Brushed By God

Are you having a difficult time understanding the true meaning of fasting?

In Scripture there are several kinds of fasting, such as a radical fast, partial fast, corporate fast, Paul’s fast and the Bridegroom’s fast, to name a few.

My favorite kind of fast is the Bridegroom fast. In this fast, time is spent with God in prayer, studying and meditating on the Word, and in worship.

This fast gives God’s children a chance to fall more deeply in love with the Bridegroom and intensify detachments from worldly concerns. It is a powerful tool that strengthens your spiritual identity in God and weakens your fleshly desires. It develops a deeper intimacy with the Bridegroom, Jesus Himself.

Jesus knew that after He had left this earth, His disciples’ hearts would be aching to be with their beloved Bridegroom. They would miss His affection, beauty and stunning wisdom. Jesus knew that fasting would help fill the emptiness and lovesickness for the Bridegroom, for He Himself would cause them to long to be close to Him as in the days when He walked with them in intimacy. By fasting, their spirits would become tender. Then the Holy Spirit could reveal Christ by the Word and through worship.

This Bridegroom fast increases the tenderizing of our hearts by removing the spirit of dullness and deadness off us so that we experience the presence of God in a more discernable way. This fast is not about getting something from Him or having Him change situations, but is about having Him change our hearts to fall more deeply in love with Him.

When you fast, it is like dissecting the heart of God–what makes Him “tick,” what His fragrance is like, and how He nourishes His children with tenderness and love? As you embrace the fasted lifestyle, you will know Him more than you know Him now. You will find in Him the satisfaction of your life. There is no one compared to Him in the entire universe. I so deeply love Him, don’t you?

I hear Him say, “When you come to Me with your prayers and fasting, it shows Me that the desire of your heart is to know Me in a deeper and more intimate way. My desire is to mend each broken and torn part of your heart and make your life a tapestry of praise and worship. Then you will discover that I am the lover of your soul.”

Here we have the needle of God’s love mending the torn pieces together to make a covering of praise as we spend time with Him in solitary prayer and fasting. The cloth of covering will warm and heal the broken, wounded and torn places in the lives of many.