March 24, 2025
“That is why the Lord says, ‘Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping and mourning.”
- Joel 2:12 (NLT)
Today we are going to be discussing the ways we can spiritually strengthen ourselves. We know there are ways to strengthen our bodies by toning our muscles with our body's or with weight equipment but what about the process of strengthening our spirit? How can we do that?
The Bible speaks about fasting to invoke the power and response of God. Fasting takes disciplining our bodies, ignoring its afflictions and pleasures and in that process, we strengthen our spirit. When we go into the gym, we are making a sacrifice. Instead of running away from what is tough, we run towards it for a glorious outcome. The same can be said about fasting. When we fast, we offer a spiritual sacrifice to God by refraining from legitimate pleasures for a time for the sake of pursuing God. The lead verse shows how much God loves it when we fast. This is because when we fast, we must humble ourselves, and surrender our hearts to Him fully.
One of the key elements in fasting is repentance. To repent is to acknowledge your wrongdoings with remorse and to abstain from them moving forward. When Jesus gave grace to the promiscuous woman in John 8: 9-11, He forgave her but told her to ‘sin no more.’ We must remember that we have grace but grace without repentance is license to sin (Romans 6:1-2). Just as the lead verse mentions, when we fast, we are weeping and mourning our sins and becoming dead to them. In the Bible, a fast was usually declared, when there was great sin, and their hearts needed to turn back to God (Nehemiah 1:1-4; Jonah 3:5-8).
Fasting without prayer is only a hunger strike.
Another important element when fasting is prayer. Having disconnected from the world to fast, the goal is to communicate with God through prayer and reading His word. To hear God clearly, one must focus on the right things, so when fasting, it is important to reflect in prayer. When we pray, we seek the face of God and his wisdom in our situations. We cannot fast without prayer. As the saying goes, fasting without prayer is only a hunger strike.
An additional element to fasting is praise and worship. Worship is like a sweet sound to the Lord; it pleases God to listen to our praise and worship. In 2 Samuel 6 we see David being so fervent for the Lord with praises that even his wife judged him scoldingly. David continued and was blessed by the Lord for his commitment of fervent praises.
As we fast, pray, read the Word, repent, praise and worship we are given the ability to come before God in humility and reverence. We evoke the power of the Holy Spirit to reveal the plans that he has for us and to strengthen our Spirit man. When we are in this place of sacrifice and communion, we can overcome our challenges through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Song of Worship
Oh! Christ be magnified let His praise arise, Christ be magnified in me – 1x.
Oh! Christ be magnified from the altar in my life, Christ be magnified in me – 1x.
Prayer - Lord, I acknowledge the importance of strengthening not just my body, but more importantly, my spirit. As I learn about the disciplines of fasting, prayer, repentance, praise, and worship, I pray for Your guidance and strength to earnestly apply these in my life. Lord, help me to embrace fasting as a sacred sacrifice, a way to humble myself and draw nearer to You. Teach me to fast with a pure heart, focusing not on the physical absence of food, but on the spiritual feast of Your presence. As I discipline my body, let my spirit soar in Your grace and truth.