The Role of Fasting
What does a discussion of God have to do with a book on becoming beautifully, healthfully and gloriously thin for life? After all, losing weight, dieting, and exercising are all a matter of willpower, discipline, and brain-retraining, right?
Not entirely. In fact, God has a very important role to play in your becoming the person you want to be, so that you can overcome the negative habits and behaviors that have so long kept you from reaching your goals.
No false god will ever fill you up. Every time I’ve tried to do a juice fast—and I do believe fasting is biblical and important—without prayer, the fasting hasn’t worked.
What kind of an impact can fasting have in your life? Consider this analogy. When you’re trying to figure something out—to make a big decision or understand what God wants you to do—it’s like standing out in the ocean and not being able to see any of the fish. Fasting is like donning scuba gear and putting on the mask. Suddenly you can see beneath the surface. You can see the color of the fish; you can see what’s going on.
There are a couple of things that fasting does. First, it opens your eyes to things you may not see otherwise.
Fasting goes hand-in-hand with prayer. If you’re fasting but not praying, the fasting won’t be as powerful. It’s important to pray and try to listen to what God wants you to do. You may recall that in Psalm 35:13, King David humbled himself with fasting. Fasting is like getting our minds back to the reality that we aren’t self-sufficient, that we need God to help us in so many situations. That’s absolutely true with overeating, as well.
Second, fasting can transform your prayer life into a richer, more personal experience. You can hear the Holy Spirit louder. I also believe fasting helps humble us.
In 2 Chronicles 7:14, God says, If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.