Matthew 19:26 "...with God all things are possible."

In Matthew 6, Jesus speaks of three things that should be commonplace for every believer: giving to the needy, prayer, and fasting. As Christians, many put a huge emphasis on giving and prayer but fall short when it comes to fasting.

In Mark 9, the importance of fasting is revealed. A mute and deaf boy who had been possessed for years was brought to the disciples to be healed. The disciples prayed for the boy but NOTHING happened. THEN, Jesus came on the scene!

He commanded the deaf and mute spirit to come out of the boy and to NEVER enter him again.

Immediately, the boy was healed. Dismayed, the disciples asked Jesus why the boy was NOT healed when THEY prayed for him. He replied, "This kind can come forth by NOTHING, but by prayer AND FASTING." (Mark 9:29).

Not long before this account, Jesus spent 40 days in prayer and fasting. Jesus, who was ONE with God, realized the importance of fasting.

Fasting is simply giving SOMETHING up for a period of time in order to grow closer to God and to receive breakthrough in a situation. This can be done multiple ways. Both Jesus and Moses fasted for 40 days without any food. Daniel is recorded in the Bible as fasting basically all sugar, meat and dairy for 21 days.

In high school, I once told my mother I would be happy to fast broccoli for the rest of my life...well, let's be honest, that wouldn't be much of a sacrifice. At that time, I was heavily involved in sports. For my safety, my parents advised me to give up something other than food. So, as a teenage boy, I fasted video games (that freed up MUCH time to pray lol).

When fasting, you should always do something that is safe but that is still a huge sacrifice for a period of time that you feel the Lord is leading you.

According to the Bible, we are made up of three parts: body, soul, and spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23). When we fast, we take the emphasis off of our bodies and are able to focus more on the spirit and soul resulting in an increase of power through the Holy Spirit in our lives.

I challenge you to make time to fast. When I need a major breakthrough or desire to grow closer to the Lord, I fast and ALWAYS see God's hand move.

Dear Lord, I thank You that You honor my sacrifice when I fast. There is nothing that is impossible through You!

I also thank You, my Jesus, for dying for me. I believe that You are Lord and that God raised You from the grave so that I can have eternal life.