Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. (Matthew 6:16-18)
Jesus gave us insight about fasting in Matthew 6:16-18. He began by saying when ye fast; meaning He expects Christians to fast. He said that fasting is not about looking forlorn to get praise from people because that would be fasting for fleshly purposes. Living a fasted life means that the flesh is put under, and our spirit is in control.
Fasting from food is not the highest form of fasting. My spiritual father, Kenneth E. Hagin, used to fast every Tuesday and Friday. He was a great man of God. One day the Lord said to him, "I'd rather you live a fasted life than fast twice a week."
The fasted life is when you never let your body have everything it wants. It's keeping your body in control and never letting it be in charge. Learn to control your flesh by spending extra time with God, and don’t give your flesh what it wants immediately. That's the fasted life, and that's the life that God wants us all to live.
Spend more time with God than you do shopping and eating and doing your hobbies. That is the highest form of the fasted life. Kenneth E. Hagin worked into that lifestyle by having a system of fasting and prayer until he got to the place where it changed how he lived.
Practical Application – Live a fasted life. Determine to pray more than anything else that you do. Don’t give in to your flesh the moment that it wants something.
1 Corinthians 9:27; Galatians 5:13