The spiritual act of fasting is an act of total consecration and worship to God, during which every form of distraction and pleasure (one of which includes food) is discarded for the purpose of spiritual connection. It basically involves reducing the influence of the flesh and increasing the hold of the Spirit upon us. To chart a good course for the year, many Christian congregations declare days of fasting as the beginning of the year to pray to God, committing their affairs, ambitions and resolutions into God’s hands for divine help. This is why fasting is being featured in this edition of my 30 days writing challenge. Here are some practices that makes fasting less burdensome for you.
Read Books
One of the ways to connecting to a person or an idea is to read about that person or that idea. Likewise, for spiritual connection, you need to read about spiritual affairs. The Bible is first of these books you need to keep your mind busy with. Striving to know more about God himself and His ways. Books written by ministers of God also help to understand the bible more and expands one’s knowledge of Christian living. Reading could take the place of the unnecessary chitchats you could have involved yourself in on a normal day.
Pray
This is the best form of connection with God Himself. Prayer is communication with God. It could be in form of worship, adoration, singing, intercession, supplication, and so on. Prayer should be incorporated into our daily activities, no matter how busy we are. It you can get a period of time like lunch break, it is preferable to spend that time praying or if you have a very busy schedule and work demands the whole of your time, you should find a way of personal connection with God in silent prayers, most especially prayers in the Spirit, praying in tongues.
Listen Consistently to Soft Spiritual Songs
Soft spiritual songs are so potent in putting you in the mood of worship and prayer. The mind can never be a vacuum. Knowingly or unintentionally, it will always be occupied with something at every particular time. It is important during a fast to keep your mind filled with spiritual content. It gives you the consciousness of consecration and encourages you to pray.
Giving to the Needy
The bible admonishes in Isaiah 58:7 that the kind of fast that God chooses is that in which ...you deal your bread with the poor and that you bring the poor and cast away to your house (rephrased). It is not the time to store up all the food you would have eaten during the fast to consume it all after the fast. Fasting helps us to feel the pains of those who are homeless and hungry in the street, so it is the best time to support them in our own little ways.
Everything is Based on Your Faith
Faith is the basis of our Christian worship; everything done without faith is a waste of time and even a sin according to the bible. Fasting should not be a thing of compulsion, it should be what you have decided to do, not what you are compelled to do. Fasting without faith is basically hunger strike. It is therefore important that your faith agrees with you fasting when you have to do it.
This post is my entry to the Day 10 of the Challenge 30 days organized by Dragosroua. To join this challenge, please click on the link to see the guidelines. I hope this helps you to keep up engagement on the blockchain. See you again tomorrow.
Previous Articles in This Challenge
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- Challenge30days Day 8: Best Practices To Becoming A Better Singer
- Challenge30days Day 7: Best Practices To Avoid Electricity Hazards
- Challenge30days Day 4: Best Practices In Limiting The Effects of Disappointment
- Challenge30days Day 3: Best Practices for Shopping Rightly
- Challenge30days Day 2: Best Practices To Accomplish Your 2019 Resolutions