June 13, 2017
Reflections on Cultivating Humility
Christian Union invites you to take part in supporting this ministry through both fasting and prayer.
As we invite the Lord to change the nation, we first give attention to our own hearts. Fasting has fallen out of fashion among many in the Western church, which is a tragedy given its ability to help humble the one who fasts, attracting the presence of God through the filling of the Holy Spirit.
The following is a brief overview of scriptural fasting, and the strong rationale for seeking to develop deeper humility through this until-recent-times typical Christian practice.
God alone rules the universe, and strongly opposes all who seek to usurp His role. It was because of pride, the desire to be like the Most High, that Satan was thrown out of heaven (Isaiah 14:12-20).
Peter makes plain God's opposition to the arrogant: "God opposes the proud, but shows favor to the humble" (1 Peter 5:5).
Arrogance is repellent to God and He doesn't want anything to do with it. Pride repulses God and, just as powerfully, humility delights Him and attracts His presence.
Fasting is not the only thing in the Christian life that contributes toward the development of humility, but it is vital to the Christian life and should be practiced regularly by those who seek after God.
There are countless examples in the Scriptures of devout men and women humbling themselves before God with fasting:
- Moses fasted for 40 days and then another 40 days
- Elijah fasted for 40 days
- Nehemiah fasted for 120 days
- Mordecai, Esther and thousands of Jews in the Persian Empire fasted for 70 days, and some went without both food and water for 3 days of that fast
- Ezra fasted
- John the Baptist fasted
- Anna the prophetess fasted
- the Apostles and first elders fasted
- All Christians in the first-century church
Fasting is not the only thing in the Christian life that contributes toward the development of humility, but it is vital to the Christian life!
Fasting, simply put, is going without food and perhaps liquids, for a definitive period of time to humble oneself before God. It is sometimes accompanied by mourning and grieving.
When fasting is mentioned in the Bible, it usually meant going without food during the day and then eating only in the evening, unless the Scriptures specifically say otherwise. For instance, Moses' fast was without food or water— a supernatural fast that should only be undertaken if a person has received a direct revelation from God.
Many Christians around the world fast regularly, and so did many in church history. We know from a first century document called the Didache that it was the regular practice of Christians in the first century to fast every Wednesday and Friday until 3 p.m. This was the universal practice of first-century Christians. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism in the 18th century, believed in the necessity of fasting so powerfully that he would not ordain anyone to the ministry who did not fast every Wednesday and Friday.
The first-century Christians fasted because Jesus expected them to fast. When Jesus was directly asked about fasting, He explained there was no need for His disciples to fast when He was still with them, but there would be need to fast when He left (Matthew 9:14-15). Jesus even gives instructions about how to fast: Christians should do it in a way that does not bring attention to themselves (Matthew 6:16-18).
Note how the verses say "when you fast" not "if you fast." It was never suggested that Christians should not fast; rather, their fasting should be in stark contrast to the way the Pharisees fasted.
Fasting helps develop humility and a longing after God because the lack of food causes you to recognize your humanity and need for God for everything in life. Because of this, fasting helps increase fervency in prayer, which has a powerful impact on God.
It's important to keep in mind, of course, that God cannot be controlled by any human being and fasting does not assure an automatic response from God.
God answers prayer according to His sovereign will, which is sometimes beyond our immediate comprehension. God gives what He knows is best for you. He is not obligated to answer your prayer, in the specific terms you request, just because you fast.
However, the Scriptures make plain that fasting and humility sway God and incline Him to draw near when otherwise He might not have. He has made clear to humanity what delights Him and under what circumstances He is likely to draw near.
Of course, fasting is not a panacea for pride, because a person can be very proud even though he fasts. This was the problem of the Pharisees. They fasted regularly, as they should have, but were still proud and self righteous.
If a person is determined to be arrogant, fasting will not help him, but for the man or woman truly seeking to humble himself before the Lord, fasting is an important and necessary part of the Christian life.
