Honoring GOD

♥♪THOU ART THE MIGHTY KING OF KINGS♥♪

♥♪GO!♥♪

♥♪GO WORK IN MY VINEYARD♥♪

♥♪THEY THAT OVERCOME♥♪

♥♪Tho’ the Road May Be Rough Where He Leads Me♥♪

It's always a delight finding new (to us) love songs of Our Saviour!

 

80 Reasons Why We Should Fast

 

By Rev Franklin Hall

 

    In two parts

 

40 Spiritual Bible Reasons

 

40 Physical Health Reasons <--click to read

 

40 Spiritual Bible Reasons

2. Perhaps the main reason we should fast is because Jesus, our Redeemer. Placed a fast upon all of us, Matt.9:15 “and Jesus said unto them, can the children of the bride-chamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast. “  We, therefore, are to fast to carry on the works for the Kingdom that Jesus started by His fasting and prayers.
3. We should fast because fasting was a part and parcel of the life of our Lord, Jesus Christ (Matt. 4:1,2; Jn.6:27), and he urged us to follow Him. (Lk. 9:23)
4. Jesus taught fasting as one of the four foundations of the Christian faith. These foundations are: giving, paying, fasting and faith. (Please study Matt.6)
5. Paul was “In fastings often” (II Cor.11:27). He instructed us to be “approving ourselves as the ministers of God (among other things) in fastings” (II Cor.6:5).
6. Every single person in the early church fasted (Acts.14:23). We therefore are not to doless.
7. Fasting enables one to become a conductor of spiritual power for either blessing others or for bringing blessings to himself.
8. Proper fasting with sincerity and respect to the Lord will positively break the yokes of sin, sickness and spiritual oppression. (Is. 58:6)
9. Fasting becomes prayer to the praying Christian. When unable to pray (like David) it enables one to be so anointed that his prayer reaches through to God. Ps.35:13 “I humbled my soul with fasting and my prayer returned unto my bosom.”
10. Fasting intensifies the power of prayer many times so that even short prayers bring results.
11. Fasting reaches and obtains what prayer alone cannot, because it removes unbelief (Matt. <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:time Minute="20" Hour="17">17:20</st1:time>, 21.)
12. Fasting brings one into direct contact with unbelief, so that it can be removed. Unbelief can never be fully apprehended until one fasts from ten to forty days.
13. Fasting is the greatest faith producer because the fasting and the faith organ are one and the same---the mouth organ (<st1:country-region><st1:place>Rom.</st1:place></st1:country-region> 10:9, 10.)
14. Fasting is more closely related to faith than any other Christian work, and in fact is the very gateway to trust and faith in God after conversion. However, because it is little taught about and misunderstood, folk fail to realize its value.
15. Fasting will bring about word-faith power (Lk.4:2, 32, 36.) Jesus’ “word” was not “with power” until after his fast.
16. Fasting will “BLITZKRIEG” the devil. (See above scriptures.)
17. Fasting masters the old man, subjugating the flesh (I Cor. 9:27.) and is mortification of the flesh and members (Col. 3:5.)
18. Fasting pleases the Spirit. The flesh and the Spirit are at enmity with each other.
19. Fasting is the most sure spiritual method to bring a revival. A revival begins in our heart first, then one comes about in the community. Souls become saved.
20. Fasting enables one to transcend the natural and takes one quickly into the spiritual realm. We may become so personal and intimate with Jesus that we can smell his body. He is a sweet smelling savor.
21. Fasting brings one nearer to Christ than any other known process. It enables one to become clothed with the full Baptism of the Holy Ghost and with fire. (Please see Ex. 14; 34:27-35; Deut. 34:7; Is. 58: 1-10;  60: 1-5, 21, 23; 61:10; Matt. 3:11, 12.)
22. There is more judgment pronounced on those given to food addiction than to alcoholic drunkards (in the Bible.) Sin is sin whether it comes under the good name of “food” or under some more insidious term. (Please study Num. 11:9-34; Ps. 78; Matt. 24:38, 39; Lk. <st1:time Minute="34" Hour="21">21:34</st1:time>; and Rom. <st1:time Minute="17" Hour="16">16:17</st1:time>, 18.) Most Christians are unknowingly bound to the sin of “habit hunger” (actually food addiction.) A protracted fast will break this yoke in as little as three days’ time, and will keep an individual free with temperate eating.
23. Fasting will undo all sins of intemperance (after Jesus’ blood has first washedaway our sins.)
24. Fasting will crucify the flesh and all unnatural desires associated with lusts of any appetite gratification.
