Do you want more intimacy with God? Do you desire spiritual breakthrough? Would you like more supernatural power in your life? One key to activating these in your life is a time of fasting and prayer.
A fast is any length of time when you abstain from eating food. The Hebrew word for fasting is tsom. It literally means “not to eat.” The Greek word for fasting is nesteuo. This word comes from a combination of a prefix of negation ne and the word edo meaning “to eat.” So, the word nesteuo means “to not eat.”
For example, most of us do not eat in the middle of the night while sleeping. This is why we call the first meal of the day “Break-fast.” When you eat in the morning, you break your all-night fast.
But fasting is far more than abstaining from food. It is a spiritual discipline. One pastor said, “Fasting is choosing to set aside something natural in pursuit of something supernatural.” Fasting gives us a continual physical reminder to seek God’s presence. Fasting is a sign that you are so passionate about God that you would deny your physical body in pursuit of greater spiritual intimacy with God.
Unfortunately, fasting has become a neglected spiritual discipline. In place of corporate fasting, many churches host prayer breakfasts, church picnics, mission’s banquets, and potluck suppers. We could have overwhelming power, instead we are overweight. It seems the only acceptable sin in most Christian circles is gluttony. Rather than balancing the scales of justice, we are breaking the scales in our bathrooms. Why do our knees bend because of weight instead of bending for prayer? Do we rule our stomachs or do our stomachs rule us? Is food a servant or a master?
Many Christians pay lip service to fasting, but they continue to service their lips with food. Jesus prophesied that in the last days people would be eating and drinking (Matthew 24:38). Is the world’s feasting (instead of fasting) a sign of the end times?
Fasting was frequently practiced during Bible times, it was practiced by church fathers down through the centuries, and it should be practiced today. There are a number of significant benefits and blessings that come when we spend time in fasting and prayer. Fasting should be restored to its proper place in the arsenal of Christian weapons. In this book, I will show you how to release the power of fasting in your life.
