Latest / The Father's Business Podcast / Prayer Unfiltered: Does Fasting Make Your Prayers More Powerful? (Part 1)

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Prayer Unfiltered: Does Fasting Make Your Prayers More Powerful? (Part 1) · The Father's Business Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: Fasting reveals that something has a stronger hold on us than we realize.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_01: And that realization is not meant to shame us.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_01: It's actually an invitation into freedom because we're going back to the heart of things in that moment when we realize that we get the invitation to go back to the heart of Jesus is meant to be the one to fulfill us.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: Hey friends, I'm Kimberly.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm Elizabeth, and this is the Father's Business Podcast, born out of Sylvia Gunter's heart for people to know who God is and who they are in Him.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_01: So wherever you're listening from today, we pray that you will sense his nearness and know that you are his beloved sons and daughters.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_01: We're really glad you're here with us today.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_01: Hey everyone, welcome to the Father's Business Podcast.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_01: We are glad you're with us today.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_01: We are continuing in our series, Prayer Unfiltered.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_01: We're talking about honest questions that we have about talking with God.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_01: So today we're actually going to start a two-part conversation about fasting.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_01: This is something we haven't covered yet.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_01: It's one of those subjects that can stir up some different reactions in people.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_01: Some people have experienced fasting as times of meaningful connection with God, meaningful times of seeking God, and others have been taught that fasting is this missing ingredient and that when they fast, you'll finally produce the answer that you're desperately looking for.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_01: We want to talk about fasting today and the questions that it can bring up in regard to prayer.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and Kimberly, I think there's a lot of questions underneath the question about should I fast or how do I fast?
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I think a lot of that is, does fasting make my prayers more powerful?
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: Will God be more willing to answer my prayers if I'm fasting?
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: Does it prove I'm more serious about the request that I'm asking for?
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: There's also the question of what if medically I can't fast from food.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: And that is one thing I want to say up front pretty quickly.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: We are not giving you any type of advice on whether to fast or not fast, as far as the uh specifics formulas of how to do it.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: We we are not medical professionals and we do not want to in any way encourage you to do anything that would be against something maybe your doctor would tell you to do.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: Because as we get in this conversation, we're gonna talk about there's a lot of kind of fast, right?
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: But I think we mainly think about a food.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: And then I think the other question that we kind of keep circling in all these conversations, Kimberly, is did I do it wrong?
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: Did I not fast enough?
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: If I'd fasted longer or different, would God have answered my prayer?
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: So I think there's a lot of questions beneath the surface of the question about does God call us to fast and pray?
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Elizabeth, I think the key thing to remember when we talk about fasting and prayer is that fasting is not about us convincing God to do something.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_01: It's not about us manipulating him.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_01: We have talked about that through several of these conversations regarding prayer and how we approach it.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: But fasting in particular, it's an invitation to bring our whole selves to God.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: Fasting can reveal what we're hungry for, it can reveal what we depend upon, it can reveal what comforts us, it can reveal what distracts us, and it can reveal what is competing with God for our deepest attention and focus.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_01: And so today's episode, we're really going to talk about how fasting is learning to want God more than the answer to our prayer.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_01: So as we jump into this conversation, let's talk first, Elizabeth, about what is fasting.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_01: In particular, what is Christian fasting?
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think in scripture, Kimberly, you know, we've both read a lot of different verses and things about fasting.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: And for the most part, it is talking about abstaining from food for a period of time.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's a complete fast, like no food, no water.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: Other times it's a partial fast where you abstain from certain types of food.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: It can be for a 24-hour period, a meal, there's been fasts recorded up to 40 days.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: So there's lots of different types of fasting.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: There can be personal fasting, there can be corporate fasting.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: But there's also references in scripture that talk about it being abstaining from other things.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: And honestly, Kimberly, in in our lives, I think maybe fasting from my phone would be harder than fasting from food these days.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Elizabeth, our phone is our biggest distraction these days.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_01: So I mean, we are dealing with addictions to phones and to technology these days.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_01: So to actually fast from a device, maybe I run to it a little bit quicker than I run to food sometimes.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_01: So it's yeah, interesting to think about.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, a couple of weeks ago, they had to repair my phone and I didn't have it for eight hours, and I did not realize how much I try to reach for that.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: Or I remember I even told you later, I was like, I didn't know how to get anywhere because I didn't have directions and I didn't know how to look something up because I didn't have my phone.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: And it's just you realize how often you're reaching for that.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: So as we talk about fasting, it may be that we're called to fast from food, or it may be that God calls us to fast from something else.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: But the point of it is it's not the act that we do, it's the inward motivation for it, right?
