Lessons I learned from my fasts.
Years ago, when I was in my twenties, primarily for health reasons I underwent
a long fast. I fasted for 42 days. I only drank water. I went from around 160
pounds to just under 100 pounds. I also got anemic. I'm sure it was because I
hadn't been eating my vegetables, especially the green leafy kind before I'd
began to fast. So my red blood cells weren't very long lasting. I also failed to
go for walks during that fast. So due to a lack of maintance exercise my
muscles atrophied. Ever since then when I'd try to fast I would become weak
and dizzy, then I'd quit.
However, this time I knew I was fasting for a much better reason. This time I
was fasting for a purely spiritual reason. I wanted God to bless me with the
baptism of the Holy Spirit and the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit listed in 1st
Corinthians 12:8-10. Why? Because it has been my prayer for years that
God would use me to help many people around the world to come to trust in
him and in his Word. I felt the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the gifts of
the Holy Spirit could greatly empower me to do that. I started my fast Friday
morning Sept 20, 2002. Miraculously, I experienced no weakness, dizziness,
or hunger well past the 4th day of my fast. I drank lots of water. I read and
studied lots of the Bible. I also compiled the article Fasting verses in
the Bible. Following Miss Judy's advice I got a note book and recorded
all my prayer requests, and many thanks and praises. I then prayed earnestly
to God every day, at least once and often twice a day. I got on my knees and
knelt at my bed with my shoes off. I remembered God told Moses to take
his sandles off his feet for the place upon which he was standing was holy
ground. I also read one or two other Christian books. I resolved to use my
time wisely instead of wasting it watching TV. I determined to examine my
life for sin, repent of it, ask and claim God's forgiveness for it and His
power over it. 1st John 1:7,9. I know at least two of my Christian friends
were praying for me during my fasting time.
By the way, Copyright 2002 to 2018 by Wayne Mckellips. Last updated 26 Sept 2018.
You may copy and distribute for free. However, you do not have permission
to sell this article or to mirror this article or site on the internet.
I had lost 30 pounds at the start of day 20 of my fast. I have been taking a
lot of annual leave so I've only had to work two or three nights a week. The
night right before the start of my 29th fast day, as I was at work, I was very
tempted to end my fast. I wasn't hungry. I just missed eating and fellowshiping
with others while eating. Finally I came to my senses and asked myself some
questions. 1) Have I received the major spiritual blessing I'm asking for? No.
2) Are there physical reasons to continue fasting? Yes. According to the height
and weight charts, I need to lose around another 40 pounds. The body does
some of its best and deepest clean only towards the end of a long fast. 3) Is there
any physical reason for me to stop fasting? No. I'm not anemic, and a visual
look shows I still have lots of fat left. After thinking about the above questions
and answers I decided to continue fasting.
The morning of my 29th fast day my energy level dropped quite a bit for some
reason. I also got dizzy and had to lay down for around 20 minutes. So I
decided there was a physical reason for me to end the fast as I am remodling
and repairing various parts of my house and need the energy to complete the
work. When I started eating I did not see to it that I got a lot of fiber with my
food. My digesting tract hadn't worked for over four weeks so when my body's
exhaust started to leave my body a part of my exhaust system wanted to leave
with it. Quickly realizing that, I used A & D ointment and took two heaping
tablespoons of metamucil in a large glass of water. I did the same thing again
about 12 hours later. I began to feel much better. I've decided the next time I
break a long fast I will use metamucil at least once or twice to get my digestive
tract used to handing fiber before I introduce our regular food. Or I may consume
shreded coconut with adequate crushed pineapple in order to get my exhause system
working again properly. I know Jesus and the people and the Bible didn't have or
use metamucil, etc., but their food did have a lot more fiber in it than our food
does.
How fast we go back to old bad habits. At work today I drank a soda almost
every time I ate. I ate at every break. Two bad habits I need to break. I want
to drink only water and I want to leave at least four hours between my eating
times. On the bright side I haven't eaten any sweets! Today, 21 Sept, I bought
vegetables and put a lot of Romaine lettuce in my homemade sandwich.
