Fasting

In a season filled with delicious cookies, why would someone ever fast?

At its heart, fasting is the physical prayer of asking for more of God and His presence in my life and the world around me. Sometimes it is done because the zeal and hunger for God is so strong that one would rather spend time with God than with food. At other times it is done when one recognizes that their spiritual appetite for God is in danger because it is so weak.

Fasting forces us to ask a question, “Do I really hunger for God? Do I want Him in my life more than anything else? Am I willing to do whatever it takes to glorify Him?” I love how John Piper puts it in his book A Hunger for God, “It is the physical exclamation point at the end of the sentence: ‘This much, O God, I long for you and for the manifestation of your glory in the world!’”

I started my fast on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I have eaten no foods and have drunk few liquids. I feel fine. I’m not hungry. I admit, I look at cookies longingly, but otherwise I feel great.

I decided to fast for a few reasons. First and foremost, I am fasting for my own spiritual life. I want more of God in my life. I need more of God in my life. I looked at my own spiritual life and I was not satisfied. I sensed Him calling me to go deeper and frankly, I didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to go deeper with God and glorify Him.

I have also sensed a great need to pray for our church. I believe God is calling us to go deeper and I wanted to make sure that I was going to give my all towards praying for God to work. I want God to work in and through our church to spread His Kingdom in this area. In short, I want revival, and I am willing to do whatever God asks to bring it about.

Where are you in your relationship with God? Do you want more of Him? Are you satisfied with your spiritual life? Do you believe like me that God is calling our church deeper? Do you want revival?

If you do, I plead with you, go deeper with God. Do all that you can to go after Him, even if it means fasting. Try it for a day or a few days and spend more time in prayer. Make the exclamation point and say “This much I want you, God!”

Just think, God could be bringing about this longing in all of us to do something greater than we could ever imagine. Could it be that He yearns to bring revival in this area? If that’s the truth, wouldn’t you be willing to do whatever it takes to bring it about?

Photo by C. Jill Reed