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: It's allowing ourselves to deny ourselves something so that we can focus more on what we want to hear from God or what we want to say to God.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: So I think sometimes fasting is connected with grief.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: Oftentimes when we're going through hard times, we lose our appetite.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: It can be repentance, it can be discernment, it can be interceding for someone else.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: There's lots of different reasons to fast.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: And one of the key scriptures that people often think about when you think about fasting is in Joel.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: And so I just want to read that for us.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: It's Joel 2, 12 to 13, and it says, Yet even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: So rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in love, and he relents from sending disaster.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: So there's a phrase in there that says, Rend your hearts and not your garments.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's going to be a key theme for us as we talk about this.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: Because in those times when Joel was written to these people, they would often rend or tear at their clothes as an outward expression of sorrow, of grief, or repentance.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: And what this verse is trying to say is you can't just do the outward act.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's about the heart.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: So rend your heart, not your garments.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I think as we walk through this idea of fasting and what does it mean, that is something very important for us to hold on to because God's not looking for dramatic behavior.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: He's not going to respond because I am more fervent about something.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: He's looking at our hearts.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: He always is.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: We we hear that throughout scripture that he knows the motivations of our hearts.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: So the outward act of fasting alone is not what's going to move God's heart.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's not, as you're talking, I'm thinking about like a performance too.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_01: It's not a religious performance.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_01: It's God saying, I want your heart.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_01: That's still the heart of fasting today.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_01: We're not walking around rending our garments, but we're doing other things to show an outward appearance of something.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_01: And so the reality is that we can stop eating and never truly still turn to God.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I can say I'm gonna fast for lunch, but then choose to pick up my phone or call a friend or go read a book.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_01: Like I can not eat and still not turn to God.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_01: I can become hungry without becoming humble.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_01: We can abstain from food and continue to live in a place of control and anger and bitterness, judgment, pride, all those things.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_01: So skipping that meal is not automatically a spiritual act.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_01: It's more about what's the question underneath that, which is is abstaining from that creating space for you to become more attentive, to seek God, to sit at his feet, to allow him to search you, to bring him your need.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_01: Are you listening to him?
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_01: Are you are you allowing that hunger to remind you that he is your source of fulfillment?
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_01: Or are we simply enduring some discomfort because we hope it's going to produce an answer for us?
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I I often joke sometimes that I have fasted before, but oftentimes I find myself more focused on how hungry I am or how long I have to wait until I can eat something.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: And so the food may not be the best way for me to fast and for God to have my full attention.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: But as you're talking, Kimberly, I'm thinking about Matthew 6, where Jesus is speaking.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: And he says in Matthew 6, 16 to 18, it says, When you fast, do not be somber about it like the hypocrites, for they disfigured their faces to show men they are fasting.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: Truly I tell you, they have already had their full reward.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: But when you fast, anoint your head, wash your face, so that your fasting will not be obvious to men, but only to your father who is unseen, and your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: And there's two key things in there, kind of what you're talking about.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's not a performance.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: Like Jesus said, don't fast just to prove to other people how spiritual you are and walk around moaning and complaining that you're hungry all the time.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: Do it in secret so that the Father sees your heart.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: But I think it's also interesting in there, he says, when you fast, there is an assumption on Jesus' part that this was part of the spiritual discipline.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I think some people have argued that, well, fasting that was for the Old Testament, you know, or that, you know, we we're under a new covenant and we have God's grace and all these types of things.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: And this is part of the conversation I think we need to have is there's an assumption by Jesus that they're going to do it.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's not if you fast, it's when you fast.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: Some of that could have been because that was the culture at the time.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: The Pharisees fasted.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: That's who he's talking about, being hypocrites in this, is that they would fast to make sure everyone knew they were fasting.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: So is it a cultural thing, or is he truly saying to us as his followers, this is a practice I expect you to be a part of?
