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Fasting & Prayer 101

 

As a child, the only time I ever heard about fasting was when the preacher of our little baptist church happened to mention or preach on Jesus being tempted in the wilderness.  In my teen years, when my family started going to a Pentecostal church, I saw where some people made fasting and prayer a regular part of their devotion to the Lord.  This was a new concept to me, but I couldn't help but notice those who practiced periods of fasting and prayer had a lot more power and faith in their relationship with God.  

I know there has to be others in my shoes from back then - wondering what the big deal is with fasting added to your prayers.  So I thought I'd jot down a few truths I've learned along the way (with the help of some awesome pastors I've had, as well as MY pastor and leader - my husband!).   Because this is the way my brain functions, it will be somewhat of a list format, but please feel free to ask questions for clarity's sake.  As I tell my Adultish class, if I don't know the answer, we will find it out together!

  • What is fasting anyway? For me, fasting is all about getting my attention back to God, the only One who can make a difference in whatever situation I may be facing.  By denying myself something that either brings pleasure in some way, or something that has become a distraction to my relationship with the Lord, I make time for intentional connections with Him.  Some ways this happens, is for those who may be fasting a meal to spend the time they'd normally spend in that meal in prayer.  If I'm fasting a social media, the time I'd normally spend scrolling, I'd devote instead to a few minutes of conversing with my Creator.  
  • Fasting should be a private matter.  As Jesus himself tells us, we don't need to make it obvious to other people that we are fasting.  Hypocrites do that so other people will see how "devoted" they are to their faith.  (Though we could argue where their faith truly lies, if they have to make their devotion that obvious, lol.). In Matthew 6:16-18, Jesus tells us that when we do fast, we should get ourselves together, and try not to look miserable.  Fasting is between you and your Father God.  Yes, we may fast together for called fasts as a congregation or in support of someone needing a breakthrough... but we don't advertise that we are fasting.  We want to make sure the attention is always on our Father God, not our own efforts. 
  • What if I can't fast meals?  The reason we fast is to draw closer to God, without distractions.  Fasting meals not only serves that purpose, but also puts your physical body in the position of being denied - quite literally denying our flesh for His glory.  However, in today's age of physical maladies like diabetes and the like, it simply isn't wise to suddenly deny your physical being of proper nutrition if there is a history of problems.  Some people choose instead to fast a type of food or drink - something they enjoy (or enjoy a little too much - like sweet tea, for me!), or to fast entire food groups.  One example of that would be the popular Daniel Fast, where you basically eat only fruits and vegetables (cutting out all breads, sweets and meat).  If you have a history of low blood sugar, or any other digestive issues you need to use wisdom in choosing your fast.  That's why some people choose to fast social media, or electronic devices over a period.  One year for Lent, my husband fasted talk radio, and I fasted country music.  We both listened to only Christian music for that period, and devoted personal time in prayer for things we had identified as distractions and missteps for us personally and as a family.  By the end of that Lent period, it was amazing to see the difference in the atmosphere at our home! 
So, don't feel that by not fasting food, you're somehow doing a second-rate fast.  Again, fasting is simply denying ourselves SOMETHING so that we can get closer to God without distractions.  The results of getting closer to our Creator could be the ability to more clearly recognize His voice, seeing breakthroughs in difficult situations, or even witnessing eternal changes in our loved ones we've been praying for.   

Of course, the simplicity of the definition of fasting doesn't necessarily make the act of fasting simple.  Denying yourself of things that normally bring you pleasure or make your life easier in some way (fast-food, anyone?) is not going to be easy.  Especially around the third day or so.  But we commit to a certain period of time denying ourselves while simultaneously devoting more time to our God.  In more poetic literature, it's also called humbling ourselves before the Lord.  We lower ourselves so that He can take His rightful place in our lives - that of LORD.  

Is there an area in your life that needs to be denied or humbled (lowered) before the Lord? 


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