As long as I could remember my parents always fasted, three days, a week or three weeks at a time were the most common in rotation. I don’t even know how old I was when I started to fast because it was so normal in our family. I did my first 23 day fast when I was fourteen. I wish I journaled back then. I would have loved to read through my first ever experience with that (but I hadn’t married my husband yet and he did not teach/force me to journal every night haha so I did not learn that discipline yet. I still struggle with it to be honest…) Anyway from what I could remember though I had the sharpest memory during the fast, I could memorize scripture with a breeze, I loved it!
I have always had these visions of sorts, I’m not even sure how to explain it but it’s in my imagination, where I can envision things, be it someone I’m praying for or myself. I then receive it in my spirit, make a choice to pray on it and tell the Lord I receive what he showed me and then expect it to happen. That simple. (Something that took years to learn though.) Doing that gives me the hope and faith to believe for whatever it is I saw or am praying for. During that fast I had a lot of “visions” regarding my future, I knew I would have a supernatural childbirth (even though I didn’t know anything about giving birth at the time), I had visions doing ministry, saw myself doing things which to this day make no sense to me because they don’t really fit my personality or current life but I still remember them. During the fast I literally felt like if I needed to tell a mountain to move, it would have because I felt like I had the power and authority to do that. I really do wish I could have written things down to look back on because I am living in that future now but oh well, not to regret later I am doing it now :) I also experienced the Lord in crazy unusual ways. We used to have all night prayer services at our church and I would be the first one there, completely loosing track of time, I would be there all night but it only felt like an hour or so. hard to explain some of the experiences because you just have to live through them to fully understand. Or else they may just seem weird or even made up.
Another fast I did that stood out to me was a week long, after graduating high school. It was the month of June, I was seeking guidance from the Lord on what to do next with my life. I finished school so quickly (I was sixteen) that I really had no plan for what to do next. I knew I wanted to do missions, start orphanages and planned on settling down and having a family in AK but that’s what I wanted to do when “I grew up” I didn’t realize I would “grow up” so much faster than I did lol. That week the Lord spoke to both my mother and I about my future husband. I love our story you can read more about it here. Long story short, a year from that June I was saying “I do”as a young seventeen year old having no idea what adventure I was signing up for.
After getting married and being either pregnant or nursing what felt like ALL THE TIME, (I estimated that the total number of years that I nursed all my kids was 7) so it makes sense why I sort of put fasting on hold for about a decade. I loved every moment of nursing! I have no regrets except that if I could go back in time, I would have done it longer with my first few kiddos. Anyway that’s another topic for another day. Stay tuned it’s coming up!
At around year five of my marriage Kyle and I hit a really hard point. I share a bit more on it here. After a moment of tension between us, I left the house thinking that I was done with my marriage. I was alone in the car sobbing, I yelled at the top of my voice telling God that I have tried EVERYTHING that I knew to do, to make things work between us and nothing was working. After all my venting the Lord calmly asked “what about fasting??”
LIGHT BULB lol I haven’t tried that!!!!
To be honest I actually forgot all about it. In the midst of full time mommy hood and moving away from our church and family that did it so regularly, I really did forget about it. At the time I had just recently weaned my second child, so I thought I really don’t have a reason not to try it. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to commit to a full days fast right away, much less multiple days at a time, so I told the Lord I’ll give him my favorite meal and time of day, which happened to be mornings. (I LOVED my mornings. I got up a few hours before the kids and it was the only time of day I felt “sane” lol I’m sure I’m not the only mama out there who felt like that at one point or another? To be fair though I did not have a car, I was a full time stay at home mom in a once again new home (state) with no friends, no TV, no phone or social media like we have now. So I was very alone with babies all day, every day) I got up at 4:30-5 every day so my mornings were loong. I made a commitment not to eat until I had prayed and interceded for my marriage. Sometimes being busy with the kids I wouldn’t get to my first meal until way later in the afternoon but it didn’t matter after a while because I began to see results in my life. My relationship with the Lord grew and I became less focused on my husband and our troubles and more focused on finding Jesus in a new way again. I was sad to give up the fasting season when I got a pregnant. I tell my twins they were a surprise gift from Jesus (we thought we were done having kids for good after our first two but the Lord had other plans in mind!) Even though I had to stop fasting I still gathered my kiddos together every morning and we continued our worship sessions. I remember thinking “how in the world can I send them to school? They would be missing all of this.” We had such sweet moments together in the presence of the Lord. That sure enough I couldn’t do it and now I’m a homeschool mama! Haha
I fully believe that fasting and making a habit of spending time with Jesus daily, were the key components of how I was able to have a Supernatural childbirth with my twins. The Lord revealed himself to me in a more real way than ever before, he taught me how to be a submitted wife not only to my husband but to him first and through that he mended my marriage. It didn’t happen over night and we are still working on some areas to this day but we are together and my heart for sure has changed.