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it wasn't that Jesus was condemning fasting.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_01: It was that Jesus was really condemning that desire to be seen and admired for people.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_01: Like he taught us about fasting and he desired for us to fast because it brings us back to that relationship with God where we are focusing on him.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_01: I'm focusing intentionally on being his daughter.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_01: My friend over here is focusing intentionally on being his son.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_01: We're focusing on being his children and we're coming to him with our greatest needs.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_01: And we're choosing to say, I don't want to focus on my discomfort.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want to focus on my desires.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: I want to take those things to Jesus and not show the world that I'm hangry when I'm not eating, right?
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_01: It's not, look how serious I am because I'm fasting.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_01: I'm hangry today.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: Well, why are you hangry, Kimberly?
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_01: Because I'm fasting to seek the Lord.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_01: That's not the intent of it.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_01: It's about saying, Father, I'm here.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_01: I'm here with you.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_01: I'm here and I want to become more aware of your presence and I want to seek you.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think it's what John the Baptist said in John 3.30, which is he must increase and I must decrease.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: So it doesn't mean we become less valuable or less loved, but it is a choice that I am going to not allow myself to have something that I want.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: I am going to give up some of my control.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: I am going to not be as self-sufficient and taking care of my own needs.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's kind of loosening the grip in some ways when we're fasting.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: And it's allowing us to say, God, you mean more to me than whatever it is that I'm fasting from, whether that's food or my phone or other things that we'll talk about.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: It's saying, as much as I desire this, I desire you more.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: And food is not the enemy.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: I want to say that loud and clear, especially if we have people listening who may struggle with eating disorders in any way.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_00: Again, these are these are all the things that need to be considered as you consider fasting.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: Food is a gift from God.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I love that gift.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: It's one of my favorite things to do is enjoy a really good meal.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: Now, it doesn't always have to be sugar, although I do like sugar, but just a really good meal is something that I enjoy a lot.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: So food is not the problem, but it's something that we depend on and something that we need that we can also choose to abstain from for a time.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: And it allows us to say, God, I'm choosing you above something that I want.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_00: And so it's it's laying down some of my desire because I want to say with not only my spirit and my soul, but with my body, I desire you more.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it can be a test, so to speak, of what masters us of what we live for.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's the one reason it can be so revealing is because, like you said, if we decide not to eat for a period of time, suddenly all you can think about is food.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_01: You decide to step away your phone within a few minutes, you're reaching for it without a conscious thought, right?
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_01: You you choose not to complain and you realize how many of your conversations begin with what's wrong in the world, what's wrong in life, right?
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: You're getting a little too personal, Kimberly.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I know, I know.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_01: I don't like it either.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_01: Trust me.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_01: If you if you decide, we've often talked about how I love accessories and sunglasses and things like that.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_01: You decide you're gonna stop buying unnecessary things and you discover that shopping can be your comfort, your excitement, or your escape, then you realize I'm running to something.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_01: What else am I gonna run to?
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_01: So fasting reveals that something has a stronger hold on us than we realize.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_01: And that realization is not meant to shame us.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_01: It's actually an invitation into freedom because we're going back to the heart of things in that moment when we realize that we get the invitation to go back to the heart of Jesus is meant to be the one to fulfill us.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_01: Really like John 10, 10, that the thief comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_01: But Jesus says, I've come to give you life, an abundant life.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_01: And I often talk about how I love that verse because I think it so summarizes our hearts and what we long for and what Jesus comes to do.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_01: And yet we're always longing for that.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_01: We're longing for him to give us that abundant life because most days we don't feel like we have it.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_01: And I think fasting actually shows us, fasting actually gives us an opportunity to turn to him and allow him to be that abundance for us because it stops us from running to all the other things.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_01: And Elizabeth, I think as we see the abundance that Jesus has for us, it also reminds us that so often we are bowing our hearts to another master, to use that language.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_01: And so I think it's an opportunity to just say, Father, I don't want to bow my heart to another master.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want comfort to rule me.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want food to rule me.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want fear to rule me.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want my appetite, my anger, words, my need for approval, my desire for control, my desire for fulfillment through shopping or anything that makes me quickly feel better.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_01: I'm just saying, Jesus, I don't want those things to rule me.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_01: I belong to you.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_01: And it's submitting yourself back to the authority, which we've talked about in other conversations about our prayer life.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_01: It's submitting ourselves back to under the authority of Christ is the one who rules us and we belong to him.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_01: And when we're walking in that alignment, we really do experience freedom and wholeness.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_01: And it's still hard, but fasting can change us.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_01: It can definitely change our perspective, it can change our hearts.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: Kimberly, as you're talking about that, I do think of the times that I have chosen fasting in my life, the vast majority of them have not been because I'm praying, asking God to change a situation or praying for a particular thing.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: Most of the time when that has happened, I'm either getting ready to speak at an event or we're in the writing process, or there's something going on where I'm going to be pouring out to other people.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_00: And my question quickly comes, is my heart ready?
