fasting

[felix]

Hello dood.

Fasting from food is scriptural and it is a powerful way to grow spiritually. It is very possible to fast for 40 days and more. I know people who fast for 10 days and some who have fasted for 40 days multiple times. I myself have fasted for 4 days and I plan to fast for longer periods in the future. It is truly a powerful thing to do for the Lord.

Jesus fasted for 40 days and nights from food. Else why does scripture say that Jesus was very hungry? Why would Satan's first temptation be for Jesus to turn these rocks into bread? A fast for 40 days has been done by many people throughout all time and even now.

Fasting as in terms of giving up something other than food was something created by man. Since fasting is abstinence from food and man was too weak to do without food...they decided to make fasting mean abstinence from ________ (fill in the blank). This is something that is still good to do for the Lord- things such as Ash Wednesday or simply where you give up something for the Lord but fasting is first abstinence from food.

[felix]

Definition of Fasting-

Merriam Webster....

Main Entry: 3fast

Function: intransitive verb

Etymology: Middle English, from Old English f

[cag7800]

i work with a lady who *claims* she fast for days on end,she goes around telling everybody,i pulled her aside and told her the bible says do not tell anyone you are fasting..she told me that she she had read the bible all the way through,at least 10 times and she knows her bible.i told her tthat i would bring her verse and she said she didn't want it,of course she wouldn't talk to me serveal days afterwards and talked behind my back.i just decided to let her do her own thing.everybody laughs at her behind her back,and have caught her eating from the snack machine during theses *fast*and as they are non_christian it just makes it harder to witness to them.

i pray for her because the non-christians say they have been to her house and had some wild parties.

[Guest Tennessee Elijah]

When you identify yourself as a "soul" rather than a "body," you will be in a constant struggle to allow the "spirit" or the "body" to control your choices in life. To me, it is saying "no" to the body during a fast that draws me closer to God -- the "Spirit" within me -- that makes fasting significant.

[irishcowboy]

Hi,

the Best fast I ever went on was actually by accident, I was not intending to fast ( hypoglycemic ) I was seeking many things at that time.... direction in life, healing, among other things.

I had breakfast friday morning, and the rest of the day i was fitful.... I took off driving about 5 pm friday evening, and about 2 am sunday morning I started getting my healing and also received some of the answers to the direction i was to go.... during this fast and praying time, my mother and sister were both woke up some time after midnight sunday morning, 1000 miles away....

I continued in prayer and fasting until i arrived back home sunday evening about 8 pm and did not eat again until monday morning.

I did not sleep fri or sat night either, that is why when i receieved my answer, i did not go ahead and eat, but waited until i got home so that i would not fall asleep on the road....

there are times that we should fast and pray, especially during the times we are doing spiritual warfare, or going after demons.... we can not just yell at some one as we are going into the lions den for them to pray with us for we do not know if they will.... we have to be prepared ahead of time....

these days we are seeing attacks of the devil and people falling prey to him left and right.... these people are (for the most part ) unprepared. they have not spent enough time in prayer... they have not developed that one on one personal relationship with the Lord, which is what is needed to walk from battle to battle in victory.....

look around. many people walking around in the church buildings are walking from battle to battle in defeat. they have no joy, they are worried about what tomorrow will bring, there are those that will see some one that they know prays and will tell them.... Pray for me.......

Christ talks about fasting, not just once, but again too.... about casting out demons as well as when the leaders were inquiring as to why he and his deciples did not fast and johns did.....

I had a friend that would spend one day a week fasting (food) and would spend the extra time in prayer, any spare moment he had....

it is not so much that we fast food, but what are we doing with the time that we have while not eating, if we are not spending it in prayer, all we are accomplishing is making ourselves hungry......

God would rather you spent time with Him and obey Him rather then sacrafice.... we can sacrafice all we want, but if our hearts are not there, what good is it? just like Cain, Cain did not put his heart into it, and thus was not favored, Able loved the Lord and put his all into it....

I have found that once i get past the first meal, I can really start puting my mind on deeper things..... and focus more on God..... during this time, it becomes a time where it is really peaceful.... getting past the distractions....

I usually start out in prayer for others, everyone i can think of, praying for them, lifting them up. picturing them in my mind. and then where ever I feel lead to pray about, country, state, city, schools, churches, ...... (sat evenings, intercessory prayer, we pray for all those that are on the current prayer list and their personal needs, we pray over each and every seat in the church building and that any that sit there will be blessed, we pray over the building and the parking lot and the hiway going by and the town ..... we start by praying for each other, annointing each other in the Lord... ) some that come to intercessory have fasted the day, others have not..... after this some will go into the streets and do street ministering others will keep them lifted up in prayer....

