I wonder why fasting is so little employed by true Christians when it is so common in the Bible? Moses fasted and Samuel and Daniel and David and Hannah and Esther and Ezra and Nehemiah and Paul and the New Testament churches. Even King Darius and also the Ninevites fasted realizing their trouble before God. Our Lord Jesus fasted. Are we better than He? And Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount taught prayer, giving, and fasting. Most professing Christians pray, some give, few fast.

I wonder why fasting is so little employed by even true Christians when it is such a powerful spiritual weapon? “This kind (of demonic power) does not come out but by prayer and fasting”, Mark 9:29. When Daniel prayed and fasted something happened in the demonic realm. When Jehoshaphat and his army fasted God sent angelic help. It is the “big gun”, it is the heavy artillery for the Christian soldier. It sharpens the edge of our prayers. It is itself a silent prayer saying to God, “I’m desperate”.

I wonder why fasting is so little employed by even true Christians when times are so perilous? Civilization is collapsing. There are about 5000 funerals in the world every hour. The nation is laden with the guilt of abortion, sodomy, and occult. Loved ones are perishing in their sins. The church is so powerless and the non-Christians mock, saying, “Where is your God”.  How can we not fast when 40 percent of Americans are obese having made a god out of their belly? The Lord pronounced a woe on those who are full! How can we not fast when much of the world goes to bed hungry?

I wonder why fasting is so little employed by even true Christians when the promises and benefits and rewards are so great? When Moses fasted he was clothed with glory. When our Lord fasted He went forth in power. It is an oil change for the soul, it is a short cut to humility, it is a spiritual inventory. It is a vacation for our belly and cleansing for our body.

Why do so few fast? Unbelief! We subtly say in our hearts that “God will neither do evil nor good”–He won’t do evil if we don’t seek Him nor will He do good if we do seek Him. Also it is due to fleshiness. We are too much living for the body than for the soul, too much for time than for eternity, too much for self than for the things of God. God will bless self-denial if done with the right motives. Those meals you miss will soon be forgotten but the blessing and the reward will remain forever. “Your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly”. (Matthew 6:18).