Fasting, Prayer, and Affliction of the Soul

“Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your houyse the poor who are cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from your own flesh?”

Isaiah 58:6-7

This spring, I began to feel really impressed to spend more time fasting and learning about fasting. I’ve done it for up to a week a few times with some really good results. I’ve also fasted for a handful of days in the past with minimal results. So this year, I have been praying and learning quite a bit about denial of the flesh.

My pastor often says, “We all have ungodly altars in our lives.” I think some of those ungodly altars that we have allowed to be set up can most effectively be overturned by prayer and fasting. I think about when the Philistines stole the Ark of the LORD and put it in the temple of Dagon from 1 Samuel 5).

Can you imagine the power of God overturning some of the strongholds that are in your life in such a way that they submit fully to God? I know from experience that such things can happen, and that powerful deliverance can come about as a result of fasting and prayer.

So why don’t I do it more?
The Bible rightly refers to fasting as “affliction of the soul.” It’s never easy to sacrifice. Anything. Especially food! For me, most of my sturuggles come about when I fast but don’t focus on the and prayer aspect of it. Without Christ filling the emptiness that my stomach feels, the flesh isn’t getting weaker, only more irritated!

Actually, I think any pursuit of holiness should be more about adding holy practices into our lives rather than removing unholy things. As light comes in, darkness will flee. If we simply remove the darkness, more (and possibly worse) darkness will enter in its place (cf. Matthew 12:43-45).

So what are the results of fasting and prayer done from a pure motive?

Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousnessshall go before you,
The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer,
You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’

“If you take away the yoke from your midst,
The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
If you extend your soul to the hungry
And satisfy the afflicted soul,
Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,
And your darkness shall be as the noonday.” 

Isaiah 58:8-10

Amazing stuff, isn’t it?

But wait a minute…
So there can be these tremendous results and breakthroughs that we experience in our lives as a direct byproduct of fasting. But is that the purpose of fasting? Do we fast to twist God’s arm and sort of force His hand? I don’t know that this is what God has called us to do.

When we  fast, when we afflict our soul, I see it as more about drawing close to God than trying to get something or acheive a breakthrough. Now I know there are a number of different fasts outlined in the Bible, and about 10 different reasons behind them. With all of them, however, the end result is to draw closer to God.

Maybe I’m the only one who does this, but I sometimes find myself fasting just to fast and going through the motions just to go through the motions. It is at this point that the real challenge comes in. Either I give in and let my flesh win, or I press in and let my spirit win. If I do nothing, just continue fasting and being complacent, I don’t believe that I gain any benefit from the fasting.

So I’d love to discuss your experiences with fasting…care to share?

The Gates of Hades Shall Not Prevail

“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18)

I was thinking this morning about this verse. So often, I hear it in a context that no matter what Satan and his minions dish out at us, we will stay strong. Taken at face value, that is a good point. But that is not remotely what the context is saying here.

Take a moment. Think.

Are gates weapons?
Absolutely not! Gates, in fact, are defensive.

So if Jesus is telling His followers that the gates of Hades won’t overcome them, then does it not stand to reason that we should be doing everything in our power to storm the enemy’s gates? After all, they won’t prevail against us!

When are we most susceptible to defeat?
When we’re sitting around, not focusing on the fight, we tend to run a greater risk of losing. Especially when God is on our side. When we are sitting around, we are also more prone to ambush. The times when we are comfortable are the times when we must be most alert.

Comfort never leads to growth
God told me this a few weeks ago. When we are sitting around doing nothing, we run the lowest risk of growing than at any other time. The Kingdom of God is not about relaxation and laziness.

Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:8)

Now to be clear, I understand that Jesus was telling Peter and the disciples in the Matthew passage that we will not die and eternally stay in Hades. At the same time, I think this is a remarkable application…

Reminiscing

I found some more of my old blog-type entries and began adding them on here. Some of these date back to 2000. What really interests me is how deep they were compared to much of what I write now.

Some things I noticed:

• A falling away of the Bible quotes after I got a full time job
• I seem to have some favorite books in the Bible (check out the tag cloud on the right side of the blog for hints)
• I’m going to back and reread those books soon…
• My faith has been a tremendous anchor for me through some wildly dramatic events (such as my tumor saga)
• As I read the blogging I did during my second year, I realize that I thought I was a much better than I was
• I know a lot more now about theology and about the Bible and about prayer; but I don’t know that I practice much of any of them any more now than I did when I was in school
• I know I don’t pray as much as I did then
• I spend way too much time on the computer and way too little time on my knees seeking FIRST the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33)
• I currently do a whole lot of fake praying