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_00: Am I full of as much of God that I need to be before I pour myself out to other people?
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: And so I I sometimes fast from food.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_00: Mine more often is I'll fast from sugar, because as we've talked about on other podcasts, that's one of my broken cisterns.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll just be like, okay, I'm not gonna have any sweets right now, kind of like people give things up for Lent.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: Or I have fasted from television, I have fasted from social media.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: Like there's different ways that I have fasted, but as I look back through my life, it hasn't been because there's a there's a pressing need in my life that I need God to give me an answer for.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: It has been much more about I need my heart to be in the right place for me, for my relationship with God before I choose to stand up in a place and teach or speak to others.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: So I I totally agree with what you're saying about it being more about our hearts being brought back into alignment and to make sure we're not chasing after other things, that we're not the she camel and heat sniffing the wind, as we've talked about in Jeremiah.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's where so many people are going to have a different perspective of fasting.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_01: They've seen it in different, you know, we've we all have our own experiences that we bring to the table and our understanding of the word and our understanding of how it's been taught to us.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_01: And so if we're seeking, truly seeking to get our hearts back in a right perspective, back into alignment, back into a place of wanting to overflow as we teach others or lead others or whatever, then then we are seeking, we're trying our best to seek the heart of God.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_01: And yet there are other times where people have fasted intentionally to say, I need an answer.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_01: And I need to surrender this in order to hear from you about this, right?
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_01: And so I think that is a question sometimes people have is does fasting can it change God?
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_01: Can it change his answer?
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: And here we go into the deep end of the pool, Kimberly.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I don't think there's a an easy yes or no answer to that question.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: In some ways, no.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: Fasting does not take a God who's unwilling to answer you and turn him into a God who is willing to answer you.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: Like that, it doesn't turn him, as we talked about in our other podcast a few weeks ago, about the unrighteous judge or the neighbor that doesn't want to get up out of his bed to help the one who needs bread.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't change the nature of who God is.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: He is a loving father who wants to speak to his children.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_00: And yet there are times when we are commanded in scripture, even the verse we read in Joel about render hearts and do it with prayer and fasting and all these types of things.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: There are times in scriptures where we're told to fast and pray.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: So I think there's something in the heart of God that can be moved.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: And this is, I'm gonna have to park this one in the mysteries of God category, where I don't think it's a formula that if I choose to fast, God is going to change his mind about what I'm asking him for.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's not a magic lamp I rub and all of a sudden I get my wishes from the genie.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_00: But I do think there's something there, or Jesus himself would not say, when you fast, when you pray, when you when you do these types of things.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_00: It was part of the expected spiritual disciplines of the Christian life.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_01: We can look in scripture and see times where there was fasting and then there were unanswered prayers.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_01: As an example, Psalm 35, 13.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_01: David is surprisingly honest here, and he said, Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth, I humbled myself with fasting, but my prayers returned unanswered.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_01: So David humbled himself, he fasted, he prayed, and the prayers weren't answered.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe they weren't answered in the way he desired.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_01: It just says they returned unanswered.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_01: So it's important to remember that scripture does not teach us that fasting guarantees an outcome.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_01: We we've talked about that throughout this series.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_01: Like you cannot pray a certain way.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_01: You don't, there's not this formula to rub the genie in the bottle and get Jesus to come out and do exactly what you want him to do.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_01: Or even get him to do whatever, whatever.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's just, it doesn't work that way.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_01: And so, you know, a sincere fast may also lead to an unanswered prayer.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_01: And here's what we want you to hear, though.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_01: That doesn't mean that it was unimportant.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_01: That doesn't mean that it wasn't what you were called to do.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_01: That doesn't mean that it was unsuccessful.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't mean that you lacked faith.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't mean that the fast was too short or too long.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_01: We can't look at those things.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't mean that you failed.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_01: And just because you fast and you get hungry and you cheat doesn't mean you failed.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_01: Like this isn't about, I mean, truly, like we cannot be that legalistic about things.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_01: If this is about our heart and turning our heart to our Father, his heart is not standing there waiting on us to take one little bite to break our fast or waiting on us to buy one little thing to break that shopping fast or use the wrong word over here when we're choosing to be careful with our words and our phrases and not complaining or whatever.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_01: He's not waiting on us to fail.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_01: And that failing, even if it does come, that doesn't change him answering our prayers.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_01: The perfect fast doesn't change him answering our prayers.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_01: Fasting is not a contract that is obligating God to do what we ask.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_01: Again, as we have talked about in this series, fasting is not about us performing correctly.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_01: It's about trusting in the confidence and the character of God and who he is.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Kimberly, I think we see a beautiful picture of that when you even see Jesus, because you remember he is led into the wilderness and he fasts for 40 days, right?