With these reflections in mind, consider incorporating regular set days for fasting, as well as special times in response to great prayer concerns. The Lord knows we often come to Him with mixed motives, but don't let it hinder you from growing in this area. Confess any tendancy toward pride as you learn to fast, and invite Him to cultivate the humility He desires.
Thank you for joining Christian Union in seeking God. May the Lord bless you richly as you willingly humble yourself before Him.
June 13, 2017
Learn more about biblical fasting
Whitepaper
Three SpiritualitiesIn this Christian Union whitepaper, you will discover biblical patterns of godliness that also attract God's increased presence and power.
Books
by John PiperA Hunger for God
(PDF: Free; Paperback: $15)
In this book John Piper argues that fasting is an expression of "homesickness" for God. It is like an exclamation point at the end of our prayers saying, "This much, O God, I want you!"
Table of Contents:
Introduction: A Homesickness For God
1. Is Fasting Christian? New Fasting For The New Wine
2. Man Shall Not Live By Bread Alone The Desert Feast Of Fasting
3. Fasting For The Reward Of The Father Jesus' Radical God-Orientation In Fasting
4. Fasting For The King's Coming How Much Do We Miss Him?
5. Fasting And The Course Of History A Call For Discernment And Desire
6. Finding God In The Garden Of Pain A Different Fast For The Sake Of The Poor
7. Fasting For The Little Ones Abortion And The Sovereignty Of God Over False Worldviews
Conclusion: Why Does God Reward Fasting?
Bill Bright
The Coming Revival: America's Call to Fast, Pray and Seek God's Face
This book provides a moving account of how God led Bill Bright, his wife, and many of the staff and friends of Campus Crusade for Christ to fast, pray, and seek God's face for forty days in 1994. After that fast, Bright and others invited many of America's Christian leaders to gather in Orlando, Florida, in December of that year for three days of fasting and prayer for America's leaders and for a great revival in America and the world through the call to fasting, prayer, and seeking God's face. Over six hundred attended, and many cited those days as among the most significant of their lives.
This book, in part, is that call. In the middle of the book Dr. Bright draws attention to the moral decline of our incredibly privileged and influential nation and to the great degree of spiritual impotence of the church in America. Through biblical and historical examples of God's people seeking his face through prayer, fasting, humbling themselves, and repenting – coupled with God's repeated and dramatic responses to that prayer and fasting – Bright argues that nothing less than faithful fasting and prayer and seeking God's face will be the answer to our problems today. He writes, "We need not wait for a sovereign act of God to bring revival.... Our task is to surrender to the Lordship of Christ and the control of the Holy Spirit, fast and pray, and obey God's Word. Meeting these conditions, we can expect the Holy Spirit to transform our lives" (page 89).
To that end, in the last part of the book Bright thoroughly answers a barrage of questions about fasting, such as, "Why do we need to fast?" and "How does fasting help?" In successive chapters he responds to all kinds of excuses for not fasting and offers pages of practical and spiritual advice that will be helpful before, during, and after fasting. Dr. Bright brings to bear over 50 years of experience of walking with the Lord in this book that is sure to increase your faith and to help you humble yourself, pray, seek God's face, and turn from sin through fasting.
Jentezen Franklin (1962- )
Jentezen Franklin is the senior pastor of Free Chapel in Gainesville, Georgia (since 1989) and Free Chapel OC (Orange County) in Irvine, California (since 2007). His church begins each year with a 21-day fast together. While preparing for a career as a saxophone player, Jentezen felt led by God to become an evangelist. When his brother graduated college, Jentezen dropped out and the two of them began traveling as an evangelistic team. Having visited Free Chapel annually as an evangelist for some years, Franklin became the congregation's pastor when Roy Wellborn, the church's senior pastor, died. Currently, over 10,000 attend Free Chapel each week. Jentezen is the author of New York Times best sellers, Right People, Right Place, Right Plan and Fasting.
