10 Steps Ahead: A Growth Devotional with Adia PetersonSample

Not So Fast!   

Fasting is definitely one of those topics where we think to ourselves, "God what’s this really all about?!" You may have fasted before, as a church or youth group, or maybe your family fasted together for something important. Fasting is a really special part of your life in God and it helps if we understand some of the reasons we fast and what God requires. 

Understanding What It Means to "Fast"  

When we “fast”, we typically abstain from food, or both food and drink, or sometimes we abstain from certain foods. You can also fast from hobbies, entertainment, social media etc. No matter the type, fasting should always be for a specific purpose in the Lord. In other words, we should not be “fasting” to lose weight. Fasting is not for personal gain or desire, but for God to move in our lives in a really specific, targeted way. 

When Daniel needed to set himself and his peers apart from the prophets of the other gods, he asked to fast from all of the king’s food and drink. He did this to demonstrate that the God he served was great enough to keep him strong and healthy. This proved really effective and helped to distinguish Daniel and his friends in a foreign land (Daniel 1). 

We can fast for a healing, for purity, a miracle that we need, a breakthrough in our personal life, forgiveness, crossing over, growth or even an answer from God on a specific issue in life. But remember, when we go on a fast, it should be God-inspired and have clear directions from Him about what we desire our fast to produce in our lives.