‘Fasting’ is a common word used not just in Christendom, but in other professional fields. The word ‘fasting’ means to abstain, starve yourself, refuse to eat, eat only sparingly or of certain kinds of food, especially for religious observance. It can also mean a day or period of abstinence, as in a self or group-proclaimed day or days of fasting.
When in a fast, you abstain from food or drink, or both, for spiritual, health, ceremonial, religious or ethical purposes. This abstinence may be complete or partial, lengthy, short-term or intermittent. Fasting is a popular practice and is sometimes prescribed by medical practitioners and conservatives, and some people use it to protest politically or request justice. In all, fasting is giving up something of value to get a desired result.
For Christians, fasting is a powerful spiritual exercise. It is a process where you give up the pleasures of eating or other fleshly desires for some time, to focus more on God in any area of your need. It is accompanied with prayer, praise, worship, Word study, giving of alms etc., as led by the Holy Spirit to get your needs met. When you fast, you are denying your flesh of certain pleasures so that distractions can be reduced to the barest minimum while you commit to seeking God.
Fasting is primarily for our spiritual empowerment. When you are in a fast, you are disciplining yourself, willing to set your appetite aside – for food entertainment, technology or other pleasures, for a specified time, so you can concentrate on praying and seeking God’s face regarding a desired area of your life. It is a personal decision to put under control your will and be in tune with God by being spiritually sensitive to Him and His Word.
Fasting entails separating yourself from something unto something. Separation connotes sacrificing, giving up a particular thing to get something higher. It has to do with the will, choice and desire. When you fast, you separate yourself to the Lord, spend time with Him, take spiritual food by listening to or reading the Word of God, pray and listen to God for a response. Fasting is not starvation or dieting. It is a spiritual workout for your elevation and empowerment. It is the act of separating yourself exclusively to God. You are deliberately pushing other things aside, subduing the flesh and giving God your full attention. This allows your spirit man to dominate, and it makes your spirit man more sensitive.
Truth is, some issues you are confronted with will not give way, except by a higher authority; a platform that fasting and prayer provides, thereby provoking the release of your answers and divine intervention. Fasting reinforces your prayer to withstand any opposition on the way to receiving your desired result.
There is need to build up spiritual strength, especially to withstand the evil days that we currently live in, and that can be done by fasting. The Bible states, If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small (Proverbs 24:10).
All through Scriptures, many people engaged in a fast, not just as a religious ritual, but a devotion and spiritual enforcement, which brings tremendous results.
Fasting can also be a way to express desires, thirst and hunger for a deeper relationship with God, because your fast is an act of surrender and total dependency on God for strength, succour and supplies. Andrew Murray states, ‘Prayer is reaching out after the unseen; fasting is letting go of all that is seen and temporal. Fasting helps express, deepen, confirm the resolution that we are ready to sacrifice anything, even ourselves to attain what we seek for the kingdom of God.
Though fasting is a personal decision, some Churches or groups may and do declare fasts for specific purposes; but, your commitment to this is based on your individual engagement. The length of a fast is also personally determined. Different types of fasting and prayer exist all through the Scriptures, and I will be discussing this in my next write up.
shalom!
#pstnath.
Jesus is Lord.