Fasting

Title: Fasting

“Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke?” – Isaiah 58:6

Fasting is to go without food and drink for a certain period of time. The intention is that all the time that would be spent acquiring, preparing and consuming food will, instead, be spent in the presence of God through prayer, worship or meditation on the Word. It requires self-control and discipline as we deny the desire of flesh to focus on God regarding specific issues. There are various reasons why do we fasting:

To strengthen prayer
To seek God’s guidance
To express grief
To seek deliverance or protection
To express repentance and return to God
To humble oneself before God
To express concern for the work of God
To minister to the needs of others
To overcome temptation and dedicate yourself to God
To express love and worship to God

It is important that we have the correct perspective of fasting; going through the motions of fasting without a focus will be a waste of time. There is always an end result to fasting. Fasting combined with sincere prayer will bring transformation to our lives. All good and perfect gifts come from God, but as humans there is a tendency to worship gifts rather than the giver (James 1:17). Fasting helps our hearts to look beyond the good gift and unto the good God, who blesses us despite our shortcomings. God is not a genie who will grant us whatever we wish. By denying ourselves for a time, we provoke ourselves to rely more on God Almighty.

Misconception of fastingFasting is not to punish the flesh, but an exercise to redirect our attention unto God. The biblical fasting is not to lose weight or dieting method but rather to deepen our fellowship with God.
Fasting is not a means to twist God’s hand to get Him to do what we want. It is to change us and help us realign our heart to His Heart (Psalms 35:13)
Fasting is not a way to appear more spiritual than others. Fasting is to be done in a spirit of humility and a joyful attitude. (Luke 18:10-14)

Rules of fasting

“Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.”- Matthew 6:16-18

Every Spiritual engagement has it rules and regulation, which creates a level playing field for all. Fasting is a private affair and should be observed so that our reward will not elude us. Attempting to impress others or being prideful with our fasting will not yield any profitable gain to us

The benefits of combining fasting with prayer are numerous, here are some them.

We Receive divine guidance, causing a change to occur to align with God’s plan – =Judges 20:26-28
We Receive victory over temptation – Matthew 4:1-11
We receive restoration Health, Divine Health – Isaiah 58:8, Jeremiah 30:17.
We receive fruitfulness, radiance and God’s goodness in your life.
We receive restoration, promotion and God will use us to impact the lives of others.
We able to discern more clearly the will of God for our lives through our spiritual eyes and ears.

Prayer Point