, if you only do three days, only do three days. And the three day one crushing me. I mean, I remember when I did the 40, I would tell Kevin, I'd be like, man, these teens are easy. And then I got to 20s, I was like, I'm dying. And then you get in the 30s and you're like, this is easy. And then 36, I mean, I would text Kevin almost every day, be like, because he had been there before me. And I was dying. Now, I have never talked about this publicly. This is my first time ever talking about this publicly. And it was almost a decade ago. But it just was such a, after I did that, I've never felt one time that I wanted to do that again. I thought that was for that. And that's what we've done. And I've gone backwards ever since then. And so it's good for you to remind us that the enemy would like to convince us it's a competition, it's a game, it's a you will get more if you give more.

Speaker 2:
[62:22] Hop into the ride all the time.

Speaker 1:
[62:24] That's right. And that's not it. That's not it. Kev, what have we not said about extended fasting that you think we should say? I mean, I feel like we're just cracking the nut, but there's so much more to say.

Speaker 3:
[62:34] Yeah, I think it's hard for us to talk about. I think acknowledging, like, it's hard to have a conversation. And so what I would hope is somebody listening that they wouldn't, that if they put us on a pedestal for doing a certain, that I would climb right down off that, in the same way that Dave didn't want to talk about this book.

Speaker 1:
[62:56] Oh, Danzé has looked at him.

Speaker 3:
[62:57] But that's the very reason that I want somebody to read that book, because it was written with that heart of like, I can't, so I think you and I were talking about, Dave can't have a cup of coffee with everybody.

Speaker 1:
[63:10] That's right.

Speaker 3:
[63:10] But he can share the, but it's the same message that he would share across the table with a cup of coffee with somebody. And so it was written with that heart. And so that's the reason that I think it's so helpful.

Speaker 1:
[63:21] And we need y'all to talk about it today. The three of us needed to share our experiences because the only way people learn to fast is by hearing other people. We only know it existed because Jesus did it. So I appreciate y'all pushing past your humility that you both carry much more than me to share with us your 40 day journeys and your fasting journey.

Speaker 2:
[63:43] I love the way you're so good at this, Annie. Like you take things that matter like this, like fasting, all the disciplines that you've been walking through and you bring them to people in ways that they can grab hold of it. And so you're so good at that. These conversations, it's worth moving through the tension. It's worth figuring out, how do you talk about it? How are you faithful? Because I think it blesses people's lives. It shifts things in the unseen realm. I think it connects us to the Father's heart.

Speaker 1:
[64:15] You know I love that stuff. The Joan of Arc in me loves that it shifts things in the spiritual.

Speaker 3:
[64:19] And I think there are addictions. I think there are addictions that people are carrying. And the lie that they've told themselves or that the evil one has said is that I'll always be able to remember the last time. Like I'll always be able to remember the last time. And there are going to be fasts that are embarked on, whether it's one day, seven day, three day, 21, following that they will not be able to remember the last time. That God will break off through prayer and fasting, break the stronghold and the yoke of whatever they've been carrying, walking through. So I just want to encourage people, the break through that your heart, not because you earned it with a fast, but because you were obedient and it gave opportunity for an open heart surgery that God wanted to do with the scalpel in a way that only He could do. And so, Annie, I also realized it takes a special gift on a podcast called That Sounds Fun to have a conversation about 40 day fast. I mean, there are a few things that may seem-

Speaker 1:
[65:24] That may not go together.

Speaker 2:
[65:25] Does that sound fun?

Speaker 3:
[65:26] Yes, that's right. But you do that so wonderfully.

Speaker 1:
[65:30] I'm very kind.

Speaker 3:
[65:31] It's in that space.

Speaker 1:
[65:31] Yeah. It just matters to me that, like, I don't think I knew humans on earth faster for 40 days until Kevin started telling us about the fast he did for his kids. And I was like, oh, this is something we still do. And then I'd listen. Yeah. I'm telling the whole story, writing the whole story today. But you even acknowledging that that was something that was possible gave me years later when I felt invited to it, I realized it wasn't impossible. So thank y'all for doing this today because there may be people, like you said, there are people who need a breakthrough and they've been wondering what they can do and an extended fast is one way to do it. And that does not mean you do not have to, you can't eat one single thing for 40 days, is whatever the Lord calls you to.

Speaker 2:
[66:17] Absolutely.

Speaker 1:
[66:18] That's really good. Okay, is there anything we didn't say, Pastor Dave?

Speaker 2:
[66:22] I don't think so. I mean, probably.

Speaker 1:
[66:25] But you covered it in the book. Revival is here. So well done. That's how they sell them. I didn't tell you about Chapter 8, but you can read it in the book. Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[66:33] Hey, you got me.

Speaker 1:
[66:34] That was a good one.

Speaker 2:
[66:35] That was really good.

Speaker 1:
[66:37] Pastor Kevin, as we ask you to do a lot. Well, first I want to know what sounds fun for both of you, but then will you close us by praying for us as we do that. But first, Dave Clayton, because the show is called That Sounds Fun, tell me what sounds fun to you.

