“When you fast….”
The word fasting appears over 70 times in the Bible both in the Old and New Testament. The Bible teaches that fasting is a spiritual practice that involves abstaining from food to humble yourself before God. It was a way to go deeper and hear from God and to see the hand of God in action.
When we look at modern Christianity, this practice unfortunately disappeared from spiritual practices of many churches. These days it’s more common for churches to organize dinners and food gatherings rather than calling to a fast. Fasting has also been a controversial subject in the health industry, with many health practitioners having mixed opinions on this topic and creating confusion in people. I remember how my parents were telling me how dangerous it is to fast and go without the food. And I don’t blame them, because when you google how many days you can go without food you will find answers like : “The average person can survive without food for 8 to 21 days” with another article saying “People can live up to 3 weeks without food”. Therefore people prefer to not risk their health and they choose to believe those specialists rather than the word of God.
In the Old Testament we see the practice of fasting utilized on many occasions:
” Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions. For I was ashamed to request of the king an escort of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the road, because we had spoken to the king, saying, “The hand of our God is upon all those for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him.” So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer.” Ezra 8: 21-23
“Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai: “Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!” Esther 4:15-16
“And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son, for the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.” 2 Samuel 1:12
“And I fell down before the Lord, as at the first, forty days and forty nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all your sin which you committed in doing wickedly in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure with which the Lord was angry with you, to destroy you. But the Lord listened to me at that time also.” Deuteronomy 9:18-19
“So it was, when Ahab heard those words, that he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his body, and fasted and lay in sackcloth, and went about mourning. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, “See how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the calamity in his days. In the days of his son I will bring the calamity on his house.” 1 Kings 21:27-29
“Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.” Daniel 9:3
Fasting was a way to humble yourself before God but also to hear from God.
Why is it that during fasting we can hear God more than when we don’t fast?
Fasting removes the barrier in the body where spirit can move easily and the body is more sensitive and alert. When you look at the animals like lions, they are very alert when they are hungry. Their hearing and vision sharpens as they need to look for the food. Whereas after a feast they usually go to sleep. Their bodies are busy digesting the food and all their senses take second stage. In reality our bodies are very “loud” to shout about their needs. We are led by our senses and in today’s world it is difficult to escape this as in every corner we have some sort of temptation catered to our senses. Food industry has also been busy to adjust to our busy lifestyles making the food more accessible, varied and quick. And with this, they have introduced processed food and lots of chemicals pumped into the food that is not favorable to our bodies. The unfortunate evidence of this are many diseases like diabetes, obesity, hypertension, high blood pressure and more… We are just discovering and trying to undo all the damage the food industry has caused, however in reality fresh and organic food is also more expensive and less available to the average person due to the price… But this would be for another subject.
Only in recent years there has been an increase of the specialists confirming the benefits of fasting and reassuring of safety and miraculous healing during fasting. Now we have evidence of people reversing Type 2 diabetes disease, lowering high blood pressure and stopping medication, reducing obesity, increasing energy levels and it is also proven it slows down the ageing process in the body. During fasting we have a process of cleaning called autophagy. Autophagy is a natural process in which a cell breaks down and recycles old, damaged, or unnecessary parts of itself. The term literally means “self-eating”. During that process the body removes all unnecessary “junk” and also uses reserves for fuel, where natural process of weight loss occurs. This is for medical evidence and benefits, however let’s not forget about the spiritual benefits of fasting.
