The Christian’s Spinach
By Sandra Moats
, The Christian’s Spinach
By Sandra Moats
In the Bible God gave
His people a toolbox full
of important tools
to use for our Christian
walk on life’s path. They
are tools that will
help us bring forth
effective fruit for the
kingdom of God. Most of
us
are acquainted with the
tools of prayer, praise
and witnessing, but
there is a tool that is
quite rusty in Christian
circles. This tool
cannot be overlooked for
it must be used if we are
to reach the full
effectiveness that God
calls us to. The name of
this tool is fasting.
When the word fasting
is mentioned, it brings
the thought of
fanaticism to some minds.
The idea of going without
food for a day or
more to seek the face of
God is beyond some
believer’s thinking. Yet
to God, fasting is not
fanaticism, but rather
one of His kingdom
tools.
To fast means to
abstain from some or all
food, drink, or both for
a frame of time.
Fasting is more than
just depriving your body
of food. Denying
yourself afflicts your
soul as desire takes a
back seat to seeking
God. Biblical fasting
always is joined hand in
hand with prayer and
seeking God. When you set
aside your appetite to
seek God in a matter
of importance, you are
letting Him know that you
mean business, and He
will reward you. (Jer
29:13,14; Joe 2:12). It
is amazing how quickly
fasting brings clear
focus, and the
unimportant things fall
away.
Fasting prepares us
to walk into the next
step of growth. Jesus
fasted forty days and
nights in the desert
before beginning His
ministry on earth. (Mt
4:2; Lu 4). Fasting helps
us find God’s will in
a situation. In Acts
13:2, while the church in
Antioch was seeking God
in worship and fasting,
the Lord spoke to them
that Paul and Barnabas
were to take the gospel
to the Gentiles. Again,
while in prayer and
fasting, Paul and
Barnabas established
elders within the church.
(Ac
14:23).
God speaks to us many
times during a fast.
Moses received the Ten
Commandments during his
forty day fast. (Ex
34:28). Daniel received a
great vision and words
from God while he was
fasting for three weeks.
(Da 10:1-3).
Fasting was practiced
during the Bible days.
The prophetess Anna
fasted often on certain
days. (Lu 2:37). The
early church fasted two
days a week, Wednesdays
and Fridays.
There are various
kinds of fasts. The
normal fast includes
abstaining from food and
liquids other than water
for a designated
period of time, usually
for one day. A partial
fast is a restriction
of your diet, such as the
Daniel fast, which
included only vegetables
and water. (Da 1:15).
Those with medical
conditions can do a
partial
fast. You could for
instance omit sweets from
your diet as a fast.
Some have fasted watching
TV for a time, etc. The
total fast is
abstaining from food and
water. This kind of fast
usually would not
exceed three days unless
it was an exceptional
situation that God led
a person into, such as He
did Moses. (Es 4:15,16).
When you fast,
hopefully you would be
able to draw aside and
spend
the time with the Lord in
prayer and Bible study,
but you can also
fast while you carry on
your daily acitivites.
This is usually the
case for those who
practice fasting
regularly. You can pray
and fast
while you work, and God
can certainly talk to you
at the same time.
Yet at times, you need to
set aside solitary space
for prayer, fasting
and Bible study.
If you have a medical
condition, you need to
check with your
doctor before doing a
normal fast. A partial
fast can be done by
anyone for it doesn’t
always include food, as
mentioned earlier.
Before doing a total
fast, you should seek
counsel from a Pastor to
confirm if it is truly
God leading you,
especially if it is
beyond
three days. The extent of
each fast depends on the
believer’s leading
from God. Moses was the
first person recorded in
the Bible to fast,
and he went on a total
fast for forty days and
nights. (De 9:9,18).
There are times when
a church will call a
fast, and that would be
a set time. We have done
that in our churches when
a need arose. Once
a young woman was
carrying a baby and the
baby died in her womb
during
the sixth month of
pregnancy. The doctors
wanted to abort the baby
so
her system would not
become poisoned, but the
mother felt she could
not do that. The church
was called to a one-day
fast to seek God in
the matter. The mother
still felt she could not
have an abortion so
she carried the baby
another five weeks, and
then delivered naturally
with no physical
problems. The doctors
were amazed!