Speaker 2:
[66:49] Summer. The Claytons, we are at our best in the summer.

Speaker 1:
[66:53] Are you outside people?

Speaker 2:
[66:54] Yeah, all the time.

Speaker 1:
[66:56] Love it.

Speaker 2:
[66:57] Can't wait for summer.

Speaker 1:
[66:58] Okay, good. KQ.

Speaker 3:
[67:00] Yeah, Bolton is playing a lot of golf. So Bolton is our 16, almost 17-year-old, and he has golf tournaments. So it is the most fun to be a spectator at those tournaments, to be able to walk and have a front row seat. There's no other sport like it where you get to walk with, and if a ball is over on the side, you get to help him find that. So I am having so much fun with that.

Speaker 1:
[67:22] I mean, the first time you were on the show, your oldest was an eighth grader, seventh grader?

Speaker 3:
[67:28] Yeah, eighth grade.

Speaker 1:
[67:28] Eighth grade. Now all you got left at home is one. You got three launched.

Speaker 3:
[67:33] Yeah.

Speaker 1:
[67:33] That is really cool, and they're all wonderful. His youngest keeps talking to me and JW about going on double dates with him and his girlfriend, who we love too. I'm like, yeah, anybody who asks will go.

Speaker 2:
[67:43] Sounds like a role model.

Speaker 1:
[67:44] We're very interested. We're very into it.

Speaker 2:
[67:47] I love that. That's awesome.

Speaker 1:
[67:49] That's awesome. Thank y'all for doing this, and thanks for what you model for us in a lot of ways. But I appreciate us having this conversation just to give people the chance to get curious that God might invite them someday to do more than they've ever heard anybody do. So now they've heard. Pastor Kevin, will you pray for us for people discerning that, for people, the people particularly that were on your heart that need a breakthrough and break away from? Yeah, would you just pray for us?

Speaker 3:
[68:13] I'd love to, I'd honor. Father, we thank you for that word that we have that you spoke over Jesus who needed to hear it, that you are my beloved. So I pray for those today that need to hear that word that you are my beloved. God, I pray that every person in earshot of this conversation would know their belovedness in you, their belovedness to you, that they would rest in your love. God, I thank you for the open heavens and I thank you for the dove. And so I pray for open heavens over hearts. I pray for the dove, that the Holy Spirit would just rest on hearts. And I pray, Holy Spirit, that you would guide people to the next step of obedience that you have for them in preparation of a calling, of a task, of an assignment, or even just preparation for a deeper walk with you. So we pray for a deeper walk. Jesus, you said, I have come so that you would know the one who sent me, that that is eternal life. And so I pray for eternal life now. I pray for revival now. I pray for every heart that would take that first step into obedience. God, would you take them deeper in you, deeper in love for you, deeper in love for others? And God, I pray, we do together, we pray for breakthrough over hearts, that you would break off things that need to be left behind and breakthrough toward the future. And God, would it be your grace, your grace that calls, your grace that sustains, and God, the grace that would give that heart of a finisher. I pray in Jesus' name, Amen. Amen. Thank you. Thank you.

Speaker 1:
[69:59] Okay, what do you think? What do you think about extended fasting? Again, over at spirituallystronger.com, I'm telling you my story of the only time I have ever fasted for 40 days and what God did for me in that. In my experience, it was wild. You can head over to social media though. Thank Pastor Kevin and Pastor Dave for being on the show with us. And we'd love to hear more of your thoughts. The comments at Spiritually Stronger are like the good old fashioned blog comments. You guys, you gotta jump in there with us. Again, that's spirituallystronger.com. And if you want any of our resources, you should join us there. Remember that we have got a fasting practice resource. If you want to practice any day, we've got it there. We've got four more coming for you before the summer. So make sure you are a part of the community at spirituallystronger.com. If you have any questions from this episode, just drop them in the Q&A box on your Spotify app. If you're a Spotify listener or send them to us at Instagram, That Sounds Fun Podcast, we will try to answer them there. If you need anything else from me, you know I'm embarrassingly easy to find. Annie F Downs on Instagram, Twitter, X, whatever, Facebook, TikTok, and you know I'm loving that substack. Anywhere you need me, that's where you can find me. I think that's it for me today, friends. Go out or stay home, do something that sounds fun to you. I will do the same today. What sounds fun to me? Listen, my whole team from the That Sounds Fun Network is sitting out in our office, and what sounds fun to me is getting to be with everybody and plan for the next forever. With That Sounds Fun Network. So if you haven't checked out the other shows on the network, there are a lot to be seen. thatsoundsfunnetwork.com. Y'all have a great week. We'll see you back here on Monday. We have finished our fasting conversations. We're going to take a little break before we jump into our next rhythm, our next practice. And we're going to talk with our friends, David Thomas and Sissy Goff. Oh, get ready. This is going to be a good one. We'll see y'all Monday.