Fasting | Notes

I've fasted from food a few times. Each time, there was a situation that I needed clarity in. I didn't follow any manuals or seek any physician's council. Which, in hindsight may not have been the wisest decision but they were short fasts and I don't have any health issues.

With each fast, I needed a discerning heart for how God wanted me to respond in the particular situation. Not only did I receive my answer(s), I had peace about each one I was given. I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit every time.

I intend to learn more about fasting this year. I like to make notes so that I can share them as well as remind myself about it later. So, you may want to check this page again later to see if I have any additions. If you plan on fasting this year, it goes hand in hand with prayer. You may find my notes about prayer useful as well.

1. Fasting is an opportunity to retrain your brain.  You and I are hungry every day at different times. We also fester over things that upset us and worry incessantly about things that we shouldn't. Every time that we get one of those urges or that hunger pang, they serve as prompts to pray instead of eating, worrying, festering...

2. Going without is one thing but replacing 'it' with more of something focused on God is really the intent of the fast.

3. You are repeatedly dying to self.

4. For me, fasting seemed to take a lot of the emotional response out of my problem. It allowed me to see the details of the situation instead of being blinded by my feelings about it.

5. Each time that I have fasted, I have felt peace and clarity.

6. The purpose of a fast is to make you "as clean a vessel possible, in order to gain more of the Holy Spirit and discernment". That might not make much sense but alcohol subdues you, caffeine perks you up, other foods can also have various effects; we're just so accustomed to eating them that we don't realize their impact. Not putting it in our bodies, allows us a clean starting point if that makes sense.

7. It is a form of worship. Recognizing that you need God more than a necessity or desire.

8. You will never have dominion over any appetite of your body until you make fasting a regular part of your diet. - Fred Michaux, Pastor of City Life.

9. Fasting isn't only about food. In fact if you check out Isaiah 58; It is labeled "True Fasting" and never mentions food.  It talks about the importance of checking the attitude of your heart, so that the things that you do or give up don't cause your to be bitter about doing them. It also acknowledges the importance of loving others, building up the body of believers and also fasting from your own tasks in order to honor the Sabbath. Consider fasting a tool to dying to self in any aspect.


Resources

The following resources look interesting to me and are what I will be using when I begin to dig deeper. This was an easy place to store them for access later. May they be a blessing to us both!

Fasting Can Change Your Life - Interviews & Testimony's about fasting

The Beginner's Guide to Fasting, Elmer Towns

Fasting for Spiritual Breakthrough, Elmer Towns - This one looks at several fasts in the Bible and what they were used for. -

This link looks like a pdf study guide that goes with the above book.

A free link with some more info.

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"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.  And I will be found of you, saith the LORD." Jeremiah 29:13-14