Matthew 6:16-18 King James Version (KJV)
16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
As per usual blog is being scrambled original link Prayer and Fasting
INTRODUCTION
Mon peuple, it is that time of the month we are now officially completing the first half of the year. I am no longer using my usual Nike slogan Just Do it.’ I have popularized it so much that everywhere I go I see it being flashed in my face. Since we have done so many major feats over the past couple of years in the face of major opposition. One of my prayers that I pray on a nightly basis says Father as it was with the Apostle Paul an effective door has been opened to me but there are many adversaries.’ My new slogan is from that iconic Jamaican firm (that the Politicians have destroyed as per usual) Life of Jamaica - ‘Turning Visions Into Reality’ I tell you I have open visions when my eyes are open and closed. I now need reality.
It is ironic that in North America you do not hear a lot about prayer and fasting and there's no real emphasis on this area of the Bible because there is so much food at a cheap rate.There is a lot of waste also. I remember sitting in Quebec night after night and watching the young people at a Metro Store at a certain hour just dumping the food that was not sold in the garbage bins and thought to myself God, this is a sin.Then I returned to Ontario and saw the same thing and again thought to myself this is a sin. Be that as it may, Canada is where I learnt the true meaning of fasting. In this country when all sort of heathens are coming against you all sort of foreign gods and demonic spirits. Things happening in your life and as far as you are concerned you are not engaging in sin. You have to seek answers and since on Christ the solid rock you stand everything else is sinking sand you just automatically resort to your first and last source.
The first incident that took place in the country was so grave that i just said Daddy these spirits look very dangerous let us do a three year Daniel fast where you do not eat any meat. Before leaving Jamaica one of the last books I had read was by Elmer L Towns - Spiritual Breakthrough by Prayer and Fasting. So I had the major fasts in the Bible down pat.Prior to leaving Jamaica i suppose my issues were never very grave but the longest fast i had done was about seven days. By the time I had spent the first five years in Canada I had gone through the whole gamut of fasting in the Bible except for the dry fasts of Esther and forty days dry fast Moses etc. Since returning to Canada I have done the Esther three days dry fast twice once in Quebec and once in Ontario. This is the most difficult one I have done to date because I had no place to just relax and be at peace. I had to do it while I am on the run. For some of the incidents in my life in Canada you can read My Canadian Nightmare - A little excerpt from my manuscript.
Ottawa, Ottawa,Ottawa,
Canada, Canada, Canada
Nasty, deceptive, corrupt and criminal country. These days I see people wearing the T-Shirt about violence against women. Can you imagine they do their criminality and then have T-Shirts to back it up? ‘We deal with violence against women.’Anyway I am going to acquire one for myself. When I was in Quebec they had the pamphlets on the desk in front of the Receptionist at the Social Services office. In Brampton in addition to the pamphlets at the Social Services office they had the notices in the washroom cubicles just to ensure that I saw them. These days I am reminded of the saying we had in Jamaica, the grass may look greener on the other side because they are having a sewage problem.
Let us get back to Daddy one can do nothing doctrinally without the matter of choice coming to the fore. It is essential to God that man manifest his God like image. Even in this area there is no mandate to fast. You fast based on the conviction of your belief, which brings me to a comment made by Reverend Moses Aransiola about receiving things from the heavenly realm. He said the heavenly realm is a marketplace with the things of God going to the highest bidders. Case in point the Moabite king that was warring against Israel. He was losing the battle and decided to sacrifice his first born son that was to reign in his stead. Of course he won the battle 2 Kings 3 verses 26-27.
I am now being told that lodge has made a decision about my life. Of course any heathen can go ahead and make decisions about the life of the Saint, the question is who is going to enforce that decision? As for me and my household we know that light and darkness cannot meet. Light dispel darkness.The resistance on the ground is extremely harsh for the first time I am getting a little insight of what I have been up against all these years. Let us just say all the termites have come out of the cracks Chinois, Pakistanis, Indians, Caucasians, Europeans you name it they are here. I actually have people stepping on my heel back. Thus far I have been exposed to Chinese, Pakistani, Indians, Black and white man medicine. The Chinese are especially nasty, I did not know that Chinese people were so aggressive. I have to tell the Pakistanis and Indians to go put on deodorant before they come into my presence. My feet are swollen and black. I cannot tell you how many times I have been stuck in my feet. After the shoe from Value Village that almost wreck my feet, when the Chinese gentleman that I bought the sneakers from saw my feet he volunteered to help me put my feet into the sneakers. Since then my sneakers have been slit in the bottom. I have to be very careful of poison. I have been caught a number of times. I have to stop using deodorant because if I don’t I will soon not have any arms plus I have to be constantly changing my deodorant. My last pair of Jeans pants was just destroyed with acid along with my tights. Seems jeans are too difficult to breach so they destroy outright.The people have even stolen my prayer sheets out of my Bible. I suppose it would look bad to steal four Bibles or it is too cheap, that is why they have not gone with this Bible but they certainly have been destroying it. As John Cabot said on LinkedIn I am suffering from ‘perpetual victimhood’. The half has not been told this is indeed the capital city of Canada no doubt about it.