Every time things get slightly mis prioritized I always re evaluate my life and make sure I am doing everything I can to seek Jesus more. Fasting breakfast became normal for me (paired with prayer) and I continued to do it, as soon as I was able to after my babies were born. The Lord called me to it and I see the natural and the Spiritual benefits of it in my personal life. I don’t know about you but I’m a busy mama and if I don’t have something like hunger reminding me to spend time with Jesus every morning, then I tend to forget in the business of my day. I know it’s important to eat and nourish your body well (and I do!) but for me Jesus is a much higher priority and without him I wouldn’t be where I am today, so a little food is absolutely worth the sacrifice!
Last year I came to a place in my relationship with the Lord where I wanted to go even deeper, I was just not satisfied. I prayed for him to show me how and what else I could do to seek him more. He started to reveal to me the gift of fasting again, in an even deeper way.
When I say fast I’m talking about abstaining from all food. Personally I do have hot tea and occasionally coffee or juice but only as a tool to help me keep going. The goal is still to abstain from everything so that with your whole body, soul and Spirit you can experience Jesus on a spiritual level.
We have the same Spirit in us that Jesus had but I personally do not see many people around me who are praying for the sick and raising the dead etc.. I kept asking the Lord why that is.. and my conclusion as of late, is that we live way too much in the natural realm. God is Spirit and that is how we are to connect with him and see him move through us. If our body is more dominant than our Spirit, then how can we expect to do the Supernatural without fully living in Spirit realm? The way we get our body to believe what we confess and read in the word of God is by submitting it to the Lord and one way to do that is by fasting.
Having a relationship with Jesus and having him Lord of my life means, saying NO to self, A LOT, no to addiction, to endless entertainment, scrolling, binging, the control of food and gluttony and so on. The Holy Spirit will naturally lead you away from over indulgences to Himself. He will gently nudge you closer and closer to Jesus and more and more time in his word. For example if you don’t feel like you can hear him, then try tuning some of the noise out of your daily life. Something as simple as not going on your phone for a few days or a week at a time, or saying no to anything else that you know has a hold on your life. Those would be some of the first steps to getting more clarity from the Lord. But be sure when you say no to one thing, you are not over doing another. Use that time to pray, worship and spend time in his word instead of what you would normally be doing. You may not feel anything in the moment but trust that he sees your efforts and over time you WILL see results.
It’s like being on a weight loss or health journey, at first you don’t see any progress and feel like it’s all pointless. But over a prolonged period of time when you compare the before and afters, it’s obvious that it was all worth it. Either it’s the amount of energy or focus that you’ve gained from healthy eating or it is weight loss and more muscle that are the reward. Time will pass anyway, so why not make it worthwhile right? You can either look back and be thankful for the journey or be filled with regret for not trying hard enough.
The more you say “no” to self and “yes” to Jesus the more you will know him. You will get to know the Father for yourself, instead of just hearing about him second hand. He will show you what he created you specifically for. Step by step you will find your calling and true purpose in life. The fulfillment and longing we want more of, is ultimately only found in him. Temporarily things might satisfy but in the long run it leaves you empty, alone and hopeless.
For example:
-Food will always leaves you hungry again, overweight, with an eating disorder and a lot of negativity tied to the addiction. Even if you don’t struggle with too much access weight or a disorder, if it has a grip on you, it takes away from the fullness of what Jesus has in store for you. He said that he is the bread of life and whoever comes to him will not thirst again. Man shall not live by bread alone but by ever word that comes from the mouth of God. (John 6:35. Matthew 4:4)
-Material things leave you still wanting the next best thing, thinking this time I will be happy, content and won’t want anything but we all know that stuff cannot satisfy. After the ten percent high, it always leaves us wanting the next thing. Most of the time the outcome of this lie is debt and that is a whole other level of bondage.
-Social media leaves us feeling empty, comparing ourselves or our lives to others, feeling less than and wanting the next dopamine rush from the screen shorty after the last.
-Workaholics are always striving for a feeling that can never be achieved because that feeling they are wanting is contentment and there is no amount of hours that will give you that. It’s a choice and a state of mind and no one can give it better than Jesus.
-Even a healthy self image and striving for health and an active lifestyle can be a dangerous trap if we are not doing it focused on Jesus and being led by him.
-Screen time addition is also very real and a newer struggle in todays world that most don’t really know how to overcome.
-Alcohol, drugs and any kind of substance abuse, nothing is guaranteed to bring the joy it screams that it will bring. It is all temporary, for some it last longer than others but it will ALWAYS leave you empty and wanting more.
I don’t have personal experience with every one of those “lies” lets call them that but a few of them I did chase. Others I have seen or still see people around me, that are in the trap of thinking that one day they will attain whatever it is they believe it will bring. There's also things like fame, praise or constantly needing validation, people pleasing, and soo many more areas where one can get caught up in heading, to get their fulfillment.
At the end of the day no matter what “lie” we are chasing, it leaves us wanting more. JESUS is the only one that fills us with the fullness of what we are seeking. His love, peace, contentment, and hope for a better tomorrow satisfy like nothing in this world can. Faith in knowing that we are ok and those we love are safe in his arms and we can trust him with EVERYTHING is the greatest fulfillment there is.
