Hi Pastor John,
I have been talking to friends about fasting, could you explain fasting to me there seems to be many different ways to do this, and i want only what god would except.
thank you,
R S
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Brother Rob:
The OT form of fasting was in the flesh; the NT form is to walk in the Spirit. Fasting is no longer a matter of being strong-willed enough to do without food for a few days, as the scribes and Pharisees did it. There is a great danger of pride in self-willed abuse of the body. Paul referred to this, and called it “will worship”. I do not that believe Jesus (or Moses, or Elijah) just made up his mind to go into the wilderness and then do without food and water for 40 days. The Bible says he was “driven” into the wilderness by the Spirit (Mk. 1:12). There, he became so caught up with seeking God that he forgot about the issue of food . . . as well his mother’s birthday, the problem the authorities were having with horse and mule manure on the streets of Jerusalem, and every other earthly matter. Uncle Joe told me that true fasting is when you get so hungry (for God) that you forget about eating.
Think about it. Jesus told his disciples that they were unable to cast out certain demons because those demons came out “only by prayer and fasting”. But one of the greatest criticisms Jesus ever received was that he ate and drank like a normal person, unlike John the baptizer who fasted (in the OT way) often. So, obviously, Jesus was fasting in a way that his enemies could not recognize as fasting.
God’s true fast is described in detail in Isaiah 58. It is a way of living, not a man-willed way of not eating food. If you want your prayers to mean something to God, just live as He says in that chapter to live, and trust him.
Pastor John