Living in Increase (Part 7) - Increase in PrayerIhe Atụ

Week 4: Fasting

Why Do We Fast?

Have you ever tried to converse with someone in a room where the TV volume was too loud? As you talked with the TV noise in the background, you probably found yourself “screaming at” instead of “talking with” the other person--either to speak over the noise or out of frustration that the noise made it hard to hear. And all the while, there was a simple solution: turn off the TV!

Just as it is challenging to communicate with someone with noise in the background, it can also be hard to communicate with God when there are distractions.

As we’ve learned this month, we communicate with God through Prayer; it’s made up of us both speaking with and listening to Him. While Prayer is more about communicating with God, fasting is something we do to enhance our ability to hear from Him.

So why do we fast?

Whether it’s food, media, a relationship, etc., something in our lives is probably getting in the way of us fully connecting with God. When we fast, we turn off the “noise” getting in the way so we can connect with Him on a deeper level.

Deuteronomy 8:3 accounts for when the Israelites, God’s chosen people, wandered in the desert and had nothing to eat. God would provide something called “manna” daily for them to eat. According to Deuteronomy 8:3, God did this so people would understand the importance of depending on Him. Jesus quotes this verse in Matthew 4:4 when He responds to the devil’s temptation by saying, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.”

As we fast, we remind ourselves of the importance of depending on the Word of God. While physical food is important (and please consult your doctor before partaking in a food fast!), what’s more important is allowing God to feed our spirits!

Emily N. Green

Action Step: Do some additional research on the importance of fasting in the Bible.