Please, stop judging the fast that another has chosen!

You can catch up on our series, 31 Days of Fasting in January here!

During the first month of the year, we hear of people fasting quite often. As we have stated in the last week, it is a time of renewal, refreshing and reviving of our spirit and denying our flesh. Kind of a fresh start to a new year. Naturally, The Daniel Fast has taken the Christian world by storm and there are plenty of helps out there if that is the fast you have chosen. Yes, I even have a book on the subject and yes, I share it here on Hope in the Healing. It isn’t required, it is available.

But, along with anything so popular, there must surely be something that is wrong with it, right?

No. There is never anything wrong with a fast unless it is done to be seen by others or you think you are getting extra credit points with God. The Bible talks clearly about that, they already have their reward! Being seen of others is sadly all the reward they will ever have.

Luke 18:9-14. “And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in
themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up
into the temple to pray. . . The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself,
God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are . . . I fast twice in the week,
I give tithes . . . And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much
as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to
me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to this house justified rather than
the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that
humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

When you fast, don’t walk around with a long face and a plastered grimace that tells the world you are about to fall in the floor because you are so weak from fasting. This draws attention to YOU and it isn’t about you. Fasting is denying your flesh things that it would normally enjoy, and when you do without, then you will have more time to focus on HIM, on Jesus Christ and His will for your life!

Fasting isn’t a magic pill, forcing God to move;

it’s an act of humility and submission to His will!

I grew up thinking that if anyone knew I was fasting that I had failed and it was all in vain. Where did we get that? There are many times that you and a friend may fast together or you and your spouse might go on an extended fast for a particular purpose. That is called UNITY; you aren’t putting on a show for others, you are binding together with another child of God in one mind, one accord.

Did they do that in the Bible? Did they have what we call today, Corporate Fasts?

Yes!

Here are just a few examples:

Esther called for the Jews to fast for her for three days and nights before she went in to petition the King in Esther 4.
Church elders fasted and prayed before sending Paul and Barnabas on their missionary journey in Acts 13.
The people of Nineveh called for a fast after Jonah preached to them in Jonah 3.
Samuel and the people of Israel fasted after bringing the ark of the covenant to the house of Abinadab in 1 Samuel 7.
In the Book of Judges, the people fasted in relation to a certain battle they were about to fight. They needed direction from God so they all fasted together.
Ezra called a fast! “Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods….So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.” Ezra 8

There are many more examples, do a study on it and get excited about the prayers that God answered when His people humbled themselves, prayed AND fasted, together or in private!

God cares about the motive behind the fast;

if it’s just to be seen by others it is all in vain!

Back to The Daniel Fast: Yes, it has gained popularity in recent years and some criticize the fast as just a vegetarian diet. If that is someone’s purpose, just to go vegan for a week or two (or three!) then yes, they have it all wrong. But fasting is denying yourself things you would normally enjoy. I think most of us enjoy sweets, treats and meats.

The Daniel Fast is a great introduction to fasting for those that haven’t been on many longer fasts. It gives them confidence, for lack of a better word, that they could try a complete one-day fast, drinking only water. Then, maybe they could work up to a three day fast or try a longer juice fast.

We have repeated many times here on Hope in the Healing that The Daniel Fast isn’t a time to become a gourmet cook and fix elaborate meals every day. It is also not a time to pretend you are a contestant on The Food Network, have only been handed vegetables, and must make all the ingredients taste like pancakes and bacon.

You should prepare simple meals and not overeat, just normal portions. Some even have a light snack in the afternoon or mid-morning, there aren’t any RULES, but pray about what God would have you to do. The point is to DENY yourself things that you love. Maybe give up the Starbucks for the fast and resist the desserts and loaded potatoes. Eat simply and light and don’t spend all of your time trying to recreate all of your favorite dishes.

The bottom line is this:

Just because you fast with only water doesn’t mean it doesn’t count with God when someone else chooses a vegetable and water fast. Let us be thankful that The Church is returning to fasting and that even what some would call an easy fast does count with God when done with a right spirit.

