Day4
Biblical Fasting
5 Steps For Success
Step4
“Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.””
Matthew 26:41 MEV
Cross references
Matthew 6:13;
Mark 14:38;
Isaiah 58:8;
Isaiah 58:6;
2 Timothy 3:16-17;
Romans 12:1-2
Spiritual Exercise
Do you love exercise or are you one of the many who avoid it?
Spiritual exercise is much more beneficial for us, but unfortunately, we often procrastinate.
Have you been avoiding a Biblical fast?
Maybe you have never tried it.
Either way, you are missing out on the power and benefits of the spiritual exercise called Biblical fasting.
There are many benefits for Biblical fasting, but they are private rewards between you and God.
A key reward is receiving an attitude adjustment!
P.R.A.Y.
A-is for
ADJUSTMENT
ADJUSTMENTS will need to be made in our attitudes. Prayer is a great place for these adjustments. Fasting is that “something more” we often need when we feel stuck. God will direct you and stretch your thinking so that you can have the mind of Christ. Through fasting, prayer and study of His word your faith will come into agreement with God’s way of thinking and doing things.
Click these links to review our study on adjustment in prayer from a year ago or continue past them for todays lesson.
Step4
Schedule Time To Read Your Bible, Pray and Journal
There are times for all of us when the day-to-day business of life and the constant demands on our bodies seem to get in the way of our hearing from God and the connection is reduced to static.
You may feel distant or even cut off from the rushing stream of God’s power. You know He is still there, but it seems like the power is reduced to a trickle in our lives.
Are you experiencing a trickle?
There are times when simply pressing into God through more time in His Word and in prayer will reopen the flow of the supernatural in your life. But, at other times, you need something more—a time dedicated wholly to Him.
These times are especially important to press into the spiritual exercise of Biblical fasting.
As you press in denying your physical body by fasting you will begin to experience a special closeness with the Lord which is the best benefit of all, however the other rewards of fasting are related to whatever motivated you to fast. Whatever reward you’re seeking, establish it by faith; and proclaim it before you ever enter the fast. Expect to receive it. God will see in secret, and you will receive openly.
(Matthew 6:16-18)
Three specific rewards of fasting that I have found through my study and experience are:
Fasting subdues your flesh.
Fasting brings revelation.
Fasting leads to deliverance.
One of the most critical aspects of your fast is prayer. Without prayer, your fast is just a diet.
Action Step
Consider keeping a fasting and prayer journal.
Schedule time for this during your fast.
This doesn’t replace your Bible, but will be its companion and enhance your spiritual growth.
Include praise and worship time as well.
This is how we minister to the Lord. (Colossians 3:16)
One of the best things you can do to learn how to minister to the Lord during your fast is to read and pray from the Psalms because the Psalms speak of God’s mighty works.
When you begin to praise and minister to Him, He will get involved with you! You need to fellowship with Him. He needs to hear praise and thanksgiving—and so does your spirit!
Comments