Understanding Fasting - Timothy Ateek:
Notes:
Prayer and fasting combine for great intimacy in Christ.
Daniel 9:3
Acts 14:23
Luke 2:37
“Fasting is so much more about satisfaction than sacrifice.”
John 6:35
2 Showings of Jesus’s Adult Life:
Being baptized by John the Baptist
Matthew 4:1-2
Temptation for 40 days by the Devil and fasted throughout
Matthew 6:16-18
“And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.” (â€â€Matthew‬ â€6:16-18‬)
Just like prayer (Matthew 6:7)
And on giving (Matthew 6:5)
Fasting - abstinence from any food, besides water, for a specific period of time and for the reasons of specific spiritual purposes
Daniel 1:12
This can be applied to fasting with sex in a marriage
Fast IN ORDER TO intensify your prayers.
Fasting means you eventually get hungry
Physical hunger turns into spiritual hunger
Seeking God’s filling and greater work can happen in oneself because of this
“Fasting puts an urgency on your prayers.”
Why You Should Fast:
- “Fasting doesn’t change God’s hearing, but our prayer life”
- Fast for clarity (Acts 14:23)
- Fast because of your sin (Jonah)
- Restore intimate fellowship with God
- Fast for God’s movement (expressing a concern for the work of God)
- Nehemaha 1
- Fasting amidst persecution (2 Chronicles 20:3-4)
- Fast for victory in temptation
- Fast as a display of Love to God (Luke 2:37)
God’s voice when we fast = high signal, no noise
The greatest gift we can receive is more of Jesus Christ
Jesus is the bread of life