"Why a Bridegroom Fast?”

For your Maker is your husband,

The Lord of Hosts is His name;

And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel;

He is called the God of the whole earth.

For the Lord has called you

Like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit,

Like a youthful wife when you were refused,”

Says your God.

Isaiah 54:5-6

Every young girl dreams of her wedding day.

But scripture teaches of a Bridegroom who waits in even greater anticipation of His wedding day than the Bride - it is our Bridegroom and Coming King, Christ Jesus!

And you are His chosen bride.

To develop authentic intimacy with Jesus, we must keep first things first. In short, we must give our relationship with Him the priority it deserves. We can’t expect to walk in closeness with Christ if our relationship with Him falls second in line to others, or to other activities and distractions.

He deserves First Place!

For example, when we wait to spend time with the Lord until later in our day, our bodies and hearts are completely exhausted; He is not fully honored, and we sabotage our ability to draw love and life from Him and be refreshed. When we’re exhausted, we are not in a place to authentically engage with Him. We’re just going through the motions. But He’s looking for sincerity and hungry hearts.

Jeremiah 30:21 reads, “For who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto Me? saith the LORD.”

Engaged means to be ‘busy and occupied,’ and it also means to ‘formally agree to marry.’ The former definition implies a focus and preoccupation with something (or someone), and the latter speaks of covenant, devotion, and oneness.

The Lord is looking for hearts that are deeply devoted to Him! He searches for those who walk the talk by giving the necessary time it takes to get to know Him intimately. He longs for those who willingly enter into a covenant with Him in a beautiful, sacred, intimate, trusting love relationship, as that found within marriage.

When we commit to placing the Lord first in our lives, He is honored, glorified, and loved well, and we will find ourselves living in authentic oneness with Him.

But be warned, we can expect to have an immediate fight on our hands – first in our flesh, and secondly from the enemy of our soul, who will do anything to stop us from pursuing Christ and giving Him true worship and devotion. Dedicated times of fasting and prayer not only build our relationship with Jesus, but it also strengthens us to withstand the enemy.

But isn’t fasting hard and prayer tiring?!

Be encouraged and rest assured that the Lord has empowered you with His Grace, in the person of the Holy Spirit, to make you more than an overcomer!

The sweet reward of His Presence far outweighs any struggle we may initially face.

Your Bridegroom waits in great anticipation of your coming unto Him in prayer and intimacy! He longs to hold first place in our hearts. Finally relinquishing the first place in our heart guarantees He receives the whole of our heart — and that is the marriage bed of Holy Intimacy with Jesus.

At Oasis, we are a body of believers who have committed to pursuing Jesus above all else; We desire to become a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit, so beginning in April 2023, we will begin '“fasting and gathering” on the first, second, and third of every month for a corporate Bridegroom Fast. We desire to reach ever higher in our pursuit of His Presence. We believe that these corporate fasts and prayer gatherings will consecrate our hearts unto our Bridegroom at deeper levels, as well as make us more united in oneness with one another at Oasis.

The degree to which you decide to fast is up to you.*

Perhaps you can fast from food entirely for the course of the 3 day fast, or perhaps you can only skip one meal daily - to whatever degree you participate, you will be blessed. Some may opt to fast from media, entertainment, or other means of distractions. We bless whatever level of fasting you choose, but we do ask that you take extra time for prayer, both throughout your day (perhaps over your lunch hour) and in the evenings so that we might minister to our beautiful Bridegroom corporately. We believe the Lord is going to encounter you in greater ways than ever before as you consecrate yourself to Him in this way.

Please plan to join us for our evening prayer gatherings from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd of each new month.**

This corporate fast is a call to all ages and all groups.* Children and teens are welcome to join us. No childcare will be provided. We believe the Lord will encounter these young people as they pursue the Lord as well.

*Fasting is safe for most adults, but there are always exceptions. Please proceed with caution. (We discourage children from fasting food.) Depending on your health status, you may need to consult your qualified medical professional in order to participate in the fast safely.