What is Bidden en Vasten RK? ?
Bidden en Vasten RK is an organization that organizes conferences several times a year. Through these conferences we want to bring people to a personal encounter with Jesus. In these conferences, we see God transforming lives through the power of the Holy Spirit. We also aim to bring prosperity and renewal to the Catholic Church. Read more about our goal
Bidden en Vasten RK was created in 2019 after a number of Catholic young people themselves prayed and fasted for ten days.
Read more about our origin
What is fasting?
Fasting is stopping or cutting back on something for a certain period of time. Fasting often means not eating and/or drinking less, but using the internet less, gaming, going out or spending money are also forms of fasting.
It is a practice that appears frequently in the Bible, both in the Old and New Testaments. For example, Moses fasted before writing the Ten Commandments (Exodus 34:28), Daniel fasted after receiving a heavy message (Daniel 10:3), and Jesus fasted for forty days in the desert, being tempted by the devil. (Matthew 4:2). In the Bible you read that fasting is almost always accompanied by prayer.
Why pray and fast?
Many Christians only think of fasting when they think of Lent, the time between Ash Wednesday and Easter. And this is correct, during this period many Christians worldwide fast every year. But why? For Christians, Lent is a period of fasting and reflection in preparation for Easter, the feast in which we commemorate that Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead three days later.
But this is not the only time we are allowed to fast and pray. In the past it was very normal for Christians to pray and fast outside Lent. In fact, nothing was undertaken or done without first praying and fasting in discernment. However, due to changes in the Church, this practice has slowly fallen away and people have started to fast less and less.
As is also described in many stories in the Bible, fasting in combination with prayer ensures a deeper connection with God and we receive God’s grace. Through fasting we become completely dependent on God and come to know His will for our lives. Jesus himself began his public life after praying and fasting for forty days in the desert (Luke 4:1-15). He came to know his Father’s will even better. Jesus began his ministry with prayer and fasting, and we as followers can follow suit.
What is the power of prayer and fasting?
A lot of people nowadays are surprised when you talk about fasting and think you are talking about a certain diet or something. But the power of prayer and fasting is not that you can lose weight.
No, by fasting you have more time, and by consciously making this time available for God you get to know Him better. You learn more about who God is and how He helps you. You learn how great God is and how great is his love for you. You become better able to hear His voice, in order to better distinguish what is good and bad. The power of the Holy Spirit is released in your life. God’s light begins to shine on your life and everything that is not of God comes to light. As a result, you experience healing, recovery and deliverance. You will walk in all that God has for you. You are, as it were, put in Fire and Flame before Jesus.
