THINGS YOU NEED TO DO NOW - TO MAKE IT (PART# 5)

Fasting -

"Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward." - Matthew 6:16.

Notice the Lord said in this scripture, "...when ye fast", not "if". In the main-stream "civilized" church of today, fasting has become an object of antiquity - placed in the same category with things like "foot-washing" or "snake-handing" - reserved for "radicals"....practised only by those "back-woods" folks. Oh, today's Christians will state they "believe" in fasting....but can you truly "believe" in something you seldom, if ever, participate in?

As a matter of fact, fasting has profound benefits for a person physically. Many physicians have reported that most people get sick simply because "they eat too much" and that a person that fasts on a regular basis will depleat the countless bateria and toxins inhabiting our bodies from the all the foods we consume and actually be heathier than those who never fast. But spiritually, fasting does for a believer's prayer life and Bible study the same thing an amplifier does for a guitar - and it will take your prayers and devotional time to a whole new level!

There have been many debates and opinions on what true fasting really is. Some state a fast isn't truly honorable to God unless it concerns only those things necessary for sustaining life - namely, food, water, and sleep. There have also been those who have stated that they have "fasted from television" or "fasted from coffee". The Bible gives us guidelines for an honorable fast to God as well as accounts of particular fasts - the "one-day" fast for direction, the "three-day" fast for deliverance, and the "forty-day" fast...a super-natural "God-called" fast that should only be done by the direct leading of the Holy Spirit.

"Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD? Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?" - Isaiah 58: 5-7.

The unmistakable guideline for an honorable fast to God is the fact that it must be a sacrifice! It must cost the believer his/her comfort and be a true affliction. So, when one decides to fast or is led by the Holy Spirit to fast, he/she should ask himself/herself these questions, "Is the fast from something that is truly an afflicting sacrifice for me?" and, "What is the reason/motive for my fast?" Let's be honest with ourselves....giving up television is not a "sacrifice" nor an "affliction". On the contary, that would actually be a blessing! Just remember, anything you give God that is a true sacrifice and has a pure motive will honor Him. And the reward?

"Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy reward. Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am...." - Isaiah 58:8-9.

Why is fasting so powerful a tool for building your storehouse of faith? There are two reasons that can be clearly verified through the scriptures -

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." - Romans 12:1.


1) The word of God teaches us that the flesh is an enemy of God. (Romans 8) From our flesh come all the corruptions, enticements, lusts, and sinful deeds that separate us from God. Paul stated that the flesh cannot be redeemed; it must be crucified. (Galatians 5:24) Fasting is one of the tools for doing just that.

2) Fasting is also a form of "intimacy". When one gives himself/herself to God in fasting, it is submitting to God completely - spirit, soul, and body. Sacrificing the needs and wants of the flesh is "becoming naked' before the Lord. That why Paul admonishes us to obstain from any other forms of intimacy while fasting. (1 Corinthians 7:5) You are being intimate with God; and one cannot truly be intimate with two people at the same time.