FRUITFUL FAST

MEMORISE: 'Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work Shall be rewarded.' (2 chron 15:7)
READ: Isaiah 58: 6-12

'Is not this the fast that I have chose? To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? When thou serest the naked, that thou cover him: and that thou hide not thyself from thin own flesh?' (Isa 58: 6-7).

God expects certain things from his children when they are fasting. If they fulfill those expectations, their fast will yield good results. In Isaiah 58, there is a list of 23 things you can do during a fast. Some of these are obligations to you, some are obligations to others and some are obligations to God. There are nine obligations you owe to God and his Sabbath (or in our case, Sundays); and 10 obligations to others in general, and the poor and needy in particular. If you take care to meet these obligations, your fasting will definitely produce good results.

A period of fasting is a time of consecration- a time during which you take your attention off the things around you and focus on God. It is a time of self-denial, a period in which you suspend the things that give you physical pleasure, and avoid the things that your flesh craves. It is a time to nurture and enrich your spirit with God's word, prayer and communion with the Holy Spirit.

Fasting should be a decision of your will. If you desire to fast for more than one day, it is good to prayerfully prepare and commit those days to God before you start. It is a time to be sensitive in the spirit and listen to what God is saying to your spirit. Fasting is a time to be reserved- a time to avoid frivolous talk, jesting, gossiping and backbiting. It is also a time to give to give to others the best you have to offer and to release those who have offended you. Are you ready to engage in fruitful fasts?

ACTION POINT
Ask God to make your fasts fruitful. Practice the good deeds
Listed in Isaiah 58 whenever you fast.