A Hunger for God…Through Fasting Part IV

In Matthew 6:16-18 we’re given more guidelines about how to fast: “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth they have received their reward in full….And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you”

Don’t look like you’re suffering. Don’t draw attention to yourself. Don’t look like you’ve had a rough day. Give no reason to be asked why you look so bad. This is especially hard for me…I live in a perpetual state of tiredness. I look run down everyday. So looking better than I normally do would get people asking why I look so good…LOL!! Not really, but I do have to make an extra effort to look as normal as I otherwise would.

Keep it private. As in praying, we are called not to pray as to be seen so that others think highly of us. God sees the motives of your heart so beware when telling others about your fasting. Also, be reminded that fasting is not a sacrifice that earns us anything and/or worse, bends God’s Hand to do our will. John Wesley puts it this way: “The man who never fasts is no more in the way to heaven than the man who never prays.” However, there is plenty of support in the Bible for corporate and group fasting in Joel 2:15 it calls the people of Zion to gather together and “declare a holy fast…” When you’re married or live with others it will be very hard to keep that a secret, again it is your motive that makes it sinful…not that people find out.

There is a reward! It is just like giving; the more you give, with the right heart attitude, the more reward you store in heaven. John Piper says it better: “…He {God} rewards acts that confess human helplessness and that express hope in God, because these acts call attention to his glory.”

I sure pray that the Lord through the Holy Spirit has impressed upon your heart to seek Him in fasting, and that through fasting your heart will be revived as mine was. We also look forward to hearing from you and your testimonies of answered prayer and found joy in Christ.

“I am thirsty, but you are the Fountain of Life.

I am weak, but you are strong.

I am poor, but you are rich.

I am foolish, but you are wise.

I am broken, but you are whole.

I am dying, but your steadfast love is better than life,” (Psalm 63:3.)

A Hunger for God…Through Fasting Part III

Then HOW should you fast?

1) How long should you fast? God didn’t ordain the length of time we should fast. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist denomination, fasted every Wednesday and Friday and required all of his clergy to do the same. So whether the Holy Spirits leads you to fast for only one meal or forty days, the important thing is that your heart is driven by a godly purpose.

What type of fast you should do? Knowing how long you’ll fast, will help you determine what type of fast you may want to do. I could spend another day or two just talking about types of fasts. But for the sake of time and attention span…I’m just going to mention the most commonly known (among people I know) “normal fast” which is abstaining from all food, but not from water. Just remember the point IS to get hungry!

2) How to fast safely? You need to consider your health. If you’re pregnant, diabetic, or have any other chronic health problem this is not for you. When doing a rather lengthy fast I would recommend to consult with your doctor first.

3) How do you prepare? Plan, Plan, and Plan. Without planning to do it in the first place—it will not happen.

a. Have an eternal perspective. Without an eternal perspective it will be near impossible to endure the hunger and you will be tempted to give up at the first sight of hunger.

b. Plan what and who you’ll pray for. When I go in “hunger mode” I don’t have to search the files in my head as to what or who to pray for. I’ve gone from “I’m really hungry…oh yeah, I’m suppose to be praying” to “Lord, thank you for reminding me to pray for…”

c. Wean yourself. Resist the urge to pig out on your last meal. I start by not having anything to eat or drink the night before I fast. Waking up hungry allows me to hit the floor running, so to speak, no time to think, no turning back.

4) How do you explain to friends and love ones? My mind goes specifically to people working outside the home and I can suggest you simply saying “I have other plans for lunch today.” Of course, plan ahead and if you expect to be going out to lunch with co-workers, vendors, etc. just do it on a day that there will be less explaining to do. For Christian friends, we should just be able to answer with a simple “I’m fasting today.” My husband is learning not to ask anymore why I’m not eating…what he doesn’t know is that sometimes I don’t have what they’re having simply because I don’t like it…

Please join me tomorrow as I wrap this up.

A Hunger for God…Through Fasting Part II

Why should we fast?

Dr. Whitney gives these reasons (and more in his book) as to why to fast:

1) It is ordained by God. In Matthew 6:16-17 it says: “And when you fast…But when you fast…” By giving us instruction on what to do and what not to do when we fast, Jesus assumes that we will fast.
2) To humble oneself before God. In Psalm 35:13; Ezra 8:21 “I humble myself through fasting”.
3) To strengthen our prayer. Nehemiah (in 1:4) “fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.”
4) To seek God’s Guidance. In Acts 14:23 Paul and Barnabas prayed and fasted before appointing elders in the churches they founded.
5) To express grief. After King Saul’s burial in 1 Sam 31:13 it says that they the men of Jabesh Gilead mourned and “fasted for seven days.”
6) To seek deliverance or protection. Queen Esther (in 4:16) said “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me.”
7) To overcome temptation and dedicate yourself to God. In Matthew 4:1-11 we’re told Jesus fasted for “forty days and forty nights”. He knew how Satan was going to tempt him and that’s how he prepared himself for the temptations to come.

Could you find any reason to fast?

As I mentioned before, my main reason for fasting was prayer. But with more reasons to fast, I have found myself increasing the number of days I fast per week - I’m hooked! While fasting, everything is magnified, becomes urgent, and captures my senses. My dull and boring prayers are suddenly revived with a great sense of love and care for the lost and God’s people. Overall, my sense of expectation and hope has been renewed through fasting. There has been a trickled down affect into other areas of disciplines like reading my Bible consistently and meditating on the Word.


Please join me Thursday as we tackle HOW to fast.

Hunger for God - Through Fasting

There’s been a revival in my spiritual life through fasting. Before, I’d been at best on “survival mode,” practicing here and there the spiritual disciplines of the faith. With the exhausting task of raising four little boys, the distractions and lack of energy left very little time for God. At best, I’d prayed and read my bible out of duty rather than obedience and faith. Sadly, I had lost my first love in Christ.

However, early this year I read a post on fasting that caught my attention immediately when it said “my hunger reminds me to pray…” I thought about this a lot and I concluded that if I had to starve myself to pray then that’s what I needed to do. Previously, fasting had been out of the question for I had been pregnant for a few years in a row and the rest of the time I was just trying to keep it together. As I watched parents struggling to influence their children to fear God and obey Him, I realized more and more that I needed to pray, and to pray with urgency as if my kids were going astray now. But I couldn’t fabricate those prayers; the need in my heart to pray that way just wasn’t there.

I knew fasting was to be done for spiritual reasons and reasons I had: The salvation of my children and others, and that really got me exited. I began to fast with what little I knew. But as time went on I had a sneaky suspicion that I needed to know more about it for I began to have all kinds of questions. One of them being; what was fasting in the first place? So I pulled out Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald Whitney and there it was plain and simple:

“…is a Christian’s voluntary abstinence from food for spiritual purposes. It is Christian, for fasting by a non-Christian obtains no eternal value because the Discipline’s motives and purposes are to be God-centered. It is voluntary in that fasting is not to be coerced. Fasting is more than just the ultimate crash diet for the body; it is abstinence from food for spiritual purposes.”


Though I still have three kids in diapers fasting has enable me to attend to their needs while meditating, praying, and interceding for others in prayer. Hunger has caused me to get in tune with the Holy Spirit, if you will, and thus grow me spiritually.

Please join me tomorrow as we learn more about WHY we should fast.