More Than My Necessary Food: A Guide to Fasting and Prayer

By Carolyn G. Francis

The Guide to Fasting and Prayer That Will Strengthen Your Spiritual Walk

If you desire to go from glory to glory, faith to faith, and hope to hope, the full recipe to press into His presence is taught in this inspiring book.

As you read More Than My Necessary Food, you will learn to have "table talk" with the Lord. The table

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Jan 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9781637697733

Carolyn G. Francis

Carolyn G. Francis is an anointed woman of God who was baptized in May 1999 and spirit-filled in July of the same year. She is a devoted servant who avails herself in whatever capacity to serve in the ministry. In November 2001, God called her to a forty-day fast in preparation for a greater call. While in fasting and consecration at Heart of God Ministries, in January 2003, she acknowledged her calling in ministry.

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Dedication

This book is dedicated to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. All that I am or will ever be is because of the God that lives on the inside of me.

The book is dedicated to the memory of:

My parents, Robert & Doris Green.

My sister, Dianna Green McDowell.

My grandfather, Rev. Albert E. Simmons.

My cousin, Pastor Delores Hubbard.

Thank you to my mentors:

Evang. Regina Carter and Mother Ruth Harrison.

Thank you to my encouragers:

Min. Vanessa Woodson, Prophetess Robin Hubbard Sherrod, and Evang. Shirl Lewis, for encouraging me to start writing.

Foreword

This book instructs us about the necessity of fasting and praying to maintain a spiritual relationship with God. More Than My Necessary Food serves as a reminder that if you desire to strengthen and deepen your faith in every season of life and develop a muscular faith, then fasting is a necessary requirement for a Christ-like walk with God.

The Church is living in frightening yet exciting times, frightening as to all that is going on in the unregenerate world, but exciting to all that God is doing in the Church. Since the entrance of sin into the universe and the fall of mankind through Adam, God has been seeking to restore mankind (whether Jew or Gentile) back to Himself. This writing shows us how fasting brings us back into right relationship with God.

God has imparted a teaching spirit in Pastor Francis to show the benefits of fasting through her walk with the Lord, stating that it is proactive and not reactive. It is through fasting and prayer that we are prepared to fight the battles that lie ahead. It arms us for spiritual warfare before the storms of life occur. In fasting, we are denying ourselves the pleasures of food or any other form of pleasure that may be satisfying to the flesh for a specified period.

More Than My Necessary Food provides revelation to the hearer and reader. Sacrificing a set time of fasting and praying to God will bring about change in one’s life. When there is a burden in your heart that refuses to go away after praying, don’t stress and run to the comfort foods, but remember to esteem the Word more than your necessary food. There must be space and time for fasting in the life of a believer.

In this book, you will be taught to make fasting and prayer a part of your personal journey with the Lord. He will, in turn, reward you openly, so others will see His glory in your life. This great teaching on fasting and prayer will demonstrate how God’s blessings can overtake you when you fast and seek Him first! This book is a necessary read for growth.

May this text give a greater sense of direction to believers, leaders, and ministers of the body of Christ. I am humbled and honored to contribute to this book. It is my belief that this book will be a blessing to those who desire a special closeness with God our Father. Let those who are seeking fresh fire and for the heart of God rejoice.

As you begin to read this book, you will discover the importance of God’s will for your life as you seek for the face of God. This is a time for the church to understand the significance of reflecting His glory to the world. God wants to purify the chosen to restore supernatural power and grace to the body. So, accept the challenge to fast and pray and bring revival in these last days. Get ready for greater insight!

Blessings.

—Bishop Fred T. Simms, DD

Introduction

Oh, that my words were now written! Oh, that they were printed in a book!

Job 19:23

This book is for all of God’s children who desire a closer walk with God through fasting and prayer. Following the instructions of God, I wrote this narrative to enhance and enrich all who will read it and apply it to their lives. It is my sincere and humble desire to please God in writing this book.