In situations when we
pray and pray, but
nothing seems to happen,
Scripture tells us to add
fasting to our prayers.
Fasting can be
likened to the cartoon
character Popeye with his
can of spinach. He
goes on his own strength,
but when situations get
rough, he grabs that
can of spinach, pops it
open, and eats it. After
consuming the
spinach, his arms swell
with power and strength,
and a victory is
released. The Christian
prays, but when things
get stalled between
heaven and earth, we add
fasting to our prayers to
bring forth a break
through. (Da 10:12,13).
In May of 2001, we
were waiting, along with
over two hundred other
families, for our
adoption referral from
China for our daughter
Faith.
International situations
between China and the
United States were
strained and it caused
adoptions to be put on
hold. I called for a
fast over the Internet
among the adoptive
families and my
international prayer
list. Many of the other
families responded by
joining in the fast,
along with other
believers in many
countries.
Still nothing seemed to
happen. I called a fast
again the next week.
Rumors began coming in
over the Internet that
something was happening
in the China Center of
Adoption Affairs, but
still no referrals came
through. The next week I
called another fast, and
it was like a dam
breaking loose with
hundreds of adoption
referrals flowing.
The tool of fasting
has been laid aside in
most Christian circles
as something that was
practiced in the past on
a regular basis, but is
no longer relevant for
today. God has not
changed, and His Word
remains the same; fasting
has not been omitted out
of God’s heavenly
toolbox. (Heb 13:8).
In the Bible we see
fasting sprinkled among
the Old and New
Testament books with
miraculous results. When
the Moabites and
Ammonites were attacking,
King Jehoshaphat called a
fast and the
Israelites were
delivered. (2 Ch 20:1-
22). Nineveh was spared
because
the whole city turned to
God in repentance and
fasting. (Jon 3:5-7).
Queen Esther declared a
three-day fast which
gainned her favor that
ultimately saved the
Jews. (Es 3:4).
In each portion of
Scripture where we find
fasting, we find there
were situations involved
that required divine
invention from God. When
the tool of fasting was
brought out and applied,
the answer came forth.
Fasting is used to
bring forth healing and
deliverance. Jesus told
His disciples that
certain demons only come
out by prayer and
fasting.
(Mt 17:21). Some Lutheran
friends of mine had a
little boy who had
over fifty seizures a
day. They began to read
the Bible in desperation
over their son’s
condition. They were new
Christians, and when they
read that this kind of
demon comes out by prayer
and fasting, they
believed what the Bible
said. On Thanksgiving
vacation, they set aside
three days for prayer and
fasting for their little
son. The church was
opened to them for their
seeking of the Lord about
this matter. On the
third day of their fast,
on Thanksgiving Day, they
laid hands on their
little son and prayed for
his deliverance. God set
that little boy
free, and the parents
were so inspired, they
went on to become
pastors.
On my first trip into
China, I was fasting
partly due to the fact
that I was there alone,
and didn’t want to get
sick from the food. One
morning God highlighted a
particular portion of
Scripture; Isaiah
58:6,7. It spoke to me
about God’s chosen fast.
It says that we should
fast to let the oppressed
go free, and break every
yoke. This fast
calls us to give our
bread to the hungry, and
bring into our homes the
poor that are cast out.
It calls us to cover the
naked that are
without. God impressed on
me that the real reason
for my fasting was
to free our little girl,
whom I was in China to
find, and to bring her
into our home to cover.
Light, healing, guidance,
strength,
refreshment, and
protection are a few of
the Scriptural benefits
of
fasting. (Isa 58:8-11).
Walking through
life’s situations, it
seems sometimes that we
run
into brick walls. If that
is happening to you, then
it is time to add
the tool of fasting to
your prayers, remembering
that fasting is the
Christian’s spinach.
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