All that to say that when we say “no” to self (no matter on what level your no is right now, be it fully to food or just starting with social media or the excess time on your phone) he sees it. He will honor it but only if you stick with it (a lot like those new year goals and new habits we set to reach) it won’t happen if you give up after a few attempts, it must become a life style change that will continue to grow, as you get closer and closer to him.
Last Sunday we had Levi Lusko speak at our church. He told an interesting story about when his girls were taking swim lessons. They got pretty good with back strokes, so the teacher pulled out a heavy rubber brick and laid it on their chest and said to go across the pool. The first time they tried they sunk after a few strokes but over time they could go further and further. Finally after they could go all the way across the pool the instructor said to go again but this time she took the brick off. He was watching from the side and said it looked as if they were levitating above the water while swimming across.
The question he asked was “what are we carrying around that is a heavy brick?” I couldn’t think of anything right away so I prayed and asked the Lord to show me and my two oldest that were with me, what might be something that we are carrying that we are un aware of. The next morning my daughter comes to me and says “mom I took the brick offf” at first I was confused, but she reminded me of the story. She told me it was the foster kitten. (I’ll try to share that full story soon.) She nursed this kitty to health, it was her “baby” she could’t bare to see anything happen to it but she knew that it was also a brick on her chest. She prayed and gave him over to Jesus and let him go (literally out of the kennel and off the leash) he ran off but my daughter was ok with it. She no longer carried the weight of the brick. Well what do you know, the kitty came back! The greater miracle is that the following day we found him a home. He got picked up and is now with his forever family! The lady that came and got him asked about him weeks ago but her husband said no, until that Monday when my daughter gave that brick over to Jesus. He changed his mind. The Lord works in such mysterious ways! Guys there’s no better life than one fully trusting him!
The word of God is alive and it works, but only if we believe. Faith is not a feeling and it is not knowledge, it is the state of our Spirit. If we are not filing ourself with the word of God and his presence DAILY, then how do we expect to live out what Jesus said? If our body can’t even say “no” to eating for a day, then how can it listen to us when we command it to be well? We need to have authority over our body and our mind and that comes with exercising self control and discipline. Making Jesus Lord of our life, which means he has to be pleased with the way we spend our time, what we watch or what we listen to, who we spend our time with and who we are becoming. Even constantly giving him permission to filter our thoughts. It’s WORK guys and a whole lot of commitment but oh the joy it brings! The fulfillment that I can’t find words to describe.
I just recently finished a three week no food fast. The first few days were hard, food seemed to be on my mind a lot. Having to feed your children every two hours didn’t help haha. The habit of eating and snacking is hard to break. The second week, I struggled more in my mind with doubt and things like “I don’t think you heard right, this isn’t for you, you’re not strong or spiritual enough to be doing this,” etc.. Then the enemy tried really hard to focus my eyes on the natural realm of things, the short comings of those around me, the hopelessness of the world, my own weaknesses and shortcomings. But when I ran to Jesus and gave it all to him, (like the brick in the story above) he reminded me that he’s so much bigger than any of that. He is truly all that I need. He called me to do the fast and gave me the strength to make the decision so he would help me through it. I honestly have no idea what the future holds but I do know he’s good and I can safely be crazy excited.
At first when I finished the three weeks I was like, ok this feels different than I thought it would. I imagined being on some sort of mountain top with all these miracles and stories to share but instead I felt like I barely made it because it was soo hard. I was disappointed in myself for not spending even more time with the Lord than on non fasting days, I didn’t memorize all the scripture that I had wanted to memorize. I wasn’t healing anyone sick and I was definitely not raising the dead so to speak. But it’s OK, I always say that hindsight is my superpower, so I figured I would give it some time and then I would see what came of it. If nothing besides the few things I learned then it was all worth it anyway.
The Lord has been showing me things in new ways and teaching me along the way. A few prayers were answered. I’m so grateful and excited. Amongst the hard and the mundane, he’s with me and is so so good.
I hope my thoughts and processing of this topic FASTING made some sense today. It’s definitely a next step in our faith journeys. So depending on where you are and what season of life you are in, do what is the right for you. Don’t just copy someone because something works for them. Pray, seek the Lord and do what he calls you to do. Always remember he loves you, sees you, hears you and knows you better than you know yourself. Trust him with all you’ve got and he will take care of you.
Praying for you dear friends,
Natty
PS. I am not a medical professional. I’m just sharing from my own experience. I come from a healthy place, mentally and physically. If you in either of those areas are not in a very healthy place, than please do not attempt restricting all food. After I was coming off my fast I did some research and realized how crucial it is to be careful. I will say it again, the Lord prepared me a few months ahead for this fast, I wasn’t too educated about it in the physical realm but I was in my Spirit. When the Lord calls you to it he will provide what you need to get through it, so that’s what happened with me. (I did have liquids too) Anyway what I’m trying to say is, please BE CAREFUL let the Lord lead you and teach you. Make this journey personal to you and what he calls you to do. Jesus does give us the example so I believe we are to get to a place where we can live it out but due to medical conditions some people have you need to be careful. Know your limits and your body and what you are capable of. If at all possible do it with someone, the extra support also helps a lot.
Blessings!