A Hunger For God and His Mission
by Dr. Richard Fisher
A few years ago I decided to fast for a week. By the third day, my stomach was growling at me. My aching head was screaming, “I’m addicted to food; feed me or I die.” I couldn’t even think, much less solve anything. By the fourth day my body had settled down. I realized that the initial physical reaction had served the purpose to set my focus and establish my resolve. I was now prepared to get down to business with God. As we wrestled with my request, I began to see my selfish agenda from the perspective of God’s heart. I realized I would need to make changes to align my thinking with the One I was asking to help me. I embraced God’s wisdom, confessed my sin and let go of my selfishness. I had broken through a barrier. I fasted for one more day. During that time, I felt close to God as if He were by my side, guiding my steps. My fast was no longer about me, it was about developing a passion for what was important to God. Our bodies are energy factories created to transform food into the energy needed for life. I know that, but for those few days, I almost got what Jesus said in John 4:34–35, when he told his disciples that he had food to eat, which they knew nothing of. I was beginning to understand what real fasting is all about. It is hungering for God and his vision, which is to work for and with us as we rescue the lost, deceived and perishing.
As I matured in my faith, I began to realize that fasting was not about me. It was not primarily about asking God to help me and meet my personal needs. It was about me presenting my heart to God (Romans 12:1–2) so that God could cleanse me, give me the vision of His will, and invite me to partner with him in the ministry of reconciliation through Jesus Christ. Wow! What that means is that I’m on God’s team. I get to work with God, being led by the Holy Spirit.
In the Gospels, Jesus modeled four stages of fasting as he taught his disciples to grow in their relationship with God and in their commitment to walk with God. He wanted his disciples to hunger for God rather than hungering for the things of this world. Jesus wanted his disciples to pursue the Kingdom of God instead of the kingdoms of men. Fasting became the expression of one changing their priorities, passions and actions to align with God and His mission. The four stages, based on
I John 2:12–14 reflect the maturing process: Children, Adolescents, Young Adults, and Fathers. We could call these stages: Beginning Faith, Growing Faith, Proactive Faith, Solid Mature Faith. Fasting will expand through each stage of one’s spiritual development.
Stage #1. Developing a Passion for God. Beginning Faith [Matthew 8:23–27] — the apostles cried out in their times of need and experienced Jesus’ miraculous works and salvation. They experienced the power and love of God. They began to “believe” (Hebrews 11:6) and call on the name of Jesus (Romans 10:8–13). They had to give up the idea of controlling their life and take hold (i.e. fasting) of humbly trusting God.
When I first trusted God and became a follower of Jesus, I was just a child in my faith. I was experiencing God for the first time — from a child’s perspective. I needed help; and the only one from my perspective that could help was God. So, I fasted and prayed to him. It was that simple. Everyone starts out as a child.
Stage #2. Developing a Passion for Lost Souls. Growing Faith [John 4:34–35] — Jesus surprised the disciples by turning down the food they had just secured for a higher form of spiritual nourishment — reconciling men and women to God. He was teaching them to hunger after God and his redemptive mission (2 Peter 3:9). Jesus wanted his disciples to understand God and his love for the world (John 3:16–17). Jesus wanted his disciples to see people as God sees them. It was about becoming a partner with God and fulfilling the mission to rescue the lost. They had to give up serving themselves and take hold (i.e. fasting) of Jesus’ call to serve others and lead them to Jesus Christ.
Stage #3. Developing a Passion for Rescuing the Lost. Proactive Faith (Mark 9:22–32) — The disciples witnessed Jesus battling against the Kingdom and forces of the Evil One. Jesus explained that the battle for men’s souls could only be won with the Father’s help. So we call upon God in prayer and fasting (Mark 9:29 — KJV) Jesus was not referring to the outward rituals associated with fasting; he was talking about holding fast to God and asking for God to help, expecting the Father to fight through us to free those in bondage to sin and oppression. We are in a spiritual battle with the kingdom of darkness (Ephesians 6:11–12). And we desperately need God’s help and armor to free our brothers and sisters from the prisons of sin.
Though this battle is spiritual, it has flesh and blood application. For the world system, led by evil men who are influenced by the Devil, enslaves and ruins the lives of God’s children. They traffic in human flesh for their own selfish agendas. Isaiah 58:6–7 describes how Christians are to apply God’s truth. We are to proclaim the good news of redemption — effecting justice by bringing freedom to those being oppressed and trafficked, feeding the poor, taking care of the needy, and leading one’s family. It is giving of myself and my stuff, by taking hold of the responsibility (fasting) to be my brother’s keeper. Jesus claimed this for himself when he quoted Isaiah 61:1–3 in Luke 4:18–19, 7:21–23. True fasting begins by taking ownership of God’s plan to redeem and restore true life to his children. As one faces the crises in people’s lives, we call upon God for his help and strength to bring salvation to bear in every situation of life. Fasting calls me into action, to live out the Gospel in community and give it away.
Stage #4. Developing a Passion for the Cross of Jesus Christ. Solid, Mature Faith [Luke 9:23–26] — Jesus knowing that he had come to die, often prayed and fasted before the Father. He had come not to live for himself (as Satan tempted him to do), but to die to self and give his life as a sacrifice for his lost and oppressed brothers and sisters. His choice to die for mankind was tough for him (Luke 22:39–44). Likewise, Jesus knew that the final step unto eternal life was to forfeit the claim to one’s “fleshly” life in order to gain “eternal” life with God. Jesus also knew this was a tough ask but a necessary one for his disciples. Jesus was asking them to deny themselves, to give up their life of pursuing the desires of the flesh and of this world and take hold (true fasting) of God’s promises and the responsibilities of God’s calling.
When a follower of Christ is willing to lose his life for Jesus — taking up his cross, it’s because he has seen the desperate need of mankind and realized God’s wonderful and daring plan to rescue and save them. And he has decided to join God and give his life to make God’s plan of salvation a reality for as many people as possible. At such a moment fasting takes on a note of desperation — ‘Oh God I need your strength to do this.” As Jesus prayed for strength, so did Paul (Ephesians 6:19–20). Maturing in the faith, doesn’t mean we need God less; it means we see how much more we need the presence and power of God in our lives. So we pray and fast.
Most of us are in the beginning stage when it comes to prayer and fasting. We focus on our own needs, usually physical, and the needs of our neighbors. And that will always be a part of our life. However, as our faith grows and our relationship with God matures, our fasting will be more about God and his mission and asking Him for strength or wisdom to advance the cause of Jesus Christ — the rescue and restoration of our brothers and sisters, both physically and spiritually.
