Pre -Fast. Let’s Prepare
WHY WE FAST?
Fasting is a spiritual discipline where believers in God
abstain from food as a means to align themselves to God,
strengthen their faith, and to experience the wonder of a supernatural God who is present in the natural world.
aims to allow the spirit of God to re-order our concentration to Him,
make room for deep scripture meditation, and deep transformation for repentance and restoration.
It is marked with moments of prayer, solitude, and reflection.
Fasting is not manipulating God. It is not pulling His ear to get his attention. It is not a performance to earn God’s blessing. The greatest transaction for our sin and purity was already finished and done on the cross when Jesus died for our sins and rose again in glorious light. The main agenda for fasting is more of God and to see him overcome everything in our lives.
Zechariah 7:5 “When you fasted… did you really fast for me?”
The Last Adam.
Read: Genesis 3. Matthew 4:1-11, 1 Corinthians 15: 45-49
In the book of Genesis, Adam and Eve were prohibited from eating from the Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden. The bible describes the fruit on the tree as pleasing to the eye. The serpent lies and twists God’s word, trapping Adam and Eve in doubt, distrust, and disobedience to God; sin. Sin, shame and death enter into God’s beloved creation. The first Adam fails and all his children after him fall short of the glory of God.
Our Lord fasts for forty days in the wilderness. Experiencing the hunger pains that we as humans go through. Satan enters the scene. He uses the same strategy in the garden. Lying, twisting God’s word to tempt Jesus, but this time with more than just fruit. With no surprise, none of this works on El Shaddai. Jesus is the word of God, perfect unity with the Fathers and spirit, he is not swayed, he does not fall, he holds the true meaning of the word of God, ….he remains UNDEFEATED.
1 Corinthians 15:45 So it is written, The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
Jesus is our last Adam. All of those who are born again, follow him as he is now the head of our new born again heavenly family. Fasting is a discipline that exercises God’s redemptive waves in reversing Eden’s aftermath. It is through Jesus’s example, that we have a true picture of the relationship between human desires and Godly desires.
By fasting, we learn to walk in obedience by loving and trusting God, but also knowing that we are loved. It is training ourselves to deny sinful flesh desires by meditating on God’s truth and knowing that his ways are better.
Decision over Desires = Discipline
#TrainDontTry
Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee.
Read: Matthew 6: 16-18
Jesus himself gives us specific boundaries on how we should fast in Matthew 6. He instructs his people to make sure that when they fast, they would not look gloomy. Gloomy and fasting seems to be expected especially when you live in the best culinary city in the whole world. Why give specific instructions to wash your face and freshen up with some oil?
The Lord wants our motivation to be purely for him. There is no performance in the secret place. It’s you with no mask, no church clothes, no make up, just you standing before a holy God who is meeting you in your secret place.
Secondly, the gloomy face doesn’t represent the overall narrative of what God is doing through you in the fast. Yes, fasting will include trying times and bouts of hunger, but it's not the overall theme of the story. In a proper fast, God will get the glory, God will be loved and give love, God’s will will be illuminated, and God’s word will be obeyed. There’s no gloom there, just joy, glory, revelation and chains broken.
Thirdly, the mention of the secret place is hand in hand with solitude. Fasting will include moments of you completely alone. Why does God institute solitary worship of Him?
It’s because solitude teaches us that when we are alone, we are not really alone. God is with us, and his name is Emmanuel. Dallas Willard mentions that the antidote for loneliness is solitude, for in solitude, we cut the noise of the world, meditate on God’s still small voice, and practice His presence that is already surrounding us.
Next Steps:
How can you prepare for the fast?
If your body is sensitive to abrupt changes in rhythms, try to make adjustments in your diet a few days ahead before fully committing to the fast.
Get a real bible. Get a real pen. Get a real notebook/journal. The journal will be necessary as we journey with this devotional guide.
Designate a physical space and time where you will get solitude with the Lord. It’s not always easy to do that when we live in apartments and have busy schedules, but do your best to be intentional and purposeful of your time and space with God. Disciples are disciplined.
Examples of fasting rhythms: wake up early in the morning to pray , read your bible, and journal. During your lunch break, continue this rhythm of praying, reading, and reflecting. Embrace moments of solitude.
I encourage you to also fast from secular music, podcasts, or things that will get your attention off of God. Listen to your favorite worship music or write your own songs/poems. As you approach the end of daily fast, make it special. Take the time to eat with someone, talk with a friend, or pray with someone.
