Fasting

[fresh believer]

Hi guys

I am a christian and quite new so finding my way and learning what i can and was wondering what your thoughts were on fasting and the reason for it.

i would have thought it would be to do with not being ruled by food but im not 100%

thanks in advance

Rich.

 

[fresh believer]

with the not been ruled by food i meant say you were a greedy person you may fast to break the cycle and

3) A sacrifice in honor of the sacred (such as gods)
4) Demonstration of personal discipline

i think you have about covered & confirmed it really thankyou

Rich

 

[Rocky S]

Hi guys

I am a christian and quite new so finding my way and learning what i can and was wondering what your thoughts were on fasting and the reason for it.

i would have thought it would be to do with not being ruled by food but im not 100%

thanks in advance

Rich.

Hi Rich this is a good question there is a lot of misconceptions about fasting. First of all, from a biblical perspective what fasting is not for is: Not to gain forgiveness (that happen at he cross) from God. Not for the proverbial camel shirt meaning to cause suffering so as to appear pious(religious),or for bodily mortification. Or being ruled by food. Fasting Cannot help you get victory as a christian over the sin nature(I had to learn that the hard way), that only comes by the christian putting their faith in exclusively in what Christ did at the Cross. I will try to keep this a bit short. I have taught this in bible study and at church. What fasting is, is abstaining from food to put it aside to concentrate on prayer. What fasting does biblically is help to increase ones faith in prayer like when Jesus said when concerning fasting and how the disciples were unable to cast out a demon spirit. Jesus said this comes out but by prayer and fasting. Also when seeking guidance even the Apostles fasted while they prayed. It like this, faith needs prayer for its development, and prayer needs fasting for its development. Now another point I want to make is Christians will benefit from fasting, but any rule or law about it is against scripture for the new covenant Christian.

 

[fresh believer]

thankyou rocky,


that pretty much covers it, so would you say by using fasting to concentrate more on prayer one could become closer to god?

 

[Student of X]

Fasting is primarily a mystical technique, and its not just for Christians. God is bigger than any one religion.

A juice fast or a brown rice fast is what I would recommend.

 

[cocolia42]

thankyou rocky,


that pretty much covers it, so would you say by using fasting to concentrate more on prayer one could become closer to god?

Yes, any prayer will bring you closer to God. Rocky is right here. There are no rules in Christianity as to when/how to fast. You don't have to do a complete fast, you can just eat smaller or fewer meals. The idea is to spend the time you would have spent eating in prayer, meditation, reading your bible, etc. This idea comes from Deuteronomy 8:23, Matthew 4:4 and Luke 4:4 which all say that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

 

[Rocky S]

thankyou rocky,


that pretty much covers it, so would you say by using fasting to concentrate more on prayer one could become closer to god?

Absolutely..

 

[Pegg]

Hi guys

I am a christian and quite new so finding my way and learning what i can and was wondering what your thoughts were on fasting and the reason for it.

i would have thought it would be to do with not being ruled by food but im not 100%

thanks in advance

Rich.

Fasting is not obligatory on christians, nor is it wrong. It may be beneficial in some circumstances but there are also dangers that you need to be aware of.
For example, one should avoid becoming self-righteous. The Bible warns against adopting “mock humility.” (Colossians 2:20-23) Jesus’ illustration of the proud Pharisee who felt morally superior to others because of his regular fasting leaves no doubt that God rejects such an attitude.—Luke 18:9-14.

According to Matthew 6:16-18, Jesus counseled that fasting should be a private matter, between you and God, and that you should not announce it to others. So if you are going to do it, dont publisize it.
And you should never think that fasting can compensate for sins. To be acceptable to God, a fast must be accompanied by obedience to his laws. (Isaiah 58:3-7) Heartfelt repentance alone is what leads to the forgiveness of sins. (Joel 2:12, 13)
The Bible emphasizes that we receive forgiveness by Jehovah’s undeserved kindness expressed through the sacrifice of Christ, therefore it is impossible to earn forgiveness through any works, including fasting.—Romans 3:24, 27, 28; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:8, 9.

