SOME OF THE MAJOR SPIRITUAL
PRINCIPLES BEHIND FASTING
by Craig Wm. Peters
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst
for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”
Matthew 5:6
a In many religious circles, fasting has
become an act of ill-repute for all the wrong
reasons. One of the greatest downfalls
amongst believers today is the tendency to
vilify every act of True Worship which was
improperly represented by the Pharisees in the
days of the Messiah. But are we being wise if
we allow the proud, erroneous approach of
carnal, unconverted men to stand in the way of
our obedience to the Faith? Should someone’s
pride-driven abuse of such a profound and
significant act of True Worship cause us to
turn aside from the truth of the Word over
such an important matter? To be sure, the
Messiah rebuked the proud spirit of at least
one Pharisee who boasted of “fasting twice in
the week.”1 But as a result of the Savior’s
rebuke, many believers have so easily fallen
prey to Satan’s scheme of reverse psychology2
and they have completely shunned the act of
True Worship known in our days as “fasting.”
This brings us to the question:
Should the unacceptable, self-righteous
attitude of someone who is abusing the truth
of Scripture so completely repulse us that we
subsequently avoid those things which are
so clearly a part of the immutable
Word of hwhy?3
1
And of all things, he was praying when the boast was
made! Luke 18:9-12 (See also: 1Corinthians 1:29, 4:7.)
2
2Corinthians 2:11
3
hwhy is the unchanging, memorial Name of the Creator
of Heaven and Earth. Exodus 3:14-15, Numbers 6:22-
27, Micah 6:9, Malachi 1:11, Matthew 6:9, John 17:6,
11-12, 26, Philippians 2:9, Hebrews 2:11-12, Revelation
7:1-3, 11:18, 14:1, 15:4, 22:4 Though many scholars
believe the Memorial Name is pronounced, “Yahweh,”
further Hebrew scholarship gives support to the three-
syllable form, “Yahuweh.” Although this great and
awesome Name has been brought into disuse and ill-
repute, the Word of hwhy stands unbroken: This is His
Name to all generations. Exodus 3:14-15 The short
form of the Name of hwhy is “YAH.” This is the form
of the Name which is seen in the world renowned
1
After all, many of the Pharisees were simply
“playing church:” They made religion a carnal
show of self-exaltation,4 and many of their
number were not sincerely seeking the Mighty
One of Yisrael. So to reject fasting based on
the Pharisaical abuse of the practice makes as
little sense as rejecting the legitimate need to
eat food simply because someone who claims
to believe the Scriptures is a glutton. Thus, we
leave the improper use of fasting, and focus on
the One who taught us the truth of the issue:
The words of the Messiah show us that He
clearly expected His followers would regularly
engage in fasting and prayer after He
had ascended into the heavens.5
In our days, many others still tread far too
lightly when mentioning the act of fasting—a
facet of True Worship which, if our hearts are
right, is certainly one of the ultimate acts of
“faith, expectation, and love.”6 Some people
approach the topic of fasting with such
trepidation because they fear being labeled as
“self-righteous,” or as “legalistic.” On the flip
side, there are scores of others who completely
evade the issue of fasting-derived meekness
and humility. Their approach? Being
unwilling to push back the plate, they rather
choose to wrongly accuse those who do follow
the Messiah’s Teachings and Example
surrounding the righteousness of fasting.
Instead of remaining open to learn more of His
Word, they are quick to dismiss themselves
exclamation of praise and worship, “Hallelu-YAH”—a
word which means, “Praise YAH!”
4
Matthew 6:5, 23:5, Colossians 2:23
5
Matthew 6:16-19, 9:14-15. As He magnified the Law
(Isaiah 42:21) in “The Sermon on the Mount” (Matthew
chapters 5-7), the Messiah spoke of alms, prayer, and
fasting. Matthew 6:1-19 Yet these are the very three
things which the prophet Isaiah mentioned as he spoke
the Word of hwhy to Yisrael. Isaiah 58:1-13
6
1Corinthians 13:13
from any obligation to seek hwhy by fasting
and prayer.
