And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession… (Daniel 9:3-4).
Fasting and prayer is not a way to get God to do something or change His mind about something; it’s actually a spiritual exercise that benefits you. When you fast and pray, you’re training your spirit to be sensitive and responsive to God. Fasting has to do with abstinence from food and every form of distraction so you can be better attuned to the Spirit of God. Ideally, you don’t fast to punish yourself so you can get something from God. You fast because you’re training your spirit and your body towards an unconditional response to the Word of God.
Fasting is also an exercise designed to bring the flesh under subjection of the spirit. In other words, it gets you attuned to the Spirit so you can hear what God is saying and be guided by His Spirit to do His will and follow His purpose for your life. This is the purpose of fasting. Fasting doesn’t change God; it changes you and causes you to be aligned to God’s will and purpose.
Jesus Himself fasted several times while He was in the earth. The only time that the disciples didn’t fast was when Jesus was with them. He said they didn’t have to fast because He was with them, and that when He leaves them they would have to fast. And after He ascended, they fasted.
Fasting alone without praying is mere hunger strike. When you fast, you’ll have to pray also—especially in tongues—to energize your spirit. As a Christian, there’s a level you’ll never attain in spiritual things except you discipline yourself by fasting and praying from time to time. Fasting and praying helps you discipline your human body and let your spirit take control. At such times, it’s easy for you to pick the signals coming from the Lord to you.
More often than not, you’ll get hungry and feel weak when you truly fast, but your refusal to succumb to your body’s craving for food at that time is indicative that you’re disciplined and have put your physical body under. This will help you relate better with the Holy Spirit and make you walk with strength and vitality always.
Prayer
Dear Father, I thank you for teaching me about the importance of praying and fasting. As I give myself to this spiritual discipline always, I will reap the enormous spiritual benefits and blessings that comes with it. Thank you, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Further Study
1 Corinthians 7:5 Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.
Acts 14:23 And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.
(Taken by permission from Christ Embassy Church , aka Believer’s LoveWorld Ministries , Lagos, Nigeria. www.ChristEmbassy.org )
