Matthew 6:16–18: “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. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 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.
WHAT IS FASTING?
- Hebrew word sum, meaning "to cover" the mouth
- Greek word nesteuo, meaning "to abstain."
To abstain as a spiritual discipline religious exercise from food and drink: either entirely, if the fast lasted but a single day, or from customary and choice nourishment, if it continued several days.
Fasting by itself is only focused on the physical aspects. In order to make it a spiritual discipline, it must accompanied by prayer, devotions, worship, Bible study and other spiritual disciplines that helps us draw closer to God.
WHY FAST?
II Chronicles 7:14 - "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
- To Learn lessons of the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16)
· Forgiveness of confessed sins
· Reconciliation to God
· The Need to resist satan
· Forgiveness of confessed sins
- Practiced by serious seekers of God – Acts 10:30
- To Draw closer to God
- Moses – Moses did not eat bread or drink water during the 40 days and 40 nights he was on Mount Sinai receiving the law (Ex 34:28).
- Elijah – fasted 40 days 40 nights for God to deal with him and prepare him in his duties as a prophet (1 Kings 19:8 )
- Jesus - (Matthew 4)
- Daniel – Daniel 9:3; 10:2-3
- Anna – Luke 2:37
- To get favor from God
- To get direction from God
- To serve God
- To demonstrate ones feelings before God,
- Done in times of distress
- David fasted after hearing that Saul and Jonathan were dead (2 Sam 1:12).
- Nehemiah fasted and prayed upon learning that
Jerusalem - To break free from certain demonic strongholds fasting and prayer is required (Matt. 17:19-21).
HOW DO WE FAST (APPLICATION):
Isaiah 58: 1-6 - True Fasting
SEVEN STEPS OF A SPIRITUAL FAST
- HAVE AN OBJECTIVE
- Why are you fasting? Is it for spiritual renewal, for guidance, for healing, for the resolution of problems, for special grace to handle a difficult situation? Ask the Holy Spirit to clarify His leading and objectives for your prayer fast. This will enable you to pray more specifically and strategically.
- MAKE YOUR COMMITMENT
- Pray about the kind of fast you should undertake.
· How long you will fast - one meal, one day, a week, several weeks, forty days (Beginners should start slowly, building up to longer fasts.)
· The type of fast God wants you to undertake (such as water only, or water and juices; what kinds of juices you will drink and how often)
· What physical or social activities you will restrict
· How much time each day you will devote to prayer and God's Word
- PREPARE YOURSELF SPIRITUALLY
- The very foundation of fasting and prayer is repentance. Unconfused sin will hinder your prayers. Here are several things you can do to prepare your heart:
· Ask God to help you make a comprehensive list of your sins.
· Confess every sin that the Holy Spirit calls to your remembrance and accept God's forgiveness (1 John 1:9).
· Seek forgiveness from all whom you have offended, and forgive all who have hurt you (Mark 11:25; Luke 11:4; 17:3,4).
· Make restitution as the Holy Spirit leads you.
· Ask God to fill you with His Holy Spirit according to His command in Ephesians 5:18 and His promise in 1 John 5:14,15.
· Surrender your life fully to Jesus Christ as your Lord and Master; refuse to obey your worldly nature (Romans 12:1,2).
· Meditate on the attributes of God, His love, sovereignty, power, wisdom, faithfulness, grace, compassion, and others (Psalm 48:9,10; 103:1-8, 11-13).
· Begin your time of fasting and prayer with an expectant heart (Hebrews 11:6).
· Do not underestimate spiritual opposition. Satan sometimes intensifies the natural battle between body and spirit (Galatians 5:16,17).
- PREPARE YOURSELF PHYSICALLY
- Physical preparation makes the drastic change in your eating routine a little easier so that you can turn your full attention to the Lord in prayer.
· •Do not rush into your fast.
· •Prepare your body. Eat smaller meals before starting a fast. Avoid high-fat and sugary foods.
· •Eat raw fruit and vegetables for two days before starting a fast.
- SET TIME APART
- For maximum spiritual benefit, set aside ample time to be alone with the Lord. Listen for His leading. The more time you spend with Him, the more meaningful your fast will be.
- END YOUR FAST GRADUALLY
- If you end your fast gradually, the beneficial physical and spiritual effects will result in continued good health.
- EXPECT RESULTS
- If you sincerely humble yourself before the Lord, repent, pray, and seek God's face; if you consistently meditate on His Word, you will experience a heightened awareness of His presence.
FINAL WORD:
The bottom line is fasting is done to get closer to God and depending on Him to do what we cannot do ourselves.
Isaiah 58 - True Fasting
1 “Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion
and to the descendants of Jacob their sins. 2 For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. 3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’ “Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. 4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. 5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD? 6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? 8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness[a] will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. 9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. “If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, 10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. 11 The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. 12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. 13 “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the LORD’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, 14 then you will find your joy in the LORD, and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
NEXT TIME: Spiritual Disciplines: SERVICE
No comments:
Post a Comment