Why fasting? Jesus taught it at the same time He taught on prayer and giving; it is truly part of discipleship!
Matthew 6:16 "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. 17 "But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 "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.
Fasting is a time set aside to deny our flesh that our inner man might rise up and direct our thoughts toward the Lord...that we may hear His voice more clearly...that we may become more in tune with the Holy Spirit's leading.
Notice Jesus said “when you fast”; He did not say if you fast. God calls His children to fast. We are called to fast unto God; do it secret before men. The Father who is in the secret place will reward you. The psalmist wrote he that dwells in the secret place shall abide under the shadow of the almighty. This is a call to intimacy between the believer and God. There is promised reward for the believer; the Father who sees in secret will reward you openly! Here in this word is great motivation to fast before the Lord!
Ezra 8:22 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." 23 So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer.
FASTING IS TO SEEK OUR GOD , AND HIS MERCY! Ezra had made boast in the truth of God’s word. Ezra fasted and entreated God for His word to come to pass. Ezra and his fellow believers fasted and God’s mercy brought the desired end. It was always what God wanted to do. Ezra was not manipulating God; Ezra’s heart was prepared to move in God’s direction without fear. Fasting can make one’s heart pliable and ready for God to do His work in and through you!
Ester 4:14 "For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?“ 15 Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai: 16 "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!“
The Jews were in a desperate situation with a decree signed by the king allowing their annihilation. Queen Ester was not allowed to go into the king without him calling for her without risking her own death. The fasting and prayer brought a turning point to the whole situation. Instead of annihilation it became the Jews day of deliverance. Prayer and fasting can prepare us to receive God’s unforeseen answer.
Mark 2:18 The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting. Then they came and said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?“ 19 And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. 20 "But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days. 21 "No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse. 22 "And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins."
Jesus is the bridegroom; His disciples could not fast while the bridegroom was with them. One of the clear reasons to fast is for the bride to make declaration that we long for the returning of our Bridegroom; it is an expression and longing to be with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus taught that fasting was for the believer waiting for the return of Christ. All the spiritual disciplines are not about the works in and of themselves. Prayer, fasting, giving, and speaking the word are all spiritual disciplines calling the believer to walk in intimacy with God. If the motive is not right the practice of the discipline does no good! Jesus began to teach about wine skins in connection to fasting. Fasting is treating the wineskin bag to make it flexible and able to receive the new wine. It is a surrendering to the new creation God has made us and allowing the Holy Spirit to be poured into our lives.
Acts 13:1 Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger , Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, "Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.“ 3 Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away. 4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia , and from there they sailed to Cyprus .
Fasting and denying ourselves makes an opportunity to minister to the Lord unfettered. Have you realized you have been called to minister to the Lord? As in other examples we have used in this study, the will of God became very clear and apparent after this season of fasting. The church was able to walk in it’s God given authority after seeking God’s will; they laid hands on Barnabas and Saul and sent them away. This sending out in Acts was the beginning of Paul ’s missionary journeys.
Acts 10:30 So Cornelius said, "Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, 31 "and said, 'Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your alms are remembered in the sight of God.
Cornelius desired God, he fasted, prayed, and gave; salvation came to his household! The angel of God told Cornelius “your prayer has been heard, and your alms are remember in the sight of God”.
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