The Benefits of Fasting

The Bible makes it pretty clear that one of the disciplines we should practice as Christians is fasting. In these modern times dominated by the mentality of consumerism, the idea of fasting has lost much of it's grip. I just want to remind those who pay attention to the things I say that there are great benefits to fasting. One of the immediate benefits that comes to mind is it's an exercise in obedience. Some things in life we just ought to do because the Lord said we should. Those of us that were raised "old school" know our parents didn't always provide an explanation to us. However, we new it was best to follow simply because they were the authority and we were not. The Bible also teaches us that we don't always get the spiritual results we are looking for because of our unbelief. When "The 12"sought to provide deliverance and a cure to the epileptic child, they couldn't do it. After Jesus provided immediate relief to the victim of this disease they asked Him why they were unsuccessful. Jesus said it was because of their unbelief. In that same passage the cure he prescribes for their unbelief is fasting. We are plagued by unbelief more than we think we are. Fasting then is a necessary discipline to help us overcome unbelief. A final thought for today is faith by nature reaches for the unseen. Without fasting we are occupied, tied to, and in some cases enslaved by the world of the seen. Our lives are primarily dominated by our senses. Fasting denies us of the things our senses crave. This practice of self denial strengthens our ability to perceive the unseen. The flesh and the spirit are at odds with each other. It's not just competition. It's hostility. We have to show the flesh from time to time we will not let it dominate us if we want our spiritual ability to be strong.