Spiritual Disciplines: Fasting
Acts 13:3
The Upward Look
© Copyright 2014, Max D. Hutto,
“So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.” Acts 13:3 NIV
Another training exercise or discipline the believer is to practice in order to become spiritually fit is fasting. While this discipline is not widely spoken about or practiced in our culture today, it was practiced in Bible times. Primarily fasting is voluntarily going without food for a certain limited period of time for the expressed purpose of seeking God. The time normally spent preparing and eating a meal is instead spent in prayer. We often find that fasting was done in order to seek God’s guidance and direction on a certain matter as in this verse where the church was directed to send out missionaries.
Lord Jesus, I desire my every step to be guided by You and Your Word. Teach me how to deny my physical hunger in order to spend time with You in prayer.
March 7, 2014
Email List: This Week's Article!
* Bible Copyright Credits
NASB © The Bible quotes marked NASB are from the New American Standard Bible,
© Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA. (used with permission)
CSB © The Bible quotes marked CSB are from the Christian Standard Bible,
© Copyright 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers (used with permission).
HCSB © The Bible quotes marked HCSB are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible,
© Copyright 2000 by Holman Bible Publishers (used with permission).
NIV © The Bible quotes marked NIV are from the New International Version,
© Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, by The International Bible Society. (used with permission)
ESV © The Bible quotes marked ESV are from the English Standard
Version,
© Copyright 2001, 2016, by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry
of Good News Publishers. (used with permission)
KJV The Bible quotes marked KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible and are in the Public Domain.