Juneteenth: An Invitation to Fast
Juneteenth: May It Be a Global Celebration of Liberation
Although the United States Civil War ended on April 9, 1865, the news didn’t reach Texas until June 19.
On that day, more than two months after their enslavement ended, Union Army general Gordon Granger proclaimed freedom to the enslaved.
Today we celebrate that we have this same proclamation to speak over those not yet free.
We have the best proclamation of all!
As Paul said in Galatians 5:1, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
But we can do more than deliver the news—we can actively participate in breaking the chains.
The prophet Isaiah said, “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?”
On Juneteenth, wherever you are in the world, we invite you to join a community of believers in a one day fast for liberation.
Because all cultures and all peoples wait for the celebration of liberation.
In this guide, you’ll find all that you need to participate fully:
• A brief historical perspective, so you can pray with more insight
• Different options for fasting: not just water only
• The difference between collectivist and individualist cultures, and why that makes reconciliation difficult
• How prayer during a fast looks different from prayer at other times
• Why issues like anger or alcoholism, as well as cancer and diabetes, might run in family lines … and how to deal with it
• Specific recommendations to keep you feeling as healthy as possible
• A testimony of deep reconciliation … and we say, “Do it again, Lord!”
May those of us with a heart of repentance be willing to repent and start to mend the damage. The Lord always has a solution.
One of the critical solutions necessary for our culture in this day.
Book Sample
The Invitation Again
May this day that celebrates the emancipation of the enslaved now be a day where we cry out to the Lord from Isaiah 58:6, asking that God would do what he promises: “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?”
Wherever you are in the world, let’s pray for captives set free, for healing of rifts, for the restoration and healing that God offers.
And let’s all be open to the ways that we can reconcile. And if somebody comes to us, seeking forgiveness, let’s forgive. And then let’s also bless, because that is part of the beauty and the of the restoration that is found in Jesus and in his family. Thanks be to God.
Juneteenth: An Invitation to Fast
Testimonials
Real insights from real readers.
Eileen Lopez
Bennie Baek
Matt Freije
Sarah Cunningham