10 Major Things To Avoid When fasting

Oftentimes, we feel God is silent to our prayer when fasting, this is only true because we tend not to pay attention to things to avoid when fasting. Fasting is not just abstinence from food, we believers often reduce fasting to just staying away from food. In this article, we are going to try to expose you to things to avoid when fasting. This will help you to get a response from God whenever you pray to him. Text: Isaiah 58:3-11, Romans 1::28

Fasting together with prayers are very essential activities in the life of a man who wants to break barriers in life. According to the book of Matthew 17:21, some battles cannot be won except through fasting and prayers. This means that a believer’s life might not get to the extent he or she would want it to except for the help of God through prayers backed up by fasting.

What is fasting?

This can be defined as abstinence from food to seek God. Fasting to a Christian is supposed to be like water to humans, a believer who fasts tends to command divine power more than one who does not fast. As the name implies, fasting is a way of quickening or fastening that which God has promised to do in the name of a man. It brings quick answers to prayers.

Benefits of Fasting And Praying

1. Strengthens a believer’s spiritually

Jesus Christ who is a son of God and a spirit made manifest in the flesh was not able to start his earthly ministry fully till he engaged in fasting and prayers. Matthew 4-1 talks about when Christ went into the mountain to pray and fast for 40 days and 40 nights. Man being a physical being will not be able to function well spiritually if not through the power of fasting.

2. It moves him to another level

Fasting and prayer catapult a man to another level in life. If you are a man who is not able to grow both physically and spiritually, try to engage in prayer and fasting, and then you will see your life change for good.

3. It makes him function in the spiritual realm

Fasting will help a believer live beyond the physical realm, it makes him grow to a great height spiritually.

4. It helps a man to rely on God alone

Do you know the joy of depending on God for sustenance? Prayer and fasting break you to the extent of being solely dependent on God again

5. It makes miracles possible

Without God, miracles are impossible, prayer and fasting bring the presence of God to man, which in turn opens us to the realm of unbelievable miracles.

6. Forgiveness to our sins

Fasting helps a man to get to God and seek the forgiveness of sins.

Things to Avoid when Fasting

Fasting as stated earlier is a spiritual exercise every believer engages in, fasting can never be effective without prayer, some people often starve themselves believing that they are fasting, but this is not true in any way.

If you are fasting and praying, and you want God to hear your prayers and give you a response as fast as possible, there are things you need to avoid when fasting and praying, those activities are against the will of God for man, and any man who engages in them fights against God. Remember no man wins fighting against God.

Those things are:

1. Unforgiving Spirit (Romans 1:28-31)

How will a man go to God to pray for forgiveness when he has not forgiven his brethren who provoked him? God is not a man, he knows our heart and sees everything in it. For your fasting to be effective, you must, first of all, have a forgiving spirit, the kind of spirit that will help you to forgive a brother or a sister who sins against you, so that God in heaven will hear you when you cry to him. Do not be deceived, if you do not forgive, God will not forgive you, so the Bible says.

2. Sexual immorality ( Romans 1:29)

This is one of the sins that damage believers greatly. Funny enough, some believers now justify this sin and see it as a normal thing. Some even engage in it during their prayer and fasting periods. This is wrong, our God is pure, therefore go into his presence clean. This sin disconnects man from God. The earlier you do away with it, the better for your spiritual growth.

3. Lust (1 John 2:16)

This is a desire to have sexual pleasure with someone, it is a mental state Satan uses to destroy a lot of believers. Whenever such thoughts come, cancel them with the word of God. You can not please God by living comfortably with these thoughts.

4. Avoid distractions

Social media as we know has both positive and negative impacts on the life of a believer, when fasting, try to do away with distractions that will come from content on social media. Me, I prefer to keep my phone switched off whenever I am observing any spiritual activity, especially fasting. Try this, and you will see how you will concentrate.

5. Avoid worldly conversation

Have you noticed that it is during your fasting periods friends come around to trigger conversations? Some through calls. This is a way Satan distracts us from getting our desired response from God. Rebuke them whenever they come, and they will flee away from you.

6. Avoid being ungrateful to God

Ungratefulness is what denies our result to our prayers in most cases, when praying and fasting, try to always thank God for what he has done for you, and learn to be grateful as this is the way to get things from God. Some people will never be answered by God, not that God hates them, but the truth is that they always come with supplications, and expectations, yet they fail to thank God whenever he does those things for them.

As a human, how do you feel whenever a man continuously greets you for doing something to him? I am sure you feel happy and motivated to do more for him. This is how God feels when we thank him for what he has done for us.

7. Avoid seeking public attention.

It is funny how people get disconnected from God in their place of fasting all because they want to seek public attention, they want to show to others that they have the physical strength to fast for a long time. It is not embedded in this. When fasting, do it in spirit and truth, do it expecting to get a response from God and not for others to see and applaud you for it. When applauded by humans, you have taken God’s face from you unknowingly.

8. Avoid Doubting God (Hebrews 3:19)

This is one of the greatest mistakes children of God make even while fasting, any man who doubts God can never get tangible results. According to Hebrews 3:19, they were not able to get into God’s divine rest because of unbelief, unbelief is what is responsible for the downfall of a lot of men in the world today.

When you pray, believe that God will do it for you (Mark 11:24). Satan knows that God is always ready to listen to you when you call him, the reason he makes you have a particle of doubt in your heart when you pray. Whenever it happens, rebuke it and continue praying. God hears you.

9. Avoid being proud

God hates a proud person, he wants us to always wear the garment of humility in whatsoever we do on earth. Whenever you fast, make sure you do away with a proud heart. According to James 4:6, God opposes the proud person but gives grace to the humble. Fasting amid pride will be ineffective for the individual.

10. Try your best to do away with a jealous heart

Jealousy is one of the reasons a good number of prayers have not been answered to date. Try to do away with a jealous heart while praying, otherwise, you are wasting your time. Jealousy is one of the things God wants us to fight against.

Some believers stagnated in life because of the spirit of jealousy. Cain killed his brother Abel because of jealousy, and Naboth was killed by Ahab the king out of jealousy. Nothing good comes from a jealous heart so please do away with it.

Conclusion

In most cases, our prayers are not answered because we do not pay attention to these things to avoid when fasting, we overlook them and we also live to pay the price for it. According to 1 Corinthians 14:33, God is not an author of confusion, you cannot try to combine him with things to avoid when fasting, and then expect a tangible result at the same time.

I beg you in the name of God, do not overlook these things to avoid when fasting, it will help you to take you to another spiritual level in life. By doing this, expect to flourish like the tree that grows by the riverside because the Lord will be with you.