Why Fast?

​Fasting is humility, doing what God desires instead of what you desire. That is denying yourself daily, and carrying your cross daily. Fasting is obeying God, just to do what he has commanded instead of doing what you want to do. Fasting is saying ‘No’ to flesh and learning to deny the flesh. Do not forget that the sinful nature lives in the body. Fasting is leaving what you want, eating, in order to do what God wants, praying.

I believe that God is more interested, why do we fast, than how long we fast. You see, we can fast for 40 days, without eating anything, but what God is looking for, is why are we actually doing it. 

Sometimes, we can be tempted to think, that if we fast enough, we can ‘twist the arm’ of God, and make him to do, what we have asked of him in prayer, or to give us something, when we pray. But that is the totally wrong approach to fasting altogether. Why? Because the primary purpose of fasting, is for us, to align ourselves with God, and not to cause God to do something for us. You see, fasting is for him, not for us. Fasting is a type of humility, and humility simply means, doing what God has commanded us. To be humble, does not mean to have a pity party and say ‘Poor me’, but it means obeying the Word of God. That is humility.

Some Christians think, that when they fast, that will cause God to answer their prayers. Look, God does not answer our prayers, because we do not eat for some time, while we are fasting. No. God answers our prayers because we believe his Word, and because he cares for us. That is why he answers our prayers, and not because we decided to fast, for one or more days. 

Fasting simply shows God, that we are willing for a certain period of time, to deny the desire of our flesh to eat, and instead spend that time in prayer. God is always pleased when we say not to the flesh and yes to his Holy Spirit. We should not forget, that according to Apostle Paul, the sinful nature lives in our bodies, and not in our minds or spirits. That is what is written in Romans 7:23 Amplified Bible. So fasting is a way for us to carry our cross, and to train ourselves to deny our body, or flesh, and its desire to eat, in order to spend time feeding our spirit and soul, on the Word of God, and spending time with God.