1. When you give…

Matthew 6:2-4 “So when you give to the needy, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you”.…(Berean Study Bible)

2. When you pray…

Matthew 6:5-6 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ⁶ But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (NIV)

3. When you fast…

Matthew 6:16-18 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ¹⁷ But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, ¹⁸ so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (NIV)

 

Giving, Prayer, Fasting

Ecclesiastes 4:12 “Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

 

Prayer and Fasting

Let’s read the story in Matthew 17:14-16

“And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.”

 

Matthew 17:17-19 – “Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.”

 

Matthew 17:19-21 – “Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.” (KJV)

 

How much more should fasting be a common practice in our lives!

 

What is fasting?

 

Definition: Fasting is voluntarily abstaining from food for spiritual purposes.

 

Matthew 4:2 – “And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.”

• Jesus fasted food but did not abstain from water.

 

Fasting brings a person into a deeper and more intimate relationship with the Lord.

Psalm 42:1-2a “As the deer pants for the water brooks,

So pants my soul for You, O God.

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.”

 

In Psalm 42:7a – Deep calls unto deep…

 

Worship God in Spirit and Truth

John 4:23-24 “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

 

Scriptural Purpose for Fasting

Fasting is the scriptural means ordained by God for us to humble ourselves before Him.

Psalm 35:13 – “I humbled my soul with fasting…” (NAS)

Psalm 35:13 – “I afflicted my soul with fasting…” (ASV)

 

Here are four scriptures on humbling from the NT

 Matthew 18:4 – “Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 23:12 – “And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

James 4:10 – “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”

1 Peter 5:6 – “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,”

 

Fasting is a way that God Himself has appointed for His people to humble themselves before Him.

 

Micah 6:8 “He has shown you, O man, what is good;

And what does the LORD require of you

But to do justly, To love mercy,

And to walk humbly with your God?”

 

Sin Entered the World

Genesis 3:6 – “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food…she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.”

 

Whose god is their belly!

Philippians 3:18-19 – “they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things.”

 

The Daniel Fast

Fasting for Health and Healing

 

God has promised in Isaiah 58:6,8 “Is this not the fast that I have chosen:

To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens,

To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke?”

(8) “Then your light shall break forth like the morning,

Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.”

 

When we begin fasting and praying for physical health and healing, we must realize that it is God who heals.

Exodus 15:26 – His name is Jehovah Rapha means, “I am the Lord who heals you.”

 

Read the story of Daniel

Daniel 1:5 – “And the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king’s delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might serve before the king.”

 

Daniel 1:8 – “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.”

 

Daniel 1:9-10 – “Now God had brought Daniel into the favor and goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs. And the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who has appointed your food and drink. For why should he see your faces looking worse than the young men who are your age? Then you would endanger my head before the king.”

 

Daniel 1:11-12 – “So Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, “Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink.”

 

Daniel 1:13-15 – “Then let our appearance be examined before you, and the appearance of the young men who eat the portion of the king’s delicacies; and as you see fit, so deal with your servants.” So he consented with them in this matter, and tested them ten days. And at the end of ten days their features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king’s delicacies.”

 

Daniel 1:16-17 – “Thus the steward took away their portion of delicacies and the wine that they were to drink, and gave them vegetables. As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.”

 

Daniel 1:18-19 – “Now at the end of the days, when the king had said that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. Then the king interviewed them, and among them all none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; therefore they served before the king.”

 

Daniel 1:20-21 – “And in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm. Thus Daniel continued until the first year of King Cyrus.”

We enter the Daniel fast for two physical reasons:

1. As therapy when we are sick and need healing
2. As prevention to keep us from becoming sick or getting a disease

 

The Daniel Fast with holds extra rich foods.

We eat necessities on the Daniel Fast

1. To cleanse our digestive system
2. Rest our body
3. Renew our system

 

Read from Counsel Bible

The Daniel Fast rests on three Biblical foundations

1. Faith
2. Prayer
3. Fasting

 

God Can Heal Through Fasting

God has given each of us a wonderful physical body that He calls “His Temple”

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 – “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

Steps from the Biblical Account of Daniel

1. Be Specific
2. Fast as a Spiritual Commitment
3. Reflect Inner Desire by Outer Discipline
4. Pray to Perceive Sin’s Role in Poor Health

James 5:13-16 – “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”

5. Fast as a Statement of Faith to Others
6. Learn the Effects of the Foods You Eat
7. Yield All Results to God

 

Practical Principles to Remember

• The Daniel Fast is longer than one day.
• The Daniel Fast is a partial fast
• The Daniel Fast Includes healthy food
• The Daniel Fast requires abstinence from rich foods