Power of Fasting

“No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Matthew 4:4 NLT

Hi guys! It’s Friday! I hope you all had an amazing, peaceful, and productive week. I’m hanging in there as well. I did not  post yesterday. Forgive me.. God is doing some amazing things in my life. Super busy! I’m very excited! Sometimes as you all may experience, there is not enough time in the day to get everything done. However, we must continue to press forward. When God wants our attention, we definitely should surrender to his request. It’s it only for our benefit…

Okay… so today we are talking about the power of fasting. What is fasting? What does it mean to you? According to the layman’s bible dictionary, “Fasting is the practice of giving up eating and drinking for a specific time, generally as part of a religious ritual in times of peril. Jesus and Elijah each prayed for forty days. (Matthew 4:2, I Kings 19:8)”. Some people fast from shopping, social media, driving, and other things of great like or importance for them.

Fasting can be very intimidating. It is hard to submit to restricting yourself from food or water. Especially when you maybe a foodie like me. Nevertheless, as a body of Christian believes we must partake in fasting and prayer. It will bring you closer to God. There are several method of praying. We’ll discuss some of them later. I’ll list below some of the methods I have used.

You may think, why do I have to fast Marti? It places God first in your heart and spirit. We do not fast for the sake of trying to be religious. The goal is to obtain positive control over something, asking God for favor, blessings, or resolutions. We also fast to honor God. It trains us to die to our flesh.

There are many biblical examples of  people coming together praying or fasting  to demonstrate their love and humility to God. To name a few, the story of Jehoshaphat, Chronicles  20:3, Joel 1:14, Ester 9, Elijah, 1 Kings 19. During these times they had faith God would come through for them.   

Several churches practice corporate fasting together and that is great. Corporate fasting brings unification of the saints. However, a more challenging test of fasting is when you fast alone with a God. Learning to depend solely on the Holy Spirit for strength. FASTING INCREASES FAITH!

Satan tried to tempt Jesus by trying to force Jesus to prove he was the Son of God. Jesus stood strong and would not allow Satan to win... “But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’ ” Luke‬ ‭4:4‬ ‭NLT‬‬. See, Satan was trying to manipulate Jesus. You too will come to be tested and tempted by people who are seeking to gain mental control over you. You have to be able to stand strong like Christ. When evil comes against you, throw The Word of God back at evil. Scriptures are your weapons. They are you stones of faith. Another example of Jesus stating man not to live by bread alone is Matthew 4:4 “But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Fasting, Prayer, and Faith allows us to gain control over our enemies.

We must constantly feed our spirit with The Word.

We belong to Christ and through this obedience to God, our Heavenly Father, he defeated Satan. This allowed us through faith to defeat and conquer all temptation, all trials, and all tests. We have the strength through Christ if we believe. Fasting will teach you discipline in ways you could not have learned if you didn’t practice restraint. Fasting is not something you do only when seeking blessings of material things. No! You should fast believing God to develop in you his fruits of the spirit. God will not hold anything good from you. These spiritual gifts, you possess comes with great responsibility. This is why it is important to learn to control our flesh. God commands us to only use our spiritual gifts for good and not evil. When we sacrifice for God, he will bless us beyond measure.

*Read about spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12. Here God explains the spiritual gifts and not to use for evil but, for good to help one another.

*Read about the fruit of the spirits in Galatians 5:22-23. I recommend to begin from verse 16.

Fasting is a sacrifice unto God. He commands that when we fast, do not do it to gain sympathy or for bragging rights as it is evil. “And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.” Matthew‬ ‭6:16-18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

God is saying you do not need to seek attention or to be noticed by people. He wants to be the one to reward you. There is nothing people can give you that God cannot top. Our focus should always be to please God alone. God also, wants us to fast in private to protect us from emotional and mental harm. Can you imagine, the evil your enemies can do when they openly know you are trying to sacrifice for God. Tempting you with your favorite food, music, or whatever it is they know you like. There is also, people who can unintentionally tempt you. Your enemies seek to hinder your blessings. Do not give them the opportunity. If you are invited to events during fasting either choose to decline, eat before you go, or attend and say you already ate. Surrendering to God is the greatest power we have. Choosing to give him total authority and releasing our free will demonstrates our level of trust in him.

Matthew chapter 6 also, teaches on how to pray. I encourage you to meditate on the whole chapter.

Allow God to order your step leading to and during fasting. Ask God what methods to use and the length of time. You and God are the only one who knows your struggles, your strengths, health issues, and what you are sacrificing for. Make it a personal decision.

These are a few methods I have used:

1.Eating one meal a day and drinking only water the rest of the day. When I feel hungry, I pull out my bible or pray in private or silently.

2.Drinking water and only eating fruits each day or half the day.

3.Drinking only water.

Thank you Jesus for teaching us how to pray & fast.

Jesus hold our hand

Love,

Marti L. Coates