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1. Fasting gives you more time for prayer . “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting , the Holy Spirit said , ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. ‘ So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.” Acts 13:2-3 (NIV) Page 3 2.
Spiritual fasting is to deny your body it’s physical needs (usually food) so that moves your focus from the physical to the spiritual (faith). It helps you to grow closer to God and is often a regular part of prayer life. All throughout history, there were seasons of feast and famine.
What’s more, if you look at the same story recounted in Mark’s gospel chapter 9, verse 29 confirms what Jesus said: “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting .” This time the NIV does include the verse, but drops the words “and fasting ”. I think the enemy will do anything to keep Christians from fasting !
The physical emptiness of fasting clears the channels of communication so that spiritual intuitions can more readily be discerned. As Ryan puts it, fasting is “an action that renews contact with God, like removing the rust and corrosion from a car battery to enable the current to flow more freely.”
There is renewed power through prayer and fasting , because we are reminded that ultimately we are dependent on God. This self-denial of our exaggerated physical appetite, for a period of time, allows us to wait in faith and to trust God’s mercy. Prayer and fasting is a sign of our desire and hunger to seek God.
Fasting , reading the word of God , and praying will give us strength and help us grow closer to God . Some of the many benefits of fasting are that it: Enables you to concentrate more on the spiritual world when you consciously give up worldly pleasures. Leads to a greater intimacy with God by denying our carnal nature.
Fasting with prayer must be Spirit-led to be effective . If God has not called you to it, then do not do it. Just because someone else is fasting doesn’t mean that you need to fast. A chosen fast means that God has appointed it and it is set apart for Him.
In the case of the brain , cognitive function, learning, memory , and alertness are all increased by fasting. And in the body, we recently found that mice maintained on an alternate-day fasting diet during a month of treadmill training have better endurance than mice fed every day.
“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do , for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting . Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.
Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting .”—Matthew 17:19-21. And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting .”—Mark 9:28, 29.
The World English Bible translates the passage as: So that you are not seen by men to be fasting , but by your Father who is in secret , and your. Father, who sees in secret , will reward you.
God wanted to deliver the people of Israel from their sins, and He commanded them to fast in order to turn their wicked hearts back to him. Fasting is a powerful thing when your world is closing in. Fasting is prayer, it is praise, it is proclama- tion—it is hearing God’s Word.
Fasting means no food or drink and also abstaining from bad habits and sins such as smoking, swearing, gossipping, arguing, fighting or being disrespectful, cruel or selfish. Sexual relations are also banned during the hours of fasting .
Fasting is a practice that has been associated with a wide array of potential health benefits, including weight loss , as well as improved blood sugar control, heart health, brain function and cancer prevention.
What to give up for Lent: Don’t buy anything that you don’t NEED. 2- Throw Away 40 things for 40 days. 3- 40 Days of home Organization. 4- No Gossiping. Work out daily to take care of the body God gave you. 6- Don’t Eat After Dinner. 7- Give Up Soda for Lent. Say 3 Nice Things to Your Spouse & Kids Daily.