Fasting
Franklin defines fasting as "refraining from food for a spiritual purpose," and points out that fasting is included among the three normal Christian duties Jesus speaks about in Matthew 6: "When you give...," "When you pray...," and "When you fast." Jesus not only taught us to fast, but he exemplified fasting (Matt 4:2). If he could have accomplished all he came to do without fasting, why would he fast? Franklin's answer is, "The Son of God fasted because he knew there were supernatural things that could only be released that way" (page 14). And if he needed to fast, how much greater is our need to fast?
After discussing some of the differences between types and lengths of fasts, Franklin says there's no formula to determine which is right for you. He simply encourages his readers to begin obeying Jesus's instruction through less intense fasts, working their way up to more intense fasts. The minimum measure and starting point of fasting is whether the degree to which you give up food is meaningful to you: "If it means something to you, it will mean something to God" (35). The goal is humble dependence and love for God. Recalling when he and his wife were first dating and were so caught up in each other that when they went out for a meal they rarely ate all their food, Jentezen writes, "When we are...lovesick for our first love, fasting is easy" (171). For years Franklin's church has fasted together for the first 21 days of the year.
The challenge he leaves his reader with is this: Compare notes at the end of a year in which you ate normally for the first 21 days and one in which you fasted for the first 21 days. Did 21 days of normal eating at the beginning of the year accomplish as much as 21 days of fasting at the beginning of the year – and periodic fasting throughout the year – accomplished?
Dallas Willard
Dallas Willard was a professor at the University of Southern California's School of Philosophy and a Southern Baptist minister.
The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives
Willard believes that the heart of the New Testament message is that we can become like Christ in character and in power by doing one thing: by following him in the overall style of life he chose for himself. We can, through faith and grace, become like Christ by practicing the types of activities he engaged in – by arranging our lives around the activities he himself practiced in order to remain constantly at home in the fellowship of his Father. What activities did Jesus practice? Such things as solitude and silence, prayer, simple and sacrificial living, intense study and meditation on God's word and God's ways, and service to others.
The practice of what he practiced in his love for God will prove rich soil for our own love for the Father and the Son, by the Holy Spirit, to flourish. And our love for Jesus ought to manifest itself, at least in part, through a resolute will to be like him whom we love. The Spirit of the Disciplines is written to aid you in understanding the disciplines that Jesus practiced and the revolutionary results that can come from them.
Table of Contents:
Foreword and Preface
1. The Secret of the Easy Yoke
2. Making Theology of the Disciplines Practical
3. Salvation is a Life
4. "Little Less Than a God"
5. The Nature of Life
6. Spiritual Life: The Body's Fulfillment
7. St. Paul's Psychology of Redemption – The Example
8. History and the Meaning of the Disciplines
9. Some Main Disciplines for the Spiritual Life
10. Is Poverty Spiritual?
11. The Disciplines and the Power Structures of This World
Epilogue
Appendix I. Jeremy Taylor's Counsel on the Application of Rules for Holy Living
Appendix II. Discipleship: For Super-Christians Only?
Audio & Video
John PiperPrayer, Meditation, and Fasting: The Pursuit of Communion with God
Over the course of this six-hour seminar, John Piper discusses:
• Biblical passages on communion with God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
• Communing with God through his word, and reasons for doing so,
• Communing with God through prayer, and praying in sync with the way God works,
• Biblical foundations for and aims of fasting.
You can also read the notes that go with the seminar here.
A Hunger for God
Sermon series (January 1 – February 19, 1995)
• Prayer, Fasting, and the Course of History
• When the Bridegroom Is Taken Away, They Will Fast—With New Wineskins
• Man Shall Not Live on Bread Alone
• Fasting for the Safety of the Little Ones
• Fasting for the King's Coming
• Fasting for the Father's Reward
• A Fast for Waters That Do Not Fail, Part 1
• A Fast for Waters That Do Not Fail, Part 2
September 25, 2015
A Prayer and Fasting Devotional
And Samuel said, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. - 1 Samuel 15:22 (ESV)Obedience is important to God.
