Top New Year's Resolution For Christians?

 

I bet you didn’t guess the answer is PRAYER & FASTING ! Yeah, yeah, that was just too easy! But I’m not here for trivia! I want to talk about how depriving ourselves of chocolate cake and our morning caramel macchiato makes us better Christians. (With stomach rumbling.)



Eating never felt so good and food never tasted so divine than it does AFTER a fast! When we deprive ourselves of worldly loves in order to seek our Lord … He. Shows. Up.



So … watch it! You may just get what you’re praying for … and then some!

 





                                                          

                                                            FASTING GETS RESULTS



Why should we fast? Well, fasting and prayer brings us closer to God. The Bible tells us about people who fasted and prayed (about the different fasts and different reasons to fast), all having positive results. There are many stories in the Old Testament about people fasting.

When Nehemiah mourned over the conditions in Jerusalem he “fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven” Nehemiah 1:4. Daniel pleaded with God “in prayer and fasting” Daniel 9:3. And in Acts 13:3, talking about the church in Antioch, “So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on [Paul and Barnabus] and sent them on their way” to their first missionary journey. John the Baptist had followers who fasted.



Most importantly, Jesus fasted and prayed, and so did His disciples. In Matthew 6:16, Jesus said “ when you fast,” not if you fast. This statement tells us we should all have times in our prayer lives in which we should fast. Fasting strengthens our prayers because to deny our flesh in order to feed our spirit is an act of devotion, obedience, and servitude to the Lord.



The fasts mentioned in the Bible all range in length. Some were one day, three days, several days, seven days, twenty one days, and forty days. Jesus’ fast was the longest and it wasn’t until after He fasted that He began to preach, heal, and perform numerous miracles. There’s power in fasting and it’s encouraged by the Lord. Each and every fast mentioned in the Bible was answered by God. His people were fasting for a breakthrough, and breakthrough is what they received. Whatever issue they were going through, God answered, fixed, moved, mended and restored.



I’ve heard some Christians say they don’t believe in fasting; it seems ridiculous and it’s not needed in today’s world. The truth is, fasting and prayer is very much needed, especially in these end times. Again, fasting and prayer brings us closer to God. It connects us with Him. The fact that Jesus (the Son of God) fasted speaks volumes and tells us we need it too. I want to emulate Jesus, don’t you? I mean, if the Bible tells us to do something, I’m there! I want to do what the Lord asks of me.



I want to think like Jesus and act like Jesus as best as I can. So why would I neglect this area which Jesus treated so importantly in His relationship with His Father?

Also, I want what God has for me. So if fasting is a means to the riches He holds in His hands, I’m going to do what I must in order to achieve those blessings. This way, I can fulfill (there’s that word again) the purpose and plans He’s laid out for my life! The combination of fasting and prayer are Bible-based disciplines and are not meant to control or manipulate a situation. Instead, they add insight, movement, strength, and wisdom to a situation or circumstance. It’s appropriate for everyone, in all times, anywhere in the world.



I never heard much talk on fasting in church growing up, so I never learned any details about it. I thought it was an ancient practice no longer in use today, until I went to Livingway Church in San Antonio. Quite often, the pastor and associate pastor spoke of how much it benefits us as believers to fast and pray. But it wasn’t until a couple of years later that I decided to try it for myself. I was in a place of desperation for the Lord. I couldn’t get enough of Him, and I felt like it was my last hope of connecting to Him on a more intimate level. I wanted to have a one-on-one with Him and fasting felt like the answer, so I tried it. And I was right!



I think the problem today is that people don’t really understand fasting. They feel it’s a form of religious works, or that it’s ritualistic and ancient in practice. Many people feel they’d never be able to fast, and they give up on the idea before even giving it a chance. They decide it’s not for them or not needed because they can’t imagine going without food for any amount of time. Let me add this side note: When I deprive myself of something I want or enjoy in order to show my obedience to the Lord (to show Him how much more He means to me than any worldly object or substance, even food) it satisfies every ounce of my being. It’s a wonderfully refreshing feeling. Not a feeling of deprivation, but a feeling of fulfillment. A feeling of, I lack for nothing!



During a fast I don’t feel physically hungry as much as I feel spiritually hungry, in which only God can satisfy. He feeds my soul in the only way it can be fed—with His Spirit. It’s the filling up of that empty space within me that drives me to fast in the first place. It’s a time of filling up with His Spirit. It’s so refreshing! Fasting leaves a person full, refreshed, and satisfied.

Fasting can be as long, or short, as you want it to be. You can fast for several weeks, days, or one meal. Some people drink only water, some drink juices, and some skip breakfast, but still eat lunch and dinner. The importance of fasting is not the length of your fast, but the prayer and discipline behind it. Fasting with prayer puts you in the best possible position for a breakthrough. What I’ve learned from the Biblical fasts, my personal fasts and the experiences my friends have had with fasting is, it produces spiritual results, some being miraculous. I’d call them all miraculous because everything the Lord does is a miracle in our world, but in reality, it’s just God being God. He’s a God of miracles; this is just who He is.



So fasting and prayer causes breakthrough in any situation you may have, and we all have some sort of situation, don’t we? I mean, I wish life could be a bowl of cherries all the time, but we’re not in Heaven yet. We haven’t earned that privilege because there’s still work to be done here, and until the Lord calls us home, we have situations to deal with. Sometimes we need insight into a problem, a financial breakthrough, understanding, healing, or mental and emotional strength. If we have any need in our lives (we usually do on a regular basis) God is who provides answers, healing, and breakthroughs. Fasting and prayer quickens the process by taking us straight to the source … God! See how He has supplied us with numerous ways to connect with Him on different levels and for different reasons?



Toby and I encountered so many difficulties while in Birmingham that it literally drove me to fast. I say it like that because, as I mentioned previously, I just wasn’t into the whole fasting thing. Drown me in desperation, and I become a little more willing to do, well, just about anything. I was so like, Lord, I’m ready to fast. I’m expecting a miracle. Actually, a miracle is not what I was expecting and that’s because I had absolutely no idea what to expect.



I knew very little about fasting except I was to starve myself and pray. Pray in place of eating, is what I told myself. I didn’t know much, but I knew enough, and I had the basic concept down. So I went without eating and prayed throughout the day … a lot! Lots and lots of praying. I was dying to seek, find, and grab on to whatever connection to God I could. Bring me breakthrough, bring me miracles, no, bring me GOD! If you’re not sure what God-given purpose you have in this world, fasting and prayer is a good way to achieve revelation.



Jesus taught people how to fast, so He certainly supported it, but He never commanded it. It’s a discipline in order to help believers in their prayer lives, “Fast … to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly” Matthew 6:17-18 (NKJV). Fasting is not a requirement but a discipline that has the ability to strengthen believers. When implemented correctly it becomes a tool which provides answers to prayers. That’s what Jesus taught.



During mine and Toby’s fast, God went from being silent to talking … a lot! He spoke to us using Scripture, through others, and in visions. He led us to certain subjects, missions and purposes. What I got from the Lord during my fast was far from what I’d ever imagined. It left me feeling like Mike Murdock, “Lord if this is really You then have three camels walk into the room right now so I can be sure.”



 





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