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_00: And then he's tempted by the enemy.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I love the fact that right before that happens is when the father declares, This is my son in whom I'm well pleased.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_00: So the order is not Jesus fasted for 40 days, so therefore God said, You're my son in whom I'm well pleased.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_00: He said, You're my son in whom I'm well pleased, and then Jesus fasted for 40 days.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's just a very sweet picture talking about just exactly what you're talking about.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_00: Our identity as a beloved son or daughter of God most high is secure in him, whether we fast or not.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_00: Now, think of us as human parents.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_00: Do we delight when our children are obedient and follow after the guidelines that we give them?
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_00: But that does not mean we love them less when they screw up.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: That becomes a teaching opportunity.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_00: We go through a restoration process with them and we help them learn how to make a better decision the next time.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: So just as you're saying, Kimberly, even if you say I'm gonna fast for three days and two and a half days in, you eat something because you're just so hungry, I agree with you that God is still looking at you and saying, There's my beloved daughter.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_00: And in this process, she is learning of me, she's learning about herself, she's hearing things of me, and she is trying to show me her devotion.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_00: So I think a lot of the questions that we Get about fasting come from a performance place.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I think our heart has always been at the Father's business that we know that He is a loving father and we are His beloved children.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: And so fasting becomes a part of a relationship, not a requirement in order to be accepted.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_01: When we're talking about fasting, we have to look at Isaiah 58, because it's one of the key passages where God talks about fasting.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_01: The people were fasting and they were frustrated because God was not impressed with their fasting and they were saying, Why have we fasted then and you've not seen us?
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_01: And God was revealing to them that their religious practice was disconnected from the way that they were living and the way they were treating others.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_01: And he was saying, You're abstaining from food, but you're continuing in strife and you're continuing to exploit people and accuse people and you're continuing with injustice and all those things.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_01: So their fasting had not really produced love.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_01: And so in Isaiah 58, we see where God says, This is the fast that I have chosen.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_01: And in Isaiah 58, starting in verse 6, it says, Isn't this the fast that I have chosen?
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_01: To break the chains of wickedness, to untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free, and tear off every yoke.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_01: Isn't it to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and the homeless into your home, to clothe the naked when you see them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_01: Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will come quickly.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_01: Your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_01: Then you will call and the Lord will answer.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_01: You will cry out and he will say, Here I am.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_01: If you remove the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and malicious talk.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_01: And if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light will go forth in the darkness, and your night will be like noonday.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_01: The Lord will always guide you, he will satisfy you in a sun scorched land, and strengthen your frame.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_01: You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_01: Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins, you will restore the age old foundations, you will be called repairer of the breach, restorer of the streets of dwelling.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_01: The reference to that is Isaiah 58, starts in verse 6 and ends in verse 12.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_01: And so the first thing that God is saying there is that fasting cannot be disconnected from how we're living, from how we're treating people.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_01: It's clear in this passage that we cannot refuse ourselves food and yet clench our fist at other people.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_01: That we can't get hangry, basically, right?
