What is Fasting?
Fasting is the willful abstaining from natural pleasures for a spiritual purpose. It causes your spiritual man to be stronger than your natural man. Your natural man will tell you don’t do this. You have to willfully put your body under subjection. It is a personal commitment to renounce the natural to invoke the spiritual. You have decided that your spirit is more important to you than you flesh is dictating. The Bible declares in Romans 8:12, “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. So if you walk in the spirit you will see the power of God in your life. Fasting is that transfer between the natural to the spiritual.” Fasting is the dedication to a period of time to devote oneself to spiritual priority of prayer without food.
The Benefits of Fasting
Fasting has several spiritual and health benefits. Some are listed below:
- Spiritual discipline
- Increased spiritual capacity
- A clear sober mind
- A pure heart and mind
- Hunger for God and his word
- Purifies the body
- Spiritual freedom
- Godly Protection
- Increases your intimacy with God
- Answers to prayer
- Provides spiritual power
What is Prayer?
It is a petition from man to God; a sincere desire of the heart. It is a dialogue and an intimate relationship with God. One example of prayer is found in St. Luke 11:1-4 as it states,
“1 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. 2 And he said unto them, when ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. 3 Give us day by day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.”
The Value of Prayer
Everything God is and has, is available to mankind through prayer. God has given us access to him though prayer. It is our link of communication to God. Mark 11:24 says, “Therefore I say unto you, what things so ever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” Adding prayer to fasting is a formula for great success in your spirit.”
Written by: Pastor Rodney Derrick