Fasting is a good thing, just going with out food with out replacing it does not do much good....

a person can fast lunch every day, during this time they can spend it in prayer. or they can fast dinner, again spending it in prayer.... or a person can fast a full day, or several days. it does help cleanse the body as well....

mike

[GODSCHILD]

Hi Folks here is a study that i did on Fast.

What is fasting?

well fasting is a spiritual act that produces spiritual results.True fsting focuses on emptying ourselfs of worldly desires and being filled with Gods love, purposes and His desires for us.

True fasting means doing it God's way which will bring lasting restoration.

Isa 58:1 Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.

Isa 58:2 Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.

Isa 58:3 Wherefore have we fasted, [say they], and thou seest not? [wherefore] have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours.

Isa 58:4 Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as [ye do this] day, to make your voice to be heard on high.

THE VERSES BELOW GIVES US THE TRUE SPIRIT OF FASTING UN TO THE LORD.

Isa 58:5 Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? [is it] to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes [under him]? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?

Isa 58:6 [is] not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?

Isa 58:7 [is it] not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

Isa 58:8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.

Isa 58:9 Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I [am]. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;

Isa 58:10 And [if] thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness [be] as the noonday:

A true fast is not to be made a subject of display.

Mat 6:16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

Mat 6:17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;

Mat 6:18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

FAST SO THAT ONLY GOD WILL SEE

A true fast is done only to God.

Mat 6:18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

Zec 7:5 Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh [month], even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, [even] to me?

A true fast is done for the chastening of your soul.

To have God to chastes your soul means to be convicted, to be convinced, to be corrected, to have HIm judge you. It means to sit down with God and reasion together . It means allso that God will humble your soul.

Psa 69:10 When I wept, [and chastened] my soul with fasting,

. Psa 35:13 But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing [was] sackcloth:; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.

Fasting is done as a penitence and humility toward God.

Joe 1:13 Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God.

Joe 1:14 Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders [and] all the inhabitants of the land [into] the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD,

Fasting is called a Holy fast unto the Lord

Joe 2:15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:

WE need to fast toward God because of His judgments to our nation

Joe 2:11 And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp [is] very great: for [he is] strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD [is] great and very terrible; and who can abide it?

Joe 2:12 Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye [even] to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:

We are to fast during calamities.

2Sa 3:35 And when all the people came to cause David to eat meat while it was yet day, David sware, saying, So do God to me, and more also, if I taste bread, or ought else, till the sun be down.

1Sa 31:12 All the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Bethshan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there.

1Sa 31:13 And they took their bones, and buried [them] under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

The church is called to fast together

Mar 2:19 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.

Mar 2:20 But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.

The church is to fast for one another whin we have to endure dangurus circumstanses

Est 4:16 Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which [is] not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.

The church is to fast before they send out ministers from the body to do the Lords work.

Act 13:1 Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

Act 13:2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.

Act 13:3 And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid [their] hands on them, they sent [them] away.

Act 13:4 So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.

Fasting must be done whin the local church appoint elders in the church body.

Act 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.

To be countinued

YBIC

John

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OH what maner of love that God has called us His sons and daughters

[GODSCHILD]

would like to start this session out on some statement of mine that i think the Lord would have me say.

Last night as i was thinking about this subject He had me to change some things as i present them to you (US).

FASTING IS A LOST DISIPLINE IN CHURCHES TODAY!

The word of God tell us, in mat:6-17 that Jesus made this statement to his disciples and ultimently to us .

Mat 6:17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;

Notise that He said that whin thou fast and not if you fast. It is my forgone conclussion that Jesus was realy giving us His desire in this matter of fasting whin He said whin you fast.(command) instead of if you fast).

.(this fraze if you fast leaves no room of dout of what His will is on fasting)

Fasting is the suriest way to humble yourselfs before God.

Psa 35:13 But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing [was] sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.

Ezr 8:21 Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.

Here is where i would like to relate what The Lord shared to me last night.

He led me to Rom:8:1 and the last part of this verse.

Rom 8:1 [There is] therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

You see whin we neglect walking after the Spirit we will walk in the flash.

What i am saying that meny of us has lost our first love for our Lord.

Fasting and prayer can help restore the loss of our first love for our Lord and Savior. Fasting and prayer will result in a more intimate relationship with Jesus.

Fasting and prayer will enable the Holy Spirit to reveal our true spiritual condition to us as a result of this revealation it will result in a brokeness, repentence and a transformed heart for God.

Fasting and prayer will cause the Holy Spirit to quicken the word of God in our hearts and will cause the Word to become alive and more real to us.

God allso drawed me to this verse.

2Ch 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

1-If my people. That is the church brothers and sister this is us who make up the body of Christ.

2- Shall humble themselfs. This is a call to a holy fast to our God.

