How To Fast
The right way to fast.
My definition of Fasting; Abstaining from food/food and drink for religious/spiritual purposes.
What is the reason for fasting?
The first sin ever committed was the sin of Pride. Lucifer, the most loved, trusted, and decorated archangel was the first sinner in all creation. Because of his pride, he wanted equality with God and was cast out of Heaven.
Pride is human nature. It’s our ego. It’s the; I want, I need etc.
God detests the proud and exalts the humble. Our human nature, the fallen man, cannot please God. What the flesh/human nature wants/desire is contrary to the spirit. The flesh is incapable of submitting to God, therefore incapable of obeying the will of God.
Paul the apostle once said, “I don’t just swing aimlessly, I strike myself a blow to make my body my slave.”
That statement from Paul explains the first reason why it’s necessary to fast. When we fast, we subdue our flesh and have authority over it. Peter in the garden of Gethsemane was asked by Jesus, “Why are you sleeping when I said we should pray?” Peter’s reply was, “The heart is willing but the flesh is weak.”
That’s exactly why, as people of faith, should fast. So that we gain authority over the flesh. When Paul was talking about the struggle of the flesh and spirit he said, “What I want to do, I don't do. What don't want to do, I find myself doing. When I try more to do what’s right, I find myself doing more of what’s wrong.” Why? We cannot crucify our flesh without fasting.
Fasting is what gives us authority over our flesh so that we are free from its desires and be able to submit to the desires of the Holy Spirit. Do you struggle with sin? Do you struggle with habits you detest but can't seem to overcome? Then you must fast. That is the only way you can deliver yourself from yourself, your flesh, and its desires.
The second reason is to humble ourselves. See, we are required by God to humble ourselves. It is not scriptural to ask God to humble you. He never said he would humble us but he instructed us to humble ourselves. In fact, if you ask God to humble you, he will humiliate you, and none of us want that.
Humble yourself before the Lord and he will lift you up. How then do we humble ourselves? Only by fasting. When we fast, we are humbling ourselves, we are surrendering to God, we are denying our flesh and offering ourselves a living sacrifice to God.
The third and most important reason. After the Transfiguration, Jesus came down the mountain with two of his disciples, when they got down, they found a possessed boy with an epileptic condition. The father of the boy explained to Jesus, “Teacher help my boy please, your disciples have tried but failed.”
Well, Jesus wasn’t very happy with his disciples, he said to them, “Oh you unbelieving generation. How long must I stay with you?”
But that’s not the whole story. You see, these disciples had already been given the authority by Jesus to cast out demons, heal the sick, and perform miracles. In fact, they had already done it before this incident, they had cast out demons before.
Now, after Jesus had healed the epileptic boy and left the scene, his disciples came to him in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?”
And Jesus’s answer should be taken very seriously by every person of faith, he said, “These kinds can only come out by prayer and fasting.”
Some people don’t know, some are ignorant to it and some choose to ignore it, but the truth of the matter is, there are spirits and demons, and curses that we must overcome and be delivered from.
For some people, everything they try to do doesn’t work out. They can't explain where their money goes. They never find success in relationships and marriages. Some women, never find a problem being pregnant but something always happens with the pregnancy, and lose their child. Some people struggle with sleep paralysis. Some people struggle with addictions; alcohol, drugs, masturbation, etc. Some people are always depressed. Some people are always afraid. Some people hurt themselves. Some people struggle with anger. Some people are always in accidents. Some families always have suicides. Some families always suffer the same fate. Some families don't have peace. Some people are always wondering in the same place and never seem to understand why there’s no progress in their life. Some people are always scared of death. Some people are always sick. Some people are always accused of things they didn’t do. In some families, their daughters never get or stay married. Some people are always just unlucky. Some people have sex with ghosts. Some people have pervert thoughts, they struggle with them. Some people struggle with evil thoughts, thoughts that disgust them. Some people struggle with hurt. Some people can't get over traumatic past events. Some people struggle with their past. Some people feel like there’s someone laid next to them, someone in the room, someone talking to them, etc. Some people, each time they try to do anything productive for themselves, there’s a great force of resistance. And, etc
These things I mentioned above, these are reoccurring things, they are patterns, meaning they are not normal. If a woman loses a baby once, that’s unfortunate, twice, that’s very sad, three times, that’s a pattern, four times, that’s an alert. Same with a family where the mother and father and son committed suicide, that’s a problem, that’s a curse. If you want a marriage and three or more of your marriages fail, that’s a curse. All these things, if they happen in a pattern that’s a problem to be addressed. If someone struggle with sleep paralysis for years, that’s not normal, those are spirits tormenting them. If you’re always sick and yet you go to the doctors and they can't find the problem, that’s a spirit you’re dealing with.
Now, Jesus is saying, this kind can only be overcome by prayer and fasting.
Fasting and prayer break curses and delivers you from demons and evil spirits. I can promise you that if you regularly practice fasting and prayer, anything you’re struggling with, you will overcome.
How to fast?
Like I said at the beginning, fasting is abstaining from food for religious/spiritual purposes. Therefore, it’s not just going without food, the reason should be clear to you that; I’m not going to eat because I’m fasting.
It’s always good to have a reason for your fasting. When you do fast, you must spend time in prayer also, and in listening or reading the word of God.
