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Synthesis of Fasting by J. Franklin

Practice of Fasting

How to Fast

Taper off food intake when preparing. Try to drink at least 1 gal of purified water throughout the first day.

Remain modest (or in secret) while fasting. (Matthew 6:1-18) Basically, virtue signaling like the pharisees takes away all blessing from it.

Humble yourself rather than give a performance of strife, anger, and lashing out. This may mean taking responsibility, praying for protection and healing, even protection from oneself, and repenting for mistakes and sins, and wrongheadedness.

Enter a fast having repented of any known sins. Fasting will bring even hidden things to the surface so you can repent.

Combine fasting with prayer and reading the Word. Fasting is a continual prayer.

Fast from coffee for 40 days, then see what addiction remains.

Fasting and Mourning

Men and beast wore sackcloth while fasting and cried mightily to God as part of repentance. -John 3:7-9

"Mourn" and "fast" are interchangeable in the bible (maybe somewhat). Citation is needed here.

Fast for a specific purpose. The focus of fasting is on God and "lovesickness" for Him rather than our own physical needs or what we stand to gain.

While fasting, pray and focus on the needs of others. Prayer that goes along with fasting is a time to "press into God".

Fast especially for the "little ones" (children), or probably anyone vulnerable, especially in wicked times.

Fast for a member of the family (or friend) if something is/has gone wrong with/for them. This is what a church might do.

Is it worth considering just wearing a plain white T-shirt and jeans, as some equivalent to sackcloth?

Monitoring

There is nothing more worrisome than fasting.

Fasting is easier with grace.

Monitor how you are doing, and pray about it.

If you want to please God, believe God.

Faith and patience must go together.

Pray about it, believe the promises, and have patience. We do not need even much faith for miracles, only as small as a mustard seed. (Matt 17:20) Christ said so, and though Peter had little faith, with that he was able to walk on water for a time.

When to Fast

Fast all day before church to sensitize oneself to church.

Fast at the beginning of the year to set the tone for the rest of the year. This is like giving the first part to God of every day, week, dollar, and consideration in decisions. This is Matt 6:33 -- Seek first the Kingdom... Know that there is never a convenient time to fast.

Types of Fasts

Scripture has:

Absolute: taking in nothing, including water.
Normal: no food for some amount of days. Clear broth and juices may be allowed.
Partial: usually certain foods or drinks for an extended period of time.
Daniel: eliminate meats, breads, and sweets for 21 days.

Significant lengths in the Bible are 3, 7, 21, and 40 days. Half day and full day are also seen.

Beyond Fasting

Fasting is only one tool or step in the process of #sanctification.

But a man is the priest of his home and has many duties and pursuits.

Exercise sanctification daily by practicing purity and being set apart from the world and from sin.

Exhort one another daily to not fall to a hardened heart by sin and depart from God due to an evil heart of unbelief. -Heb 3:12-13

This implies:

Surround yourself with a desirable and motivating community. Exhort and ask to be exhorted. Pray with purpose and for exhortation from God in the mornings.

Purpose of Fasting

Physical

Healing

Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting Matthew 17:20-21 Matthew 17:20 - With this, nothing is impossible.

Isaiah 58:8 - Healing will follow fasting.

Water is the flushing agent. Urine turns darker. Impurities and poisons are "burnt for energy". Headaches are a sign that fasting was/is needed.

Cognition and senses improve. Addictions are broken.

Chronic or severe health conditions can improve with long fasts. There is an allegory of Christ's fasting for 40 days: Flies represent demons, and cancer and mold may represent corruption. Flies' life cycles range from 1 to 40 days. To utterly destroy them, you have to spray pesticides for 40 days.

Poverty Mitigation

Fasting mitigates poverty, probably by saving time on cooking, eating, doing dishes, cleaning, cutting out grocery expenses, and other un-necessities.

Fasting breaks us from routine.

Fasting helps you discern what you need from what you want.

Fasting can end demonic attacks and break generational curses -- By this, the author means we can give ourselves space and time to disrupt our self-destructive patterns that harm us generationally.

