PURPOSES OF FASTING
We have seen what fasting is, we have established that it is a Biblical practice and it is for today. We have looked at distinct and various types of fasting and have seen that we fast for God. Now, let us look at the purposes of fasting so that we can answer the question, “Why do we fast?
1. For personal holiness (to get closer to God). Psalm 69:10 “When I wept and chasten my soul with fasting.” Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are they that mourn.”
If humility is the basic ingredient in true holiness the soil in which thanks flourishes, is it not necessary then from time to time to humble ourselves with fasting as David did? Because of the many sins and personal failures that dominate us, because of the many wrong doings that affect us and our churches and our communities and so obstruct the channels of Christian service such as personality and temperament clashes, fights and divisions, all found in the insidious pride of the human heart.
Fasting then is a form of divine correction to pride of the human heart. It’s a body discipline which serves to humble the soul. It removes pride.
2. Psalm 35:13. Fasting becomes a prayer to the praying Christian:. I humbled my soul with fasting and my prayer returned to my bosom. It intensifies the power of prayer. Even short prayers bring result when fasting. Fasting removes unbelief and so obtains what prayer alone cannot. (Matthew 17:20). So faith is increased when results are seen. (Romans 10:9-10 and Matthew 17:21).
3. Fasting is more closely related to faith than any other Christian work. It is on the threshold of faith. It brings one face to face with reality.
4. Fasting subjugates the flesh. It helps in dealing with the old man. It undoes the sin of intemperance after the blood of Jesus washes away sins. It helps to remove the old wine skins and makes way for the new. God can then give revelation of His word and of Himself, because the vessel is being prepared to receive and hold onto the revelation that He gives. Thus, we learn of God through fasting and this in turn helps us to know Him and helps in the process of holiness because during a fast we can more easily face and die to self. Mark 9:14-17. The new wine referred to in verse 17, speaks of revelation.
5. Fasting places our natural appetites in a dormant condition, thus physical pleasures are jot enjoyed. This allows our spirits to come to the fore and so we can come nearer to God. It brings us nearer to Christ. It enables us to become clothed with the full baptism of the Holy Ghost’s protection, healing, light, and fire. It cleanses and purifies our hearts. This can affect revival in the community, souls can be saved. (Isaiah 58:1-10; 60:1-5, 61:10 and Deuteronomy 34:7).
6. When a backslider fasts, this would help him to come back to the fold. Look at David’s fasts. Fasting is the surest method of consecration and sanctification.
7. Fasting heals the body and soul. A life of defeat can be transformed to victory. Fasting assists to develop the fruit of the Spirit, and helps growth to maturity. Long fasts consume and burn out the very roots of fleshly lusts. Very important, the misery and suffering of the fleshly nature can be brought to the fore so one can see himself as Jesus sees him. He is unclothed, naked, and become clothed with power. Revelation 3:17-19
8. .Fasting gives spiritual manifestation in a tangible manner. His appetite is ready for hidden manna; (Revelation 2:17) as we learn to eat Christ’s flesh. (John 6: 53 ).
9. Fasting always gives the power and anointing for work in which he is called. It brings revelations and better understanding of the Bible. Sometimes we are given visions and experience unspeakable glory. One does not have to fast for visions. Remember the Word of God is supreme and all answers are there, so fasting is not for visions but if the Lord so blesses you then that is alright.
10. Jesus is pleased when we come to Him freeing ourselves from the natural. We exalt and glorify Him with our whole being. Remember He Himself fasted. (Matthew 4:1-4; John 6:27).
TO BE HEARD FROM GOD. (Ezra 8:23) “So we fasted and besought our God for this and He was intreated of us’’.
Fasting is designed to lift our prayers up to God with wings as eagles. It is calculated to give advantage of men and power to their prayers. With fasting heaven hears our prayers quickly. (Jer. 29:13-14; Joel 2:12; Luke 18:3).
Prayer is warfare. It is fight against opposing forces. The person who prays with fasting testifies to heaven that he really wants what he is seeking. Heaven itself has given this way to be heard from on high. When God gave us this privilege of fasting and prayer He added a powerful weapon to our spiritual armour and it has been almost forgotten for centuries.
TO TRY TO MAKE GOD CHANGE HIS DIRECTION. (Jonah 3:5 and 10). “So the people of Nineveh believed God and proclaimed a fast, and God repented of the evil, that He had said He would unto them and He did not.”
The power of prevailing with God was never shown so clearly in Biblical times than when this judgement was evaded or delayed by means of fasting and praying. Their repentance moved God’s heart and He changed the declaration of judgement He made against them. The purpose of God when He sent Jonah to Nineveh was to extend mercy to the people.
TO SET THE CAPTIVES FREE. (Isaiah 58:6) “Is it such a fast I have chosen? A day for man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush and to spread a sackcloth and ashes under him? Wilt thou call this a fast, an acceptable day to the Lord?
The principal reference is to the literal captivity of Israel, but for us there is a spiritual application and we ought to know the vital part that fasting plays in the ministry of liberation. The fight is with “principalities and powers”. Satan is a heartless adversary and does not lessen his pressure on the spirit, souls, minds and bodies of men, unless he is forced to do so; fasting provides this force. A fast done under God’s direction will strengthen the intercessor to maintain the pressure until the enemy is compelled to free the captive.
Moreover, fasting will give authority for the moment of God when the voice commands liberation. This is one of the secrets revealed in revelation to the ministry of liberation from Satan’s power.
THEY FASTED TO BIND THE STRONG MAN. Isaiah 49:24-25). “Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive be delivered? But thus saith the Lord, even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible be delivered, for I will contend with him that contend with thee, and I will save thy children.’
There are many needy cases around us. Are we afraid to confront them because we know our weakness and the power of the devil? Jesus wants us to know His profound compassion for all tormented souls. He has given us the authority to free them. “In my name shall they cast out devils” (Mark 16:17). Are they not sufficiently important to us for us to fast and pray to liberate them? Remember God is love.
TO RECEIVE REVELATION. (Daniel 9:3; 21,22) “And I set my face unto the Lord, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting. Gabriel spoke with me saying….. I have now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.”
Daniel was trained from youth in a disciplined life which fasting played an important part. (Daniel 9:2,3 10:1-3). He was of the most important interpreters of dreams and visions in the Old Testament. The New Testament illustrates the same point, (Acts 27:21-24; also 2 Corinth ll:27) says that the apostle Paul fasted frequently and in the following chapter continues speaking about visions and revelations from God. We have not found anything in the scriptures that urges us to seek visions, but those who seek God with fasting find that God reward them with such manifestations of His presence. But these are not the most important aspect of revelation. We constantly need the revelation of God’s will for our lives and this is found in His written Word. Why don’t we use this old recipe of fasting to confront our most desperate situations? The promise that was given by God for His chosen fast is still valid.
THE FLESH POTS OF EGYPT. (Exodus 16:3) “And the children of Israel said unto them, would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full.”
Although it is God who has given us our bodies and placed in them certain basic instincts including our appetite,He wants us to keep them subordinate to our spirit. There is a very thin line between what satisfies the normal desires of the body and the spiritual demands.