Daniel 9:3 “And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes”
The opposite of fasting is gluttony. Gluttony is a sin of food and drink (in excess) that kills the body and soul – and it derives from Satan. In contrast, fasting is a temporary abstinence from food and drink that strengthens the body and soul – and it derives from God.
Christians usually fast as a last resort in uncommon situations when we’re desperate for an uncommon solution, and we want God to move in a supernatural way. We know how we want things to end, but we don’t know if it’s God’s will for us; therefore, we’re fearful of what’s on the other side of the mountain. But the Bible tells us to fast proactively – before we get into a crunch. This builds our faith to know we are on the righteous walk and in God’s will, regardless of what happens.
Surrendering to a fast is how we give God our full attention. Our goal for a fast should be to get in line with Christ, not to get something from Him. If we are in line with Him, we want what He wants, regardless of the outcome. He gives us faith to say what He says. Fasting propels us to surrender our will to the will of the Almighty for our good, which also includes His blessings.
Deuteronomy 28:12 “And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.”
1 John 3:22 “And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.”
We must remember that God owns it all. He can change time, rules, laws, gravity, logic, people, and every thing to bless us. He can change it all. So, when we fast, it’s not for us to move God, it’s for us to move closer to Him. We get to see who controls this world as we watch Him do it.
I used to have a bad habit of murmuring. Then at one point, I was going through a hard financial time (one in a series), and it just kept getting worse day by day. The worse it got, the more I cried and screamed at God. During the months that I was screaming at Him like a maniac, the situation got worse at an accelerated speed like I was falling into a deep dark hole. One day I decided to try and contain myself enough to ask a civilized question. The question I asked Him in tears and controlled anger was: “What are you doing when I’m suffering…laughing at me, ignoring me, taunting me?”
I had been waiting on a check and things kept happening to delay it, along with other strange happenings (as if the universe was playing games with me). I sat in a chair feeling like I was about to lose my mind with my lips moving but no sound coming out. I was rebuking the devil because that was the only thing left that I knew to do. I knew some type of spiritual operation was responsible because the odds just don’t stack up that bad in real life. It had to be some type of covert operation that was out of my control, but I didn’t know who was behind it. I kept repeating the same Bible verse over and over – and suddenly a vision began to appear of God sitting behind Satan with His hand gripping Satan’s shoulder. Satan was hunched over, turning a wheel ever so slightly (like he was steering a ship). But he couldn’t move the wheel but so far because God had His hand on Satan, ready to take him out with one false move. I also noticed how much bigger God was than Satan. Then the vision faded, and the very next second, I got a phone call that the check was ready for me to pick-up. God wanted me to see who was in control; and for me to stop screaming and murmuring every time He makes a move. The check was for me, but how I responded to the delay further effected the timing of it. He also wanted me to get a good look at myself.
Many people in the old and New Testaments fasted to seek something from God. Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell us that the Holy Spirit led Jesus to be tempted; in preparation, Jesus proclaimed a fast. During this temptation, the devil tried to take his humility and replace it with pride, he tried to give Him food in place of the Bread of Life, and he tempted Him to settle for kingdoms of the world rather than the kingdom of Heaven.
If we’re listening, the Holy Spirit will lead us into a fast and we can sense at the time whether it will be long or short. When we fast, we need to be ready for God to show up in an uncommon way and bring forth a solution that we never thought of. We must humble ourselves to receive His answer because it is usually surprising. We are led to fast for different reasons but the bottom line is our bread is Jesus.
money is sooooooooo irrelevant in God’s kingdom~Terri
Fasting for resources – God doesn’t have just one answer to our prayers for resources. All through the Bible, God miraculously provided for Israel’s needs – and never in a way they expected. Instead of sending a boat, He parted the sea. Instead of sending us money, he can wipe-out the bill. He can delay situations that have deadlines…or He can give us the money (in exact dollars and cents).
Fasting for breakthrough – Sometimes we can feel spiritually stuck and distant from God. Many times, when God is withholding resolutions, He’s trying to communicate with us. He will slow down a process to give us time to look at Him, ensure a solid foundation and get the right perspective. He may have us to clarify our conscience or purify our hearts. Many times, He’s repeating something He already told us to start – or stop.
Fasting for Wisdom – God once told me that Wisdom is His supernatural, spiritual resolution to problems relating to people and relationships. People make decisions everyday that are usually wrong. But God is all-knowing, so the Wisdom of God considers Heaven and earth (past, present, and future), and gives us the best answer possible for the situation (usually something we never thought of).
God is always either telling us to start something or stop something~Terri
We must learn to seek God first in everything. Asking God for direction is hardly ever our first thought, but that is what the righteous walk requires. We are accustomed to walking independently towards what we want until we have slowly drifted from what God commands – and we’re stuck. Then we can barely hear Him anymore.
Turning from God starts with a tiny step that we may not even count as disobedience at first…it’s more like ‘making an exception’ this one time. As time goes by, we add another exception. We think about what we’ve done but we don’t deal with it right then – as we drift – to the point we no longer get a ‘check’ in our spirit. Then when something is pressing, we proclaim a fast (in desperation) and God pulls out the map showing our course. He then has us to think back to when it started and all the steps it took to drift away. (I know…I just fasted a few weeks ago and He dealt with me about His Sabbath).
abstaining from baked bread will yield the Living Bread~Terri
When our bodies are deprived of food, it makes us either look around for dinner or look to Christ. When we make the choice to look up to Christ, our hunger pangs remind us of our goal – to be fed spiritually and receive a miracle from God.
2 chronicles 7:14 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
Fasting will vary by individual due to health status or work situations. The Holy Spirit leads us personally and individually according to our lives. When I fast, it is usually a 24 hour fast from food; or if I have something on my mind or a decision to make, I will fast from the time I wake up in the morning until dinner. The longest I ever fastest was three days from food and water.
After my fast ends (and sometimes at the beginning), I begin to feel the weight lift as I pray. I sense that God is hearing me and dealing with the situation, as He’s also dealing with me. Regardless of when or if I hear from Him, I try to complete the fast that I proclaimed.
Sometimes God will even bring His people to a corporate fast. I once attended a church that fasted every Wednesday, a ritual, that became ineffective for the members because it lost its meaning. We must remember that Jesus wants a relationship with us, not rituals. Just because we go to church, say our prayers, and wear long skirts doesn’t mean we’re in right standing with God. His goal is to bring us closer.
Ephesians 6:12For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
We will always be tempted of the devil while we’re on this earth, and we need strength and courage when he comes. If not, we will fold. We will end up doing something that is not Christ-like and have to learn from our sins and mistakes. We need to say what Christ is saying about a situation and that requires us to be close to Him. The way to hear Him clearly is through fasting.
