Matthew 4: 4 « But
He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but
by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. »
Exodus 34: 28 « So he
was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor
drank water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten
Commandments»
Acts 13 : 2 « As they
ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me
Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. »
In addition to
its therapeutic benefits for the body, fasting has many spiritual benefits. Fasting,
when practiced with a heart and mind ready to draw closer to God, is a powerful
ally in the life of the Christian. This practice, which consists in depriving
ourselves of something that pleases our flesh, is presented as an act of
sacrifice to God, through which we say to Him, for example: "I love and
need food, but I love and need your presence even more".
However, if we
are to experience the full spiritual benefits of fasting, it cannot be reduced
to "the act of abstaining from something. It must also be a moment when we
redirect our desire for the things we deprive ourselves of and/or the time we
devote to them to prayer or meditation. Fasting also goes hand in hand with a
life of sanctification for perfect communion with the Holy Spirit.
Thus, the effectiveness of spiritual fasting lies in the sincere and
sustained search for intimacy with God and also in the practice of works that
please God.
Isaiah
58 : 6 - 11 « Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the
bonds of wickedness, To undo the [c]heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go
free, And that you break every yoke? Is
it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house
the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not
hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light shall break forth like the
morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall
go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall
call, and the Lord will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’
“If you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your [f]darkness shall be as the noonday. The Lord will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. »
Spiritual fasting: what is it?
Daniel 10 : 3 « I
ate no [b]pleasant food, no meat or wine came into my mouth, nor did I anoint
myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled. »
Daniel 10 : 12 « Do
not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand,
and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come
because of your words. »
Fasting is the act of abstaining from something we like to do (depriving our flesh of something it likes) for a certain period of time for a specific spiritual purpose, such as: a difficult situation in which we need God's intervention, spiritual growth, strengthening our faith, activating spiritual gifts, etc. ..... The idea is to ignore the desires of the body for some time in order to nourish our spirit and soul with the Word of God and prayer and to increase our intimacy with the Holy Spirit.
The Importance of Sanctification During the Fasting Period
John 9: 31 « Now
we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and
does His will, He hears him. »
Romains 8 :
7-9 « Because the [c]carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not
subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the
flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if
indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit
of Christ, he is not His. »
The main purpose
of fasting is to create the right environment for our spirit to enter into
perfect communion with the Holy Spirit and to catch His messages and receive the
impartation from Him (for the Holy Spirit does not communicate with our flesh,
but with our spirit). Thus, we silence the senses of the flesh in order to
awaken those of the Spirit. But it is impossible to achieve perfect communion
with God's Holy Spirit if we practice sin.
Therefore, we must keep our soul, mind, and body in a state of sanctification so that we can glorify the Spirit of God in us, form one spirit with Him, and maintain this perfect fellowship, as indicated in Proverbs 15:29 and as recommended by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:11, 13, 15, 17, and 20 and in Galatians 5:25.
The importance of righteous deeds during fasting
1 John 4 :
16 « And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is
love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.»
Isaiah 58:6-11 explains
the importance of good deeds during fasting perfectly. God delights in deeds
that glorify Him. His Spirit dwells in
the one who practices the fruits of the Spirit described in Ephesians 5:9,
Philippians 1:11, Colossians 1:10, James 3:17-18, and Galatians 5:22-23; for he
reflects the image of Christ. He who is without charity in his heart, who does
not share God's love, and who has no humility in him, cannot have fellowship
with the Holy Spirit. For fellowship in this context implies a state in which
our spirit is completely fused with the Spirit of God to become one. Therefore,
if we have things in us that are contrary to the fruits of the Holy Spirit,
there can be no harmony with our spirit and, consequently, no fellowship.