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You Need to Fast: Join us in Fasting February 27, 2023

Did you know that specific verses about fasting are being removed from newer Bibles? To be clear, there is much debate on why and how this is happening, but it is up to you, as always, to do your own research. You can read more about removal of fasting verses from the NIV here, and we will come back to those particular verses later. As for me, I’m suspicious, and now that I regularly fast, I want to state one important point thing here:

  • I never once heard about fasting in any church sermon I ever attended in real life. Not once.

The topic of fasting may have been brushed-on, but I never heard about a church fasting together or a recommendation for fasting and prayer for removing spiritual problems in life. You could say I went to some pretty bad churches, which may have been true, but I have gone to a variety and have a wide range of experience.

Further, I talk to Christians all over the world, and very few seem to fast, and very few even understand why we should fast.

In a world where we have food available at our fingertips, fasting was a difficult thing for me to begin. Food, unfortunately, can be like a drug, and for many, it is a release from stress and a dopamine rush. Gluttony is not often talked about in church, but it is discussed in the Bible, and it is undoubtedly one of America’s sins. The question is…can you skip even one meal for God? If not, what can we expect God to do for us?

Before we get into “how to fast” the question is…why should we fast?

Why does God want us to give up food? Why would this matter at all to God?

Purpose of Fasting

There is little we can offer to God. What can we give God? God is our creator. He gave us everything. So what could we possibly give God in return?

In the Old Testament, there were actually physical sacrifices, but those are not done anymore because we now have Jesus as our sacrifice

So, what can we give to God? We can’t give him much physically, so let’s explore some things:

In a sense, besides following His commands, most of what we can do for God is often serving others in some way. However, fasting seems set apart from the list. It is a self-sacrifice to God.

Still, why would God want us to fast? I’m always trying to understand the why behind what God wants us to do. That is because once I understand why, I am more motivated to do things.

Think of life as a classroom. When you're in school, and a teacher gives out rules, many times, students do not want to follow them because they don’t understand the why behind them. They just seem like dumb rules. Many Christians, like the Pharisees, memorize the rules, but they have no passion behind them. They don’t study their Bible to figure out why God wants us to do something, which often takes time and dedication.

A good teacher, though, often tells you why. Jesus told us why all of the time, but many did not understand, listen to His words, or even care.

Now, sometimes we do not get a 100% direct answer. A good teacher often leads you to an answer but doesn’t necessarily give it in a direct or straightforward manner.

The Bible does give us straightforward answers about fasting, but there are also some things we can infer when studying His word on it. So, let’s look at the Bible.

As mentioned earlier, Matthew 17:21 is commonly removed, but it simply says this:

17:21 Howbeit 1161 this 5124 kind 1085 goeth 1607 0 not 3756 out 1607 5736 but 1508 by 1722 prayer 4335 and 2532 fasting 3521.

If you look at the context of this in previous verses, Jesus is saying a specific type of devil/demon can only be removed by prayer and fasting. And is a conjunction that means both, showing that there are actually some demons that cannot be removed if a person doesn't devote themselves to fasting - prayer alone won’t cut it!

Why isn’t the church talking about this? Why is this specific bible verse seemingly being omitted from many books? I think anyone reading this can figure out why. They don’t want you to know the power of fasting.

So, one reason to fast is that it is one of the few ways to remove powerful demons. Still, this doesn’t quite answer the question as to why. I believe the answers can be found not only in the numerous verses about fasting, but also in my experiences with it, as well as logical thought processes.

Why should we fast? Why would God command us to fast?

  1. Let’s start with logic. Fasting is good for you! Wow, who would have thought God would want us to practice something good for our health? In a world full of actual poison surrounding us, fasting detoxifies us. If you search fasting and detoxification on google, you’ll find some negative articles. Trust me, they do not want you detoxifying yourself.

The Bibles says, “Don’t you know your body is a temple?” Your body is a holy temple that needs to be cleansed, and food undoubtedly has many harmful chemicals in it. If our bodies are riddled with toxic chemicals, it may make access to God more difficult.

Have you ever eaten a big meal and just felt lazy afterwards? How much do you want to pray to God after you eat? How much do you want to work for God after you eat? I know if I eat a big lunch, it is harder to get work done.

The point is - God is well aware of what is being done to corrupt food, which in consequence, corrupts our bodily temples.

My personal experience:

I am actually fasting as I write this. I feel weak, but interestingly, I feel full of the holy spirit. It’s like words are pouring out of me.

Ever since I started fasting consistently, my physical health has improved. Now, you don’t need to start with a 40 day fast. I actually started with intermittent fasting. Do what you can! Last night, I had a dream, and somebody proudly told me they fasted for 11 hours. It was endearing. To them, that was a long time, and I thought God would be proud, even though many have fasted much longer.

