Elvis and Fasting

This will be my last post on fasting.  (For now anyway) I hope these posts have been informative and encouraging. I hope they will provide an incentive to get you started in the discipline of fasting. Jesus made it clear that fasting, giving, and praying are three marks of His disciples. In the sermon on the mount He said, "WHEN you give! WHEN you pray! WHEN you fast! He didn't say IF!

Today I want to address the matter of fasting and intimacy with God and to do that let's turn to Luke 2:36-38: "Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity;  37 and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.  38 And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem."

In this text today we meet a widow named Anna. She was old. After 7 years of marriage her husband dies and for whatever reason she doesn't remarry. She has lived a long time without the physical intimacy of a husband. How did she handle this lack of intimacy? She prayed, she fasted, and she served God. Was she lonely? I’m sure she experienced times of loneliness. Was she alone? Never.

And look what happened. Her praying and fasting and service to the Lord, literally brought Jesus to her door. (She pretty much lived in the temple!) And because she had fasted and prayed, she had become intimate with Jesus and His Word. And she used that intimacy to bless others, as a gifted prophetess (one who spoke of the things of God with others)

I don’t think we can speak of intimacy with God too much. The human need for intimacy is great, but living in such a sin-sick world, human intimacy more often than not fails. If and when it does, know with Anna, that there is an intimacy that will never fail. And know and believe that this intimacy can fulfill and can satisfy.

Ps 107:9 says,  “For He satisfies the longing soul.” This is an incredible verse. If we paraphrase it in the Hebrew, it would sound like this. “God fills to overflowing the soul that is greedy for Him!"

God alone satisfies the longing soul. Is there dissatisfaction in your life? Does God

seem distant? Are you experiencing lukewarmness? Have you tried fasting? It’s one way that Jesus promises to show up at your door for the purpose of being more intimate with you.

Dr. Tony Evans tells of the Elvis rage of the 70’s. The King of Rock and Roll would go on tour and people would camp out for days at the ticket office hoping not only for a seat, but a front row seat. You’re not going to touch his silk scarf in row ZZZ. He’s not going to come off the stage and put his arms around you and sing to you if you’re in the balcony.

So these people would be willing to be inconvenienced by sleeping on a sidewalk, no matter what the weather for days just for the possibility of a front row seat near the king . Well, the King of Kings doesn’t shake his hips but he does shake the world. And He knows tender love, and He knows when you’re lonesome at night, and He knows a bit about Heartbreak Hotel,  but He will never allow you to be alone.  Elvis would pack up and leave after the concert, but Jesus says, I will never leave nor forsake you.

Are you willing to be inconvenienced like those Elvis seekers. Are you willing to skip a meal or two in the discipline of fasting for the purpose of getting a front row seat with Jesus?  Jas 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. And fasting is one way that we can use to draw near to Him. 

Father, there is such a lack of intimacy in our world today. Fill the lonely souls with Your love.