Will My Fast Get Me Victory?

Discovering Ruth Q & A

Q:   Does spiritual victory over sin depend on the physical severity of fasting? Is it necessary to completely abstain from food to “weaken the flesh” and receive victory?

A.  No. Fasting is not a shortcut that twists God’s arm to give you victory. It is your sacrifice in your relationship with Him.

If you only see fasting as refusing to eat, then you’re just starving yourself. What makes fasting different is that you’re also praying and spending time with the Lord. It’s about making a more open place in yourself to hear from Him.

In Matthew 6:16-18, Jesus talks about fasting, and He tells us to take care of ourselves so that no one even knows we’re fasting except for God, who sees the secret things that we do. So we can see that to Jesus, fasting isn’t about following certain rules to get certain results, but it has to do with just us and God. It’s about our relationship with Him.

You see, God wants to give us the answers that we are looking for. He’s not trying to hold them back from us or make us starve ourselves to earn them, but He wants us to find those answers by coming to Him.

It says in James 4:8, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you,” and when you fast, that is what you are trying to do. You are not just abstaining from food, but you are using that time to come to Him with an attitude that says, “God, Your Bible says that You reward those who diligently seek You. I want to diligently seek You. I’m even going to fast and deny myself to focus on You. Lord, I’m looking for Your answers.”

I’ve fasted many times throughout my life: I’ve fasted for one day, for 40 days with liquid and vegetables, for 10 days, and I can tell you that in all those times, the Lord spoke to me and blessed me. It wasn’t about how long the fast was or how much I was giving up, but what mattered was that I was giving up food to make space to come to the Lord in prayer.

That step of drawing near is so important if you want to fast in the right way.