Applications on Fasting

 

I have posted a few articles on the subject of prayer and fasting in the last few months. We need to learn that the need for communion with God is way greater than we can imagine. Let us learn to commune with God by communicating with him and seeking to honour the Lord in all that we do and say. Our thoughts must conform to the likeness of the Lord. We thank God that His ears are open to our prayers.

1)    Will you confess and repent of any fear of fasting?

There’s something about saying, “I’m not going to eat today,” that causes anxiety in many Christians. It seems that most believers would rather give an offering of money than give up food for a day. Do you have a mild case of fasting-phobia? It’s silly when you put it in perspective and admit it, isn’t it? We think about missing a meal or two for the sake of becoming more like Jesus and we get anxious. And yet we willingly miss meals sometimes while shopping, working, recreating, or otherwise occupied. Whenever we believe that another activity is at that moment more important, we will go without food fearlessly and without complaint. We need to learn that there are times when it can be not only more important, but much more rewarding to feast on God than food (Matthew 4:4). We should not fear the blessings of fasting.

2)    Will you fast as the Holy Spirit directs?

Are you willing to obey God when He prompts you to fast? Because Jesus expected that His followers would fast, I believe that from time to time His Spirit will direct you to fast. Will you determine in advance that you will be obedient to His voice? One of the ways the Holy Spirit prompts us to fast is through a need in our lives in our churches. If you need stronger prayer about a matter, that’s an invitation from the Lord to fast. If you need God’s guidance in an issue in your life, that’s an  encouragement to fast. If you need deliverance or protection, that’s a time to fast. Will you do it? Or will you miss the unique opportunities for grace that He would extend to you through fasting?

3)    Practical wisdom is needed in fasting due to various reasons.

We must be wise when fasting. If you’re planning an extended fast, a medical counsel is advisable before beginning. It is not advisable to fast when you are expecting, because you are effectively forcing someone else (who is not even a believer) to fast! This is also true if you are nursing or lactating. Those who have severe medical conditions that depends on regular diet like diabetes, (or any other physical condition) should talk to their doctors before starting their fast.

4)    What if I have never fasted before?

If you’ve never fasted before, start with a one or two or at most three-meals fast. But start somewhere. Don’t look for loopholes to avoid it. Look for ways to experience God’s grace through fasting. Remember that God thought it was good enough to command every Israelite to fast for one whole day each year on the Day of Atonement, and that would have included people in all conditions and circumstances.

Like all the spiritual disciplines, fasting hoists the sails of the soul in hopes of experiencing the gracious wind of God’s Spirit. But fasting also adds a unique dimension to your spiritual life and helps you grow in Christlikeness in ways that are unavailable through any other means. If this were not so, there would have been no need for Jesus to model and teach fasting.

5)     Will you plan a fast of dedication now as an expression of your willingness to fast from now on?

Before you go any further, why not set a time of fasting soon that will symbolize your dedication to the Lord and your willingness to discipline yourself to fast in the future?

Conclusion

The Lord who instructed us to fast can give both the grace and the conviction of a desire to fast. In as much as I may encourage you, I have to patiently wait for the Lord to enable you to feel the burden of fasting. There are many problems around us that are desperately inviting us to fast:

·      You have had these besetting sins for too long. You know that you need to put to death all the passions of the flesh but you have been wallowing in sin. You have confessed and repented over and over again. The Lord did say that there some demons (and perhaps trials) that will not go except by prayer and fasting. Please fast and may the Lord give you victory.

·      Our church is in need of more pastors, shall we not fast?

·      Our parents, spouses, children, siblings etc. are either wallowing in sin and sinking in its misery. And while we should do everything in our power to bring the gospel to them for the salvation of their souls, yet we should occasionally and perhaps even regularly fast that the Life-giving Spirit of God may regenerate them. We should pray that they should come under the conviction of their sins and be convinced of the preciousness of Christ as the sole-Saviour of sinners.

·      The need for more biblical churches in the country is a matter of prayer and fasting. The examples of occasions for fasting are so numerous that counting them is impossible. Please, I pray, by the grace of God fast!

·      Some of you need godly spouses. He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favour from the Lord. (Prov 18:22). Seek the favour of the Lord today by requesting for it. An excellent wife who can find? (Prov 31:10) Find her from the Lord.

·      Others need a godly offspring. Children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward (Psalm 127:3). Seek the Lord to give you His heritage and reward.

“And when you fast…”

Question,

When will you fast? Plan to fast this month before the year ends. And from there plan a few more days of fasting next year. And keep this discipline in your life vibrant.