Fasting is about what we’re making room for. We are exchanging what we need to survive for what we need to live–more of God. Here are five spiritual benefits to fasting:
Our bodies are the temple of the Lord, especially when deciding what to eat! We give our bodies a break from the digestive process, but we also allow our spirits to be detoxed.
We need God to live, just as need food to live. When we realize we need God more than we need food, we can understand when the Psalmist wrote, “Like the deer after water, my soul longs for You.” God is the sustainer of all life.
Fasting allows us to emit a deeper praise as we think about everything God is to us and all He has done. Once we get caught up in our desire for God and our praise for His might acts, we won’t have time to be hungry or count the hours until our fast is over. We’ll be celebrating the whole time!
When we detox the spirit and become consumed with desire and praise for God, we become sensitive to His voice. Fasting can train our ear to hear Him through fasting, prayer, study and praise.
When you finish your fast, renewed, full of engery, detoxed, with a new praise and sensitivity to God’s voice, you’ll find that the absence of food was small in comparison to what you gained. When you are fed from doing the work of the Lord, you will find a new satisfaction.
