No time like the present

Yesterday we saw that Jesus is our example. Since He fasted, we know we should fast. He fasted for forty days; Daniel did a partial fast for three weeks. You may be thinking that there is no way you could ever fast that long. You don’t have to. If you’ve never fasted before, fast for a meal or for a day to start. What is important to God is your intent and attempt.

Consider this: The first sin involved food. Eve was tempted in the Garden and ate the fruit. By doing so, Eve changed God’s entire plan for her and Adam and mankind. Adam and Eve gave up walking in the Garden with God forever for a piece of fruit. Esau sold his birthright (the special blessing given to the firstborn) to Jacob for bread and lentil stew. He changed the entire plan God had for his life for the immediate gratification of one meal.
 
When the Israelites were in the wilderness, they complained about having only manna to eat. God answered by sending quail. We read in Numbers 11:31 that there was quail three feet high, as far as a person could walk in a day. That’s a lot of quail. Some of the Israelites ate so much quail that they died and were buried right there. In verse 34 it says that the place became known as Kibroth Hattaava, which means The Graves of Lusters. These people missed out on God’s plan for the Promised Land for meat.

I believe God gives us these examples for two reasons. One is to point out that we can choose Him more or we can choose earthly things more. The other reason is to show us how carnal we are. Is God in control or is our stomach in control! There is never a good time to start fasting. There is always a holiday or birthday or something to celebrate. We can so easily talk ourselves into starting next week.

But don’t. Set a time to fast during the 40 Days for Life prayer vigil.

Franklin, Jentezen. “Fasting.” Charisma House, 2008. Chapter 2.