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_01: That we we can't choose to walk in anger and injustice and all of those things.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_01: The scripture was saying.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_01: You'll notice in that scripture as it moves through the entire passage that the person who empties himself before God becomes someone through whom God brings nourishment, refreshment, restoration, repair life.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_01: And so fasting becomes so much more than a private deprivation of something.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_01: It becomes a life that's offered to God, surrendered to God, so that God can do amazing things through his people.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and that I think that's what we keep bringing up in this, Kimberly, is it's so much more than the outward act, it's the inward heart.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I can imagine God getting quite angry with his people because they're we're fasting, we're doing the religious thing you told us to do, and yet there's so much disunity and criticism and anger and not looking out for the needs of those and injustice going on that he's like, I don't care about your religious acts right now.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_00: I care about your heart.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_00: There's a whole section in Prayer Essentials for Living in His Presence, volume one, that my mom wrote that is about fasting.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_00: And one of the things in there she talks about is her own time where she she did fast from time to time from food, but God challenged her to fast from words.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_00: And by that I mean critical, bitter, negative, judgmental, complaining words.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I remember when she did it, then she wrote about it in a book a little while later.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_00: And that I mean, it wasn't just once, there were several times.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_00: She's like, I need to go back on the fast again.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_00: And it's amazing how much you don't realize you're grumbling and complaining until you focus on the fact that you're going to fast from grumbling and complaining.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_00: Kind of like we said, we don't know how addicted we're to our phones until we try not to use them.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_00: And it was more about the Holy Spirit pointing out things in her heart and bringing her to a place of repentance and bringing her to a place where she could have a spiritual discipline to put a guard over her mouth, as it talks about in Psalm 141, 3, set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth, keep watch at the door of my lips.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_00: And that became a very personal, practical way for her to say, I'm going to fast from negative words.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I I have done it as well.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I read it in her book and have been around her enough to know.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_00: And Kimberly, it's a whole lot harder than you think it is.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_00: And in some ways, harder than fasting from food.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_00: Because we we are just often like, and in particular, my gift and hers being a profit gift, when we look at the redemptive gifts, we're always trying to do things with excellence and looking for ways that things could be done better and improving.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_00: And the opposite side of being excellent is pointing out what's wrong.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_00: So I think for us in particular, it became a discipline that needed to happen so that I could follow the command of God, which is in everything give thanks.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_00: For this is the will of God.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_00: Like you want to know the will of God?
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_00: It's to give thanks in all things.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_00: And so, how can I walk into a situation or see a person and not have my first words sound critical and negative versus allowing God to massage and soften my own heart because that's what happens every time I've done a fast of words.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_00: In the end, it has nothing to do with the other people around me.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_00: Their behavior may not change.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_00: What happens is my heart becomes more tender, my heart becomes less critical, and I probably become a nicer person to be around.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_00: So there's all types of fasts that we can do.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's part of our challenge that we want to give you today is spend some time with God and ask him, what does fasting look like in our relationship between you and your father?
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_00: Is this a time where you want me to be praying and fasting about this situation?
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_00: Or is this a time where I'm supposed to lay this one in your hands and understand that me doing more isn't going to make this outcome change?
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_01: Elizabeth, what you were sharing there about your mom's story, I think it's, you know, it can be convicting to a lot of us because I also can be very critical with my words.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_01: And I think over and over and over again in scripture, we hear verses that are telling us how to use our tongues differently, how to use our words differently, using words that edify.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_01: And so I think that's something that's very practical and something we can be very much aware of because I don't think that every fast, it doesn't have to involve food.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_01: In scripture, we can see that fasting often involves abstaining from food.
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_01: But again, we've got to look down at what other things control us these days.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_01: I think a lot of times Jesus was saying, I'm the bread of life.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_01: And so there was a connection to abstaining from practical bread to look at him as the manna from heaven.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_01: You know, he's gonna provide for you.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_01: There's scriptures over and over using that as an illustration.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_01: And today I think it's about recognizing that we've got to look at intentionally setting things aside and being very aware that fasting should not be something that's going to harm you.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_01: You should not fast from certain types of food or water or all food and water without consulting a doctor because fasting is not meant to intentionally harm your body.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_01: So we need to not be unwise.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_01: We are a body as well as a soul and a spirit.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_01: And so remember that.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_01: Know your physical limitations.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe there are people who are pregnant or who have chronic illnesses going on and they don't need to be fasting from food.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_01: Or maybe they do, and that's what they are choosing to do because the Lord gives them that wisdom.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_01: But please seek wisdom on that and know that God does not want us to fatten up our spirit at the expense of killing our bodies.
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_01: We are one being, right?
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_01: So when we think about fasting overall, I think a central question would be not just what am I giving up, but it's what am I making room for?
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_01: What am I making room for?
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_01: Who am I making room for?