As I am leaving I would just like to contrast retail in Canada versus retail in the United States of America. I think I qualify as someone who has been in stores at all hours of the day and night. I realize the people in the USA are very serious about the things they do. It is business first and everything after. They appreciate their customers. In terms of Walmart I can remember having difficulties with only two Walmart Stores in the USA that one in New Mexico and the one in Houston, Texas. In terms of the latter can I say they do things differently in every area in Texas. I am not surprised that is the State in which my bags were stolen. In Virginia, Mississippi, California etc the stores are organized and clean, everything in its place and a place for everything. I was particularly impressed with the one in Austin also. I think Austin is an anomaly in Texas. No boxes in the aisles, no dirty floors. I mean everywhere I got tip top condition. At the Oculus in New York the people literally walk around with the broom looking for things to pick up.
Contrast Canada especially in Walmart the only reason why I continue to shop at Walmart is because I get a few deals there but most times I really do not even go there. Since I am in Ottawa the options have been reduced. You go in the stores all these dirty floors, shelves in disorder boxes all over the place all hours of the day. Associates in the stores that lie to you at the drop of a hat. They are lying to you and they are smiling. Loblaws is not much better at all. Most times you go to the plaza the floor is soiled all over. The standards in the washrooms are wide and varied. I really do not get any joy out of retail in Ontario or Canada for that matter. I really must say Quebec was not like Ontario. They really took great honour in their plazas in Ste. Foy. It would seem people are making so much money they have become very laxed or the consumers have settled for mediocrity.
With that we go into the Blog Proper to discuss prayer and fasting and relevance today.
REFLECTIONS
In this season where fasting has become a fad, everybody is fasting. The Buddhist, Hindu the Muslims and the Dalai Lama We have to remind ourselves of why we do the things we do. Everybody is fasting for one reason or the other, whether it is health or religious we have to be guided by purpose. Abuse is when things are not used for their true purpose -abnormal use. While I was reading my research some of the scriptures jumped out at me and I was thinking to myself that it is truly a daily walking out of this Christian journey. You become lax at your own peril. As we proceed we will be looking at the reasons for fasting, the benefits of fasting, types of fasts, contrast the fasting under the old covenant versus the new covenant and the abuse of fasting.
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CRITICAL DEFINITIONS
Church- Noun - A building for public Christian worship
- The whole body of Christian Believers; Christendom.
- Any division of this body professing the same creed and acknowledging the same ecclesiastical authority; a Christian denomination eg Baptist Church.
Verb -To conduct or bring to church especially for special services.
Fast- Verb - To abstain from all food
- To eat only sparingly or of certain types of food, especially as a religious observance.
Prayer - Noun - A devout petition to God or an object of worship.
- A spiritual communion with God, or an object of worship, as in supplication, thanksgiving, adoration or confession.
Relevant- Adjective - Bearing upon, or connected to the matter at hand, pertinent.
We thank Dictionary.com for most of our definitions this week. They are very comprehensive.
I THE REASONS FOR PRAYER AND FASTING
Prayer and fasting are Bible based disciplines that are appropriate for all believers of all ages throughout all centuries in all parts of the world.
- Consecration - The Day of Atonement in Israel Leviticus 16 verses 29 - 31 I tell you the High Priest in Israel rue this event each year, the big question being will I make it?
- Prayer and fasting put you into the best possible position for a breakthrough
- Fasting may be spiritually beneficial in times personal sorrow. King David and his men mourned and fasted upon hearing of the death of King Saul 1 Samuel 1 verse 11 - 12. As did Nehemiah out of concern for hs homeland when he learned about Jerusalem’s decimated condition Nehemiah 1 verses 3 - 4.
