I agree, if God is to answer a prayer, perhaps I should ask what he will answer. God knows what I need and others need, and how he will respond.
Fasting: Does it actually do anything? Do you have a testimony?
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I agree, if God is to answer a prayer, perhaps I should ask what he will answer. God knows what I need and others need, and how he will respond.
WaterSong
Well-Known Member
The short answer, yes, fasting is very effective in cleansing the body. However, depending on your died and lifestyle prior to fasting, it can also mess with your mind. Especially when you're asleep. Because when we sleep our body begins its healing processes. And especially if we're in the midst of a fast.
Consequently, we can have all manner of weird dreams, lucid dreams, that may cause us concern. One thing some do in that case is, as soon as they start to fast they keep a dream journal by the bed. When they wake up they start to write what they remember. No editing or concern for grammar and such things, just write all that you can remember before you forget.
This helps in the course of the fast to see where you were at the start and where you end up at the end, as pertains to your dream state of mind.
This can also give clarity in as much as one may think God is speaking to them during those times, and if those dreams are scary or horrible, help perhaps to realize the difference between the body purging toxins, and the body chemistry responding to deprivation of solid foods, and what are/may be God himself sending you his word.
If you've never fasted your body is going to be really upset that it is being deprived of all those goodies you usually feed it. But if you stick to it you'll notice a difference that grows more and more noticeable as time passes.
A good schedule, from personal experience, to begin a fast as a first timer is to go one day without eating. But make sure you drink plenty of water, spring water is best, distilled is not always recommended because it can leach minerals from the body. If you're not all that healthy in the first place, or you do not supplement your diet with vitamins and/or herbs, that's not a good thing.
Fresh juices is ideal as a natural supplementation of necessary vitamins and minerals. Juicers are very affordable now. Organic produce too and is more readily available than years ago.
Juicing your own juice is superior to buying bottled juices, even the organic ones, because there is no pasteurization. Which is necessary in manufacturing of commercial grade juices of course.
If you can go one day without eating, that's a start. If you choose to do that after you end your fast stop eating one thing that isn't typically good for your body. Like something containing processed sugars. Cookies, cakes, etc...
The next time you fast, make it two days. And again, at the end of that stop consuming two things that are bad for you. Even if it is a habit, like smoking or drinking alcohol.
Your body will get use to the fasting cycle, and while it recovers from that sudden deprivation of foods for that one first day of fasting, it isn't going to be overly shocked when/if you go back to your usual diet afterward if/when you delete one bad food item from the diet/lifestyle you resume afterward.
If you go slow your body won't enter into a cleansing crisis. This can happen when someone who has never fasted before decides to go gung ho and fast for many days their first time out. The body can respond thinking something is in crisis in your life, which is why you're not eating solids of any kind.
Remember, your body, its physiology, is programmed to make you survive and balanced. If you suddenly go many days without eating your body will start to strong purge all the toxins that are within the eliminatory organs of the body. Liver,kidneys, bowels, lymph, etc... Picture an airplanes engines starting to fail and the crew throwing out cargo so as to lighten the load and stay aloft.
Only in the human body that strong eliminatory organ purge can cause you serious issues, depending on your state of health to begin with. Go slow. Your body will slowly adjust and eventually you can fast for days on end and without too much difficulty.
Just avoid walking near bakeries because that's a real stop-the-fast temptation.
LOL
Blessings on your pursuit.
Consequently, we can have all manner of weird dreams, lucid dreams, that may cause us concern. One thing some do in that case is, as soon as they start to fast they keep a dream journal by the bed. When they wake up they start to write what they remember. No editing or concern for grammar and such things, just write all that you can remember before you forget.
This helps in the course of the fast to see where you were at the start and where you end up at the end, as pertains to your dream state of mind.
This can also give clarity in as much as one may think God is speaking to them during those times, and if those dreams are scary or horrible, help perhaps to realize the difference between the body purging toxins, and the body chemistry responding to deprivation of solid foods, and what are/may be God himself sending you his word.