If we are spending all of our time finding fault with the way someone else is fasting maybe we need to look inward at our own selves and our motives.

Fast unto the Lord! Whatever you choose, combine it with prayer and make it a priority to spend more time with Jesus, listening for His voice. You will find Him there, you will gain strength through His Word and be able to hear Him more clearly when you are denying the flesh of things that it loves.

Be blessed in your fasting, whatever you choose and give grace to your brother and sister, praying God would bless them abundantly for their sacrifice.

Do you have your copy of my easy-to-read Fasting Devotional? Don’t let the title fool you! It is a 21 day devotion for ANY FAST. Each day is an example of someone in the Bible who fasted, some for the wrong reason as well, and what we can glean from them. There are also Daniel Fast recipes and instructions for following that fast as well. Available at Amazon.com in Kindle or paperback!

Fasting: Binding the Strong Man!

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We have discussed in earlier posts that Jesus told His disciples that some things do not get taken care of except by prayer and fasting. Matthew 17:14-21.

If you are fasting for others, a loved one, a prodigal, someone dear to you for whatever reason…these battles of spiritual warfare will take dominion over the power of the enemy!

Ephesians 6:12 KJV. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

Our fight is not with flesh and blood, or with people, but it is against the powers that influence people.

This is a spiritual battle, seen or unseen. We must have a disciplined prayer life and couple that with regular fasting!

Fasting breaks strongholds! It can literally set people free from the chains that bind them. But in order to do that, that strong man must be taken care of first.

“…Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.” Matthew 12:29 NIV.

Did you catch that verse? Jesus was speaking here explaining that the strong man is Satan and he has slaves that do his bidding and they keep people yoked, or bound, to wickedness. We must tie him up and bind him in Jesus’ name.

Prayer and fasting can literally break that yoke and set people free from bondage!

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Then they will be able to come to God without hindrance.

But if the enemy has taken up residence in your house, you will not be able to help deliver others from the power he has over them! We must die out to sin DAILY. We cannot let sin “reign in our mortal bodies.” Playing around with sin, tempting God, flirting with the things of this world, one foot in and one foot out, all of these things hinder the power of the Holy Spirit in us. We won’t be able to help others because we are too weak to bind that strong man.

Remember, we saw in Daniel 10, when he was fasting for 21 days, that angels were loosed to fight on his behalf. They literally had to fight devils in order to get a word from God to Daniel. His prayer and fasting were shaking things up.

Prayers were answered; chains were broken.

So, what are you fasting, praying and believing God to do for you? Get that Bible out and start reading scripture out loud when you pray. Take authority in the Spirit and watch what happens while you are on this fast. You may face opposition…but keep pressing in and pressing on. The battle is the Lord’s; you are just clay in the Potter’s hands. He will take care of His own!

Remember as you fast, you are not on a diet; you’re are striving to be more like Jesus. Paul said, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death…” Philippians 3:10 KJV.

God is well pleased as you sacrifice what is pleasurable to you on a daily basis.

The Daniel Fast Devotional is a great tool for ANY FAST! Devotions for 21 days, if you choose to go that long, and recipes in each chapter if you are on the Daniel Fast. Get yours on Amazon today!

You have strengthened me…

1. Fasting, without prayer, is just going without food.

2. Fasting to lose weight is NOT fasting, it is called a DIET.

3. Fasting to impress others; not cool.

There are many different types of fasts. The Bible is not specific about HOW you fast and most of the time they went without any food whatsoever. The Daniel Fast has become popular among Christians but some would say it is NOT fasting. I will leave that up to individual convictions. If you feel you must go without food completely to fast then that is what you should do. For many, who haven’t fasted very much or at all, The Daniel Fast is a good introduction to fasting. Once they have accomplished that, they can then fast a full day without food, then a three day fast, etc. We are not telling you HOW to fast, just how beneficial it is.

