For many believers, especially in the western world, January is a time of fasting, prayer, and consecration. And though many of us will participate in this time of fasting, we don’t often know how to maximize the power that comes with fasting. This blog, though lengthy, is written to empower you to go deeper in the Lord during this time. Whether you’re doing a 3 day water fast or what we know as a 21 day Daniel fast, know that fasting is one of the most ancient and impactful spiritual disciplines of the Christian faith.
The word fasting, in a biblical sense, means to cover one’s mouth and not eat for a particular reason. Though some may include in their time of consecration a doing away with social media, television, and music, you must note that a biblical fast is one that requires your to note eat. In fasting, we are choosing to sacrifice our daily bread for The Daily Bread, Jesus. Prayerfully I hope you consider the words written here, and that they add life to this season for you.
Though this list is in no way exhaustive or full, here are a few things that I consistently include in my times of fasting to help me grow deeper in God and to attune my ear to His voice.
1. Keep it Secret
Matthew 6:16-18
“Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
As you begin your fast, one of the most important things you can do is allow God to check your heart. Notice, I didn’t say that you should check your heart, but rather that God should check your heart. The psalmist prayed “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts” (Psalm 139:23). We can fall into the trap of thinking that we are good evaluators of our motivations, but if we’re honest we know that the heart is wicked (Jer. 17:9). And because of our deceitful heart, we can sometimes trick ourselves into believing that our motives are right because our actions are right. But in the kingdom, doing the right thing with the wrong spirit is still the wrong thing.
With that said, it becomes imperative that our times of fasting and consecration aren’t just an outward act of obedience, but an humble inward submission to the Spirit’s working in our lives. There is a temptation to make a show of our spirituality through fasting, similar to the Pharisees in Christ’s day. The Pharisees were great at outward obedience, but their hearts were often far from God. When they would fast, you could tell. They wanted people to know how spiritual and close to God. They clothed themselves in sackcloth and ashes, and walked around sorrowful during their fasting and prayer times.
Jesus confronts this mindset by telling us not to be like those who do things to let others know that they’re fasting. Jesus tells us to present ourselves in a way that no one even knows that we’re fasting. Obviously we don’t live in a day where, like pharisees, sackcloth and ashes are worn during fasts. That doesn’t mean that we’re unable to sneak in clues so that others know that we’re spiritual and fasting. Whether it’s posting your fast on social media to “inspire” others, sneaking it into conversation that you’re not eating today so that you can pray more, or whether you sit around complaining to others about how hungry you are but can’t eat, Jesus warns against this type of behavior. Jesus tells us that if you’re fast is not secret, your reward is in the affirmation that you receive from others due to your spiritual pride.
As you prepare your heart to fast, first ask the Lord to purify you of all prideful motives, and to help you keep your secret fast unto the Lord, and not public so that others can acknowledge.
2. Increase Your Prayer Time
Matthew 26:40
Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour?
I was counseling a married couple one time that was going through a bit of a rough patch. The wife complained that if the husband ever took her out on a date, they were not often and they were without much quality interaction. I wonder if Jesus has the same complaint for us when it comes to our prayer life?! Often you may have heard that God doesn’t care about the quantity of your prayer time, He cares only about the quality. I’m hear to tell you that it’s not an either/or type of thing; It’s both/and. God cares about the quality of your prayer time, but He also cares about the quantity of your prayer time.
Maybe your normal life doesn’t allow for you to spend hours and hours in prayer. That’s understandable, but when it comes to seasons of consecration, I encourage you to rearrange your schedule and make time to increase your prayer life. This is a sacrifice, I know, but isn’t that what a fast is all about. Fasting is about denying our flesh and prioritizing God, so more than normal these seasons should be met with an increased time of prayer. Even Jesus in the Garden reprimands His disciples for the inability to have extensive times of prayer. He didn’t ask about the quality of their prayers, though we know of course that matters. Jesus rebukes His disciples and in an indirect way exclaims to them that the hour they are in demands an increased prayer life.
Your prayer life during times of fasting should not look like the prayer life you regularly. The hour you’re in requires an upgrade in prayer time!
3. Retreat
Mark 6:45-46
Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away. And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray.
We live in a very busy world. With all the hustle and bustle of life, during times of fasting and praying, it’s important to make time to retreat. Jesus did this often to pray and seek the Father. Wether it’s renting an Airbnb and spending 3 days with Lord in a different setting, or finding a quiet space in or near your home where you can be alone, retreating is necessary for the Christian soul.
Many of us are afraid to be alone, but aloneness is a very deep spiritual practice. I absolutely love Godly community, and God speaks to us in community; However there are some things that God will only speak when He has our undivided attention. Learning how to take time to step away from family, community, responsibilities, and regular practices for the sake of deepening your time of focused prayer and waiting on God can be pivotal during your fast. In retreating with the Lord, I’ve come to find a lifeline in His voice that can’t be found in congregational meetings or partnered prayer time. And please know, that this is not me preaching against community. I am making a case that along with community, we also need deep retreating alone times with God so that He can speak past our normal schedules and directly to our spirit.
We can be alone, without being lonely, because we are communing with Christ
4. Quiet the Noise
1 Kings 19:11-13
Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?
The world we live in is statistically proven to be the nosiest world any previous generation has ever lived in. Can you imagine how difficult that can make it to hear God’s voice? With a clutter of voices and obligations shouting at us through media, social media, society, and etc. it’s important that we use our times of fasting to lower the volume of the world, to better attune to the voice of the Lord. Sometimes the difficulty in connecting with God more deeply is due to our addiction to the noise of life.
Noise pollution can easily create spiritual pollution.So what do we do about this?
