ZA MAGAZINE // seek truth.

There come times in our walk with Jesus where a deepening of our spiritual intimacy must occur. Occasionally we sense a greater need for God, which provokes our hunger for Him to be increased.  These are times that demand our response. We must answer the desire He has placed within us to draw close to Him. It seems to me that the Lord will initiate the call in our spirit, our heart, and our mind. When He does, we should choose to respond with affirmation, faith, and desire, and pursue Jesus with absolute fervency.

A.W. Tozer said of this call and response in his famous book, The Pursuit of God, that:

The impulse to pursue God originates with God, but the outworking of that impulse is our following hard after Him. (emphasis mine)

And…

On our part there must be positive reciprocation if this secret drawing of God is to eventuate in identifiable experience of the Divine. (emphasis mine)

There are a few ways that we may answer this call of God, and I intend to highlight one of them with this article.

Fasting

Fasting is a proven method of humbling oneself with the intention of increasing hunger and desire for the Lord which does not permit physical satisfaction until spiritual breakthrough is attained.

If you are unfamiliar, fasting is the act of abstaining from something (most commonly food) with the objective of focusing more attention on God so as to find Him more and more and in increased amounts. When the prophet Daniel wanted to be closer to God and have greater discernment, he turned to fasting and prayer:

Daniel 9:3
Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.

Daniel humbled himself and made himself low before God by prayer, fasting, and other physical acts, perhaps to remind himself of his need for the Almighty. The afflicting of Daniel’s body led to a humility and weakness that significantly affected His attitude towards God. And that’s what fasting does.

Why does fasting work?

Fasting is a physical act that causes spiritual change. Fasting turns one’s focus to God and forces the individual to place greater importance on spiritual food and satisfaction. The distractions of physical life wane as our attention is drawn to lasting spiritual pleasure that can be provided by God alone, and fasting achieves this by removing us from what typically holds us back each day…distractions.

As God is a spirit, and who we truly are is a spirit as well, we need to be concerned with spiritual connection with our Father.

How to Fast

Because fasting is against the human instinct to eat and to survive, there is a need to ignore the longings of the body to produce a successful fast. In order to fast effectively, a person should become numb to ordinary responses and the things that often remove us from attention on God. To make this point clear, think about a soldier. If a soldier is to succeed in his battle, he has to forget about certain things. Things like comfort, being home with family and friends, money, taxes, and even emotions. His attention must be fixed and sharp, and he cannot permit shifting to subjects that will soften his focus! It is the same with us and our spiritual fights – we cannot be taken by menial things. We have to look towards more eternal things. So, don’t allow yourself to stress about life and think about your daily concerns while you’re fasting. You can handle those after your fast is over. For now, you need to fix your spiritual sights on Jesus Christ.

I am not an expert in fasting that has mastered the practice; in fact, I am far from that. But, I have learned a handful of tips through experience. May they benefit you as you fast!

• Set the limits of your fast before you begin. Will you eat at all? Will you have juice or will your fast contain only water, if that? How long will your fast last? Knowing these things before beginning will keep you mentally strong, so you know what you may do and what you must refrain from, therefore barring any thoughts of quitting.
• During the time you would be eating (or surfing the web or watching television, whatever your fast may be) make sure to turn to God. In other words, take time to be alone in prayer and/or reading the Bible. As you are starving your physical man you must be building up your spiritual man. Otherwise, you will have a fast failure.
• Attempt to increase your fervency for God in prayer. You want to go deeper, right? Then, a more passionate approach to the throne is merited and necessary.
• Meditate on the Word. Plain and simple, keep Scripture in mind as much as possible, because your brain will very easily take you away to a place where your flesh is happy and no longer ignored. You may start to have cravings that feel uncontrollable. Remember, you can bring “every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ!” Tell the devil to flee, you’ve got to focus on Jesus!
• Do you have one more? Good, because I’m no guru of fasting, so share it in the comments below for everyone else to glean from!

A Warning from Jesus

Matthew 6:16-18
16 And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Jesus is speaking here to remind us that fasting is never about being showy. People did it to look religious and holy in his day, and he rebuked them with these words. When you fast, you will almost certainly have someone ask you out to lunch. Politely decline, but don’t volunteer what you’re doing, because that isn’t the point. The point is to get closer to God. Don’t lie to anyone, but be sure that your fast is for the right reasons!

Maybe Not Me, Maybe Not Now

Is God calling you to a closer walk with Him? Is Jesus bidding you to come to Him and find more of Him than you’ve even thought could be? Is the Holy Ghost calling you to rest and remain in His presence more and more?

Yes! Most definitely, without a doubt. God wants us to be closer to Him, so be encouraged, challenged, and exhorted to actively pursue Jesus now more than ever before through the establishment of a fast!

Image credit goes to stock.xchng user JR3.