Why I Fasted To Reset My Spiritual Journey
There are many reasons people fast – some do it for medical reasons, mourning, dieting or complete surrender to God. In the Bible, there is a recounting of how Ezra understood the importance of fasting. “so we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer (Ezra 8:23).” Now, one can fast without an honest heart – and then what good does that do for anyone on a spiritual journey, but when you are on a true journey of seeking and surrendering to God; when you are looking for a shift, then your heart must also fast along with this physical intent.
A friend of mine had reached out to me concerning a friend who needed big prayers. Their family was going through something unimaginable and unfathomable…and to be honest, there was a feeling of helplessness and hopelessness. How could we move on their behalf still? Then came this idea of fasting. When we are requesting God to move on our behalf, there has to be a lining up with God and surrender to His will. I think a lot of times we mistake God’s silence as Him not moving or not acting. A lot of times we confuse God being still with God being motionless. It is in those moments that God is moving the most. So, we decided to dedicate one whole day to fast and pray for this friend and also lift up any other requests we had.
Here is the thing, when you invite God to move…EXPECT Him to move. Here are a couple things we did in our fast. If you are looking to fast, but don’t know how here are some steps to help you get started:
1. Decide a day for your fast: we held ours on a weekday because of the urgency of the situation.
2. Decide whether it will be one full day or whether it will be for a specific time (one hour, 12 hours, etc.)
3. Encourage others to join you: there is power in number. Where more than one are gathered in His name there He shall be. My friend and I agreed on a day and we invited others to join us virtually for designated prayer times.
4. Decide what you will be fasting from: some may choose to fast from chocolate, others may choose to fast from watching TV and others may choose to abstain from all foods minus liquids (water/juice). There is no wrong way to fast. I typically try to make sure that it is something I truly feeling I am surrendering. The only note of caution is for those with medical conditions. If medically you cannot abstain from food/liquid then maybe choose one item that is “safe” for you. Consult a medical professional should you need further assistance in your decision.
5. Pray throughout the day: You can get as creative as you want depending on time and number of people joining you. My friend and I decided to create Zoom Meetings three times during the day: one in the morning, one at noon and one in the evening. We both abstained from all foods so these three times symbolized our three meals where we were being fed by His word to keep us going for the next few hours. She and I alternated who was leading the prayer time – we read from a book and even did a meditation. By the way, make sure you check out our podcast for the Prayer of Peace that we started out with. It truly set the tone and gave us the most beautiful mindset for our fast.
6. Journal After your Experience: it was such a powerful day. It literally changed my life and God truly spoke to me in such pivotal ways that was truly unexpected. I thought I was only showing up for our friend, but God ended up blessing and talking to me in such a beautiful way. Expect for God to move and for your walk and trust in Him to be deeper. Because I was truly able to abstain from all food, I found that there was a deeper and newer sense of trusting God. Like, coming to Him to three times in prayer were truly meals. Isn’t that how it should be though? Shouldn’t we intentionally be coming to God to be fed and nourished in the only way He can? Instead, most of us simply take three times a day to thank Him for the food but don’t take the time to thank Him for BEING our NOURISHMENT.
The bible reminds us to seek God with all your heart, with all your mind and with all your soul….and all these things will be provided to you. We need not worry about how something will work out because when it is all said and done, God’s will, will be done.
I pray that you have an opportunity to do a fast. Whether you do it alone or with a group of friends, I pray that it will be an experience that moves mountains for you and that deepens your trust in Him.
p.s. Oh, and an update, our request on behalf of our friend was answered. It wasn’t necessarily the way we expected or in the timeline we had hoped for, but in the end, God truly came through and provided for the family in a miraculous way. Sometimes, we miss out on the miracles because we are too busy trying to do God’s job. Fasting is a beautiful way of getting out of God’s way, allowing Him to do what He does best and seeing Him move.
