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The practice of fasting permeates the Scriptures, but is something that is rather counter to our American culture of " dreaming thin and living fat ". There are no direct instructions given in the New Testament on how to fast, but we see that the practice was consistent amongst people in both Testaments (c.f. Ex 34:28; 2 Sam 12:15-22; 2 Chrn 20; Est 4; Daniel 9; Neh 1; Matt 4:2; Acts 13:1-3; Acts 14:13-24). What is fasting? Fasting is primarily associated with voluntary abstinence from food (not some crash diet to lose weight) in order to draw near to God and spiritual purposes. And while you can fast from other things than food for the same purpose (movies, television, cell phones, Internet, some specific foods, sports, hobbies, etc.) this is what is most common in the Scriptures. Fasts in the scriptures usually abstained from food anywhere from 1-40 days, and occasionally refrained from all liquids as well (c.f. Ez 10:6; Est 4:16; Act 9:9) and could be done privately (Mat 6:16-18) or corporately (Joel 2:15-16; Acts 13:2). The most common fasts amongst Christians today is probably abstaining from food but drinking water privately, and occasional fasts (when a special need arises - c.f. Mat 9:15) Why do we fast? Fasting is a spiritual discipline in which one undergoes self- discipline (through the power of the Holy Spirit, not one's own will power however - c.f. Luke 4:1-14) for the purposes of seeking God, for God's own sake , not for what you want God to do for you. Fasting is not some spiritual rubbing of the genie's bottle in which we bargain with God for something; I will give up x , if you give me y (unless "y" is to become more like Jesus) . This is never the purpose of fasting in the Scriptures, and such an understanding of the God of the bible is incorrect and even blasphemous (c.f. Isa 42:8; 48:11). Fasting is to draw near to God, and to ultimately become more like His Son Jesus, which in and of itself will bring much to us; surrender, peace, insight, wisdom, repentance, love, compassion, etc. Here are some possible reasons we fast: To humble ourselves before God and to show our dependence on him To devote more time and focus to our spiritual lives. The time we would've spent eating or preparing food can be used in prayer and Bible study To ask for God's guidance as we face important decisions Task for God's help in a crisis To ask for God's help in overcoming spiritual dullness, lukewarmness, and numbness To help us rebuild our relationship with God if we have wandered away or have sinned grievously To have a special focus time of prayer weekly or monthly To pray about some particular need in the church or as a means of group repentance To express gratitude in Thanksgiving for a remarkable blessing, answered prayer, or spiritual victory To ask God for breakthrough or for the change of heart Why don't we fast? Fasting is a very difficult thing emotionally, physically, and spiritually. It places our most utter dependence upon God, and brings our frailty and weakness front and center. And we don't like being weak. I don't know about you, but fasting for me is quite difficult and I can find many excuses to not discipline myself to eat no food for the purposes of seeking God. The act of fasting is humbling, but who likes to be humble? Yet if we humble ourselves, God will lift us up (1 Pet 5:6). Fasting Resources : Fasting: Opening the door to a deeper, mor intimate, more powerful relationship with God - Franklin ​ Matching 21 day Journal Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life - Whitney Be Still My Soul: a pracitcal guide to a deeper relationship with God - Laing #biblestudy #discipline

One of the greatest challenges we'll face in life is perseverance. In almost everything we do in life that we wish to do well and that we wish to do for any length of time takes a great measure of perseverance and consistency. This is true in our careers, relationships, hobbies, and our walk with God. I have trained many people in the gym and I coach them that in the long run consistency is always greater than intensity. Many people get highly motivated for a short period of time and want to push themselves intensely in the gym (this typically happens when someone's health and fitness has gotten to an all time low and they are in the worse shape of their life - the wrong time to try to be intense) but I tell them that the key to success in achieving their fitness goals is to commit to being consistent. But of course going hard one time is a lot easier then going all the time. (This is also why "dieting" doesn't really work because it's not something that is sustained over the long haul). Start by implementing some small change in your life consistently for 3 weeks I tell them. Like limiting yourself to no more than one soda for 3 weeks for example. "Long term consistency trumps short term intensity." Bruce Lee God wants to be close to us at all times, not just during special occasions. Jesus said, "I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Mat 28:20) and Paul reminds us to "pray continually" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Don't just confine your relationship with God with some specific set time in the morning but rather learn how to walk with God throughout all of your day and in every circumstance (for a great resource on this concept see The Practice of the Prescence of God ). Is having a specific set time to read and pray and try to connect with God a bad thing? Of course not, much of this practicing of the presence of God is built upon the foundation of time with him every day, so remain committed to the practice of "daily quiet times". But don't let it stop there, learn how to be in continual conscious fellowship with God, learn to pray in the moment as life happens as we see Nehemiah doing before the king (Neh 2:4-5), learn to meditate on and allow scripture to dwell in your heart throughout the day (Ps 119:10-11), and learn to recognize that God is with you, even when you might not be aware of Him (1 Ki 19:12). Of course the key to consistency and perseverance (in any arena) really comes down to self-control and self discipline. The incredible news is that no matter how much self-discipline we have right now or whether or not we have cultivated self-discipline from our childhood, God has given us his own Spirit which is a Spirit of self-control (2 Tim 1:7)! So you CAN grow in your self-discipline because it is already there in you! This self-discipline does not come however from your own "white-knuckling" effort, your straining and striving, but more from humbly submitting to, and being in step with God's Spirit! #biblestudy #discipline