A fast is a time of
concentrated focus and attention on a specific area of our lives. More often
than not, this time of the year is usually a period of physical (or
detoxification as a result of foods eaten over the holidays) and spiritual fast
in my country Nigeria. Detox fasts focus on the body. Spiritual fasting focuses
on the soul and uses the body as a conduit. Spiritual fasting is just as
physical as it is spiritual since the act of abstaining from food is what makes
spiritual fasting a fast.
As with any kind of fasting, denying the body food
requires you to discipline and control the desires of the body/flesh. This is a
central theme in our walk with Christ, so spiritual fasting fits right in with
that. Denying the body food also enables us to direct our focus away from the
body’s needs and make more room for God in our lives.
Benefits of Spiritual Fasting
God’s
Word refers to fasting 77 times throughout the Old and New Testaments. From Job
to King David, to Jesus, to Paul, fasting often marked a turning point where
important decisions or choices were about to be made. Spiritual fasting also
allows us to choose the attitude with which we’ll face the situation we’re in.
Since the overall goal of a spiritual fast is to deepen
your spiritual experience, there may well be other things you can abstain from
beside food. While a food fast can result in many benefits, fasting from anything that has a hold over you or which takes up
large amounts of your time and attention may also be considered. This
includes things like time spent on the internet, shopping, or watching TV.
While a food fast tends to pack a more physical “punch,” abstaining from
anything that captures your emotion or attention to focus on your faith offers
the same sense of freedom from worldly things.
·
Spiritual Fasting Strengthens
Our Relationship with God
With the nonstop demands and responsibility
of daily living, it can be especially hard to walk in the beliefs and values
that characterize the Christian lifestyle. Add to this the less than moral
norms that predominate in today’s world and the pressures to conform, and it
becomes that much easier to neglect our relationship with God. Much like any
relationship in our lives, spending quality time nurturing and cultivating the
bonds we share with God is essential to keeping our relationship with Him
strong. Spiritual fasting offers a way to cut through the “noise” and focus on
this precious relationship we have with our Creator. In effect, spiritual fasting
helps us to keep our priorities in check.
·
Spiritual Fasting
Involves Connecting with the Holy Spirit
Along
with forgiveness of sins, being “born again” gives us the privilege of
receiving the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives inside us and has the ability
to become a vital force in our lives if we let Him. Spiritual fasting offers a
way to break the hold of the flesh over our thoughts and attitudes and clear
the way for a stronger connection with the Holy Spirit.
Spiritual fasting can be done for the purpose of
cleansing the soul, as well as for a specific reason or goal. For instance, if
you’re going through a difficult time in your life, using a spirit-based fast
to gain clarity is one way to approach it. Ultimately, spiritual fasting allows us to see things from a perspective that
lines up with the Holy Spirit’s calling.
·
Reconnecting with
Our Divine Purpose
As another benefit of spiritual fasting,
reconnecting with our divine purpose in this life means becoming more in tune
with our sacred design. God has a specific purpose for each of us. Spiritual
fasting allows us to gain clarity on what our individual purpose in God’s plan
is. In the process of fasting, we also obtain the faith and courage to walk out
this purpose in our daily lives.
Health Benefits of
Spiritual Fasting
Since fasting without food is a big part of
spiritual fasting, it’s an opportune time to detox and
cleanse the body of harmful toxins. Pollutants in our food, air, and
water weaken the body’s health, which makes it that much harder to maintain a
close relationship with God. The health benefits from detoxing work to
strengthen the body and the mind, which naturally transfers over to your walk
with the Lord.
Is Spiritual Fasting Right for
You?
God’s
Word offers us a manual for living the very best life that we can in this
world. Spiritual fasting allows us to get closer to God and worship Him in a
very personal and powerful way. The Gospel of Luke 2:37 gives us an example of
this level of relationship with God,
“Then was a widow until she was eighty-four.
She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.”
Like any other relationship in our lives, the
more time we devote to being with God, the stronger our relationship with Him
gets. So, if you’re seeking a closer walk with God, spiritual fasting may well
be the way to go.
Sourced from The Hallelujah Diet
No comments:
Post a Comment