I pray that I have not altered the integrity of the blessed and Holy Word of God in any way through paraphrasing or my explanation at times in certain areas. Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come forever and ever (Isaiah 30:8). Hopefully, if you are ever called or compelled to fast and pray, this book will give you a better understanding. May it resonate in the heart of everyone who reads or hears it.

God called me to fast for forty days before I received my call into the ministry. I remember that I was at my kitchen sink washing dishes. When God speaks, you don’t forget. It was exactly forty days before the end of the year 2001. He spoke to my spirit and said, I’m taking you into 2002 different than you were in 2001. Because I was young in the Lord at the time, I remember calling and asking my Pastor, Bishop Simms, if God would call someone to an individual fast of no meats and fruits and vegetables only. He told me yes, it was like what we call the Daniel Fast, and I completed it with the instructions God gave me.

As I digress, I’m reminded of going to the calendar on the wall and counting it out. God gives precise instructions. Please don’t judge me, but I was thinking no turkey for Thanksgiving and no ham for Christmas dinner. Fasting and prayer have been my covering ever since. So, I humbly say that I am not a novice to fasting. Obedience has its rewards, and now I’m writing about it to help others.

Fasting will bring an anointing that will bring you up to where God is in the spirit realm. It challenges you to go higher in God, from the flesh to the spirit.

I don’t believe you can write effectively about something you haven’t done. I pray that God is pleased with this writing assignment. He gave me the idea for this book a few years ago. It’s my sincere expectation that it will be beneficial to every reader. My vernacular is common, and my writing is simple and easy to understand, so no one should err therein. This is the title and context God gave me, and I have enjoyed writing this book.

While writing this book, I completed a corporate fast with my church and a forty-day Lenten fast. The enemy tried to stop and discourage me with a health scare of cancer for my daughter and myself. Fasting and prayer covered us, and our biopsy results came back benign. I am humble enough to know what I don’t know but honest enough to tell you what I know works. God is so faithful even when we’re not. Fasting and prayer can change things, and it increases your faith in God.

If God has given you anything to do, now is the time to start. We are in a worldwide pandemic that may have begun in late 2019 or the beginning of 2020. Due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus, it has shut a lot of things and places down, and that enabled me the opportunity to write this book. I thank Him for the momentum to complete it. Look at God’s timing! We were quarantined all winter, and He gave me the pen of a ready writer, and this is my first book. God gets all the glory for the things He has done and all He is yet to do!

Disclaimer: I currently lay claim to no fame and declare I am neither a licensed physician nor dietician but someone who relies on the direction and wisdom of the Holy Spirit to guide me during a fast. So, I urge and highly recommend that you please consult with your physician or medical provider before initiating any type of fast. Exercise wisdom and safety to guard your health. Remember that many are called, and there are only a few who are the chosen ones. Make sure that God has called and chosen you to fast. I do believe that God operates in times & seasons. Be ready to move when God beckons you, and don’t miss your moment or your season.

Biblical Fasting and Prayer Explained

The simplest way for me to explain fasting is to say it is going without eating food and/or sometimes drinks for a certain period (hours or days) for biblical reasons. Reasons such as deliverance, obedience, revelation, or self-examination, to name a few. There are many different types of fasts, which can last for one day or up to forty days. Remember, it’s not always about the quantity but the quality. I will discuss some of the types of fasting later in chapter 4 Different Types of Fast.

God created our bodies with a digestive system. The concept is very easy to understand. What we put in is what we get out. The digestive system works with other parts of the body to turn the food and liquid we ingest into building blocks to sustain the needs of the body to thrive. There are four basic food groups: (fruits and vegetables), (meats and proteins), (dairy), and (grains). In my spiritual imagination, I created four basic spiritual nourishment groups: (praise and worship), (the Word), (prayer and repentance), and (love and service). These groups are needed to enrich and support optimal spiritual wellness in the life of a believer.

So, in