If you've never fasted your body is going to be really upset that it is being deprived of all those goodies you usually feed it. But if you stick to it you'll notice a difference that grows more and more noticeable as time passes.
A good schedule, from personal experience, to begin a fast as a first timer is to go one day without eating. But make sure you drink plenty of water, spring water is best, distilled is not always recommended because it can leach minerals from the body. If you're not all that healthy in the first place, or you do not supplement your diet with vitamins and/or herbs, that's not a good thing.
Fresh juices is ideal as a natural supplementation of necessary vitamins and minerals. Juicers are very affordable now. Organic produce too and is more readily available than years ago.
Juicing your own juice is superior to buying bottled juices, even the organic ones, because there is no pasteurization. Which is necessary in manufacturing of commercial grade juices of course.
If you can go one day without eating, that's a start. If you choose to do that after you end your fast stop eating one thing that isn't typically good for your body. Like something containing processed sugars. Cookies, cakes, etc...
The next time you fast, make it two days. And again, at the end of that stop consuming two things that are bad for you. Even if it is a habit, like smoking or drinking alcohol.
Your body will get use to the fasting cycle, and while it recovers from that sudden deprivation of foods for that one first day of fasting, it isn't going to be overly shocked when/if you go back to your usual diet afterward if/when you delete one bad food item from the diet/lifestyle you resume afterward.
If you go slow your body won't enter into a cleansing crisis. This can happen when someone who has never fasted before decides to go gung ho and fast for many days their first time out. The body can respond thinking something is in crisis in your life, which is why you're not eating solids of any kind.
Remember, your body, its physiology, is programmed to make you survive and balanced. If you suddenly go many days without eating your body will start to strong purge all the toxins that are within the eliminatory organs of the body. Liver,kidneys, bowels, lymph, etc... Picture an airplanes engines starting to fail and the crew throwing out cargo so as to lighten the load and stay aloft.
Only in the human body that strong eliminatory organ purge can cause you serious issues, depending on your state of health to begin with. Go slow. Your body will slowly adjust and eventually you can fast for days on end and without too much difficulty.
Just avoid walking near bakeries because that's a real stop-the-fast temptation.
LOLBlessings on your pursuit.
Hidden In Him
Well-Known Member
Ok, bad teaching. You are approaching the subject with a carnal mind, JunChosen.
We can go through that entire Chapter if you'd like, but first let me ask you: If literal fasting was not the will of God for believers, then why were they fasting?
Hidden In Him
Well-Known Member
The reason it gets confused is because the Israelites fasted in repentance, and it sometimes turned the judgments of God away. But this is not "receiving a breakthrough," more like "saving your behind," LoL. They were humbling themselves, which is another term used in the Old Testament for fasting, and it again had the purpose of bringing the flesh under. This gesture is what leads God to have mercy, because they are showing a truly repentant spirit by engaging in the practice.
Yeah, that's kinda like coercing God. Different thing. And you don't feel good about it, like you said. Like you are wrestling with God instead of your flesh. It makes God the adversary in a way, and that can never be a reassuring feeling.
Bingo! The right reason to be fasting, LoL.
Amen!
Amen to that, too!
Hidden In Him
Well-Known Member
Absolutely. Actually, it will mess with your sleeping patterns. Your body converts over the energy it used to spend to digesting, and now you have less need to sleep. So you stay awake more, and rest less.
It's why the Spirit needs to empower you to fast. Things need to line up, as it were. You need to have plenty to do and keep your mind on, because you will be up more and no longer be spending time eating, which creates even more free time.
Another good point. If you have never fasted for any length of time before, prepare for headaches. That won't happen after your body gets used to it, but the first few fasts I did my head hurt like crazy, and no amount of Excedrin helped. It could have been caffeine withdrawals also, but whatever was causing it, it wasn't fun.
Doesn't happen now.
Just avoid walking near bakeries because that's a real stop-the-fast temptation.
Yes, and also anything with salt. A bag of potato chips will look at you and say, "Don't you want me? I'm crunchy, and yummy, and salllltyyyyy..." and the next thing you know you're eating an entire Idaho potato field.