Spirtual

Worry more about your spirit than about food or clothing. (Matt 6:25)

Sensitization

Fasting is useful in getting direction from God. Fasting in increasing sensitivity allows us to hear "secrets", i.e. plans, secrets, and knowledge of God.

Among the trinity, fasting increases closeness with the Holy Spirit. Fasting makes one particularly more sensitive to the timing and voice of the Holy Spirit.

As in Mark 2:22, fasting is what renews our bodies as wineskins. It follows that the blood of Christ is the new wine.

Matthew 6 -- God rewards openly for praying, fasting, and giving. Ecclesiastes 4:12 - Solomon describes this as the threefold chord of prayer, fasting, and giving.

Fasting gets us away from our own desires that we might know His. As you fast, it becomes less about you.

Worship

Fasting is a continual form of worship, and an offering of oneself as a living sacrifice. See ROM 12:1 Worship, as in fasting, magnifies God and so reduces the apparent size of your problems.

We need to stop measuring our God by the size of our problems, and instead by how great He is.

The Mind

It also allows you to release unforgiveness and bitterness.

Mutual assurance/care while fasting for others fulfills the Law of Christ and is corrective to pride. (Gal 6:1-3) However, one must be trained with tender hands.

Fasting positions us and prepares us for what is to come.

Fasting sharpens the Word in your heart and on your tongue.

One may not walk into all His promises at once, but over time.

Addictions

Fasting also helps break sexual addictions and perversions. One mechanism is probably related to lowering sex drive.

Sanctification

Sanctification is the process of becoming more holy or Christlike. Theologically, it is allowing the Holy Spirit to make us more Christlike in what we do, think, and desire.

If God has blessed your life, you are in critical need of sanctification.

Over time after initial acceptance of Christ, complacency and hidden sins build up. If we are to see God's wonders, like the Israelites toward the Promised Land, we must confront sin in our lives and live holy.

Fasting is an essential means of sanctification, or pulling yourself away from the world. It filters your life, between serving the spirit and serving "the flesh" (Gal 5:19-21). In other words, it cuts away dead things and hidden sins, i.e. circumcision of the heart.

Spiritual Premises for Fasting

Matthew 5:6 - Spiritual "hunger" and "thirst" are mentioned in-place of earthly eating and drinking in scripture. This is fasting.

Jesus fasted despite having power, because some supernatural release happens with it. Luke 5:34-35 - then they will fast in those days (when Jesus is taken away).

Jesus never healed anyone until after he fasted 40 days.

Matt 26:29 - Technically Christ is fasting until the end times, when he drinks with us in His Father's Kingdom.

Acts 10:30-31 - Fasting is what opened the door (in part) to the gentiles via Cornelius.

To loose the bonds of wickedness -Isa 58:6-7

By making do with less, we become less dependent on the world's offerings and demands, and so we shrink/thin, and the shackles loosen.

Gluttony

Our stomachs are metaphorically the bottomless pit. Heb 12:15-17 -- Esau lost his birthright partly due to hunger and not fasting.

Manna

Manna apparently was perfectly balanced, so that there was not one sick or feeble person among them for 40 years. Despite this, people were not content.

Kibroth Hattaavah was the result, where quail was sent and people grew sick on it.

Trivia

TODO: Revise this with See Also

John 14:30 - Christ points out that the enemy is the ruler of this world, but he is apart from him. 40 represents cleansing and purifying. "Revival" includes in Joel 2:28 prophesying, dreaming dreams, and seeing visions. Heb 4:16 - the throne of grace is a canonical object. Heb 411:13 - " division of soul and spirit" 2 Chronicles 7:14 - about healing, including prayer in the process (but not fasting) Ps 24:3-4 - This is God's place because he is so far above us. But we think to put ourselves there because our casual ego blinds us. Heb 11:5 - God translated Enoch. Heb 11:16 - You must believe that God is a rewarder. Jude 14-15 - Enoch did not try to please people.

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