3-and pray. This is a very importent part of fasting which is grossly neglected by us whin we fast.

4- Turn from their wicked ways. (sins). God is calling for a true repentce from sin.This is a word picture of turning from some thing that is keeping us from God.

5-Will forgive thier sin. HALLELUJAH can we not see church? the results of our walking in the disipline of fasting and prayer before a HOly and rightious God. Forgiveness and restoration back to a right standing before God will be the results.

6-Will heal their land. O Brothers and sisters we are in a dire need for our land to be healed by our Father who loves us.He has given us His directions to healing our land (USA) America the beautiful back to it's former Glory. We need to be falling on our faces in fasting and prayer. We need to be turning from our sins.

TO BE COUNTINUE

YBIC

JOhn

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OH what maner of love that God has called us His sons and daughters.

[GODSCHILD]

How do we alow God to break the power of unbelief? Jesus gave us the way whin He said that this kind goeth out but by prayer and fasting. You Know this disipline of fasting and prayer is the KEY THAT WILL UNLOCK THE GATES OF THE STRONGHOLD OF UNBELEIF IN OUR MINDS. Praise God He has given us the way of escape in this stronghold of unbeleif by giving us the disipline of prayer and fasting.

What may i ask that will weaken our faith more then unbeleif?

Your qoute below is amen and amen. Thanks for bringing this out in the lession.It adds good sound teaching for us.

[THE KEY GIVEN TO BUILD FAITH: PRAYER AND FASTING!

You cannot have the kind of faith to get past your flesh and see these go unless you have had time with God in BOTH prayer and fasting.

Fasting basically weakens the flesh and when mixed with prayer builds the spirit man... and builds FAITH!]

I would like to give us some sound guidlines from the Word for us whin we fast and pray.

1-It is done in a manor of humility and secrecy. found in math 6;16-18 and Luke:18:9-14

2-Fasting is a disipline that is closely related to prayer and reading the Word of God. found in Nehemish 1:4,Nehemiah 9:1-3, daniel 9:3-20,jonah 3:8,Luke2:37,Act9:9-11,Acts13:2 and 1st Corenthians 7:5.

3-fasting may be either a total fast or a partial.

a-total fast-founding duiteronomy 9:9-8,ezra 10:6,esther 4:16, acts 27:33 and Math 2:2

b-Partial fast may be found in.Dan. 1:11-12.

Fasting in of it self is of no spiritual value. Like if we use fasting to loose weigth or for eny other reasion other then to seek God.

14:10 Thus saith the LORD unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the LORD doth not accept them; he will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins.

Jer 14:11 Then said the LORD unto me, Pray not for this people for [their] good.

Jer 14:12 When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.

King James Version (KJV) Isaiah - Chapter 58

Isa 58:1 Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.

Isa 58:2 Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.

Isa 58:3 Wherefore have we fasted, [say they], and thou seest not? [wherefore] have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours.

Isa 58:4 Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as [ye do this] day, to make your voice to be heard on high.

BROTHER AND SISTER FASTING IS AN ATTITUDE OF THE HEART TOWARD OUR GOD THAT WILL CAUSE THE BLESSING TO FALL ON US. TO BUILD UP OUR FAITH AND TO ENABLE US TO USE THE KEY OF FASTING AND PRAYER CORECTLEY AND IN POWER.

YBIC

John

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OH what maner of love that God has called us His sons and daughters.

[larryt]

Hi John,

How do we alow God to break the power of unbelief? Jesus gave us the way whin He said that this kind goeth out but by prayer and fasting. You Know this disipline of fasting and prayer is the KEY THAT WILL UNLOCK THE GATES OF THE STRONGHOLD OF UNBELEIF IN OUR MINDS. Praise God He has given us the way of escape in this stronghold of unbeleif by giving us the disipline of prayer and fasting.

This is a very good point you make. When Paul tells us that we must

Ro 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

He is telling us to mortify the FLESH and the lusts thereof. I believe anyone who has walked with the Lord for any period of time soon recognizes that the flesh does not like to die. One thing I find when I fast is that the flesh must be put in subjection to our spirit. Before we receive the Spirit of God the flesh is in charge, but when our spirit is made alive it is made able to rule over the flesh as God intended. It is truly amazing how long we can go without food if we need to. We are so accustomed to having 3 squares a day here in this country that if we miss one the flesh cries out that we are staving. Fasting tells the flesh to shut up and obey the spirit.

As for telling people that we are fasting, the point that Jesus was making was what is your motive for fasting. Is it to TELL how SPIRITUAL you are or are you afflicting your soul(flesh) to make it obedient to the will of God.

LT

[MK202002]

Amen.

I was wondering, why do you say "don't tell people that don't need to know. And tell the people that you do tell not to tell any other people."? Just curious.