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_01: How do I turn toward prayer and scripture and silence and contemplative practices such as fasting and journaling so that I can seek the Lord and ask him, how can I make room for you?
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_01: How do I make more room for you in my life?
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_01: And when you think about what am I making room for, recognize that as an example, if you're giving up social media, but you're going to replace it with hours of Netflix, that's not creating space, you know, whatever, whatever your drug of choice is, to be honest.
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_01: Like make room for God, for the things of God, for times of silence with him, for times of seeking him, for times of talking with him, for times of worshiping him, whatever that looks like, that can be creative, but not another substitute.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's where it goes back to.
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I think people get frustrated with us sometimes and we're like, ask God.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_00: But that really is where it comes back to is you have your own personal relationship with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_00: He knows you better than anyone else can know you.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_00: So for us to sit here and go, okay, this is how you fast specifically would not be fair or honest.
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it's coming to God and asking him the question, what does it look like to create space in a healthy way to know you more?
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_00: And just as we all have different broken cisterns, the answer to that question may be different.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_00: And if you've never tried fasting before, don't start with a 40-day fast.
• 31:25
  SPEAKER_00: That's that's not where we need to begin.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's you skip a meal and spend time with the father, or you put your phone away for the evening and say, I'm not gonna look at my phone.
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_00: And like you just said, Kimberly, you don't then go, well, then I'm gonna binge watch this new show.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_00: It's I'm gonna put this time aside to enjoy you in worship, read the word.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_00: However, you enjoy God, it's about taking something away from myself to make more room for him.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_00: And for each of us, that's gonna look very different.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_00: For Kimberly, it may be that she doesn't go shopping for an afternoon.
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_00: For me, it might be I need to stop complaining and being critical and pointing out what everyone could be doing better in their life.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_00: So all of us have these things, and it may just be not even giving up something, it may be choosing silence.
• 32:14
  SPEAKER_00: Because how many of us, even when you get in the car, you immediately turn on the podcast, you turn on the radio, you turn on something.
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's just driving to your next destination in silence and seeing what God might want to say to you.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_00: So allowing God to help kind of mold this in you because He knows you, He knows how to shepherd your heart, He knows what to do.
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe our invitation this week is just to simply ask the question, what does it look like to create more space for you so I can hear you more and you can be more deeply involved in my life this week?
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_00: So for those of you that have never tried fasting, or maybe it's been a minute since you fasted, I would say give it a shot.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_00: And like we do with everything else, like don't start with the major decision in your life that is critical.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_00: And you feel like if I don't hear direction from God on this, I don't know what to do.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_00: Let let's do baby steps.
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_00: Let's start somewhere small and try it.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_00: Taste and see that the Lord is good, even in the midst of enjoying yourself in his presence as you allow yourself to fast from something.
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_00: And we'd love to hear how it goes.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_00: You know, for those of you out there who maybe are trying this for the first time, you've never really thought about fasting before.
• 33:25
  SPEAKER_00: We'd love to hear from you through emails or respond as a comment to this podcast what worked, what didn't, did it feel like anything to you?
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_00: Did it not?
• 33:34
  SPEAKER_00: Because sometimes you pray and you fast and you kind of look around and go, Well, I did it, but you don't really see the results of it.
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_00: Other times God shows up and meets you in a very meaningful way.
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what I love so much about Jesus is he doesn't treat us all the same, and he doesn't speak to me the way that he speaks to Kimberly or he speaks to everyone listening to this podcast.
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_00: We have our own individual relationships with him.
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_00: He knows us, he knows how to say things that speak to us, and he will meet us in these places.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_00: So don't create another rule and another religious practice that you have to follow.
• 34:09
  SPEAKER_00: Kind of like we all set resolutions in January, and by the middle of January, we failed at them.
• 34:14
  SPEAKER_00: That's not what this is.
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_00: It's an invitation to explore your relationship with your Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in maybe a different way than you have before.
• 34:22
  SPEAKER_00: So we're gonna come back next week and we're gonna talk a little bit more specifically about some other scriptures that talk about different types of fasting and kind of the connection between prayer and fasting.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_00: So we hope you'll join us next week for more.
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_00: This podcast is made possible through donations by people like you.
• 34:41
  SPEAKER_00: To donate, go to www.thefathersbusiness.com.
• 34:46
  SPEAKER_00: Be sure to follow us at thefathersbiz on Instagram and Facebook.