THE STRUGGLE TO FAST
Two days ago we had a sudden urge to fast and pray concerning an issue. It was in the middle of the day and when we woke up that morning, we had no plans to take a fast. Then we felt a sudden strong conviction that we should eat nothing till the next morning so we will be better focused on the issue and pray. First, we were happy about it and we longed for the tremendous power felt in the presence of God during prayers and fasting. We also thought of this Biblical verse, “this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting” Matthew 17: 21. We were convinced that we needed to fast.
When we passed by our kitchen. We could see our pot of eru staring at us in the face. It looked ‘miserable’ and needed someone to rescue it from its ‘misery’ by eating from it. To make matters worse, there was a lone wrap of garri lying idle on our counter top, waiting for someone who could use it to eat the eru. As we paced about in the kitchen, a feeling of sadness came over us. We noticed all the good food we couldn’t eat and we felt miserable.We started advising myself, saying we were only fasting out of fear and not out of faith. We struggled to convince myself that the fasting wasn’t necessary and we even licked some of the Eru when we fed our baby girl. However, a voice kept telling us that it wasn’t too late to focus on the fast. After much going back and forth, we succumbed. It was the most wonderful experience! That evening, we were a lot more focused and we had supernatural strength to do a lot of things. When we settled in to pray at night, it was an awesome time. Our supernatural strength continued right into the morning when we could fold mountains of clean clothes that had been occupying valuable real estate in the bed rooms in our house.It is notable how God works when we let Him into our lives. He begins to touch even areas that we least expect Him to touch, When Jesus told the woman at the well to give Him a drink, she was reluctant but when she did, He touched an area of her life she least expected. He spoke about her marriage to multiple husbands, which was the major issue she was battling with.When we prayed in our period of fasting, we felt God’s peace sweep over us. Suddenly, we had no worries and the things we thought were so hard to do became so easy. The struggle to fast is so worth it! It takes you from a place of self-reliance, to a place of total reliance on God.The next morning, the garri and eru didn’t have as much appeal. When we sat down to eat, we didn’t devour loads of food as we had planned. The temptation to eat only came so strong because we were abstaining from food. It may take a struggle to fast but fasting has many benefits for you:Spiritual Benefits
When we passed by our kitchen. We could see our pot of eru staring at us in the face. It looked ‘miserable’ and needed someone to rescue it from its ‘misery’ by eating from it. To make matters worse, there was a lone wrap of garri lying idle on our counter top, waiting for someone who could use it to eat the eru. As we paced about in the kitchen, a feeling of sadness came over us. We noticed all the good food we couldn’t eat and we felt miserable.We started advising myself, saying we were only fasting out of fear and not out of faith. We struggled to convince myself that the fasting wasn’t necessary and we even licked some of the Eru when we fed our baby girl. However, a voice kept telling us that it wasn’t too late to focus on the fast. After much going back and forth, we succumbed. It was the most wonderful experience! That evening, we were a lot more focused and we had supernatural strength to do a lot of things. When we settled in to pray at night, it was an awesome time. Our supernatural strength continued right into the morning when we could fold mountains of clean clothes that had been occupying valuable real estate in the bed rooms in our house.It is notable how God works when we let Him into our lives. He begins to touch even areas that we least expect Him to touch, When Jesus told the woman at the well to give Him a drink, she was reluctant but when she did, He touched an area of her life she least expected. He spoke about her marriage to multiple husbands, which was the major issue she was battling with.When we prayed in our period of fasting, we felt God’s peace sweep over us. Suddenly, we had no worries and the things we thought were so hard to do became so easy. The struggle to fast is so worth it! It takes you from a place of self-reliance, to a place of total reliance on God.The next morning, the garri and eru didn’t have as much appeal. When we sat down to eat, we didn’t devour loads of food as we had planned. The temptation to eat only came so strong because we were abstaining from food. It may take a struggle to fast but fasting has many benefits for you:Spiritual Benefits
- You gain a new desire for God
- Your prayer is more intense and focused
- You deal away issues that can only leave through fasting
- You experience emotional wellness
- Your spiritual strength is renewed
- You can overcome negative habits through fasting
- It helps your body detoxify
- It helps you loose weight
- People have seen improvement in their blood pressure, insulin and cholesterol levels while fasting.
- It promotes longevity because your digestive system doesn’t have to work as much.
