(Matthew 6:17,18)
Fasting has been one of the most misunderstood and misused
practices in the Bible. The basic premise of fasting is giving up a normal
daily activity as a sacrifice, to spend that time in prayer and seeking the
Lord. It is not supposed to be a physical endurance contest to see how long
you can go without eating, but again, an act of sacrifice. It can be as
little as one meal, one day, three days, there is no magic formula. Let me
warn you, fasting can be very dangerous to your health! Any time you fast
over 24 hours, you need to be very careful and I would suggest contacting your
doctor to make sure you do it correctly. The reason you fast is to
sacrifice the nourishment to your body and spend that time nourishing your
soul. It is a way to focus solely on the Lord and to seek Him. Often,
fasting is done at times when there are major needs, and you need to really
zero in spiritually on the Lord, seeking Him for answers. I routinely fast
one day a month, but during major events or times of great need, will fast
for 72 hours and try to spend much of that time just in prayer. Living my
normal life, but using the time I would normally be eating to just seek the
face of God.
Fasting does not make you more spiritual than someone who does not fast. it
is not a way to prove how spiritual you are. Again, it is a simple act of
sacrifice to spend that time in prayer with the Lord. It allows you to hear
God more clearly. It is a time to really get serious about praying over a
certain situation or circumstance. It is a sacrifice on your part to get
closer to God. That is a good thing. I would suggest that if you have never
fasted before, take one meal a week,, skip it, and in the 20-40 minutes you
would normally be eating, go to a quiet place and just pray. Talk to God
about those things in your life He needs to clean up. Talk to God about
problems that only He can fix. One powerful way to use fasting is to fast
and spend that time in prayer for someone else. Sacrifice that meal and
spend the time praying for the needs of someone else. Powerful!