25. Fasting can be self-chastisement, and will prevent many chastisements of the Lord from coming upon us (I Kings <st1:time Minute="25" Hour="21">21:25</st1:time>-29; Jonah 3:5-10.)
26. Fasting is the easiest way for backsliders to come home. (Study David’s fasts.)
27. Fasting places our natural appetites into a dormant condition, thus physical pleasures are not enjoyed while our flesh becomes sublimated. With pleasurable appetites static, God can come near us and we near him.
28. Fasting thus changes one’s environment from the natural to the spiritual. A revival spirit comes about inside us, along with the proper burdens that we should carry for others.
29. Fasting will change a life of defeat into one of victory and will bring healing and new life to both body and soul.
30. Fasting, when properly entered into, is the surest method of consecration and sanctification.
31. Fasting develops the fruit of the Spirit and enables one to grow into maturity, with matured fruit.
32. Proper fasting will help one to receive spiritual gifts. Most Christians, like the childrenof <st1:country-region><st1:place>Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>, are wasting 40 years of their lifetime (even with speaking in tongues) without deeper spiritual gift manifestations and without the fruit of the Spirit, just because they fail to fast as they should. (Please study Deut. 8:2, 3: Dan. 1:3-17.)
33. Fasting consumes and burns out the very roots of fleshly lusts.
34. Fasting brings one into the misery and sufferings of the fleshly nature in such a manner that he can see himself in the same light that Jesus sees him. He realizes his nakedness. (Rev. 3:17, 18) so he begins to seek to be clothed with power, receiving the more complete baptism into the Holy Ghost healing fire.
35. Fasting gives the child of God spiritual manifestations in a tangible manner. The absence of the natural menu prepares his appetite for the “Hidden (supernatural) Manna” (Jn. <st1:time Minute="32" Hour="16">4:32</st1:time>, 34; <st1:time Minute="27" Hour="18">6:27</st1:time>-58; Rev. 2:17.)
36. Fasting always brings revelations and better understanding of the Spirit. Sometimes visions and unspeakable glory will also be attained and manifested. (Dan. 10:2-21; Acts. 10:9-16.)
37. Fasting will always enable one to obtain the direction and anointing needed for the work to which he is called.
38. Fasting enlarges our capacity. Many of us have only a thimble-size capacity. We might be full at times, but how full? Shouting and spiritual emotion do not always indicate how large our capacities are. A person may be running over with only a thimble-size capacity. Fasting will give a well-size or even unlimited capacity to enjoy the riches of heaven, immortality, glory, honor and power. (Refer to Jn. 3:34; <st1:country-region><st1:place>Rom.</st1:place></st1:country-region> 2:7; Eph. 4:13.)
39. Fasting and its related terms of expression are mentioned one third as many times in the Bible as prayer. To every two sermons you hear preached on prayer, you should hear a third sermon on fasting. The author asks the reader this question: How many times has he ever heard a sermon on fasting in his lifetime? It is truly deplorable that such a major doctrine in both the Old and New Testaments has been so neglected, ignored and disrespected.
40. The Lord placed a definite fast on the children of <st1:country-region><st1:place>Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> (Deut. <st1:time Minute="11" Hour="18">6:11</st1:time>, 12; 8:3, 12-14, etc.) in order that their unbelief environment, aquired in the <st1:place><st1:PlaceType>land</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName>Egypt</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>, could be broken, and they could more speedily enter into the promised land. Because they rejected these fastings their few days’ journey was drawn out to 40 years. We should take heed to this sad lesson and hasten to fast, so we may enter into the promises that the Lord has waiting for us. (Jn. 11:24-26; II Tim. 1:10; I Jn. 2:25.)
41. Jesus is very much pleased when we come to him in this consecrated manner. As we free ourselves from the natural we exalt him to the highest. Don’t worry, you will be rewarded a thousand times.

<o:p> </o:p>

         We have just touched briefly on some of the spiritual reasons why we should fast. Please remember that in the above statements, we are referring only to the consecration fast, one which is dedicated to the Lord.

<o:p> </o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

Note: An in depth article by the author can be read at this address.

http://gloryofhiscross.org/fast.htm