Week 2 || Day 1
PURPOSE OF FASTING: TO PREPARE FOR MINISTRY.
If I want to be a bodybuilder, I better be lifting weights.
If I want to be a singer, I need to learn how to stay on pitch.
If I want to be a doctor, I should start by learning about the human body.
If I want to be a runner, I have to hit the trails with some running shoes.
If I want to be a painter, I should buy some paintbrushes and canvas.
No matter what we do in life, there is preparation for it. Our careers and our hobbies all take preparation. Even taking a nap requires preparation; Do I want to be lying down? Should I nap on the couch or on my bed? Should I wait until after work (Yes! The answer is yes - unless you are a sleep psychologist.)? Shall I nap after lunch? Should I rest my book on my chest or mark it with a bookmark and close it? Do I need a pillow? Should I doze off while others are in the room? Do I want the light on or off? Should I use the bathroom before I fall asleep?
See? Everything takes preparation! Ministry is no different. It takes preparation. And fasting is a large part of that preparation. If you’re thinking, “Well, I’m not in ministry.”, I would disagree. So would the Word of God. Paul says in Acts: “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up… “(Acts 4:11-13 NIV). If you are “his people,” YOU are being equipped for ministry!
Furthermore, Ephesians 4:16 (NLT) states: “He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.” It’s extremely important to realize that ministry in the Bible is never a special title or occupation - it never refers solely to pastors or preachers. Ministry refers to a special function - and each one of us has gifts that are meant to function as a part of the body of Christ! Romans 12:6-8 (NLT) says this: “In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.”
We are all in ministry! We are all using our gifts to build the body.
Therefore, when we read that fasting prepares for ministry - that means you!
As those in ministry, we follow Jesus’ example. Before Jesus began His ministry on earth, He fasted. “After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.’ Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights He fasted and became very hungry.” (Matthew 3:16-4:2 ESV).
Jesus was likely still wiping the Jordan River waters from His eyes as God declared His pleasure with His son. Most of us would look at that moment and think, “This is it! This is the moment to start my ministry! God has spoken publicly about His pleasure with me! This is the perfect ministry launching pad!”
However, instead of using “God-spoke-audibly-about-my-awesomeness” as a marketing campaign, Jesus heads into the desert for an isolated 40 day fast, eating nothing and being tempted by Satan. Jesus fasted in the desert before He preached a single sermon, before He ever healed a soul, and before He called any of His disciples. When the fast was successfully completed, Jesus was prepared for the spiritual battles ahead.
No matter what you’re fasting, or for how long, God’s intention for fasting is to fill you up to overflow - to be fruitful in the ministry He has set aside for you! It’s his intention to help you realign your life so that you can consistently receive all he has for you and allow those things to flow through you to build His Church.
Illustration: The first FULL fast I (Becca) did came at the tail end of a required Spiritual Disciplines retreat I took part in during my first year of grad school. We dove into studying aspects of the Christian faith and on retreat we focused on a few and then the day we returned home we did a 24 hour fast.
On retreat, we stayed at an active convent...and we lived side-by-side with the sisters at the convent. The first spiritual discipline that we focused on was community. Focusing on community was easy peasy for me. I love learning about people and the things they love. I am telling you, I don’t care what you do....if you love it and you share that passion with me....I’ll want to do it! So, with that in mind, by the end of the five days, I was convinced, no joke, that I should be a nun. I had loved preparing food with the sisters and chatting with them over shared meals. While my cohorts were sitting around a table altogether, I was trying to remember the names of all of the nuns and gleaning all of the information I could glean about being a nun....because....well, this was obviously my future.
Another spiritual discipline we focused on was solitude. After the high of focusing on community I was certainly not prepared for SOLITUDE. I thought this portion of the retreat might actually kill me. We had to be alone for ten hours...with no music, communication, books, breathing.... honestly....I might be remembering the length of time and the restrictions incorrectly, but, it was really difficult for me.
When we came home from the retreat and it was time to do our fast, I was sure I was prepared. “I got this.” No biggie. Way easier than solitude.
Nope.
24 hours without food. Come on. How hard can it be? I will tell you this....I did it. Because I knew that Jesus said, “when you fast, not IF you fast.” So I knew I could. But 21 hours into the fast I remember lying on the carpet of my friend’s apartment, desperately trying to fall asleep to escape my hunger pangs as my classmates stepped over me while making the meal to break our fast. It was rough. And I know that sounds melodramatic, but that was a big step for me.
That first fast was really difficult to me. Because in my life, I had subjected my body to TOO MUCH in many aspects (too much activity, too much in my schedule, too much food)....but I had never subjected my body to that LITTLE. I had grown accustomed to gluttony as a way of life.
I imagine you have had much the same issue - too much of things…but rarely have you subjected (willingly) yourself to too little! To effectively use the gifts God has given us, to enter into the ministry He has called us to, it is vital to make fasting a part of our lives.
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Kids SEEK, too!
Note to caretakers: Model biblical fasting. Kids learn more from what they see than what they hear. When teaching the discipline of fasting, know that you can’t lead kids to do something that you’re not willing to do yourself.
Kids’ Illustration: I wanted to fast, but I had never done it before. When the COVID-19 pandemic started, we were at home. I wanted to do my part. My mom couldn’t fast because she had a baby a few months ago and my little sister and brothers were too young to fast. It would be just me and my dad.
I decided I was only going to skip breakfast because this was my very first time fasting, and I didn’t know how long I would last. On Saturday night I had a delicious dinner, and then my family said a prayer for my dad and me to start our fast.
The next day we had church. I was trying to distract myself from the fact that my sister was snacking during service and I was really hungry. After church, I played worship songs on the piano. Later, when I looked at the clock, it was almost lunchtime! I had no idea how fast time had gone.
I decided to say a prayer to break my fast. During the prayer, I felt the Holy Spirit more strongly than I ever had before. I felt that everything was going to be OK. It was a great experience.
Alaina, age 9
Kids’ Activities for Today’s Prayer Focus:
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Bible:
“He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.” (Ephesians 4:16 NLT)
“After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.’ Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights He fasted and became very hungry.” (Matthew 3:16-4:2 ESV)
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Quote for Today:
Fasting detaches you from this world. Prayer reattaches you to the next world. - Fulton J. Sheen
“When the Holy Spirit calls you to fast, He is preparing you for what is ahead.” - Jentezen Franklin
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Points to Ponder:
We are all called to ministry! God has given us each gifts that He wants us to use. We become more in line with His will for our lives and our gifts when we seek Him through fasting.
If you have not thought of yourself as a minister before, you are! If you are unsure what gifts God has given you, connect with us at hello@lifewest.church. We offer Growth Track, a class that allows you to discover the unique gifts and talents God has given you and how you can use them in the body!
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CLOSING PRAYER: Heavenly Father, we thank you for calling us to building your Kingdom. We submit our wills and desires to you and we ask that you would help reveal to us how we can rightly serve You with the gifts you have graciously given us. Open our eyes to see how we can minister to you and to those around us. Thank you for blessing us with the body of Christ! We are so grateful that we are not here representing you by ourselves but that we are ministering alongside an eternal body of believers all over the world. We love you Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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