What is fasting?

Simply stated, Biblical fasting is abstaining from food for a spiritual purpose!

Fasting is not just going without food for a period of time. That is dieting - maybe even starving - but fasting it is not. Will we lose weight when we fast? Yes, but that must not be our motivation. Will we fit into our clothes better when we fast? Yes, but there has to be a spiritual reason and purpose for fasting.

As expressed by David in Psalm 42, fasting brings us into a deeper, more intimate and powerful relationship with God. When you eliminate food from your diet for a number of days, your spirit becomes uncluttered by the things of this world and amazingly sensitive to the things of God. "Deep calls to deep." (Ps 42:7)

David was fasting. His hunger and thirst for God were greater than his natural desire for food. As a result, he reached a point at which he could cry out for the depths of his spirit to the depths of God, even in his trial.

In Acts 13, as the disciples fasted and prayed, they ministered to the Lord! Do our hearts cry for a closer walk with the Lord? Do we need answers to the crises in our lives? Victory over habits and addictions? Breakthroughs in certain areas in which we're stuck in a rut? Do we need cleansing? direction? healing? deliverance? Do we need to take dominion over something that is blocking our way?

Our motivation for a fast is important! There will be many, many side benefits, but let's make sure were fasting for a spiritual purpose. Soon we will realize that fasting is a joy that is overlooked by many!