Prayer
should be done regularly. Fasting, in concert with prayer (and meditation and
study), should be done to accentuate your spiritual efforts and reap physical
benefits as well.
May’s Awakening, Day 30
Prayer is reaching out after the
unseen; fasting is letting go of all that is seen and temporal. Fasting helps
express, deepen, confirm the resolution that we are ready to sacrifice
anything, even ourselves to attain what we seek for the kingdom of God.
—Andrew Murray
Paul
and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and
fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. Acts 14:23
NIV
“When
you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their
faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received
their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your
face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only
to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in
secret, will reward you. Matthew 6:16–18 NIV
As worship is the pinnacle of our
spiritual disciplines, prayer and fasting are our staples. We will address
prayer here briefly, as we have already discussed it in our devotions for the
last week of March and the first couple weeks of April, along with spiritual
warfare the last week of April.
Prayer.
Remember, prayer should be done consistently and daily, with the mindset of
continually, and it should include praise, thanksgiving, petition, confession,
and intercession. Prayer should always be your first choice, not an
afterthought, with a focus to gaze on God and glance on your requests. Pray
from conviction not from crisis, and always pause to listen.
Fasting.
Fasting is often done in concert with prayer, but it could be used with any
of the spiritual disciplines to accentuate and focus your efforts on specific
areas of concern. Fasting is often practiced to tear down strongholds, release
the full healing power of God into your life, for spiritual breakthroughs, and
for cleansing the soul and spirit as the fast cleanses the body as well.
Fasting is an act of humility and submission to God, allowing for new
revelation about your own spiritual condition, and to more clearly hear and
perceive His guidance and direction. A primary reason for fasting is often for
restoration with a renewed holy brokenness and submission to God with a revived
determination to follow Him more closely.
Whereas the other inward spiritual
disciplines should always be practiced regularly—prayer, study,
meditation—fasting is often practiced for those special occasions, purposes, or
as led to do so by the Holy Spirit, although some may practice it regularly as
well. You must realize that fasting certainly is not starvation, and if you are
healthy and fast properly, there are both physical and spiritual benefits by
this cleansing. However, you should always check with your doctor if you have
any medical condition such as anemia, diabetes, heart or breathing disorders,
or kidney or liver disorders, especially if you are planning to undertake a
fast for a couple days or more. Education is critical, and at the end of this
devotion I will provide an excellent resource for more information.
There are four major types of
fast—the normal fast, the absolute fast, the partial fast,
and the rotational fast. The normal fast is going without food for a
defined period of time during which only water or juices are ingested. The
typical durations are one meal, one day, three days, one week, one month, or
yes, even the biblical forty days. The absolute fast is no food and no water or
fluids, and typically is of short duration for health safety reasons. However,
biblically we see the supernatural absolute fast of forty days for Moses,
Elijah, and Christ, where without supernatural intervention, death would be
likely in this type of extreme extended fast. The partial fast is one that
omits certain foods or is on a schedule that includes limited eating. An
example might be eliminating one meal a day or eating only fresh vegetables.
Finally, the rotational fast is eating or omitting certain families of food for
designated time periods on a rotational basis. An example might be eating lean
meat only once a week, or certain grains only every few days.
As you can see, fasting is quite a
complex science and art and takes much planning and preparation. Over the next
few devotions we will briefly discuss a few more important aspects of fasting,
but for great information here is the most excellent of resources:
Towns,
Elmer L. Fasting for Spiritual Breakthrough: A Guide to Nine Biblical Fasts.
Bloomington, Minnesota: Bethany House Publishers,
1996. [A new edition of this book will be released in November 2017.]
Author Web Page Link
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