been musing on... Fasting

i think it's very important to know our motives for fasting.... if we are fasting from food or something else we 'crave' or hunger after, and fill it with something other than God.....that's not what God is after.

there are definately physical things that happen with fasting - and many of them are used by occultic/new agey groups to become more spiritually 'aware' - the thing is, what they are opening themselves up to is NOT God... they are enhancing their openness, sensitivity to the spiritual world and to other spirits by the 'high' a person can get from fasting for a long time.

i think that we must be careful that we are fasting for the right reason - to get more of God, to turn over control of our bodies to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to create in us self-control..... it should never be about 'awareness', mental acuity, health or length of life - fasting actually (to me) puts us in a kind of vulnerable state where - if we are not submitting it 100% to God - we could open doors.

where we create a vacuum, it must be filled - we must be dilligent to fill it with the right thing!

God has chosen the day of our death before He even created the world, i don't believe God's purpose in fasting is for us to extend our life and try to take control over the day of our death!!!! all of that is exclusively in God's hands.

i think juice fasting and other health oriented fasts can be good, becuase they are not about creating that open mind, they are about de-toxing, which is good if that's what a person feels God wants them to do in stewarding their bodies. but that's not really God-fasting, y'know?

to me, it's denying my flesh of something that i hunger for that is not God. no tv for me is not a fast, it's just stupid, i hardly watch tv. now, an internet fast? - yeah. that would be hard. and it's not something i hope God calls me to very often! but if it's for my sanctification, He may call me to it.... and i hope i obey.

i think He needs to call us to it. if i decide, i think i'm going to be more 'spiritual' and go on a fast, probably until it ends i'm going to get grumpier and grumpier, and cast shame on the name of God. i gotta be prepared to fill that void with worship, the Bread of Life, the New Wine, etc, so that i glorify the name of God...

it can't be about US - it has to be totally, completely, 100% about HIM.

the above was what i posted on a forum during a discussion on fasting.

i have not fasted much - i have forgotten to eat most of the day and i see what happens to my mood, and my godliness factor goes down exponentially. i will not fast unless i feel God saying, basically, "clover, I want you to fast, fast from _____ for _____ long, and seek My face during that time."

i am wary, becuase i was once 'into' new agey occultic stuff, and i have a respect of how decieving it can be. if a person opens up to it, it can suck a person in big time. fasting can be a powerful tool, but if we are not prepared, we can mess it up big time.