How does our fasting provide the healing?

[Rens]

When I fast I'm more focused on food.

Hahahahahahaha
Oh my it's a long time ago that I fasted. First time I did it, it was 12 pm. Yay!! It's over and I stuffed my stomach full with all sorts of candy.

 

[Rens]

Just out of curiosity, was the OP answered?
I don't want to read all 8 pages if the topic is covered and moved on to the "you said", "no I didn't" phase. :smile:

Lol I think on page one or two. I forgot what the subject was.

 

[atpollard]

It draws you closer to God and by getting closer you are in tune with Him and recieve answers, as to healing you are right that there is no formula but I do know that fasting increases the power that can work through you, again because we draw closer to God and are better able to hear what He is saying

The hard part is when God's answer is “No. My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Then anything (including fasting) that takes your eye off you and helps you focus more on God ... is a good thing.
Like the song says, sometimes He calms the storm, and other times He calms His child."

 

[MoreCoffee]

The hard part is when God's answer is “No. My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Then anything (including fasting) that takes your eye off you and helps you focus more on God ... is a good thing.
Like the song says, "sometimes He calms the storm, and other times He calms His child."

I do not know that song.

 

[Wilhemena]

Just out of curiosity, was the OP answered?
I don't want to read all 8 pages if the topic is covered and moved on to the "you said", "no I didn't" phase. :smile:

From what I gather from this thread there are 3 camps of Christians and how they feel about fasting and that is 1) those who believe that fasting shows our obedience to God who in turns will heal due to that obeying, 2) Fasting gives us power to heal and 3) our fasting brings us closer to God because we concentrate or rely on him but does nothing for healing. Are you a believer of any of these and if not I would still enjoy hearing your thoughts on the topic thank you.

 

[Tigger]

I believe one of the reasons Orthodox Christians use fasting to control what they refer to as the passions of the flesh. They feel that if you actively practice your self will over the urgings of the flesh then you can utilize that training in other parts of your life that you need more control over. Of course this is not an official Orthodox explanation but its what I've gathered while being among them particularly when its brought up during the sermon.

 

[atpollard]

From what I gather from this thread there are 3 camps of Christians and how they feel about fasting and that is 1) those who believe that fasting shows our obedience to God who in turns will heal due to that obeying, 2) Fasting gives us power to heal and 3) our fasting brings us closer to God because we concentrate or rely on him but does nothing for healing. Are you a believer of any of these and if not I would still enjoy hearing your thoughts on the topic thank you.

Here is my advice for Fasting:

Isaiah 58 [NLT]
1 “Shout with the voice of a trumpet blast.
Shout aloud! Don’t be timid.
Tell my people Israel of their sins!
2 Yet they act so pious!
They come to the Temple every day
and seem delighted to learn all about me.
They act like a righteous nation
that would never abandon the laws of its God.
They ask me to take action on their behalf,
pretending they want to be near me.
3 ‘We have fasted before you!’ they say.
‘Why aren’t you impressed?
We have been very hard on ourselves,
and you don’t even notice it!’

“I will tell you why!” I respond.
“It’s because you are fasting to please yourselves.
Even while you fast,
you keep oppressing your workers.
4 What good is fasting
when you keep on fighting and quarreling?
This kind of fasting
will never get you anywhere with me.
5 You humble yourselves
by going through the motions of penance,
bowing your heads
like reeds bending in the wind.
You dress in burlap
and cover yourselves with ashes.
Is this what you call fasting?
Do you really think this will please the LORD?

6 “No, this is the kind of fasting I want:
Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;
lighten the burden of those who work for you.
Let the oppressed go free,
and remove the chains that bind people.
7 Share your food with the hungry,
and give shelter to the homeless.
Give clothes to those who need them,
and do not hide from relatives who need your help.

8 “Then your salvation will come like the dawn,
and your wounds will quickly heal.
Your godliness will lead you forward,
and the glory of the LORD will protect you from behind.
9 Then when you call, the LORD will answer.
‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply.

“Remove the heavy yoke of oppression.
Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors!
10 Feed the hungry,
and help those in trouble.
Then your light will shine out from the darkness,
and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.
11 The LORD will guide you continually,
giving you water when you are dry
and restoring your strength.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like an ever-flowing spring.
12 Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities.
Then you will be known as a rebuilder of walls
and a restorer of homes.

13 “Keep the Sabbath day holy.
Don’t pursue your own interests on that day,
but enjoy the Sabbath
and speak of it with delight as the LORD’s holy day.
Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day,
and don’t follow your own desires or talk idly.
14 Then the LORD will be your delight.
I will give you great honor
and satisfy you with the inheritance I promised to your ancestor Jacob.
I, the LORD, have spoken!”


