In the Fall of 2002 Pastor Ballard sensed the Lord leading him to call Christian Fellowship to 40 days of intense focus on the Lord. As he continued to seek the Lord as to the nature of the 40 Days several elements developed into a cohesive unit which he called "40 Days of Focus." Early in the development process Pastor Ballard sensed that the spiritual exercise of fasting needed to play a major role in the time of focus. Knowing fasting to be a subject of much misunderstanding, he set out to provide a brief introduction for the congregation. The material in this booklet was originally presented to the congregation on the first Sunday of the "40 Days of Focus" during the Sunday School / Bible Study hour. Realizing that fasting is a little practiced and much misunderstood spiritual exercise; it was decided to turn the material into a booklet that could be distributed. Our prayer is that the Lord will use this material in your life to draw you closer to Him. May the Lord bless you as you read Understanding Fasting.