Perhaps that sounds to you like the understatement of the century. You may be saying to yourself, “Of course obedience is important to God…what a remarkably unimpressive way to start to a devotional!” And that may be a fair summation of your perspective on the Christian life. However, I’d like to suggest that the importance God gives to our obedience is an often-underemphasized reality in substantial portions of the American church.
September 24, 2015
A Prayer and Fasting Devotional
“So they feared the LORD but also served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried….these nations feared the Lord and also served their carved images.” –2 Kings 17:33, 41In 2 Kings 17, we read of how the Israelites were deported to Assyria “because the people of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God” (2 Kings 17:7). In their place, the king of Assyria settled peoples from other nations to take possession of the cities and the land. After lions attacked and killed some of them, they sent for a priest to teach them the “law of the god of the land.” Responding to the teaching of these priests, the people learned to “fear the LORD,” but they also continued to serve and worship their former gods.
September 23, 2015
A Prayer and Fasting Devotional
A friend of mine founded a global consulting firm and hosts an annual conference for policy makers and CEOs. Over several days they look at global trends in a number of areas through panels and seminars. Last year two of the panels were: Media Gone Mad: Living with Information Overload: How can we be sure of staying ‘unspun’ in a world where we have never been so connected—and where it has never been so apparent that knowledge is power?
What’s Next: Hinge Events Ahead in 2015: The perils in prediction—in geopolitics as in other walks of life—arise from the fact that we simply do not have enough information.
September 22, 2015
A Prayer and Fasting Devotional
Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. - 1 Peter 2:2-3 (NIV)Have you heard the screams of a hungry newborn? As a new father, this was rather eye-opening (read: sleep-depriving) for me. I thought: “How can something so little scream so piercingly?” The hungry baby screams for milk with an intensity and an urgency that is virtually unparalleled in our world. We should crave spiritual nourishment with such urgency and desperation.
September 21, 2015
A Prayer and Fasting Devotional
I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed…Oh taste and see that the Lord is good! –Psalm 34:4-5, 8
I have recently had the wild blessing of witnessing a powerful conversion. I have seen a man who has never known what it is like to be excluded, who has proven his worth through successful business, who lives the seemingly charmed life of prosperity, a good name and the love of many, step out of darkness and into glorious light.
I have recently had the wild blessing of witnessing a powerful conversion. I have seen a man who has never known what it is like to be excluded, who has proven his worth through successful business, who lives the seemingly charmed life of prosperity, a good name and the love of many, step out of darkness and into glorious light.
September 20, 2015
A Prayer and Fasting Devotional
If you are a parent, you probably remember your child’s first trip to the ER. I don’t think my wife and I will ever forget ours because we have had two in the span of two months for our daughter, Ellie. On each occasion, she had seizures that were caused by a dramatic spike in a fever. During a seizure, the whole body tenses up due to your brain firing off extreme signals. Even the lungs become tense or stiff, restricting airflow and decreasing oxygen levels throughout the body. Ellie clearly was not breathing much and began to turn a pale and blue color. I had my hand on her back and could only feel very small movements of her lungs. I could hear very faint breaths come out of her mouth. At times, we thought we might be saying goodbye to our daughter. Something was clearly wrong. It was visible.September 19, 2015
A Prayer and Fasting Devotional
Unfortunately, Psalm 23 has often become associated with death and funerals within American culture. Yet in reality, this psalm is a psalm about living, and it provides the reader with the needed assurance in order to be radical for God. It is, as one commentator puts it, “…one that puts daily activities, such as eating, drinking, and seeking security, in a radically God-centered perspective. This psalm invites people into a declaration of trust that is both extraordinarily courageous and coldly rational.”September 18, 2015
A Devotional on Seeking God
It is intrinsic to our conception of God that God is inherently invisible. “You cannot see my face,” God famously told Moses on the mountain, “for man shall not see me and live” (Exod 33:20, esv). God in himself cannot be seen directly. If he is to be seen at all, it must be through some sort of manifestation in another form, some kind of epiphany.September 17, 2015
A Prayer and Fasting Devotional
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” - 1 John 3:1aDo you look like your parents or siblings? Those of us who do have inevitably experienced a moment when someone meets our family, or sees their picture, and exclaims that (goodness gracious!) you look just like them! Familial resemblance does not just involve our good looks; in even deeper ways we can see it in our behavior. This can go from the mundane (we laugh like our grandfather) to the good (we are compassionate like our mother) to the bad (we have a temper like our older brother). Our families resemble each other in deep and meaningful ways, and this comes into especially sharp focus when we get married. Marriage brings together two people from different families who immediately notice that they have developed different (and sometimes wonderfully complementary!) practices because, "that's how my family does it."
