[Transcript of “A 5 minute cuppa” published by Horley Baptist Church on YouTube[1], June 2021]
Hi everyone, welcome to ‘a five minute cuppa’. This is the place that you can come any time of day, just for five minutes, to relax, put your feet up, have a cuppa and listen to a few words to help you grow in your relationship with God.
I’m sure you’ve noticed that when we get together with friends we often eat together and this seems to build us up, not just physically but emotionally as our friendships deepen and develop. Personally I am amazed at all the different flavours, colours and textures God has provided for us, and I still get excited on the occasions when I arrive home from work and I can smell something delicious cooking in the kitchen made by my talented husband as I make my way to the house.
If food and eating together is enjoyable and important, what part should refraining from food for periods of time or fasting play in our lives? I must admit that for many years I ignored this discipline finding even the thought of it a little disconcerting. However, recently I’ve discovered that fasting adds a dimension to my spiritual life that draws me to see more clearly into the spiritual realms and causes significant breakthroughs in situations I had previously thought immovable.
In the Bible people like David fasted as a way of getting his spirit right before God. Some people fasted because they felt powerless and didn’t know what to do. The early church fasted when they needed to hear God’s voice. Even Jesus fasted and the result of this was victory over the enemy and an ability to walk in supernatural power in his ministry.
We have all recently had a time of pausing in our life as we have been forced to stop doing and living our lives in previous patterns because of the covid pandemic. Now we are preparing to return to physical face-to-face church. What an exciting time to be asking God about how he wants to reset our lives personally and together.
If you are used to fasting then please join us as we fast together. If you’ve never fasted before then why not give it a go? Look at what happened when people fasted in Bible times and talk to people about their experiences of fasting today. Through prayer and fasting we are more likely to see God come in power and fullness as he shows us his next steps.
A few practicalities are always useful if you are trying something new.
- Decide what you will fast from; it could be particular activities rather than just food. Perhaps if you haven’t done it before start with a partial fast for a period of time in a day rather than a full day or a few days.
- Plan your diary intentionally so you choose an appropriate time that won’t upset plans with family and friends.
- Keep going through the hunger pangs and keep worshipping inwardly whatever you are doing.
- Be wise; don’t do anything too strenuous when fasting and make sure you break fast with a light meal rather than overeating. Monitor what God says to you and write it down to reflect on with him or others.
Fasting is significant in spiritual warfare and corporate fasting effective at a critical time or life juncture. It is a key to releasing God’s power in our lives. As we prepare to come back to physical church and seek God’s heart this time, let’s pray and fast together, reading the scriptures and thoughts that have been prepared for us, answering the questions designed to help us reflect, and make notes on anything that we hear.
Let’s see how God builds our faith and make it our intention to partner with the Holy Spirit as he works out the Father’s plans for us personally and as a group of people that have promised to follow him with their all,
[1] YouTube link: Fasting In Spiritual Warfare
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Contributed by Sandy Turner; © the Author
