Fasting for humility
When looking at what is happening around the world, the natural disasters, the wars and famines that are killing thousands of people and millions of others who are suffering displacement and financial ruin, I am wondering just when will it all stop. God can change a nation in a day, but why doesn’t it happen more often than it does? Over the course of history, we can observe how nations have been transformed, socially, financially and spiritually, because of revival. Yet, today, evil and destruction seem to occupy most of the news. What is the solution? It is all with God, or is He waiting for us to do something?
In II Chronicles 7.14, it says that the Lord would heal our land “IF” His people would: Humble themselves, pray and seek His face. Many of His people have responded to this call all over the world. There are more prayer movements, 24/7 prayer houses, healing rooms, large interdenominational prayer gatherings, and prayer walking, than ever before. Though there is much yet to be done, prayer is on the increase in the Body of Christ, but sin still abounds. As I have studied and meditated on this verse, my eyes keep landing on the first admonition: “If my people would humble themselves…” Praying is easy to understand, but how does one humble himself? James says: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4.6) Grace is God’s supernatural enablement to do His will. It is given to the humble. You cannot earn or work for grace, but you can position yourself to receive it.
The opposite of humility is pride. The proud rarely recognize that they are proudful. Pride blinds one from seeing the truth about one’s self. Their own self-awareness and self-centeredness cause God to be their enemy. Humility, on the other hand, moves the hand of God to accomplish His will, both in and through us. So, the question is: “How do we humble ourselves?” Ezra needed the protection and grace of God to safely make the journey from Babylon to Jerusalem. In Ezra 8.21, he says: “I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves.” David also confessed that he humbled himself with fasting. (Ps. 35.13) And when King Ahab heard the prophetic judgement against him, he responded by fasting and putting sackcloth on himself. God saw Ahab’s response and said: “Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me?” (I Kings 21.29)
Do you see the connection? Fasting is the means to humbling. The Bible clearly shows that Jesus fasted and in his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus assumed we would all fast, in that He said: “When you fast…” (Mat. 6.16) Fasting is one way of presenting ourselves to God and to demonstrate that He is more important in our lives than the pleasure of eating. It is a way of establishing priorities in our life; God first, then everything else will follow. Fasting and prayer are most often seen together. It is a time of surrender and of praying: “Not my will, but Yours be done.”
The heresy of the Gnostics made fasting an ascetic discipline to curb the appetites of the flesh. Paul challenged such a thinking by teaching that it lacks any “value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.” (Col. 2.23) It is not a path to super spirituality. It is the way down. Fasting reveals our weakness and it is our weakness that commends us to God. When we are weak, He is strong. Have you humbled yourself lately or has pride gotten the best of you? Remember, God gives grace to the humble.
Scriptures to meditate on:
Ezra 8.21; II Chron. 7.14; Ps. 35.13; Zeph. 2.3; James 4.6; Mat. 6.16-18