👉🏾👉🏾👉🏾About #Fasting (#Why do We #Fast?)
(Part 4 )
Dear followers of the Orthodox teachings ,we greet you with the peace of God. Today, continuing our teaching on the purpose of fasting, we present to you the following important lesson. We encourage you to read attentively and benefit from it.
✍🏾 Fasting as a Path to God’s Mercy
Fasting is a spiritual discipline given to us so that we may fear God, draw near to Him, and ask for His mercy. Scripture teaches that fasting strengthens our prayers and helps us present our struggles before the Lord.
“Therefore we prayed to God for this, and He answered our prayers” (Ezra 8:23).
Fasting is a way to seek God’s help, and it is a spiritual tool that makes our prayers earnest and sincere.
The prophet Joel instructed the people of Israel during times of trouble, saying:
“Sanctify a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly; gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord” (Joel 1:14).
Through this, we learn that fasting calls us back to God with humility and repentance.
Job also shows us the same spiritual call:
“Return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; blow the trumpet in Zion; sanctify a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly” (Job 2:12).
We cannot find God’s will, peace, or unity while giving ourselves over to eating, drinking, and the desires of the flesh. True spiritual growth comes from discipline, prayer, and humbling the body for the sake of the soul.
Our Lord Jesus Christ taught us to do the works of righteousness, and God has shown through the prophets that fasting is necessary for those who seek deliverance from sorrow and tribulation.
Fasting is also a tool for building and renewing a righteous generation.
“Your ancient ruins will be rebuilt; your foundations will stand for generations. You will be called the repairer of the broken walls, the restorer of paths to dwell in” (Isaiah 58:12).
Again the Scripture teaches:
“I have not chosen a fast where a person merely afflicts himself for a day. But if one humbles himself in this fast, then he will trust in the Lord. He will dwell in the blessings of the earth, and the Lord will feed him with the heritage of Jacob, for the Lord has spoken” (Isaiah 58:5).
Through fasting, God reforms the broken, rebuilds the fallen, and strengthens the generations to come.
✍🏾 Fasting as a Way of Worship
Fasting is not only a spiritual discipline but also a form of worship offered to God. Through fasting, believers humble themselves, prepare their hearts, and strengthen their communion with the Holy Trinity.
In the Book of Acts we read that the Church worshipped through fasting:
As recorded in Acts 13:1–2, the Holy Spirit chose Barnabas and Saul during a time of fasting and prayer. After the believers fasted, prayed, and laid their hands upon them, they sent them out for the work of the ministry.
This shows that fasting accompanied prayer, worship, and the commissioning of apostolic work.
When a person begins the path of true worship, fasting and prayer become essential practices. Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself taught us their importance through His own life and commandments.
The holy apostles also fasted before their missionary journeys, preparing themselves spiritually as they went out to bring back a lost and wandering generation. Fasting strengthened them and opened the way for the Holy Spirit to work through them.
Fasting is also our weapon against the powers of darkness. Through it, believers receive strength to cast out demons and resist evil spirits.
Continues 👇🏾