Fasting

Happy New Year! I am sorry for the long silence on this blog. Life can get too busy sometimes. I pray that I will be better able to be consistent with my postings this year.

There is a story in Mat 17:14-21 that may be familiar to many of us. A man brings his son to the disciples because the boy was possessed by a demon and experiencing seizures, but the disciples were unable to cast it out. Now this confused the disciples because as recorded in Mt10:1, Jesus had already given “them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every sickness.”

The story continues:

And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.
Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”
So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.' ” (Mt 17:18-20 NKJ)

Most of us stop there. If we have enough faith, nothing will be impossible. Wow! That is so exciting – at first. After a while, that promise can become very discouraging for some of us. We fail to see the impossible. We begin to doubt that God will answer our simple prayers, let alone come through with a miracle. Our relationship with God becomes a routine, but it is stale, lacking the joy of seeing God's power at work in our lives.

Jesus, did not stop where many of us stop. His answer to the disciples question of “why couldn't we do it?” went beyond a mustard seed of faith! Jesus finishes with “However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” (Mt 17:21 NKJ– not all translations include this verse)

Jesus fasted for 40 days before He started His ministry (Mt 4:1-11). In the sermon on the mount, Jesus talks about fasting as a normal part of a relationship with God, and says that God will reward you for honouring Him with a secret fast (Mt 6:16-18) In the North American church many people have never fasted, even though it is mentioned numerous times throughout the Scriptures.

A couple of years ago few of my friends started fasting, and they shared the amazing things that God was doing in their lives. I was excited to learn more and to imitate them. I have seen incredible personal transformation in my relationship with God as a result of privately fasting to draw closer to Him. This fall I fasted for specific direction in terms of what path to pursue for my source of living. He has answered that prayer for wisdom more powerfully than any other prayer I have prayed in over 25 years as a Christian! His answer, and the blessings that are accompanying that answer, are turning my unbelieving brother into a believer. Yesterday my brother told me that we need to write down all the “God-moments” in the start-up of our new business!

We cannot coerce God by fasting, or by any other means. However as we saw above, Jesus taught that not all prayers are answered by faith alone. Not all strongholds are demolished by prayer alone. There is reward promised when we fast. That reward may look very different from what you think you want, but reward is promised. The best reward absolutely being a deeper more intimate walk with our beloved Saviour!

Over the next little while, I plan to explore what the Scriptures teach on fasting.

Dear Father,

Thank you for a New Year and a new beginning! I pray that this year will draw each and every one of us into a deeper relationship with You! I pray that we will experience Your life-transforming power in our lives! I pray that You will banish Satan and his lies that say that the days of miracles are past. You are the same yesterday, today, and forever! You are still the God of the miraculous! You are still the God that wants an intimate relationship with each of us! You are the God of healing, the God of peace, the God of power, the God of battle, the God of hope, “the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.” (Rom 4:17b) I praise You and worship You in the name of Jesus! Amen