I think God wanted me to write that in this post - that he appreciates any effort you make toward fasting. This isn't a competition. More hours of fasting does not mean you are automatically more holy - plus you shouldn't be bragging about it anyway, as the Bible explains!

If you just start simple - skip a meal. Just say, “God I am devoting my breakfast or lunch or dinner to you.” Start there. Skipping a meal is difficult, and God appreciates it. You can build up to longer and longer fasts over time. Don't fast like the Pharisees.

Plus, it doesn’t always have to be food that you fast - consider fasting from technology or something that is hindering you in your path. However, I do believe God is mostly referring to food during fasting, but that doesn’t mean we can’t fast from other things.

Now, with all that being said, I am so much healthier than I have ever been in my life. I simply feel better when my bodily temple is cleared out. God is logical! Now that we have looked at logic, let’s look at the spiritual reasons, which are my favorite.

1. Fasting is a sacrifice - an act of humility. We don’t have to sacrifice animals anymore, but one physical sacrifice we can make is fasting. When I started fasting, I actually couldn’t believe how addicted I was to food. It was all I thought about when fasting. That’s okay. That showed me that I maybe even idolized food, as hard as that is to admit.

God knows fasting is difficult, and sometimes He wants us to work a little for things. Feeling hungry is difficult. When you decide to give up a little food for God, you are humbling yourself, showing that He is your God. Imagine the amount of time food takes out of our life, even from God at times. We spend a lot of time working for food, earning money for food, prepping our meals, and thinking about food. God wants us to take a break from food and focus on Him. When you do, you will be surprised by how much food occupies your time!

When I stopped eating lunch, I was shocked that I had more time to think about God. My whole lunch, usually, was spent eating and maybe browsing my phone. Now, that 30 minute lunch is spent more focused on God while I’m not shoving food in my mouth.

I don’t fast every day, but I fast a lot now - a lot more than I ever did, and I have much more time for God.

2. Fasting gives us perspective. Gluttony is a sin. This is not my judgment, so please do not take it that way, but how many Americans are overweight or obese? How many have food addictions? How many have health conditions due to their overeating? Do we ever hear about gluttony in church? I rarely have.

Yet, despite America’s gluttony, there are many starving around the world. During the last 24-hour fast did, I actually had a thought, “Wow, I feel for those who say that they haven't eaten in a day!” Once in a while I get messages from people who tell me they have gone several days without food and are asking for money. It is hard to imagine that because most of us never do that, let alone one day without food. It changed my perspective and made me more compassionate toward those suffering. I finally realized that I was choosing not to eat for a day, but many do not. It was powerful.

3. Fasting Prepares Us: Famine is coming. The Bible not only predicts this, but there is a global food crisis. Because of this, we should be prepared.

We do not want to sell our souls for a bowl of soup! Imagine that famine comes to your country. Say that we must get vaccinated to get our digital IDs to get food. You are starving. Will you give in?

People often email me about how to prepare for the apocalypse. Fasting is seriously one way to prepare.

4. Fasting makes our prayers more powerful and brings us closer to God. God gives us many examples of people fasting for prayers to be answered, and one of my favorites is Esther’s story. When we fast, we are telling God, “I want to be close with you. Please listen to me.” We are getting God’s attention!

Come Fast with Us!

I would like to invite anyone reading to fast on February 27, 2023 from breakfast and possibly lunch. Let me explain my plan. Obviously, do not do anything that is dangerous to your health. Only fast if you are in the condition to do so. We are not held liable for people making dumb decisions! : )

Anyway, on February 27, 2023, I am going to not eat breakfast or lunch. If you are new to fasting, I propose you only skip breakfast. If you are an avid faster, I invite you to skip lunch, as well. That means I will fast from when I wake up to about 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm (that is when I typically eat dinner). While your timing doesn’t need to be perfect, you need to tell God your intentions when you begin the fast and mention you are fasting with us.

Do you know how powerful it will be if we come together and fast collectively for God?

For this first fast, I would like us to focus on gratitude toward God. We can all be praying about why we are grateful to God at the same(ish) time.

On this day, we will say this prayer to start our fast,

“Dear God,

We are fasting today to give thanks. We are skipping breakfast/lunch and devoting them to you as a sacrifice. We want to show you how much we love you. In Jesus’s name."

Throughout the day, we will give thanks to God.

I will continue to schedule these fasts throughout the next few months to see how they go! We will focus on something thematically every time. If you have other things you want to pray for, that is completely fine, but I feel it would be powerful to show God we are thankful.

To end, I read a story about heaven recently. It was about the angel responsible for telling God about the messages of thanks they received from people. Unfortunately, she was a lonely angel. Why is that?

Not many really thank God for their blessings.

It is time we start doing that. I hope you join and see the power of gratitude! I hope you start fasting soon because God says you NEED to.

If you would like to join this fast, email me at the.2.witnesses@proton.me and let me know you are fasting with us!

May God bless anyone reading,

  • Witness 2