Increasing Spirituality vs Instant Gratification

The two questions I get asked the most are:

1. How do I walk with Christ in a more powerful way?

2. I don’t know what to do with my life – where do I go for direction?

These are questions not easily answered. Short clichés rarely suffice. I can say that the best way to address them is to speak with the One who knows.

I am aware that prayer is a discipline. But the practice of prayer is one that reaps unlimited rewards. We discover that our inadequacies are more than compensated for by Christ’s abundance. As God spoke through the writer of Chronicles, “If my people would humble themselves…and pray…I will…” (2 Chron 7:14). God promises action when we act. God responds to faith-filled action.

There is another discipline oft forgotten with our 21st century ‘instant gratification’ culture. Fasting! Going without food for a spiritual purpose. Putting off the demands of our flesh to focus on the necessities of our spirit. Our lives are ruled by King Stomach. Adam and Eve ate themselves out of the presence of God (Gen 3:6); Esau sold his rights as first born for the sake of one meal (Gen 25:27; Hebrews 12:16-17); and I get grumpy if I miss even one meal!

A few years ago, Australia was gripped by a refugee crisis. Illegal immigrants, most fleeing violence in their home nations, arrived on our shores without invitation. Most were held in detention centres whilst their claims for asylum were validated. As the months turned into years, some of these refugees became desperate, going on hunger strikes, sewing their lips together. These physical acts were attempts to catch the attention of a benevolent nation, of a benevolent Prime Minister.

Fasting carries a similar goal on a purely spiritual level. Whilst we don’t physically sew our lips together – we do choose to go without food for a specific purpose. We want to catch our benevolent Creator’s attention. We are determined to raise our faith to a new level, see a healing, a salvation, a miracle occur in our world. This practice, whilst mostly forgotten in our culture today, was used widely in Scripture. Moses, Jehoshaphat, Nehemiah, Esther, David, Isaiah, Daniel, Anna the prophet, Paul the Apostle – even Jesus, the Son of God, fasted.  Jesus challenges us in Matthew 6:16, “When you fast…”    He assumes we will.

Three major benefits of fasting:

1. Spiritual – you will start to conquer King Stomach – overcome the flesh’s demand for gratification. Fasting will help you break addictions from junk food to pornography, as well as others. Fasting is a Flesh beater!

2. Physical – your body will actually love it. By fasting, you actually give your digestive system a break and if you drink lots of water, you will assist in flushing the toxins out of your system. Whilst you might experience headaches, these are often caused by withdrawals as your body craves sugar, etc. I read recently about a Christian medical doctor – 77yrs old – who fasted for 53 days for a spiritual purpose. In the process, his white/grey hair was replaced by his original jet black hair from when he was a young man! Go figure!

3. Spiritual – You will begin to access a source of power that makes things happen. 2 Chronicles 20 sees King Jehoshaphat and the nation of Judah overcome a mighty army simply by united prayer & fasting. Daniel has a mighty experience with an angel during a 21 day fast in Daniel 10. Isaiah 58 shows us that God wants us to fast with good spiritual intention – not as another religious ritual. Verse 11 says that the results will be the Lord guiding us continually, and our lives being like a well-watered garden.

We need to acknowledge that our flesh dominates our everyday lives. We are governed by meal times. There will never be a good time to fast, but mastery of this spiritual practice, when combined with prayer and God’s Word, will release all that God has for us.

These tips should help you in your fast:

1. Not preparing, eating and cleaning up after food will give you stacks more time. Read, pray, walk.

2. Empty your fridge and put away displayed fruit, chocolate and snacks.

3. DO NOT WATCH TV – fast food outlets do something called advertising! Don’t torture yourself!

4. Tighten up your eating habits prior to a fast. Get your body used to eating less, rather than gorging.

5. Drink lots of  water…water will help cleanse your body. The benefits are amazing.