- When a loved one is critically ill - David mourned for the healing of his first child with Bathsheba 2 Samuel 12 verse 16.
- Repentance from sin- fasting frequently accompanied repentance as an outward and genuine indication of contrition for spiritual rebellion I Samuel 7 verse 6. The people of Nineveh proclaimed a fast when brought to a recognition of their sins Jonah 3 verses 5 - 8.
- Solemn Assemblies - During times of crisis the people of Israel gathered in solemn assembly for special days of fasting. When a devastating plague of locusts brought drought and famine to Israel, the prophet Joel called the people to a Solemn Assembly. ‘Declare a Holy fast, call a sacred assembly, summon the elders and all who live in the land, to the house of the Lord your God and cry out to the Lord.’ Joel 1 verse 14, 2 verse 15.
- Spiritual Promotion - Fasting was practiced in connection with great and important religious events. Moses fasted during that period when he was receiving the law Exodus 34 verse 28. Christ fasted prior to His encounter with Satan in the wilderness St. Matthew 4 verse 2. The words spiritual stamina came to mind here. The church fasted before sending Barnabas and Saul on that perilous first missionary campaign Acts 13 verses 2 - 3. Mon peuple if Moses and Jesus began their earthly ministries by spending forty days alone in the wilderness and in the presence of God, can you tell me why you expect to do great things with your high stomachs or designer suits and big rings? King David puts it this way Solomon my son you will seek Him and find Him if you seek Him with all your heart 1 Chronicles 28 verse 9. These wilderness moments of fasting and prayer are moments of silence, solitude and intimacy.
- Continuous revelation - Fasting was certainly a component in the dynamic ministry of the Apostle Paul 2 Corinthians 6 verse 5, 11 verse 27.
- Spiritual Direction in the Church Acts 13 verse 1-3, Judges 20 verse 26, Acts 14 verse 23. Leaders fasted in order to express to God their own needs and longing and desire with their bodies for God’s guidance in missionary breakthroughs. God responded with an answer that totally transformed the world, the mission of Barnabas and Saul was one of the most important missionary endeavours in the history of the world, because the advancement of the Gospel broke out into the western Roman empire and nothing in the world has ever been the same since that breakthrough.
- Fasting is a servant of faith in Jesus - It is a way of saying that we’re not going to be enslaved by food as the source of our satisfaction. We will use the renunciation of food from time to time to express that Jesus is better than food. Jesus is more needful than food Deuteronomy 8 verse 3.
- Deliverance or protection - 2 Chronicles 20 verse 3 - 4 one of the greatest victories that has taken place in the Bible to date, the army only sang. It takes the foolishness of God to confound men. Also Ezra 8 verses 21 - 23.
- Humbling ourselves before Him 1 Kings 21 verses 27 - 29, 2 Chronicles 33 verses 1 - 12 this is one of those stories that reinforces for us the fact that God is indeed long suffering and not surprised at anything that we do. He only looks at the motivation of the heart. and Psalm 35 verse 13.
Well people this list is by no means exhaustive and if we have reiterated some items it is for emphasis. Another thing to remember without a spiritual purpose, it is not Christian fasting, it is just a hunger strike.
II BENEFITS OF FASTING
- Discernment - Those who fast often experience greater discernment of good and evil. God seems to give us an opportunity as we fast to take a look again at our lives and the world around us and to discern what is good and what is evil Daniel 1 verse 8.
- Spiritual Benefits - God honours fasting when performed as an example of deep and sincere dedication Daniel 1 verse 17.
- Physical Benefits - The medical fraternity indicate that moderate fasting can be a benefit to health, having the effect of allowing our systems to occasionally cleanse themselves. Simply put the medical profession is catching up with the Creator Daniel 1 verse 15.
- Clarity - The mind appears to be able to plumb greater depths of contemplations during periods of fasting Daniel 1 verse 20.
- Appreciation - Fasting also has the added effect of reinforcing our appreciation for those things of which we’re deprived during the periods of abstention.
- Answers to earnest prayers - The first and most immediate answer is the reward of what our fast is for. Fasting is an assistant to prayer. It comes alongside our special request to God through the access we have in Christ Romans 5 verse 2, Ephesians 2 verse 18, 3 verse 12; and expresses our earnestness. Fasting as a hand maid of prayer makes special pleas to God with an added intensity from normal everyday prayer. Fasting is as special measure in the life of faith normal life is not fasting; normal life is steady -state prayer and enjoying the Giver through his gifts of food and drink.Fasting is a special mode, for unusual prayer and for showing the Giver we enjoy him more than His gifts.
