As the Lord deepens my burden for evangelizing non-believers, fasting has become a critical component of those efforts. I give you some of my reasons in today’s Wednesday Words in hopes that you’ll join me in fasting on behalf of others.
- Fasting is a longing for the Bridegroom (Matt 9:14-15), and I long for Him to reach my loved ones. Fasting is, in John Piper’s words, “a physical expression of heart-hunger for the coming of Jesus.”* What I desperately want is for the Son of God to make Himself known to the folks on my prayer list. I want them to long to know Him more.
- Seeking God fully without regard for food is an expression of that burden. I first learned of this kind of burden from friends who fast and pray every Friday for their children, but that head knowledge then has become even more real experientially for me now. I almost don’t even think about eating as long as I’m interceding for others.
- I’ve seen God dramatically answer prayers I prayed during fasting. The most obvious example is my mom’s Christian conversion at age 79. I had set aside the week for fasting when she turned dramatically to Christ. Fasting is not a “magic bullet” to gain God’s approval, but He does hear when we seek Him and His intervention more than we seek food on our tables.
- It’s good for me to turn my focus off self—and away from feeding my face—once in a while. The world is much bigger than I, and the needs around us are greater than I know. The heartache non-believers face is something I no longer face as God’s child. It’s just right for me to look away from self and toward others in fasting and prayer.
May I challenge you to set aside at least one meal a week and pray for non-believers to know Christ? And to pray that you and others will be strong proclaimers of the message of the gospel?
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* John Piper, A Hunger for God: Desiring God through Fasting and Prayer. Good News Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Sorry, you lost me on this one. Charismaniacs and prosperity teachers fast. Other than fringe groups such as this, no one in his or her right mind fasts. It is unhealthy.
I could not agree more, Shelly. The type of people who fast are very unhealthy. They are the same people who think we can go to church without masks like we used to. People who fast are conspiracy theorists.
The reasons for fasting may be a lot simpler than it sounds. John the Baptist, the last of the Old Testament prophets, fasted on a regular basis on all levels: he fasted from social contact, he fasted from material comfort, he fasted from food, subsiding on “locusts and honey.” His wholehearted focus on the coming of the Christ was rewarded by Jesus saying of him that “no man was ever born of woman greater than John the Baptist.” Wow! It is interesting to note that the very first thing Jesus did upon His entry into His public life, right after His baptism, was to enter into the wilderness to fast. Not an easy one, either: forty days, and forty nights. We are not Christ…but we are called to be His followers. There is a deeper, spiritual meaning and purpose to fasting. Interestingly enough, from a scientific view, there are many professional studies that note the great benefits of occasional fasting for the body, particularly our 21st century overburdened digestive systems.