The topic of praying and fasting in the bible seems to get very little attention in mainstream religions of Christianity understanding this topic can teach believers how to interpret the bible much better.
People in the different Christian denominations will often fast when told to by their pastors. The purpose of this fast can be for a number of different things.
Some of the reasons for a fast that I was taught in church, were to:
Defeat your enemies
To prevent people from doing evil to you
For protection.
I am sure these reasons for fasting are familiar to many people, but what do the scriptures actually say about prayer and fasting?
To understand praying and fasting in the bible it is every believers responsibility to research the topic them self. The following scriptures are a reminder of what YHWH wants from his followers:
Haggai 1:5-7
5Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.
6Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.
7Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.
Here it is clear that YHWH requires us as believers to look at ourselves and why we are not progressing, spiritually and financially.
2 Corinthians 13:5
5Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be
reprobates?
Paul in the same breath calls upon us as believers to examine ourselves just as YHWH has called us to consider our ways.
The point here is the walk with YHWH requires self examination. We should not be passing the blame for any bad situations we have on external things. This is in direct opposition to what many people are taught when they are told to fast, as i explained earlier I was taught that fasting was for defeating your enemies, to prevent people from doing evil to you, for protection.
The notions of fasting that christians are given make it appear as though they are powerless against external forces except they fast and pray, but lets see what YHWH says about praying and fasting in the bible, in doing so we will see the fasting benefits?
Isaiah 58:4-8
4Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.
5Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?
6Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
7Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
8Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy reward.
In the Verse 4 here we see that YHWH condemns a fast that is aimed at defeating our enemies:
Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness:
YHWH also questions the validitity of this type of fast. YHWH also talks about the way we fast which is also not in keeping with what he wants, he says:
“is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?”
He questions the motives behind the fasting that is being done, which has emphasis on being seen holy in the eyes of men, this same point is made by the Messiah in the scripture below:
Matthew 6:16-18
16Moreover 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.
17But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
18That 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 can be seen by the Messiahs words a fast is something that is supposed to be done to put ourselves in good standing with the YHWH.
Isaiah 58:6-8
6Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
7Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
8Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy reward.
Here in verses 5 to 8,we see the purpose of the fast, and what it will achieve if done correctly,
“to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?”
Emphasis here is on the individual, undoing their heavy burdens, and the wickedness that they have held onto,which should then be followed by kindness such as feeding the poor and clothing the hungry, in doing all this a rewward will be given to the person fasting.
When we read the scriptures more closely we see the power praying and fasting in the bible has over demons, which are often the resaon for peoples sickenesses and moody dispositions:
Matthew 17:14-21
14And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,
15Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.
16And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.
17Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.
18And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.
19Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
20And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
21Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
Here a man that has a son who is mentally ill (lunatick) is heeled by the Messiah, who tells the disciples that were unable to heel him that that kind of devil (demon) “goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.”
Now we know the reasons for fasting we need to also know how its should be carried. When I was in the church it seemed to me that fasting was one of the most challenging things for a christian to do.
The diferent fasts I encountered in church were trhe dry fast, which meant eating no food at all until the end of the fast and the water fast which meant you were only allowed to drink water during the fast.
The length of the fast was often from 6 oclock in the morning until 6 or 12 in the evening. but was never for the whole day.
If we look at the model of a fast which can be found by looking at the Day of Atonement, this will give us the blueprint of what YHWH considers a fast to be:
Leviticus 23:27-32
27Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
28And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God.
29For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people.
30And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people.
31Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
32It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.
If we look at the day of atonement which is a one day fast that takes place on the 10th day of the 7th month, (Click here for feast days). We see that it begins on the 9th day in the evening (when its dark) and finishes the following day on the 10th day in the evening. (to see how days are calculated click here).
The terminolgy used here for not eating is to “inflict your soul”. Although it doesn’t say not to drink, it can be safely said that drinking water, would not constitute inflicting your soul, soul here meaning body, if it is being nourished how can it be inflicted?
So as a beleiver I hope you can see the power of praying and fasting, when done for ourselves and for others in sincerity.
A list of things not to do when fasting :
Dont tell everybody you are fasting to win points, Matthew 6:16
Dont fast for strife i.e to kill enemies, or to protect your self, Isaiah 58:4,5
Dont be grudgeful when fasting, Matthew 6:15
A list of things to do when fasting:
Forgive people that have wronged you, Matthew 6:15
Fast to get rid of your personal internal problems, Isaiah 58:6
Fast and pray to help others get well, Matthew 17:14-21
Be in the spirit of giving and helping others when fasting, Isaiah 58:7
Fast and pray in secret and not for audience, Matthew 6:16-18
If you are suffering from issues such as homosexuality, mood swings or also what is called depression, praying and fasting is the perfecct remedy.
As someone that suffered from moodiness and anger issues, I found that after YHWH led me to pray and fast in my youth all of these spirits left me and the same is true for any one.
I hop this has helped somebody that is really seeking for truth mentally physically and spiritually, you can read the following sciptures below to get an undertsanding of what demons,devils and evil spirits can be responsible for:
Matthew 4:23-25
Matthew 8:14-17
Matthew 8:28-34
Matthew 9:32-34
Matthew 12:22-32
Matthew 15:21-28
Matthew 17:14-21
Peace and Shalom!
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