What spiritual benefits did I gain from my latest fast? I learned how to pray a
lot more effectively. I now approach God and focus on him solely and entirely,
the way I want someone I really care about to listen to me. I spend more time
listening to what God says in his Word, the Bible. I have started to memorize
scripture again. I know God has not yet given me the primary thing I was
asking for, but last night I listed over 13 secondary answers to prayer God
granted me during my fast. I could have listed more but I stopped once that
became obvious to me. In addition to the spiritual benefits, I received some
great physical benefits from fasting.
I am looking forward to fasting again.
It is now Saturday 30 August 2003. I have had several short
fasts but now I believe God wants me to complete a complete
fast. That is where you fast until true hunger returns. That's
why the Bible says Jesus fasted for 40 days and afterwards
was hungry. I have a itchy rash that has quickly spread primarily
through itching to various parts of my body. I started on my
water only fast yesterday, 29 August, around 7 PM. Today
around noon I had a slew of pills (herbs). Bad idea. My hands
and then my feet swelled up. The next day I took around 2
B-complex, 2 gama E, and 2 GLA/DHA pills to reduce the swelling.
I don't plan on taking any more pills until after my fast has ended.
I weigh 224 pounds. I am using cold water and extra strength
Gold Bond body powder to help control the itching from the
fungus or yeast infection.
It is now Sunday 21 September 2003. I have almost completed
23 days of fasting. I've lost 35 pounds. I have not been hunger
and my energy level has been high enough to allow me to work.
I have been working, praying, reading several chapter of the
Bible daily, and reading other Christian books. I have been
sorting and organizing around my house. I've made a list of
what I want to eat and cook when I start eating again. I've
also made a list of things I need to stay away from like milk
shakes, sweet drinks, desserts, and sodas. We need to
take good care of the bodies God has given us. I pray daily
for the main things I am fasting for. I learned if one's
energy level drops too much it might be brought back up
by adding a little bit of nonsweetened cranberry juice to
one's water. So far I have not needed to do that. But I'm
ready this time, just in case!
I ended up using some nonsweetened cranberry juice two or
three times. I broke the fast on the 32nd day.
Judge carefully what you think God is telling you. If you think God
is telling you to do something that is against what he has already
said in the Bible, you are wrong. God cannot lie. God will not go
against his principles in his word the Bible. We are to love others
and be good to them and ourselves. We are not to harm others or
ourselves. We are to be willing to suffer persecution with a good
attitude for the sake of the gospel. Not every voice or thought
we get is from God. People do have audio and visual
hallucinations. The cause can be physical or even chemical. I
know someone who had audio and visual hallucinations because
a verterbra was pressing on the occipital nerve going up to his
brain stem. He also had headachs that lasted for around 4 secounds
and moved from the front of his head to the side of his head. A
chiropractor adjusted his vertrabra and his hallucinations, headachs,
memory problems, vertigo, etc., went away. The military also has
a device where they can transmit a persons voice to you inside your
ear. A lack of a particular B vitamin may make one appear to be
crazy. Other things including a lack of sleep may cause hallucinations.
Always judge everything against what God has already said in the
Bible.
A while ago, the thought came to me, "Do you love me more than
food?" I think God sometimes asks us, "Do you love me more than the
TV, your leisure time, your sleep?" I heard about a preacher who was
unable to cast out an evil spirit until he had fasted a few days. It
seems he was too full of food.
Cautions to consider when fasting.
I recently, Sept of 2018, found out it can be very dangerous to drink a
lot of distilled water. One lady drank 3 gallons of distilled water in a
short period of time. Distilled water has no salt in it. Water is attracted
to salt. So the distilled water went from her stomach to her other body
organs including her brain. Her brain swelled up so much she died.
When you break your fast be careful you don't suddenly eat too much food.
Refeeding too much too soon can result in death. It is called Refeeding
Syndrome. Here is a video about a starving mom who suddenly ate
too much and almost died. You can type in refeeding syndrome at
youtube and discover a lot more about this syndrome.