Mark 9:29
So He said to them, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting."*
NKJV
Fasting is God’s way to deepen and strengthen prayer. Your prayer life will never be what God wants it to be until you practice the privilege of fasting. Wesley Duewel writes “This is a time of spiritual warfare for people and nations, but carnal Christians prefer a parade. It is a time for unity, but carnality pulls for self. We need spirit-energized action, but the carnal self prefers speeches. It is a time of fasting, but our people prefer feasting. (Isa. 22:12-13)”. Biblical fasting is a form of self-denial for the sake of Jesus and His kingdom. It is a deliberate abstinence from some or all food for a spiritual purpose. It demands a deep level of commitment and sacrifice. The discipline of fasting can also be applied to sleep. Christ often fasted from sleep in order to spend time alone with the Father. A deliberate withdrawal from the fellowship of friends and family for a time in order to devote yourself more fully and exclusively to fellowship with God and intercession is true fasting. In an even broader sense, fasting is any deliberate self-denial and abstinence for the purpose of becoming spiritually stronger and advancing the work of the kingdom of God. You can fast from your own ambitions, desires and plans, from legitimate pleasures, rights and joys, and from comforts and luxuries.
At the heart of the gospel is the cross. The spirit of Christ is a spirit of self-sacrifice. The cross, self-sacrifice, self-denial and fasting are all interrelated. It is the spirit of putting God first, of seeking God’s kingdom first, of putting priority on God’s will and eternal goals, of taking up your cross daily and following Christ. At the heart of the sanctified life is a crisis of the crucifixion, of self-surrender, and of total commitment followed by a crucified life. The spirit-filled believer should find joy in fasting for kingdom goals. (Wesley Duewel, touch the world through prayer, pg 97-98).
Go into today knowing that fasting is not a chore but an opportunity to further receive from God.
Prayer: thank you father for this day. I pray you give me the grace to fast right. In Jesus name. Amen
By Otuokon, Ubokudom
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Jeremiah 37-41 OR LISTEN -(click to read or listen)
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