September 16, 2015
A Parable on Prayer
We won’t always see our prayers answered. If there is no guarantee for answered prayer, why should we persist in prayer?In Luke 18:1-8, Jesus addressed this issue head-on:
And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?
September 15, 2015
A Prayer and Fasting Devotional
When a monk asks you a question, it’s generally wise to listen. I learned this lesson on an annual silent retreat at a monastery of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist in Cambridge, Massachusetts. During his sermon, a brother was describing the various perspectives on the “real presence” of Christ in the eucharist, but, rather than tease out the fineries of the real presence of Christ in the elements, he suggested that, even better than inquiring into the presence of Christ, we might ask instead, “am I really present?”September 14, 2015
A Prayer and Fasting Devotional
For those of us who love the grace of the Gospel, who are convinced that God accomplishes through Christ everything we need for salvation, the idea that we must perform religious works, such as prayer or fasting, in order to receive grace and spiritual blessings from God doesn’t sit well. Here’s an illustration of what I’m talking about. September 13, 2015
A Prayer and Fasting Devotional
“…and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.” – Revelation 14.3 Narrative tension makes a story. Imagine that Cinderella and the prince had met in childhood, immediately delighted in one another, enjoyed the full support of their family and friends, married quickly, with no wedding snafus of any kind and little need for pre-marital counseling, and lived happily ever after. While that might be an attractive narrative for the couple, it makes for pretty uninteresting reading. We, the reader, know that a good story must include a significant amount of conflict to make for a satisfactory resolution.
September 12, 2015
A Prayer and Fasting Devotional
O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent?
Who shall dwell on your holy hill?
He who walks blamelessly and does what is right
and speaks truth in his heart;
-Psalm 15: 1, 2
September 11, 2015
A Prayer and Fasting Devotional
The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened. - Acts 16:22-26
September 10, 2015
A Prayer and Fasting Devotional
“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. -Colossians 4:2-6, ESVThose who seek God find themselves regularly and very naturally propelled into mission. At the foot of the cross we discover that we are not alone. If we linger long enough, the entire human race materializes before our eyes. We see many kneeling in reverence, pressing in close around us, with faces refashioned, renewed by tears of joy. Just beyond we can see others in various stages, from shame and pain to mild indifference or curiosity. Further out, we discern the outline of multitude of people, too numerous to count. In the shadow of the cross, conscious of and even covered by the sweat and blood of our Savior, we may also be surprised to find that we cannot turn away.
September 9, 2015
A Prayer and Fasting Devotional
Fear and FastingWhat do these two have in common? Neither will happen when Jesus returns.
All fear, and tears for that matter, will be wiped away in His presence. Can you imagine what this will actually feel like? And never again will we fast because we will have our Friend and King with us. We will party without any threat of fear.
September 8, 2015
A Prayer and Fasting Devotional
I find myself coming back time and again to the temptations of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. Recently I've been struck anew by the strange, counterintuitive opening line of the story: "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil." (4:1)Led by the Spirit (God's presence, in line with His purposes)...into the wilderness (the place of emptiness, misery, loneliness, hardship, where God seems far from our experience)...to be tempted by the devil (exposed to dehumanizing evil). These are not realities we usually associate together. In the center of God's will, in the center of the storm, overwhelmed by the contrast between my experience and desires and God's (purported, but now called increasingly into question) will.