By leveling accusations of pride and
“legalism” against those who do fast, they
imagine this to be their “out”—their excuse
to completely neglect this consummate
act of True Worship.
These misled souls are quick to condemn, and
to judge, and to falsely tag the sincere seeker
with most any convenient and/or derogatory
label. For in doing this, they think to justify
their erroneous position over the issue of
fasting-related humility and obedience. But
the maturing believer must realize that the
carnal mind will always categorize and
condemn others who are actively seeking first
the Kingdom of hwhy and His righteousness.7
However, it is both sad and ironic that, of all
possible sources, this “persecution for the
Word”8 comes largely from the believing
community. But for those who are not
inclined to follow the Messiah in this matter of
fasting,9 accusations are the usually the only
way they have of excusing/deflecting their
obvious error; it is the self-defense mechanism
so often seen when pride rules in the heart. By
accusing others of pride and legalism, they are
simply masking what is really in their own
hearts.10
Yet for those who wish to truly follow the
Messiah’s Example in fasting and prayer, for
those who desire to seek hwhy with all their
hearts, the false accusations of pride and
legalism need not be a concern. eswhy 11 was
not a legalist and He once taught the
multitudes of His earliest followers:
7
Matthew 6:33
8 12
Matthew 13:21, Mark 4:17, 2Timothy 3:12
9 13
Contrast those who follow Him wherever He leads:
Revelation 14:1-4.
10
Romans 2:1
11
eswhy is the Savior’s Hebrew name—a name which
means “hwhy is Salvation” and which corresponds to
“Joshua” of the Old Testament. However, there is no
“j” in the Hebrew, and “Joshua” would be rendered as
“Yahoshua” or “Yahushua.” The Savior was given this
most meaningful name in accordance with the prophecy
spoken by Gabriel, “He shall save His people from their
sins.” Matthew 1:21
2
“And when you fast 12 … ”
We notice eSwhy did not say here, “If you
fast,” He said, “And when you fast,” …
eSwhy was rightly assuming His followers
already knew just how established was this act
of righteousness in the lives of all those who
were members of the Commonwealth of
Yisrael. So our Messiah fully expected that
fasting would be practiced by all those who
followed in His steps.13 And as far as legalism
goes, we should put our minds at rest: For we
know the Savior did not teach legalism in any
form. And if we are following Him in our
actions, walking as He walked—in the spirit of
love—then we are not being legalistic. Love-
driven obedience is not legalism regardless of
the false accusations which those around us
might level.
The lack of attention given to fasting and
prayer is easily one of the worst and greatest
spiritual conspiracies ever concocted, and we
posit that the Messiah would say of this of
such a state of affairs among His people,
“An enemy has done this.”
Matthew 13:28
Over the years, the writer has been surprised at
the lack of guidance given to the people of
hwhy by those setting themselves forth as
shepherds of the flock:14
• When once attending a day of worship
services—services which were specifically
meant to stir revival—I walked away from the
time shaking my head in sad amazement that
there was not a single mention of fasting with
prayer—the very two things which are
essential for breaking up the fallow ground of
one’s heart15 and kindling the flames of zeal16
and revival.17
Mathew 6:16
Matthew 9:14-15
14
True shepherds will follow their Messiah by teaching
(as did He) the vital importance of fasting: Matthew
5:3-12, 6:16, 28:18-20
15
Hosea 10:12
16
Revelation 3:17-19
17
Isaiah chapter 58 shows the light, the revival, and the
restoration that come with executing a true fast. It was
Daniel’s fasting and prayer that led to the return/revival
of Yisrael as they were set free from Babel (Babylon) to
return to the Land.
• On still another occasion, one who calls
himself “rabbi” spoke of how we obtain
wisdom from the Most High. While he
presented some very salient scriptural points,
once more, I walked away feeling the deepest
bewilderment over this dear man’s failure to
mention the all-important aspect of fasting
with prayer—the very things which cause the
windows of Heaven to open as hwhy pours
upon us His greatest measure of favor and
wisdom,18 along with the knowledge and
power needed to execute His will. For it is
only through fasting-derived meekness and
humility that we obtain the most powerful and
ongoing leading of the Spirit; and it is only
through fasting-derived humility that we gain
the fullest impartation of the “spirit of wisdom
and revelation” 19 in the knowledge of hwhy.
