A Change of Us

"Fasting is about priorities. It gives value to the heart of God over our desires."

JESUS’ DISCIPLES were unable to cast out a devil and so the father of the afflicted boy brought him to Jesus. His disciples asked Him later why they were unable to cast the demon out, and Jesus made the remark, “This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting (Matthew 17:21).” Minister Bill Johnson points out that Jesus, at that moment, neither prayed nor fasted. He was already “prayed up” and lived a lifestyle of fasting.

I live a lifestyle of fasting. Not always of food but of entertainment, always, and personal interests frequently. I have chosen to follow the Spirit exclusively, and I’ve discovered to the extent we honor Him, He responds in kind. The more we chose the Word of God and prayer and worship, the more things which are revealed to us. The Scriptures say we go from glory to glory, meaning we need never hit the ground, need never suffer sickness or financial loss or any other mental or physical trauma for any reason. Minister Russell Johnson used the word “inevitability,” speaking of the things of life. We accept far too much as being inevitable and think, therefore, we must put up with it. There is no truth to this.

Fasting is about priorities. It gives value to the heart of God over our desires, and when it becomes a habit, a lifestyle, all our pleasures and many of our needs become second to, subordinate to, our times of prayer and worship and study. They become what we value the most. Jesus valued the voice of His Father. He was there to speak the Father’s words and do the Father’s will. What He wanted always took second place. At the same time, thinking of it from another angle, He accepted nothing as inevitable, not the sickness and disease He saw all around Him, nor any work of the enemy as being what man needed to put up with. He followed the Law but was not bound up by the Law, as He saw in the religious culture around Him. He knew the meaning of the Sabbath, understood His place in prophecy and the age He lived in. That took priority over the opinions of men.

He rebuked them for their attitude about fasting. To fast to say you are fasting or to fast to be seen defeats the purpose of the fast. Fasting is not to impress men, but to dedicate your time to God and to focus on His priorities. This includes “how to” fast. We cannot simply skip meals and call it fasting. The Spirit would rather you sought Him over the fast He desires than for you to choose for yourself. Our lives are to be lived in this manner, for that matter. We make so many decisions without Him. We must change our thinking to think as He does. We must put Jesus first.

The apostle Paul lived a lifestyle of fasting. For him, eating did not interrupt the work of the Lord, nor was it a bondage to him. He spoke of it as a necessity but also of the many times he did without because of the work of the Lord. This is really the truth of it. We have formalized the fast, and there is a place for this, but most often it is simply doing God’s work and not using our own schedule to interrupt the anointing. That said, we must remember God created humans, and Jesus is human, so He understands the human body and our mindset. But if God has called us to prayer or to study, and the anointing is flowing but we stop to do other things, then He will stop as well. Not in condemnation. He isn’t an angry God, but He is merciful. But our choice to pull back, pulls us back. When we push in again, He is always there. God is faithful.

"In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness." (2 Corinthians 11:27)

Why fast? Fasting changes our mindset, or it isn’t fasting. We enter in as one man and find ourselves a better one in the midst of it. We see ourselves clearer in the presence of God, and it shows our dedication. If we have a desperate need, then we would go all out to obtain a solution. If our car is out of gas and we need to get to work, we will find a way to solve the problem. What if the desperate need isn’t a personal one but a national one? What if it’s one in the body of Christ, the church? What if it’s for a specific person? God gives us the reason for the fast, and we choose obedience to it. To make it an everyday thing, to say, “I won’t watch TV anymore,” for instance, only comes through dedication of the heart, through love for God greater than self. And in this there is reward. The word “reward” is used in the gospels quite a bit, and of interest, is the meaning, simply “wages.” God pays good, is what I’m telling you. Yet, that is not our motive. We hunger, instead, for the goodness of God to be seen by all men, and we become the channel of it.

"I'm asking God for one thing, only one thing: to live with him in his house my whole life long. I'll contemplate his beauty; I'll study at his feet. That's the only quiet, secure place in a noisy world, the perfect getaway, far from the buzz of traffic." (Psalm 27:4-5 MSG)

Image by Sam from Pixabay


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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com