- More of God Himself - This is the ultimate reward of Christian fasting and the ‘best of all purposes’ a more intimate relationship with God Himself. More important than God’s earthly guidance, protection, deliverance and provision in our eternal reception of and rejoicing in him. Fasting serves as a reminder that our God is Himself the great feast: Come everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come buy and eat! Come buy wine and milk without money and without price Isaiah 55 verse 11. God, Himself in Christ is the one who satisfies more than the best of foods and quenches our thirst more than the purest of water, than the richest of milk, and the best of wines Isaiah 55 vers 2. He is the one who says, ‘To the thirsty I will give you the spring of water of life without payment Revelation 21 verse 6. We who have tasted and seen His goodness Psalm 34 verse 8. Now join His Spirit in saying ‘Let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price’ Revelation 22 verse 17.
Turn Your stomach Aches Upon Jesus
Our hunger pangs tests which is more important in our life; relationship with God or the earthly pleasures of food. As people of faith, we know that believing in Him means coming to Him to satisfy our soul’s hunger and quench our soul’s thirst St. John 6 verse 35 and one of the best regular reminders of it can be abstaining temporarily from other food and drink. The great reward of fasting is God Himself Psalm 81 verse 10. God rewards Christian fasting because it attunes us to the very purpose of God in the universe: to magnify himself in our desiring, enjoying and being satisfied in Him. And he rewards it not just with what we are asking for with our fast, but ultimately with who He is as our desire, enjoyment and satisfaction. Christian fasting is not mainly about what we go without, but who we want more of.
III TYPES OF FASTS
I tell you what a great salvation that we have here in God - He is indeed the same yesterday, today and forever’ Hebrews 13 verse 8. He who is quite innovative and never repeated Himself with a miracle. He healed the blind on five separate occasions in the gospels and never repeated Himself once. He has given us choice from the beginning of creation in the garden and he has not changed. Hence, there are a number of ways people fasted in the Bible depending on the situation. Central to all of course was the denial of food. The best book I have read on fasting to date is Fasting for Spiritual Breakthrough by Elmer L. Towns very comprehensive. Talk about preparation it was one of the last spiritual books I read before I came into Canada. The only fast I have not done to date is a forty days dry fast. I have done every other one. In fact, I started with Daniel’s three year fast recognizing that the demons I had encountered thus far were not the ordinary ones. Messing up the level of iron in my blood because I did not take enough vegetables with iron to replace the total lack of all types of flesh. Even before I started to fast I got the title to my book. Sorry people I do not write it down anywhere which is very fortunate for me because it would have been stolen already along with everything else. I do not even sketch the book cover I walk around with it in my minds eye. The latest in the antics of the Nazis and the Mafias, they are offering me the Sage program on Cloud this time it is with AWS - Amazon Web Services, I said yes I will pay for it and use it to practice my accounting because I will not be putting any confidential matter on it. If they have already broken Google Drive and OneDrive, they are now trying to show me that they have Amazon pat also. Lord help my Holy Ghost!!
Let us look at the different types of fasts in the Bible
- Regular Fast
The regular fast is done by abstaining from all food, both solid and liquid, except water. This is the type of fasting Judah’s King Jehoshaphat called for when his country was almost over ran by his enemies 2 Chronicles 20 verse 3.
- Partial Fast
Another type of biblical fasting is the partial fast. The Prophet Daniel spent three weeks fasting from certain foods Daniel 10 he not only abstained from food but he did not use any ‘sweety sweety’ (lotions and perfumes).
- Absolute or Full Fast
Also mentioned in the Bible is the absolute fast or full fast. This is for the big boys and girls. No food or water is consumed. This was the fast used by Esther and the Jews when Haman tried to destroy the Jews Esther 4 verse 16. They did without food and water for three days. This was also the fast of Saul’s conversion. After the Damascus road experience he did not eat or drink for three days Acts 9 verse 9.
However, Moses and Elijah took part in miraculous forty day absolute fasts. When Moses met God on the mountaintop to receive the tablets of stone, he ate no bread and drank no water Deuteronomy 9 verse 9. After Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, infuriating Queen Jezebel, Elijah fled for his life and spent forty days fasting in the wilderness 1 Kings 19. Jesus also fasted for forty days prior to beginning his Ministry St. Matthew 4 verse 2.
