21 Days Fasting Journey
Fasting doesn’t mean you starve yourself, it means being spiritually-fed and being full by God’s Word.
Hey, chosen people!
Welcome back to the blog site, I know I’ve been missing in action the past months, but now that I’m back with another blog, we are going to talk about fasting.
Have you already tried to pray and fast?
If you have, that’s great! You can share your fasting journey in the comments section, I also want to know from you. If you haven’t, maybe this is your sign to start your fasting journey. I hope this blog will enlighten you about it.
Fasting helps us to slow down and to hear more from God. Fasting helps us to seek Him, His will, His plans, and His timing for our lives. Fasting helps us to prioritize our Spirit more than our flesh. Every believer is called to fast. Since the beginning of this year, God called me to it, but it took me three months before I obeyed the calling. If we have prayers, concerns, requests, and desires that we want God’s approval, we should fast for it.
I did a partial fast for 21 days. For three-weeks, I completed the challenge. I abstained from eating rice, meat, sugar, and caffeine. I only eat a regular meal during dinner to break my fast and so I won’t have to sleep, starving. (You don't have to follow the kind of fasting I did. You can do any kind of fast, depending on what kind of fast has God called you to do.)
I did not only fasted from food, I also fasted from secular music since the beginning of this year. I have been listening only to Christian songs. Whatever we engage ourselves into; music, posts, food, etc. have an impact to our walk with God. Fasting allows us to cut off those things that don’t help with our spiritual growth.
Some of you might be wondering what fasting is for. It’s biblical and every believer is expected to fast, just like Jesus did in the mountain where He prayed and fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. When He was tempted by the Devil, Jesus was able to counterattack and the Devil fled from Him (Matthew 4:1-11).
Another character who fasted in the Bible was Moses in Mount Sinai. He did not drink or eat anything for 40 days and the Lord gave him the ten commandments that God wrote in two stone tablets (Exodus 34:28).
The Bible character I followed from fasting is Daniel where he fasted for 21 days, eating only certain foods (Daniel 10:3).
The essences of praying and fasting are:
To seek God, more than food.
To satisfy our spiritual body, rather than our physical.
To feed our Spirit, not our flesh.
Fasting must come with prayer. You would replace your time for eating to time of praying. In my case, before I feed my stomach with anything, I pray and read the Bible first. I meditate on His word, day and night, following what the Psalms 1:2-3 says.
In the morning, I would start my day with the “verse of the day” guided scripture, devotional, and prayer meditation by the YouVersion Bible app. It helped me so much with my spiritual growth.
In the afternoon, I have this devotional book I’m currently reading: Abide by Joena San Diego. It’s a 40-days devotional book. I can freely write my thoughts based on what God spoke to me, and how I respond to His message regarding the verse of each day.
Before evening, I would watch the “Bible Recap” by Tara-Leigh Cobble. Within 365 days, we would go through the books and chapters of the Bible to understand it chronologically. The host, Tara-Leigh, would explain our readings each day of the recap. It’s a great refresher, especially if you have already finished the entire book of the Bible, but you did not understand what you just read. Or it's perfect if you want to finish the Bible within a year, you would understand the context more.
Before I sleep, I would read a Bible plan in the YouVersion Bible app. That Bible plan is from Pastor Vladimir Savchuk entitled, “Fast Forward.” I recommend you read this when you are going to start your fasting. It’s a 21-days devotional book, but in digital format. It helped me more understand the purpose of the fast and how not to quit in the middle.
Every morning, afternoon, and night, I would read a chapter from the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs. I would write a devotional from those chapters using SOAP (Scripture, Observe, Application, Prayer) method.
I did all these for the whole month of April. (Although, I already started the Bible recap at the start of 2024.) I love how it changed me spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically. I love forming spiritual and holy habits. My goal this year is to grow more closely to God by knowing more of His character through studying His Word and to fall more in love with Love Himself -- Jesus.
This year, my life will drastically change. I am about to enter a new journey and a new era. I want to seek God’s will for me. I want to take Him with me. His promise to be with us wherever we go is also up to us, if we will allow Him to be with our journey or neglect His presence.
