Go Beyond

The most frequently asked question about fasting that I have received over the past week has to do with how to fast. I always preface my answer to this question by saying that fasting is not something that should be entered into lightly. Fasting is a serious matter between you and God. However, once you are certain that God is indeed calling you to fast, there are certain guidelines that can help ensure that you fast safely.

Do not be surprised if family members or friends raise legitimate concerns about protecting your health while fasting. Heed those concerns and proceed only if you are in good general health. As I stated in a previous blog, any person who has diabetes, hyperglycemia, ulcers, anemia, heart disease and various other medical conditions should never fast without professional medical supervision.

Once you are certain that God has called you to fast, determine how long you will fast and what type of fast is right for you. For example, during Daniel’s fast, he drank only water and ate vegetables (Dan. 1:12; 10:3). The Apostle Paul fasted for a period of three days after his conversion in which he abstained from water and food (Acts 9:9). Moses (Deut. 9:9), Elijah (1 Kings 19:8), and Jesus (Luke 4:1-2) each fasted for forty days.

John Wesley, founder of the Methodist denomination fasted twice each week and instructed his followers to do the same. Great leaders of the faith like Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, Matthew Henry, Charles Finney, Andrew Murray, and D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones recognized the importance of fasting and included it as a key component of their spiritual lives.

There is no formula for fasting. As the late Dr. Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, observed, “Fasting is about the condition of the heart, not the number of days.” If you feel called to do an extended fast, there are some practical considerations to keep in mind. The goal of a fast is not to ruin your health, but rather to seek God on a more intimate level. He will honor your commitment to seek Him more nearly whether you fast for a few days or for an extended period.

Although fasting is a spiritual discipline, it begins in the physical realm. When fasting for extended periods, be sure to drink plenty of liquids and guard against the loss of electrolytes. Again, Dr. Bright advises, “I personally recommend and practice water and juice fasting, especially if you are going to fast for an extended period of time.” As for me, I substitute a cup of broth for juice twice a day. I dissolve one bouillon cube in a cup of boiling water and sip it slowly. This helps me to maintain sodium in my system.

When I first fasted for forty-days, I asked a dear friend who had fasted for that same period of time to advise me. He told me that during his fast God had led him to drink only water and to eat a piece of bread daily. There is no need to become Pharisaical or judgmental about his fast because he included a piece of bread. The important thing to keep in mind is that he denied himself in order to seek God. Your fast will not be invalidated if you choose to do a fast in which you abstain from everything but a piece of bread or a cracker.

Do not be hesitant to share with selected family and friends that you are fasting. While your reason for telling them should not be to gain recognition for yourself, you can ask them to pray for you while you pray and fast. Dr. Bright observed, “By isolating ourselves from the support of other Christians, we will be more susceptible to doubts and negative influences (both human and demonic). We need the prayer shield of our Christian friends and family members to help us continue when we feel alone and when the enemy tempts us to give up…” That’s good advice.

Regardless of how many days you fast, I encourage you to keep a journal to record your insights and to voice your prayers. Dr. Ronnie Floyd, pastor of First Baptist Church of Springdale, Arkansas, has fasted for extended periods several times. He writes, “When we are willing to obey the biblical call to prayer and fasting, we will receive a fresh set of eyes. We will begin to see much more that God wants to do with us and through us.” I agree. And that is why it’s a good idea to keep a journal.

Fasting is a powerful spiritual discipline and one worthy of practicing. God can transform our lives and lead us to make spiritual breakthroughs when we faithfully seek him through prayer and fasting. Seek God’s guidance about fasting and proceed with the confidence that your time of prayer and fasting will be one of the most meaningful spiritual experiences you have ever had.

For more on fasting, please read my previous posts on the subject.

Since calling our church to a period of corporate prayer and fasting, several people have asked me questions about fasting. Because fasting is one of the most neglected spiritual admonitions, it can be difficult to find someone to talk with about how to fast. When God first led me to fast for a period of 40-days, I consulted a friend who had fasted for 40-days. His testimony and his answers to my questions gave me the confidence to proceed with my fast.

Simply defined, fasting is abstaining from food with a spiritual goal or purpose in mind. The Bible offers examples of several individuals who fasted for extended periods of time. At its core, fasting is a means of humbling ourselves before God and putting ourselves in a posture where God can speak to us about our spiritual condition and lead us to spiritual breakthroughs. Jesus fasted 40 days and also talked to His followers about “when you fast.” He acknowledged the value and importance of fasting.

Dr. Ronnie Floyd, pastor of First Baptist Church of Springdale, Arkansas was the first person I had ever heard about in the 1990’s who had fasted 40 days for his church. I remember hearing about great things happening at his church in the days that followed his fast. In his book entitled “The Power of Prayer and Fasting,” Dr. Floyd writes, “There is power in prayer and fasting. It is a means of access or entry into the supernatural power of God. Yes, it is God’s gateway to spiritual breakthroughs.”