Can someone fast and still go on about their day, like going to work or school, or something like that? Yes. Can they fast and go to a bar, alcohol party, club, and things of that nature while they are fasting? No.
Your day of fasting is a sacred day. You don't have to tell anyone you’re fasting unless it’s unavoidable like when your family sets food in front of you and ask you why you’re not eating, you tell them you’re fasting. But, it is not good to tell everyone for no reason that you’re fasting.
However, if you choose to fast during a day you’re going to work or school or on a trip, make sure before you close(end/stop) your fast, you have given yourself time to pray and read the word of God.
So how do I fast? How long should my fasting be? How do I start?
Well, normally a fast starts as soon as you wake up in the morning starting your day(assuming you are getting up in the morning). If it’s your free day, and you’re not doing anything and you have chosen to fast that day, make sure you get up in the morning.
A day fast has no starting time. As soon you wake up, you’re fasting.
How long should you fast?
Fasting is a spiritual practice, therefore it is done according to the individual’s strength of faith.
If you’re are a beginner, you’re encouraged to finish your fast at 12 noon or 15:00. You’re also encouraged to drink water during your fasting. Don't eat any food, drink any sweet drinks, but drink just plain water.
The reason why a beginner is encouraged to do half-day fasting or to finish at 15:00 is that it’s more important for him/her to not be discouraged. If an achievable time is set, it’s likely for them to complete their fast and that’s the goal. If a long timeline is set, and a person fails to achieve it and breaks their fasting before the time, they will feel discouraged and that will cause confusion and weaken their spirit. A weakened spirit is vulnerable to be overcome by the devil.
It’s also important to stress that, even if you fail to complete your fast, don't be discouraged and don't feel like God is angry with you or disappointed, forgive yourself, and try again another day.
If you’re fasting and you forget that you’re fasting, then remember that you’re fasting while you’re eating(it happens), you must break your fasting then and then do another fasting another day. The moment you eat something, you’re no longer fasting.
When you’re fasting it’s also important to be holy. To abstain from sinful actions, foul language and you must be kind to people and respectful. Avoid quarreling and complaining, and lying. Also, fight evil thoughts and negative feelings. If someone makes you angry, deal with that anger, and let it go. Don’t allow your mind to wander into worry. Let your mind be positive, desire God’s love, his presence, his spirit, his anointing and pray in your heart about the things you’re fasting about.
Types of Fasting.
We have already discussed the first one. After the first one, as you build your confidence in faith, you can then increase the timeline or how long you fast.
Dry Fasting.
This is when you dont eat any food or drink any liquids. If you can, this is very powerful.
Fasting Prayer.
This is when you choose a day when you’re free and not doing anything else. Then, you fast and pray. This fasting is focused on prayer. You will be praying most of the time during the day. Not necessarily all day, but it's fasting dedicated to prayer and the word of God. This is the most powerful kind of fasting, that’s how you break things in the spirit and grow spiritually. You try this, you will feel it when you’re done.
Night Fasting.
You choose the time you stop eating, usually 6 pm or 8pm, then begin your fast till morning. You can sleep during the night. However, you must give some time to pray before you sleep and after you wake up before you close your fast.
Day and Night Fasting.
This is when you start your fast in the morning and go the rest of the day and the night without eating, or without eating and drinking.
Chosen Day Fasting.
This is when a believer chooses a certain day, like say, I will fast every Monday, or every Tuesday. This is encouraged for every believer because Fasting should be a regular practice in a believer’s life, however, it doesn’t have to be a fixed day, you can say, every week, I will choose a day to fast, or every month I will chose a day to fast. However, as a believer, you should be fasting at least more than once, in a month.
Purpose Fasting.
Not to say there’s any fasting without a purpose. But, this one, is when a believer say, “I am going to fast about a certain issue the next three days, or five days, etc.” This is also sometimes influenced by the Holy Spirit, so, if there’s something you have been praying about and you feel in your spirit you need to fast about it for two days or however many days, do it!
Instructed Fasting.
As you grow in the Spirit, sometimes the Holy Spirit will tell you when to fast, how to fast and how long for. This is where even the advice I have given in this writing can change because the Spirit of God can direct a fasting where you can eat everything else and only abstain from a specific food, like red meat, or all meat, or not to drink something. So, these are very important types of Fasting and you’re ought to do as the Spirit directs.
A Fasting done by the Spirit
The Bible says; The Holy Spirit led him into the wilderness and there he fasted for forty days and forty nights. This is that type of fasting. I’ve heard legends of people who have done this, I certainly haven’t done it or met a person who did it. This isn't encouraged and certainly shouldn’t be a goal, however the Holy Spirit can make you do it.
Unorthodox Fasting
If you’re an alcoholic or a smoker, you can do a fasting where you will just not drink alcohol or smoke. You can do a fast where you just say I wont eat solid foods. You can do a fast where you just abstain from a specific food, thing or activity. Let's say soemeone works every single day of the year, he can just rest a day, and that’s fasting from work. Or you go out and drink every night, you can just stop one night and that’s a fast. A sex worker or prostitute that’s on the clock every night, can stop for a night, and that’s a fast. Remember, fasting is done for a spiritual purpose, so any fasting should be deliberate and defined. If you just abstain from something without acknowledging in your heart that you’re fasting, its not fasting.
***ATTENTION. As crucial as fasting is if you have an underlying health condition that can prohibit you from fasting, consult your doctor first!