Fasting Day 2

Morning!

Raises his cup of coffee

A little knowledge puffs up.  Love edifies.  Humble ourselves before the LORD and He will lift us up.  There is a physical side of fasting and there is a spiritual side to fasting.  It is an entire being experience.  The purpose of fasting is to afflict oneself, but it is not to harm oneself.  I’ve been doing some of the reading of the Scriptures I mentioned yesterday and everywhere I read it seems to continue to reinforce that fasting is meant to turn us towards God, to have us pray to Him and look to Him for answers and for help, for protection and for favor.

James 4: 1-10

“Where do wars and fights come from among you?  Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?  You lust and do not have.  You murder and covet and cannot obtain.  You fight and war.  Yet you do not have because you do not ask.  You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.  Adulterers and adulteresses!  Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?  Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.  Or do you think the Scripture says in vain, ‘The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously’?  But He gives more grace.  Therefore He says ‘God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.’  Therefore submit to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you.  Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.  Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double minded.  Lament and mourn and weep!  Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”

Fasting is a form of prayer.  A communication with God.  It is a conscious decision to turn to the God of the Universe and to humble ourselves.  To admit that He is the Truth, that He is the Way and that He is the Life.  That there is nothing we can do without Him and there is nothing that is done that is not allowed by Him.  It is an experience that is meant to be gone through with Him.

Jesus said:

Matthew 6: 16-18

“Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance.  For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”

Our thesis is that Christian leaders fast.  Sometimes there is no other way to learn about a thing except to experience it.

Ecclesiastes 5: 1-7

“Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil.  Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God.  For God is in heaven, and you on earth; therefore let your words be few.  For a dream comes through much activity, and a fool’s voice is known by his many words.  When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; for He has no pleasure in fools.  Pay what you have vowed- Better not to vow than to vow and not pay.  Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger of God that it was an error.  Why should God be angry at your excuse and destroy the work of your hands?  For in the multitude of dreams and many words there is also vanity.  But fear God.”

Let our yes be yes and our no be no.  We are not to swear upon the temple.  We are not to swear upon God’s Name.  We are not to swear at all, but instead to take our words and with them bring forth righteousness.  All the words of our mouth are to be wise and to follow wisdom.  We are to edify and to bring forth fresh water, not salty briny water.  Our God is Holy and our God cannot stand wickedness or to look upon it.  Have we thought about this in our prayers to Him?

I found that the fasting I have done so far has highlighted the spiritual fight that I am currently going through.  Don’t be alarmed, there’s nothing to be alarmed about, it’s just the language I’m using.  I found that my weakness, physical weakness and mental fortuity were exposed and the truth revealed to me, all through the process of fasting.  If you want to try the same, the formula I used is this.

1. Purpose to fast.

2. Establish reason for fast in prayer.

3. Prepare parameters of fast.  What will you eat, what will you drink, what will you deny yourself.  Prepare beforehand the times you will fast and do this all in prayer.

4. Execute fast in prayer.

5. Don’t forget the Lord!

6. Don’t forget to give thanks to Jesus first thing when you break your fast.  The first taste of food after denying oneself is most certainly worth a prayer of thank you alone.

7. Expectantly wait upon the Lord.

(I might offer considering a feast to the Lord at the end of your fast, a meal dedicated to the celebration of the LORD.  It seems to be Scripturally supported and a proper way to end a fast.)

5. Continue in prayer and study.

I think that’s a good place to start for today.

Tomorrow we’ll take a look at Daniel’s fast.

Happy waiting!

:)