- Abstaining From Intimate Relationships Fast (No Sex Fast)
The Bible also mentions abstaining from intimate relationships Exodus 19 verse 15. God told the Jews to abstain before coming up to the mountain. You need your strength to stand before me. I Cor 7 verse 5 Apostle Paul deals with the abstention during marriage. More of you black people need to do this one. You will have more energy to do other things, more important. Then again I suppose we need the high birth rate so many people are trying to annihilate the race before you come into our own.
IV CONTRAST OF OLD TESTAMENT VERSUS NEW TESTAMENT FAST
Apart from the fact that there was the abstinence from food in both dispensation there is something fundamentally different between fasting under the old covenant and fasting under the new covenant. The mystery is in the operation of the Holy Spirit. Under the old Adamic covenant the authority still resided in the hands of the enemy. The Holy Spirit showed up and then left because under that covenant he was illegal to operate on the earth.
Under the New covenant the authority had been returned because Jesus paid the price for our sin St. Luke 10 verse 19. The Holy Spirit is now resident in the Believer which makes us far more dangerous to the kingdom of darkness. All Believers have access to the Holy Spirit all at once. If the thing could not stop Jesus then it cannot stop us.
V JESUS ON FASTING
Even though there are no compulsory fasts required of Christians today, in this dispensation if Jesus could not make it without fasting and He is the perfect example it follows logically that we certainly will not. In the story when Jesus was on the Mount of Transfiguration and came down and the disciples were having problems casting out the demonic spirit. When they enquired of Him later why they could not budge the spirit. Jesus’ answer was that this type cometh out by prayer and fasting St. Matthew 17 verses 14 - 21.
When Jesus’ disciples were criticized for not fasting, Jesus responded by suggesting that it was hardly appropriate for them to fast while He was with them. The time would come, however, when he would be taken away from them, then they would have to fast St Luke 5 Verse 30 - 35
Also cautioning against improper motivation in worship, Jesus the Christ warned in our theme scriptures ‘moreover when you fast, be not as hypocrites St. Matthew 6 vs 16. It is significant that He did not say ‘if’ but ‘when you fast’ because it is hardly likely that you would be a Holy Ghost filled, tongue talking Believer and do not have reasons to fast. Unless you are not living in this fallen world Psalms 34 verse 19 and that is the righteous can you imagine the wicked. Fasting for the Believer is strictly a matter of choice, which normally arises out one of the reasons we have mentioned prior.
St. Matthew 9 verses 14 - 17 comparison of old Jewish fasting to the new Christian fasting old wineskin versus the new wineskins. Christian fasting is unique in all the fasting of the world in that it expresses more than longing for christ or hunger for Christ’s presence. It is a hunger that is rooted in, based on or already present experienced reality of the historical Jesus Christ and in our hearts. Ts summarize we have evidence for the things we do now, Jesus came and went.
VI ABUSE OF FASTING
Fasting can be abused
- Biblical fasting and Prayer is not an option to your dietary weight loss program. You need to be specific about the purpose of your fast.
- The practice must never be employed as a substitute for personal godly living. Isaiah delivered a blistering rebuke to those who fasted then pursued their own worldly pleasures Isaiah 58.
- Fasting must not be an occasion for the flaunting of one’s religion. Do not be Pharisaical St. Matthew 6 verses 16 - 18.
- The rigors of fasting must not be allowed to ignite a spirit of religious snugness and self-righteousness St. Luke 18 verses 9 - 14
VII HOW TO FAST
This would be like writing another blog post. In order to assist you in the physical area of fasting we have added a teaching by Dr. Myles Munroe -
CONCLUSION
When you do things under challenging circumstances you remember them better. I was just kicked out of Loblaws at 3 a.m. on a Sunday morning while I was about to try and complete the Blog post. Well Starbucks to the rescue again.There is a restaurant nearby with outdoor chairs and tables, I just held my corners and completed my Blog post. Jesus said ‘it is he that endures to the end.
In terms of the topic at hand Fasting - we are reminding ourselves of purpose and the reasons we do the things we do. I pray that God will honour your fasts that are truly kingdom directed from here on in.
Once again it is me Raphleta, Lillene’s Baby Girl coming to you from up here in the true North Ottawa, Canada.
À bientôt