Naturally, we see many in the Old Testament who fasted and then when we get to the New Testament, Jesus fasted as well.

Satan would love for us to stay in the dark about the benefits of fasting!

The importance here is not necessarily HOW you fast but that you DO fast unto the Lord. If you are a PRO at The Daniel Fast, and it is easy for you, then possibly it isn’t a sacrifice any longer and maybe you could try a full day fast where you drink only water. That is definitely more of a challenge and a sacrifice to most. Some choose a three day fast, a week long fast and I have known some who have gone for 30-40 days without any food. This should be done under a doctor’s care and guidance from your pastor.

Fasting is simply denying the flesh and focusing on God.

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However you choose to fast, do it unto the Lord. Do not just go without food or participate in The Daniel Fast if you are not spending time with Him. It is a total waste of your time and energy!

Let’s see what happens, according to scripture, in the spirit world when you fast:

Daniel was in a battle with the spirit world when he went on his 21 days of fasting and prayer. Satan and his cohorts resisted the angels that were to be sent for an answer to his prayers, but finally, they were able to break through. The earth began to quake and the men that were with Daniel fled because of fear. You can read of this battle in Daniel the tenth chapter.

Twenty-one days Daniel had been fasting…no pleasant bread, no flesh (meat) and no wine touched his lips. He was humbling himself before God and denying himself things that he would normally enjoy. And when he did that, look what happened: It shook heaven and hell.

Is there power in fasting? Yes!

Does it matter if we do it or not? Yes!

The spirit world is real. Angels are working on our behalf and God wants to release power like we have never seen before in these last days. However, we must do our part. We are not going to experience it just sitting around doing nothing.

Daniel had a vision at the end of this three week fast: “In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a word was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar. And the word was true, and it was a great conflict. And he understood the word and had understanding of the vision. In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks.I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks.” Daniel 10:1-3 ESV.

Three weeks of fasting had made Daniel very weak and he says to the angel, “O my lord, by reason of the vision pains have come upon me, and I retain no strength. How can my lord’s servant talk with my lord? For now no strength remains in me, and no breath is left in me.” Daniel 10:16, 17 ESV. The angel immediately responds!

“Again one having the appearance of a man touched me and strengthened me. And he said, ‘O man greatly loved, fear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage.’ And as he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, ‘Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.’” Daniel 10:18, 19 ESV.

He was strengthened over and over again in this encounter with the angels. He had finished his three week fast and was physically without strength. The Bible even says that the man in the vision tells Daniel that Michael, the archangel and this other angel were fighting together in the spirit world for Daniel!

Daniel was fasting unto the Lord. Jehovah didn’t turn his back on Daniel but honored his sacrifice and his commitment and sent warrior angels on his behalf.

He will do the same for you.

Fast as unto the Lord. Watch and see what will happen in your life this year when you put fasting and prayer together.

A big THANK YOU to everyone who has purchased, shared, tweeted, or told someone about The Daniel Fast Devotional! It is a great tool for ANY FAST with devotions for every day, examples of people in the Bible who fasted, why they did it and what we can learn from it today. It also has DF approved recipes in every chapter. Get yours in Kindle or paperback on Amazon today.

Please, stop judging the fast that another has chosen!

But, along with anything so popular, there must surely be something that is wrong with it, right?

Did they do that in the Bible? Did they have what we call today, Corporate Fasts?

Yes!

Esther called for the Jews to fast for her for three days and nights before she went in to petition the King in Esther 4.

Church elders fasted and prayed before sending Paul and Barnabas on their missionary journey in Acts 13.

The people of Nineveh called for a fast after Jonah preached to them in Jonah 3.

Samuel and the people of Israel fasted after bringing the ark of the covenant to the house of Abinadab in 1 Samuel 7.

In the Book of Judges, the people fasted in relation to a certain battle they were about to fight. They needed direction from God so they all fasted together.