Note that in 1 Kings, Elijah is being harassed and God tells him to go to a mountain and wait before the Lord. And God speaks to him. In the Old Testament, often times God would speak in thunderous ways. But I’ve found that God will often speak gently when there’s competition to His voice. Elijah was battling to hear the voice of God, because it was in competition with the voice of his enemy. Even still Elijah is compelled to go high up on a mountain top to wait to hear the gentle whisper of God’s voice. God will often challenge us to rise above the noise and wait for a quiet still voice.
I am an unashamed tongue-talking Spirit filled charismatic believer, and I’ve made the mistake of thinking that God only speaks in big, obvious, loud ways. That type of theology has caused me to miss God many times. Through fasting, I’ve learned that God shouts, but He also whispers. And trust me when I tell you, YOU WANT THE WHISPER. Remember being in elementary school, and seeing people whisper to each other? You automatically knew, without asking, that they were sharing a secret. Believe it or not, God keeps secrets that He only shares them in a whisper with those He can trust (Amos 3:7). And that trust is developed as you learn to steal away to commune with Jesus. This will take lots of practice and intentionally.
Because we often have too many voices in our lives, it can be difficult when trying to attune to the voice of God, but as you fast, turn off the tv more. Log out of social media a bit. Have quiet drives to work. Sit in an open space with no music or noise. On the other side of the anxiety you may initially feel in quietness, is a deepened spirituality and clarity to the voice of God.
5. Deepen your study in the word.
Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
The word comes to do so many things, but one thing the word of God does is cut us from the inside. When we sincerely and humbly read God’s word, we’ll notice that the word of God actually reads us. What better tool to have during a fast than the spiritual scalpel that is the Bible. It may hurt, but the cutting and pruning that comes with learning God’s word is what causes us to be more like Christ.
Also, I’ve noticed that during fasts, we often teach people to not eat and to pray more, but we forget to remind them to deepen their life in the word. What do I mean when I say a deepened life in the word? I don’t mean simply devotionally or casually reading the word. I mean getting into the word of God like a Barean (Acts 17:10-12). Research the scriptures. Listen to teachings on parts of the word you don’t understand. Devour the word!
There are two spiritual practices that I think we’ve lost as the Body of Christ as it concerns scripture: memorizing scripture & studying scripture. I grew up in a church where even in children’s church, we had pages of scriptures we were required to memorize. Then every Wednesday we’d spend time as young people studying the word. This didn’t just happen in church, but also in our homes. I didn’t know it at the time, but the elders were filling up our spiritual bank accounts with the word so that we could withdraw from those accounts in times of need.
We especially need to deepen our life in the word during fasts, because the word is how we fight spiritually. I am saddened by the lack of scripture I often hear in some prayer meeting and worship songs. We have to begin to pray scripture, declare scripture, and fight with scripture. The Bible isn’t just a spiritual aesthetic for the believer. The scriptures are the vocabulary of the believer. Without the word of God in us, we have nothing to say or pray!
During your fast, list out some scriptures, and make it your goal to memorize and study them throughout your time of fasting. You’ll thank me later.
6. Track your time of consecration
Lamentations 3:21-23
This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. This I recall to my mind, there I have hope. Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness
We are so prone to forget. This world throws so much at us that we can easily forget the faithfulness and goodness of God. In Lamentation, the prophet Jeremiah seems to be in a dirge until he brings to His remembrance all that the Lord has done. Developing a written track record with the Lord is key to maintaining hope and encouragement in life.
God is going to speak and do things during your fast that must be remembered. This makes it important to write down prayer requests, testimonies, prophetic words, dreams, and etc. during a fast. Your soul needs to reference those God moments when the fast is over. It’s funny how often we don’t realize that we’re living in seasons of blessings that we prayed for during seasons of fasting. If you track your God moments during your fast, you’re going to see that nothing you sacrificed was wasted.
I especially encourage you to track prayer requests and testimonies during your times of fast. Habakkuk 2:2-3 says, “Then the Lord answered me and said: "Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry.” God encourages the prophet hear to take note of what the Lord is revealing, because he and the people would need to run with it. When God speaks, it’s not just to make us feel good. His word also comes to warn us, instruct us, and lead us.
There are some things that God wants to reveal to you in seasons of fasting that may be for a future appointed time and you don’t want to miss anything that God has for you.
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In conclusion…
Allow this time of fasting, consecration, and prayer to be a life giving time. Don’t focus on the lack or the sacrifice. Place your focus on God, His word, and all that He wants to speak and do in your life. Though it can be difficult, fasting is like going to the gym. There will be some pain, resistance, and sweat, but with practice and regularity these spiritual disciplines develop the spiritual muscularity needed for the believer to not alone survive, but thrive in the world that we live in.
Grace and peace!
About The Author:
Pastor Del Augusta is the founder of The Collide, which was a para church ministry that sought to birth revival in this generation through conferences, seminars, and spiritual gatherings. Pastor Del is now the founder of Collide City Church. Collide City Church is a multi-cultural spirit filled church in Fremont, CA.
Born and raised in San Francisco, Del lost his mother at the age of four to death and was raised by his grandmother in a Pentecostal church in San Francisco. He accepted Christ as his savior at the age of 12 and began his Preaching ministry at the young age of 13.
For the past years of ministry Del’s message has been marked with a humorous yet prophetic edge. Having travelled to over 10 countries preaching the gospel, Del’s desire is to see this generation come alive to Jesus in a sustainable way. Known for abruptness, Del believes that this generation is not waiting for more Sunday morning church services where we babysit the youth while the adults do their things. Del’s dream is to see churches awaken to the call to take over the world for Jesus without apology.
