John Piper in his book “Hunger for God,” wrote: “Christian fasting, at its root, is the hunger of a homesickness for God. Christians fasting is not only the spontaneous effect of superior satisfaction in God, it is also a chosen weapon against every force in the world that would take that satisfaction away.”
“To Fast” in Greek is Nesteuo-meaning “to abstain from eating.”
1 Peter 5:5; “God opposes the proud, but shows favor to the humble.”
Luke 18:11-12: The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.
Lev 23:26-29: The tenth day of the seventh month is the day when the annual ritual is to be performed to take away the sins of the people. On that day do not eat anything at all; come together for worship, and present a food offering to the LORD. Do no work on
that day, because it is the day for performing the ritual to take away sin. Any who eat anything on that day will no longer be considered God’s people.
Zech. 8:19 “The fasts held in the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months will become festivals of joy and gladness for the people of Judah. You must love truth and peace.”
Exodus 34:28: So he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.
Esther. 4:16: “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.”
Luke 2:37: and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.
“Why do Christians fast and what does it accomplish?”
Biblical fasting is not a hunger strike between you and God.
1) Fasting is a means of humbling ourselves before God.
Psalm 35:13, “But when they were sick, I dressed in mourning; I deprived myself of food; I prayed with my head bowed low,”
2) To express dependence:
Act 14:23: And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
3) To resist temptation:
4) To express grief:
5) To Express Repentance:
6) To seek deliverance:
7) To receive revelation:
WAYS OF FAST:
1) Complete-Normal Fast – No food, water only. (Modified)
2) Absolute Fast – Absolutely no food or water. (Caution: Should not be undertaken over 3 days and only then if you have a clear directive from the Lord and are in good health)
3) Partial Fast – This could mean fasting certain meals of the day or abstaining from certain kinds of foods. (Daylight hours)
4) Corporate Fast – A church or group of people who feel God has called them to fast together for a certain period of time.
0 Comments