I don’t want to take this another step in my life without His leading and guidance. I don’t want to go on a journey where my God is not with me — this would be the saddest thing. I may have got everything in this world, but if I don’t have Jesus, I really don’t have everything. He is the real deal. He is the real fulfillment. Other things would fade away, but He will always remain.
As His creation, we should not be separated from our Creator. We are created in His image and in His likeness. We belong to Him, not of this world.
Despite not being used to fast, with God sustaining my body, I have able to finish it. I love eating so much. I can’t go on a day without a proper meal. I easily get hungry and I tend to become so irritated when my stomach is empty. That’s when God convicted me of my sin of gluttony. Through fasting, our sins are shown to light, so we could come to God for repentance. He is quick to forgive and slow to become angry.
Fasting helps us get closer to God and to hear from Him, especially with our requests and concerns. God wants us to bring our desires to Him, even with our mustard seed of faith. Fasting must come with intention. As for me, I asked God for a breakthrough, His go signal in the next step I must take, and His provisions in my next journey.
While I was reading the Bible during my first day of praying and fasting, God spoke this verse to me from the book of Exodus 34:10, “All the people will see what great things I, the Lord, can do, because I am going to do an awesome thing for you.”
This is the promise God spoke to Moses by leading the Israelites to the promised land. But while reading it, it is as if God is also speaking that promise to me. I’ve read Exodus a couple of times, but it was the first time I discovered that verse.
That was when I just finished praying to God about how I wanted Him to come through in my life and give me victories after victories. He answered me with that verse. God responds to us through His Word. When we fast, we must also read His Word, to seek His answers to our prayers.
My fasting has not yet finished, but God already answered one of my prayers with a “Yes.” He gave me my first closed deal. During my fast, God has revealed to me His visions for me in the future and all His plans for me. I am destined for greatness and He will use my success to make disciples and to expand His Kingdom.
That has also been my prayers during my fasting. God, use my life for Your glory. Let Exodus 34:10 be displayed in my life. I want people to see how I was able to achieve greater things in life and that is only through Your amazing grace.
After the 21 days of fasting, all the confusion I had when this year started suddenly vanished. God gave me clarity over my situation. In the start of this year, I've been seeking an answer from God on what to do next. He gave me wisdom and promised to provide for me in the journey we are about to enter. You will know that it is God's will for you when there is provision. He sustains what He allows to happen.
If you're in the same situation as mine and you're confused about what to do next in your life, seek answer from our Creator. He didn't only created you or the universe, He is also the Maker of your dreams. Ask Him for the next step. Ask Him for wisdom. Ask Him for clarity. Bring these requests to Him by prayer and fasting, and watch your life evolve.
It’s true that fasting causes a headache and you will also experience hunger pain. Some days, it will be hard to keep going. You would be tempted to eat your cravings. There would be lots of temptations and spiritual attacks. But when you finish the fast, you are going to be so grateful you obeyed God’s calling. Suddenly, all those headaches and hunger pains are worth it. You feel closer to God. You will be filled by the His Spirit. Pursuing God is always worth it.
Take note of this reminder: while fasting helps us bring our desires to God, the true essence of it is to hear from God. Whether your desires are granted or not, along the way, you would realize that there is no greater desire than being close to the Most High.
He is the true fulfillment. Building a relationship with Him is the real goal. Even if desires are met, but we do not have Jesus, those desires would be meaningless to achieve. The true achievement is found in Him.
Fasting doesn’t mean you starve yourself, it means being spiritually-fed and being full by God’s Word. If you haven’t tried it yet, maybe this is your sign to start your fasting journey. There are lots of guides on the internet from different Christians to help you with your fast.
Experience the powerful presence of God and start fasting. I’m excited to hear about your journey!
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” - Matthew 4:4
Prayer: God, I believe You have also called me to fast. Not only from food but also from the worldly things that keep me away from Your presence. Help me to obey Your calling. I have lots of desires, requests, and concerns I want to bring to You and You have not forgotten everything, rather, You want me to bring it again to You. Because I am chosen, I am also loved by You, and You care to every request I have. Thank You, God. Amen.
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