And always remember Ecclesiaties 3:12-13 “There is nothing better for them than . . . that every man should eat and indeed drink and see good for all his hard work. It is the gift of God.” :yes:

 

[KeeperofSecrets]

Hi Rich this is a good question there is a lot of misconceptions about fasting. First of all, from a biblical perspective what fasting is not for is: Not to gain forgiveness (that happen at he cross) from God. Not for the proverbial camel shirt meaning to cause suffering so as to appear pious(religious),or for bodily mortification. Or being ruled by food. Fasting Cannot help you get victory as a christian over the sin nature(I had to learn that the hard way), that only comes by the christian putting their faith in exclusively in what Christ did at the Cross. I will try to keep this a bit short. I have taught this in bible study and at church. What fasting is, is abstaining from food to put it aside to concentrate on prayer. What fasting does biblically is help to increase ones faith in prayer like when Jesus said when concerning fasting and how the disciples were unable to cast out a demon spirit. Jesus said this comes out but by prayer and fasting. Also when seeking guidance even the Apostles fasted while they prayed. It like this, faith needs prayer for its development, and prayer needs fasting for its development. Now another point I want to make is Christians will benefit from fasting, but any rule or law about it is against scripture for the new covenant Christian.

Thank you for answering this question because it saves me from starting a new thread. I just read about David Blaine today, and his fasting for preparation on his newest journey with lots of electricity. Sorry, prayer even though my belief is different in god than most, might help, so I will put my thoughts of protection and good will on him not getting fried.

But I was wondering... Is fasting just a religious thing? It seems to be something alot of religious people do, but also tribes in remote areas do this too. So I am wondering is fasting a religious thing? Maybe this is a new thread.

It seems to me that is has more with preparing the body physically and in so doing preparing the body spiritually. I know that at times when I am starting to become ill, bloated, fasting seems to have a cleansing effect.

 

[Me Myself]

I agree that fasting should be about trying to get more in touch with God.

There are other ways to do it. If you feel fasting will help you, by all means, do so

The way I see it, it does indeed has a bit to do with letting go of the body a bit. I believe a lot that it can give you a deeper conection and more mindfulness on God that is in the silence and in everything. In any case, you shouldbe sure that you are healthy enough before doing any long period fasting. Simply doing it a day may be a good start. If it brought you closer to God, you know you may do it another time. If you felt it made it harder for you to focus on prayer or on God, then it´s probably not for you (or at least, not for you for now)

 

[KeeperofSecrets]

I agree that fasting should be about trying to get more in touch with God.

There are other ways to do it. If you feel fasting will help you, by all means, do so

The way I see it, it does indeed has a bit to do with letting go of the body a bit. I believe a lot that it can give you a deeper conection and more mindfulness on God that is in the silence and in everything. In any case, you shouldbe sure that you are healthy enough before doing any long period fasting. Simply doing it a day may be a good start. If it brought you closer to God, you know you may do it another time. If you felt it made it harder for you to focus on prayer or on God, then it´s probably not for you (or at least, not for you for now)

So true! Fasting for me is like going without food for more than 8 hrs. After that I'm done for...I be illing no matter what for doing so. I would also be seeing things.:cover: My system is sensitive in that way, so I try and eat small and lots of meals throughout the day.

When indians did the moon dance, they would fast too. It helped with them in meeting their spirit guide. The fasting was important because it helped them deal with the moon dance, which is hanging by your flesh , hooks through your chest until it tears and you fall to the ground. I met someone who went through the moon dance.

Fasting appears to be a spiritual thing as well as a physical one, hand in hand?

 

[nazz]

Hi guys

I am a christian and quite new so finding my way and learning what i can and was wondering what your thoughts were on fasting and the reason for it.

i would have thought it would be to do with not being ruled by food but im not 100%

thanks in advance

Rich.

I'm not very good at fasting. It is supposed to focus your attention on God but all I think about is how hungry I am. So it doesn't work well for me.