FASTING
January 15, 2021
Prayer: Father, I find strength in You. I need Your help with crucifying my flesh and strengthening my spirit. Please give me grace to push my plate back and have self-control. I repent for letting my stomach be my god. You are the One True and Living God who gives me joy. In Jesus’s name, amen.
Scripture: So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.” Mark 9:29 NKJV
Is living a life of fasting impossible? Are we too busy as teachers to devote time to God? Why does the Bible instruct us to crucify our flesh daily? It is not impossible to live a life of fasting. If it were, Jesus would not have demonstrated how it could be done. He fasted for 40 days. So, for 40 days, Jesus crucified His flesh and fed His Spirit. The devil loves when we starve or neglect our spirit and feed our flesh. We feed our flesh by giving into our own desires. You should not give your flesh everything it wants. The more you feed your flesh, the more you weaken your spirit. If your spirit is weak, how can you stand and fight spiritual battles? I encourage you to read Ephesians 6:10-19.
In these scriptures, we are told to stand multiple times. Your spirit will not be able to stand or withstand if it has been starved and deprived. Now, you are probably wondering, how do you feed your spirit? Jesus gave the perfect response when the devil was tempting Him after His fast ended (Matthew 4:4). So, you feed your spirit by reading the Word of God. You may be thinking, how could reading the Word make my spirit strong to be able to stand against the wiles of the devil (Ephesians 6:10-11)? Well, part of the armor of the Lord is the sword of the Spirit. Notice this time the word spirit is written with the letter ‘s’ in uppercase. This signifies that the scripture is referring to God’s Spirit. Part of the armor used to destroy attacks of the enemy during spiritual battles is the Word. How does the Word abort the devil’s missions? Hebrews 4:12 NKJV gives a great explanation.
The Word is so powerful because it is God according to John 1:1. It is impossible for the devil to stand against the Word. He is NOT more powerful than God. This is why the devil does not want you to feed your spirit. When you know the Word and speak it, it is a mighty weapon to crush the attacks of the enemy and his demons. Why would the devil want you to use a weapon against him? Satan will use every tactic he has to discourage you from fasting. There is no way that the enemy can defeat a fasting and praying Christian. This is why it is vital to fast. I encourage you to strengthen your spirit for the battle involved in changing your students’ lives.
Copyright 2020 Niccori Thomas-Brown. Email [email protected]
If you’ve enjoyed this devotion, Niccori has more topics in her book, Doing All God Has Called You To Do: A Devotion For Novice Teachers. Available for purchase here.
God is so good. He knew I needed this today. I’ve upped my exercise routine and cut back SOME on my eating….and I’ve gained 2 pounds!!! Oh my goodness!! I used to do that and lose 5 quickly. Trouble is, I’m not 30 or 40 or 50 anymore. I have passed the big 6-0 and I’m struggling. But, even though the scales gave me bad news ….this word gave me encouragement. Thank you.
Oh….and by the way ….. I know fasting is not about losing weight. That just happens to be MY battle right now.
Thank you for the encouragement! I am currently fasting and praying and this devotional came to strengthen my resolve!
These devotions are very timely and I enjoy having more than one scripture in them to reinforce the message. They are very well written, educational, and encouraging.