Day Twelve - Fasting

                  Fasting is a forgotten discipline.  Many feel that it was an Old Testament ritual and not for the church today.  But Jesus said,

Luke 5:35 But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.

                  The question was given to Jesus why His disciples did not fast.  All of the Pharisees and Saducees fasted.  The disciples of John fasted, but Jesus’ disciples did not fast.  He gave an illustration of a wedding.  While the groom is present,  there is joy and rejoicing,  but when the groom is taken,  then will be the time of fasting.  What does that say?  It says that now that Jesus has returned to heaven,  this is the time to fast.  In the near future,  He will come again and set up a kingdom on earth.  We will forever be with the Lord.  Since fasting is about the time when the bridegroom is taken from them,  we will have no other time to fast than the present time.  Fasting is a form of self denial.  It teaches us to go without necessary food so that we will give ourselves completely to prayer.  Fasting and prayer go together,

Matthew 17:21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

1 Corinthians 7:5 Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.

This is not just an old Testament principle.  There is not a great emphasis on fasting in the New Testament,  but it is taught.  We read,  “give yourselves to fasting and prayer.”  This is in the context of husbands and wives giving to each other,  but fasting was a part of the early church.  When Paul ordained elders,  he did so after fasting, 

Acts 14:23 And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.

When the ship that Paul traveled on was in danger of sinking,  the men on the ship prayed and fasted (Acts 27:33).  Fasting is a discipline that helps the mind center on matters that are important.   When Jesus went into the wilderness for forty days we read,

Luke 4:2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.

 

He knew that the devil would tempt Him.  We believe that fasting is important in overcoming temptation.  It teaches us to go without for the sake of the Lord and His work on earth.  That discipline also helps us to say "no" to sin that is tempting to us.  This is found in the Bible,  but not often practiced by the church.

An Exercise to increase our Faith:  Spent a day fasting.  If you haven’t had time to pray for an hour,  this would be a good exercise to make the time of prayer more meaningful for you.  Fasting is denying something needful for a short period of time.  When you fast,  drink plenty of liquid,  and fast only for a short period of time and couple that time with prayer.