From my personal experience, I had many personal revelations during fasting. It always came to me at the end of the fast and it helped me to clear my mind, have reassurance from God and be clear on the path I am. I must say, it is not an easy process especially at the beginning. You can definitely get used to fasting and train your body to go without food for periods of time. However, you have to remember that your body will scream and shout at the beginning as it will not like that you are taking away something it likes – food. I usually have a little tantrum at the beginning of my fast, depending how many days I decide to fast for. It usually starts on my 3’rd day, 7th day and if I do a longer fast it comes back on the 10th day. I am also very emotional and sensitive at the beginning and I can cry looking at the cat advert. However it stops with time, my shouting body stops after 11 days and submits to my will where I can then go longer with fasting and gain more control over my urges. I have a love/hate relationship with fasting, because it’s not easy at first, however I love the benefits of fasting, my alertness, awareness and sharpness increases and I feel deeper connection with God. This can only be done with fasting. Moreover, fasting and prayer helped me to be delivered from all the demonic oppression I have experienced and this wouldn’t be possible otherwise.
What’s interesting, in majority of modern Bibles one important verse seems to be missing…
“However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” Matthew 17:21
When Jesus heals epileptic boy, the disciples are amazed that Jesus could heal the boy but they couldn’t. Jesus reminds them of their disbelief: “So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” And He then emphasizes that “this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting”, highlighting the fact that some demonic oppression and diseases cannot be healed with just prayer but fasting is also very important. It is a time where all those demons oppressing the flesh and pushing to many urges are being “starved” and the hand of God can move and deliver the person from the torment.
In the New Testament Jesus showed us the power of fasting and control over the flesh. After being baptized, Jesus was led by the spirit to fast before starting His ministry. After the fast he was tempted by the devil:
“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ” Matthew 4: 1-4
Why Jesus fasted before the start of His ministry if He is the Son of God? Because Jesus was still living in the flesh, which can limit the spirit. Jesus experienced all urges, temptations and needs as we all do, however in order to hear better from God, He needed to fast to receive all the revelation necessary to Him. It was a way to quiet the body in order to hear from the Spirit.
We have to remember that God is a Spirit and we have to adjust to God, rather than God adjusting to us. During our human experience, we have to remember to prioritize the needs of the spirit and the connection to God. Food and the outside world can really cloud our minds. It can make us sluggish physically and spiritually, it can fool us into thinking that the material world can really satisfy our needs and objects and experience could replace the need of connection with God. However, just as the fish out of water will die shortly from the lack of water, we will also die spiritually from the lack of God. This will lead to sin and spiritual death, falling deeper into the sinful life and disconnecting from God. After that it will be more and more difficult to hear from God or recognize what is real, what is important and who is on your side.
This is me talking from my own experience. After falling into a sinful life, I started to fall deeper and deeper into different believes that only clouded my mind, confused my thinking and it was so difficult to know the truth. I was desperately seeking for the truth by falling deeper into a rabbit hole of esoteric theories. I actually can’t imagine what were my believes before… This is only because through sin I removed myself from the presence of God and the more I was justifying my sin and falling deeper into sin, the more demons could cloud my mind and remove me from the truth. And we all know that Satan is an author of lies, illusions and confusion. It’s only through the mercy and grace of God, that I received dreams that really awakened me to the truth and I could curse correct my path and come back to God.
Modern Christianity leaves fasting to the believer’s discretion and emphasizes fasting as a personal choice rather than call from God. This is mainly because of the misconception that what’s in the Old Testament is an old story that we don’t have to adhere to. More on this I described in my other posts on following the Law. The Old Testament was very clear on the need of fasting, however in the New Testament we see that Jesus did not fast with His disciples:
“Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast? ”And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.” Matthew 9:14-15
It is clear that Jesus explained that while He is with them, they don’t have to fast, however when He will be gone, “then they will fast”. He didn’t put this as an emphasis, because during those times it was a normal practice to fast, therefore He didn’t have to emphasize it as such. Jesus also said :
“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.” Matthew 6:16-18
Jesus clearly said when you fast, not if you fast, which highlights the importance of this practice. How often is a personal decision, however if you are serious about your walk with God and would like to hear from God, this is inseparable element of spiritual practice.
“Now, therefore,” says the Lord,
“Turn to Me with all your heart,
With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” Joel 2:12
By Dagmara Z.