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FASTING IS GREATER THAN DOUBT
Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, writes, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life” (6:7–8).
Even though most people take the flesh to mean the physical body, it is much more than that. The flesh has works (see Galatians 5:19–21) and desires and cravings (see Ephesians 2:3). In those verses (and the many others throughout Scripture), the whole disposition of the flesh is almost always expressed in contrast to, and even as antagonistic to, the spirit. First Peter 2:11 tells us, “Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.”
The things of the spirit cannot be explained rationally. And so whenever we are prompted to pray the prayer of faith—maybe praying for a healing miracle or restoration in a fractured relationship—the moment we begin to engage in prayer, the mind goes into overdrive to make a logical case as to why the things we are asking for are impossible. Our senses, our memories, and historic and scientific fact, along with our fears of embarrassment and rejection, immediately build a bulletproof case for why our appeals to the divine are not practical, not justified, not warranted, and will never materialize. We feel the doubt rise into unbelief, and we fail to ask boldly, confidently, fearlessly. We are what the Bible calls “a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8) and unable to receive anything from the Lord (see verse 7).
We’ve all experienced moments when we failed to connect with the peace and calm of the reassurances of God’s presence and His promises simply because we were too close to the problem—too rattled, distracted, or distraught. A soul humbled through fasting does away with all that.
Think of fasting as an anchor for our minds and our emotions for the times when we have no faith, conviction, or cognitive clarity to pray. Fasting negates the paralyzing power of our brains so we can move forward in faith with what our spirits know to be true.
How do fasting, faith, and asking God for the impossible go together?
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About this Plan
Fasting is, at its core, an invitation to intimacy with God. It’s an emp¬tying of all, so we can be filled by His all. Yet many of us aren’t sure how to start making this transformative practice a part of our lives. As Reward Sibanda explores, we never finish a fast the same person we were when we began, because through fasting we become more of who God created us to be.
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