Show me in the Bible where fasting (abstain from food) is in the will of God? Already in Isaiah 58:6, God tells us the meaning of fasting (to lose the band of wickedness...etc,.) just as Jesus did in Matthew 17:21. Did Jesus have to fast? NO!
Then why couldn't the disciples cast out the devil (v. 19)? Because this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
Reminds me of John 3:12:
"If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?"
To God Be The Glory
2nd Timothy Group
Well-Known Member
Where is the match and who is doing the yelling? Somebody is assuming.
To God Be The Glory
It puts you in a state of dependence and longing for God. I try to fast for 24 hours at least once a week.
I find that when you pray according to your own thought you can remember exactly what you said but if you let the Holy Spirit put the words in your mouth you find yourself saying things you never even thought of and then afterwards you can't remember.
Even though I've studied it I still find it difficult to fast. Maybe it's like prayer and we have to lbe led into it by the Holy Spirit.
I haven't tried to go longer than 1 day. But I should soon. It's probably hard but if the Spirit helps 2 days should be doable
I've never done more than a day - not even 24 hours - more like from waking till 6pm. But I think as in all things, we need to be guided by the Spirit. To do it in our own strength is to fail. When I have done it before it was in agreement with a group of ladies from my church who all had specific concerns. We agreed to fast and pray for each other and our prayers were answered. It was a real encouragement to all of us.
Ronald Nolette
Well-Known Member
Hi Fluffy:
Fasting is a good thing if it is done when burdened by the Lord. It should always be for spiritual purposes and not just to ask for something we really want.
It should be for growth, direction, overcoming some weakness (if you believe God is asking for the fast), wisdom etc.
Do not go in with secret motives like losing weight or anything like that, though based on your picture losing weight is definitely not an issue with you
When you fast, water is fine and juices made from cooked vegetables or fruits is fine. It should be a time also devoted as possible to prayer and worship. It is a hard thing to do but can give awesome results in the Lord.
Hope this helps
Nancy
Well-Known Member
You are so wise grasshopper!!
Great verses and this has opened up a new avenue for me. I've never truly fasted, at least all I did was not eat and tried to think of what to pray about, lol. Of course, this was the very early 1990's so, still sucking the thumb!
There can be hours that pass without a peep from the dogs, phone, or some other distracting thing but, once I begin to pray or read scripture (I pray before I pray to have no distractions) ... then the phone rings, people start walking by my house making the dogs bark, distractions galore. I've gotten to the point where I will in Jesus authority cast satan out, telling him he MUST flee at the Name of Jesus and that he has no place here, and God rebuke him. THIS has helped tremendously! Because, you are spot on when you said: "that the battle intensifies when I draw closer to Christ,..."
Fightin the good fight together bro's and sissy's
Hidden In Him
Well-Known Member
Ok, Point taken. My apologies.
Ah, but now you are answering a question with a question. Again, about the Isaiah passage, we could deal with that whole Chapter in its entirety, and it doesn't mean God was opposed to fasting in the Old or New Testaments. Quite the contrary.
But an easier place to start is where I told you: If literal physical fasting was not God's will, why did Jesus fast for 40 days? Why did Paul state in the epistles that he fasted often? Why did the prophets fast and pray before sending Paul and Barnabas out in their ministry? If it is not God's will, then why did the Lord tell the disciples, "When you fast, do not be as the hypocrites, who make themselves appear unto men to fast. But when you fast, do so in secret; put on festive clothing and anoint your head with oil, so that your father who sees in secret may reward you openly"? (paraphrase).
Seems none of that makes sense if it was not God's will to literally fast the physical body.
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Hidden In Him
Well-Known Member
Agreed!
2nd Timothy, nobody was yelling. I disagreed with JunChosen's position, that's all. And to his credit, he responded very courteously.
This is a forum, so there are going to be some disagreements. Not a big deal.
God bless,
- H
2nd Timothy Group
Well-Known Member
My bad. I guess the plethora of "!!!" threw me off.
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