To address the options specifically:

1) Fasting is less about obedience and more about humility. It seems to me that it is a decision to say that something is more important than my body, than my wants. It is a way of saying, to me and to God that I hunger for something more than food ... I need to hear from Him. It is folly to think that God will heal BECAUSE we have asked (or that God would not heal you because you did not ask or you forgot to say the magic word). What sort of monster do you think God is? Yet the reality is that our immediate comfort is not God's absolute highest priority. Ask Stephen as he was stoned. Ask Paul as he was beaten with a whip, or stoned and left for dead ... multiple times. Remember when Paul prayed three times for God to remove the "thorn from his flesh", God said NO. God said "My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness." So if our NON-HEALING somehow serves to bring glory to God are we prepared to join Job in saying "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away; Blessed be the name of the Lord".

2) Nothing gives us the power to heal. Period. End of story. No human being ever performed a single miracle in their own power and no human being (except Christ, God incarnate) ever possessed the divine power. 2 Chronicles 16:9a “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him." It is always God who has the power and will either work through or in us, or he will not. The pitcher does not make the potter fill it with anything.

3) Isaiah and Jesus both relayed the message from God that God is unimpressed with empty, outward gestures (including fasting), but is VERY interested in a heart that turns towards him. I cannot imagine that anything done in love and obedience to please God would have no effect on God's heart towards you. The issue is that We work for God, God does not work for us. So ultimately, it is God's plan and will that will be done.

Let me close with ...


Matthew 6:16-18 [NKJV]
16 “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

 

[Rens]

Daniel had to fast cause that angel couldn't come and was hindered by the devil. It has to do with spiritual warfare, setting the captives free. Jesus said this type (demons) does not go out but by prayer and fasting.
So I guess it helps if a sickness is demonic.

 

[Wilhemena]

atpollard wrote Yet the reality is that our immediate comfort is not God's absolute highest priority.

I will be the first to admit that this statement is an eye opener to me and as shocking as it comes across, it is an absolute truth that we should not brush aside. Isn't the healing of our souls more important than these bodies we will exist in for only a short time?

 

[Rens]

atpollard wrote Yet the reality is that our immediate comfort is not God's absolute highest priority.

I will be the first to admit that this statement is an eye opener to me and as shocking as it comes across, it is an absolute truth that we should not brush aside. Isn't the healing of our souls more important than these bodies we will exist in for only a short time?

Yes but if people aren't saved yet it's important they live a while longer.

 

[MoreCoffee]

atpollard wrote Yet the reality is that our immediate comfort is not God's absolute highest priority.

I will be the first to admit that this statement is an eye opener to me and as shocking as it comes across, it is an absolute truth that we should not brush aside. Isn't the healing of our souls more important than these bodies we will exist in for only a short time?

Our bodies matter too. God raised Jesus in a body. Glorified one admits yet a human body nevertheless. Our hope is not in becoming disembodied spirits. Our hope is in Christ and his resurrection as the promise of our own resurrection. We want to be clothed in a body that is immortal.

 

[Sword7]

How does our fasting provide the healing?

It doesn't.
Fasting is the subduing and humbling of our own flesh and soulish will ,mind,etc.
In order that we may better hear and obey God's will.
And since it is his will to heal (healing is in the atonement) we are better enabled to carry out his will when the flesh is subdued and we have cleared away it's will and influence by subduing it at its most basic need.
Fasting is to abstain from foods or food ,that the mind and will of the flesh be bought into strict submission to the spirit.

 

[Wilhemena]

Yes but if people aren't saved yet it's important they live a while longer.

I will say that I thought this was a cute reply and realized that it's also a very empathetic one in that you wish for all to receive Jesus as their Savior and that is so sweet. I have family members that I pray that even though they know the truth of the good news that perhaps some day prior to their death God will reveal himself to them so they can come to terms with it and believe. Praise Him!

 

[Wilhemena]

Our bodies matter too. God raised Jesus in a body. Glorified one admits yet a human body nevertheless. Our hope is not in becoming disembodied spirits. Our hope is in Christ and his resurrection as the promise of our own resurrection. We want to be clothed in a body that is immortal.

All this is so very true concerning the body and yet even though some bodies are being annihilated by wars and crimes we shall have new bodies that are much better than these we suffer with for now.

 

[Wilhemena]

How does our fasting provide the healing?

It doesn't.
Fasting is the subduing and humbling of our own flesh and soulish will ,mind,etc.
In order that we may better hear and obey God's will.
And since it is his will to heal (healing is in the atonement) we are better enabled to carry out his will when the flesh is subdued and we have cleared away it's will and influence by subduing it at its most basic need.
Fasting is to abstain from foods or food ,that the mind and will of the flesh be bought into strict submission to the spirit.

Is it always his will to heal since you are saying healing is in the atonement which I do not personally believe to be meaning all healing of the body but healing of our souls.