For the past few weeks, we’ve challenged our church to fast for 21 days as we take an intentional season to seek God in prayer.
In life, there is a time to feast and there is a time to fast. Feasting in the scriptures happens in celebration and remembrance. Fasting is a spiritual discipline, like prayer and meditation, that draws us closer to God.
When we think of fasting, we often think of saying “No.” That’s not what it really is all about.
In it’s most basic form, that’s what defines a fast. We say “no” to something. For the past few weeks, I’ve said no to cheeseburgers, coffee, and cookies. Some of my friends have given up caffeine, some have given up Facebook, and some others things that drain their time.
For first three days as I started this Daniel Fast, I had a headache. If you’re a coffee drinker and have done a Daniel Fast, you know that’s not any fun. The pain that I was feeling was deeply connected to what I was saying “no” to.
It’s easy to focus on the “no” because it’s normally so easy to say “yes”.
The reason I had a headache for days is that I typically say “yes” to caffeine every day in the form of at least three cups of coffee. Fasting is all about identifying the things we typically say “yes” to and disciplining ourselves to say “no”.
If you only say “yes” to something, you’re not living in freedom. For me, I typically only say “yes” to coffee, and my body reminded me that I haven’t lived in freedom with it.
During a fast, we’re reminded that every “no” is a “yes” to something else.
Fasting is an opportunity to say “yes” to God because we all too often say “no” to Him. This may come as you say “no” to something that sucks all your free time, and you have a greater margin in your life to say “yes” to Jesus. It may happen as you discipline yourself to say “no” to certain foods, opening yourself up to see how often you say “yes” mindlessly to thing
s that have kept you in bondage.
My son Klayton asked me the other day, “Dad, are you on the fast or on the slow today?” I think Klay gets it. Fasting is the quickest way to align my desires to that of God’s. Fasting is all about experiencing the discipline and freedom of saying “yes” to God.
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What are you saying “yes” to as you say “no” in your fast?