Mark 9:29 states "So He said to them, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting."[fn2]" - For an online quick view of the scriptures go here: http://tinyurl.com/5jugut
In context of the scripture(always want to do this), what is your opinion on when fasting is neccessary? Is it just in the situation that Jesus was talking about to His disciples or is it something more. Do we need to do it on a regular basis, or not at all?
Discuss.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
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Dusty graduated from Etowah High School in '99. While working a full-time job he managed to also graduate from Beulah Heights University in '06 with a Bachelors Degree in Leadership Administration. He has attended the local church, Acworth Church of God of Prophecy since he was little. He currently resides in Acworth Georgia with his wife Suzy and their three dogs, Coco, Shelby and Keebler. You can contact him @ dustylolley@gmail.com
11 comments:
Well, I honestly have never done a lot of fasting, and Im sure I am missing out on a lot by not doing it. I know that most of the time, people fast when they are making a tough decision, or there is some kind of spiritual warfare going on, or something else. People always seem to have a specific reason. I think that makes sense, but it also could be good just to get us closer to God in general. I would definitly like to do it more than I have.
I definitely believe that fasting is necessary. fasting is talked about over 15 times in the bible, so it is not contextually limited to that scripture. in the Old Testament fasting was mostly used as part of repentance(along with a little ash and sackcloth thrown in) and in the New Testament most instances are geared towards denying ourselves things of this world in order to get closer to God.
In my opinion fasting has many applications just as prayer does. it can be used for repentance, exaltation, gaining humbleness, and even as a gesture of pure obedience to God.
Any way you look at it fasting is a sacrificial thing. It's not going to be fun, but we have to do it. If Jesus did it to deny the flesh then how much more should we do it. Earlier this year I said this would be a year of fasting and I failed doing that. However the year is not yet up and 2008 may still be known as the year of fasting.
When I think of fasting, I think of complete selfless-ness. Other religions practice it as a sense of self-discipline and denial of self.
I think that in the context of our culture, Americanized Christians just see it as another duty. It means so much more than that. Jesus fasted 40 days and 40 nights and He was the son of God. God desires for us to be so communicative to Him that we can have a living, breathing relationship like Moses and those guys had. He doesn't have to be some distant God like we make Him out to be. Sure we talk like that, but we treat His miracles, His grace and His closeness as if He were some God that sits on the throne ignoring us.
We must WAKE UP! He is a real and living God who wants to hold us in our worst and greatest moments!
Absolutely it is! It is the biblical practice of bringing your mind, body, and conscience into subjection to to your spirit, so that in the duration of time you are fasting, you are in direct communion with God who is Spirit. Jesus says, "God is a Spirit and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth".
Of course we know that we don't fast by way of getting God to feel sorry for us because we're starving. We fast to align ourselves with God. You can do this without fasting but fasting is a time to get supercharged in your faith, especially in desperate situation like what the disciples were in in this text, needing to cast out a devils.
It is imperative to avoid all possible distractions (tv, phone, hobbies, sometimes even church) when you're fasting. Jesus went into the desert. It is a time to align yourself with God's Will.
We'll be talking about this at length in a couple of weeks so pray that goes well.
Fasting is a way to get closer to God and to build a stronger relationship with Him. So it is necessary in the sense that you do want a stronger relationship with Him, which most of us do. Its also beneficial because by fasting we can eliminate all possible distractions that prevent us from having a deeper relationship with Him. It strengthens the time we spend in prayer and helps us from being to wrapped up in our social world.
So yes, fasting is necessary. Jesus fasted and since we all strive to be more like Him, we should in return fast and glorify Him in doing so.
Well put missy :)
Of course fasting is not only necessary but essential. Certainly in times of need or confusion but also when things are going good. To me fasting is one of the most humble actions we can do. To deny ourselves the very thing we need to survive physically in order to attain spritual growth is a very specific way of showing God the extent of our desire to be closer to him.
I definitely agree that fasting is necessary in a Christian's relationship with God. Like Jordan pointed out, its mentioned so many times in the Bible, and while it isn't mentioned as many times as prayer, it's just as essential. Its a form of sacrifice. And while I think we most often think to fast when something is wrong, I think fasting simply draws our heart closer to God. And that needs to be done in good times and bad times. It makes so much sense! When you detatch yourself from the world in such an extreme way whether you're fasting food or television or anything else and devote your full time and energy to God, you can't help but connect with God on a more intimate level. Fasting is supposed to be uncomfortable. It's supposed to be hard. But when you get to the point where you've worked through the 'pain', you're in a clearer mindset with a willing heart-an ideal place for meeting with God.
Well I definitley believe that fasting is something that shouldn't be just a must, as we have been commanded, but also joyously, I have definitley felt conviction in this area of my life, I have fasted and sought after God in the hard times, and he has always delivered for me. So fasting should be almost constant in my opinion. I have lately been struggling about something I feel lead to do, that I will not go into detail about concerning fasting. But it should be something that we can look forward to that we can sacrifice (just as he did) so that we can grom more intimately with him.
Fasting is required of us, and that comes without question. I wonder why it is that we not only shy away from fasting, but even convince ourselves that it is to be followed as an occasional and optional tenet. We can all agree that we must pray and read our Bible everyday. We can also agree that we must give tithes and offering weekly. However, we don't give this same attention to fasting, and that's where our problem lies. God help us to take You seriously! I think in a culture where there were no grocery stores, the early Christians must have seen fasting completely different than we do. The rich would eat three meals, so giving up a meal for a poor Christian (there was no middleclass) took great discipline. I think if we can move toward that discipline regularly, we would hear from God a lot more.
Fasting definitely helps us to deny the flesh so that the spirit can grow stronger. It is part of what allows us to decrease so that He may increase. I don't believe it should be done ritually, but it should be done often. Many times when something becomes ritualistic to us we lose sight of its importance.
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