Fasting and Prayer
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Have you ever been on a fast before?
Fasting is when you are required not to eat for some time. Certain medical procedures require this and you may have had to fast before having some type of surgery. For this reason, you may have some familiarity with the idea of fasting.
While you may understand this from a medical standpoint, it is important to realize that fasting plays a big part in the life of the Christian as well. In fact, God calls you to fast!
Many Christians Already Fast in Some Way
If you were raised Catholic, then may already perform a fast during Lent. The 40 days before Easter, Catholics give up something for lent, whether it is eating candy, smoking, drinking, or some other thing they enjoy. They do this as a sign of forsaking something to show their dedication to God, while denying themselves. Jesus gave Himself up to save each one of us, and fasting is an act of humility to recognize what Jesus did for us.
Have you ever denied yourself food or some activity as a sacrifice to God?
Fasting is something the Bible tells us we should do, but it is not made clear exactly what one does during a fast. This lesson will hopefully explain that more clearly, helping you to understand fasting and its relationship to prayer.
Connecting with God
There are many places in the Bible where a person fasted. These passages will help us to understand the reasons for wanting to fast.
The first of these reasons is to connect better with God. At the starting of Matthew 4, Jesus is in the desert fasting for 40 days! That is a lot of time without food.
Does Jesus need to go on a diet? Of course not. He is fasting because He is looking to be totally connected and reliant on His Father. Fasting helps to take you and your desires out of the equation, putting more of your trust in God. As Jesus puts it in Matthew 4:4, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
When we are fasting, it makes us more reliant on God. We spend more time praying and using our time to connect with Him. We see that God can fill us in ways that we cannot imagine.
When You Need God’s Help
You might find yourself in a very scary or troubling position and don’t know what to do. What direction you should take. Fasting at that time can get you in touch with God on a deeper level to hear what He is saying to you.
In Ezra 8, the Jews have returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the city after spending over 70 years in captivity in Babylon. They are worried about their success, because they know that there are those who want to stop them, even destroy them.
In Ezra 8:21-23, “21 Ezra tells the people, “Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. 22 For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, “The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.” 23 So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.”
They needed God to protect them, and they fasted to seek His counsel.
This is the case in Esther 4 as well. An evil man has plotted to have all the Jews in Persia killed. Esther is the queen and a Jew, but no one is aware that she is a Jew. She agrees to approach the king and ask for safety from this man, but she is fearful of asking the king because he is a very unstable man.
Vere 16 explains that Esther told the Jews, “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.”
She knows that she needs the help of God right now, as all the Jewish people did. So, she calls for a fast, seeking the guidance of God to help during this tumultuous time.
When You Have a Big Decision to Make
Maybe you have a big decision to make and need the guidance of God. When we deny ourselves, choosing to focus on God, it can put us more in tune with God, helping us to hear the right solution to our problem.
At one point, all of Israel had turned against the tribe of Benjamin. However, they were not having a lot of success. To help them make the right decision, Judges 20:26 tells us, “Then all the people of Israel, the whole army, went up and came to Bethel and wept. They sat there before the Lord and fasted that day until evening, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.”
They fasted, seeking the counsel of God to advise them on how to be victorious. If you are looking for a wise decision, choosing to fast may help you to receive God’s wisdom more clearly.
When You Need to Get Right with God
Fasting is often done when a person needs to repent or understands that his or her behavior contrasts with what God wants.
In 1 Samuel 7:6, the prophet Samuel chastised the Israelite people because they had spent decades following false gods. This verse explains that “they gathered at Mizpah and drew water and poured it out before the Lord and fasted on that day and said there…” They had not followed God as they had promised, and needed to repent for what they had done. As a result, they fasted as part of their repentance.
The truth is that getting right with God is often centered in our need to be humble. We have learned in previous lessons that our pride can lead to disastrous results. Humbling yourself by fasting, denying yourself something you desire strongly, demonstrates your repentant heart.
How to Fast
Hopefully you see the benefit of fasting. Many of the reasons for doing so are listed above, but there are other reasons to do so.
The confusion centers around how one actually conducts a fast. For some, a fast is a complete denial of all food, maybe even water, for a certain period of time. Jesus fasted from food during his time in the desert. This takes a lot of faith that God can see you through a time where you do not eat at all.
However, a fast does not need to be that rigorous. Some choose to deny themselves a certain kind of food that they fully enjoy, such as desserts, meat, or soda. Some fast from smoking or using tobacco products. Many sacrifice things like this during the time of Lent. These are perfectly acceptable choices for fasting.
The point of fasting is to deny yourself something you truly want as part of the discipline process. It is also intended to draw you closer to God and further away from your flesh, your sin nature. Therefore, a denial of something you really want, no matter what it is, can be of great benefit during your fast.
What Fasting Is Not
One important note to conclude. In Matthew 6:16-18, Jesus explained, “16 And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
It is perfectly acceptable for you to tell others that you are fasting. However, you should not be fasting to draw the praise of others. This is a decision you are making to get closer to God, and feeding your flesh (seeking the praise of others) by denying your flesh (fasting) destroys that very purpose. Therefore, use your fast as an opportunity to get closer to God and not to be praised by others.
Bible Passages for the Week:
Monday – Isaiah 58:6
Tuesday – Psalm 69:10
Wednesday – Joel 2:12
Thursday – Exodus 34:28
Friday – Nehemiah 1:4
Saturday – Pick a passage from Scripture that teaches you about fasting and its purpose.
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© 2024 Dr. Robert Pannier, Hope CDA, All Rights Reserved