The late Dr. Bill Bright, Founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, also practiced fasting. He said, “I believe the power of fasting as it relates to prayer is the spiritual atomic bomb that our Lord has given us to destroy the strongholds of evil and usher in great revival and spiritual harvest around the world.” Dr. Bright discovered that he had more time to pray and seek God’s face during periods of fasting. Fasting, he believed, could lead Christ-followers to recognize and repent of unconfessed sin and, as a result, to experience special blessings from God.

Although fasting is a spiritual discipline, it begins in the physical realm. And because fasting involves abstinence from food, it should never be entered into lightly. Any person who has diabetes, hyperglycemia, ulcers, anemia, heart disease and various other medical conditions should never fast without professional medical supervision. Those who fast should be in good general health. Dr. Bright suggests that a good rule of thumb before starting an extended fast is to eat smaller meals in order to prepare your body for the experience.

The matter of how long to fast is a personal one. There is no specific formula. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist denomination, fasted two days a week. Daniel fasted for three-weeks. Others like Moses fasted for forty days. Seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit regarding what type and length of fast is right for you. Perhaps He will lead you to fast one or two days a week like Wesley. Or maybe He will lead you to fast for several days or perhaps for a much longer period. The most important thing to keep in mind is why you are fasting and then to draw closer to God during your fast.

For years, I considered fasting as little more than something I had read about in the Bible but that belonged in the ascetic world of some obscure monastic order. Although I was familiar with biblical references to the practice, I never imagined it was something I would ever do. After all, things like fasting and putting on sackcloth and ashes were very extreme expressions of desperation and devotion. I was content to just pray and make my requests known to God apart from anything extreme like fasting.

My attitude about fasting changed during one of the darkest periods of my life — difficult days in which I found myself unable to deal with a son who had become a prodigal. My world turned upside down. Nothing I did made any difference. I prayed, I talked to my son until I was blue in the face, I argued and struggled with him, but I could not get through. I watched my son slip farther away from me one day at a time. I lived with the fear that I would lose him — that his dangerous lifestyle would result in his death.

Those terrifying days pushed me to the lowest point in my life. I felt completely helpless and desperate. Only then did I hear God clearly say to me, “Your son needs a champion. He’s battling some giants and needs you to fight for him.” I cried out to God with tears in my eyes and asked him what He wanted me to do. I felt deeply convicted that I not only needed to continue praying for my son, but that I needed to fast as well. So, I called a friend who had fasted for forty days and asked him to teach me about fasting. He did.

I spent the next two days praying and fasting about how long I should pray and fast for my son. At the end of the second day, I determined to pray and fast for forty days for my son’s welfare. I did not know if the answer would come in those forty days, but I was convinced that those forty days would set the answer in motion. And indeed they did. Without getting into more detail, God rescued and restored my son. I have always loved Jonathan, but my love for him intensified as a result of those days of praying and fasting for him.

The toughest part of those forty very personal days with God was ending the fast. I had experienced God in such meaningful ways through that period that I did not want for my fast to end. Fasting enabled me to seek God but also to take the battle to the enemy. More than once I cried out and told the Devil that he was not going to get my son, that I would stand in the gap for him. I felt as though every prayer during that period was like a lasso that God tied around my son to keep him tethered to life. I understood and feared that our story might not end well, but I am forever grateful to God that it did.

Fasting is often prompted by desperation. When Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, faced an enemy that was far stronger than his own military forces, he became fearful but did the right thing — “he turned his attention to seek the Lord; and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah” (2 Chron. 19:3). Jehoshaphat then prayed, “For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on Thee” (2 Chron. 19:12). The king and his people were willing to abstain from food for the greater purpose of seeking God and trusting Him to do what they could never accomplish apart from Him.

Like Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah, I believe in seeking God through prayer and fasting, especially in desperate times. I know about desperate times and what it’s like to feel helpless. Praying and fasting has taught me what God can do and how He “causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28). I believe that there are times when we must either personally or corporately seek God through more than just prayer — times when we must instead seek Him through prayer and fasting.

For me, this is another one of those seasons that calls on us to seek God as our church navigates through the waters of our present interim period without a senior pastor. I am committed to seeking Him through prayer and fasting over the next forty days and encourage those of you who are members of Kingsland to do the same. I know that God will indeed honor our corporate efforts to seek His face as we trust Him to guide us through this in-between time in the life of our church. And, I am confident that He will bring us safely through to the other side and cause us to rejoice in His provision. In the meantime, let’s earnestly seek Him through prayer and fasting.