Simply put, when contemplating fasting
and prayer, we must realize that no other
aspect of True Worship will contribute more
towards preparing our hearts to receive the
abundant riches of wisdom and knowledge
which overflow from the infinite spiritual
storehouses 20 of hwhy El Shaddai.
Because such treasures are not for those who
are lifted up with pride, it is only through
fasting-derived meekness and humility that the
Messiah eSwhy will open to us the doors of
these great storehouses of wisdom and
knowledge.21 But people cannot truly teach
about something which they do not know, or
which they have not experienced, or which
they are not doing.
Fasting and prayer are the keys to making
true spiritual progress because they are the
keys to entering into the realm of true spiritual
humility. Lacking this true, fasting-derived
humility, many in our days have come up with
their own brand of false humility, just as hwhy
has said through the prophet Jeremiah:
… Behold, they have rejected the
word of hwhy, and what manner
of wisdom is in them?
Jeremiah 8:9
18
James 4:6-10, 3:17-18
19
Ephesians 1:17
20
Colossians 2:2-3
21
Matthew 13:52, Colossians 2:3, Revelation 3:7
3
Lacking fasting-derived humility, people sense
a vacuum—an unfulfilled need—so they
attempt to replace this emptiness with their
own brand of what constitutes true pride and
true humility.22 This is part of what the
Scripture means that says, “They followed
after emptiness and became empty.”23
The truth about fasting is that it was intended
to further our spiritual progress as we seek
and find the righteousness and meekness24
which hwhy requires before His Spirit can
work in our lives with increasing power.
When understood properly, we see that fasting
is one of the ultimate expressions of “faith,
expectation, and love.”25 And when realizing
these things, we also begin to see just how
perverse it was for the Pharisee to use fasting
as a means of self-exaltation:
For the Pharisee(s) 26 to take something so
immensely blessed and powerful and to make
it a means of self-exaltation, was also putting
a deeply wretched and diabolical twist on the
true, Elohim-ordained purpose of fasting.
But does this historical abuse, on the part of
those so obviously misled, make fasting into a
practice which must be completely shunned?
If fasting is so wrongly esteemed,
it is only among those who would lose
their reward by casting the Word of
hwhy behind their backs.27
May our readers never advocate such an error.
Every aspect of True Worship has suffered
22
In the same way, governments and civilizations that
reject the Law of hwhy subsequently have/feel the need
to impose their less-than-perfect, man-made regulations.
These deficient laws are imposed on nations as part of
the judgment of hwhy for rejecting His Torah. Our own
history in America shows this very thing has occurred:
Having rejected His Law, the “laws” of this land are
increasingly the epitome of injustice. hwhy declares
these man-made laws compose the “statutes that are not
good.” Ezekiel 20:24-26 The Law of hwhy has always
been perfect (Psalm 19:7), and it always will be! See
Romans 7:12.
23
2Kings 17:15, Jeremiah 2:5
24
Zephaniah 2:3 > Matthew 6:33 and 5:5, Hosea 10:12
25
1Corinthians 13:13
26
Luke 18:9-12
27
Psalm 50:16-17, Acts 13:46
violence and abuse28 at the hands of proud,
misled, and self-serving men.29 Yet we must
not make the mistake of focusing on the
historical abuse so that fasting is erroneously
held forth in our minds with dishonor. This
opening discussion has been set forth with
many extensive thoughts—all provided in an
effort to explain why so many erroneous
thoughts have been so wrongly associated with
fasting for so very long a time.30
In our day, the lack of understanding about
fasting is why so many believers today possess
the unbelieving spirit of the spies of old.
Recall these spies displeased hwhy by the
report they brought back from the Land of
Canaan: They told Yisrael it was impossible
to “take the Land.” Sad to say, but these men
have their modern-day counterparts:
The modern-day counterparts of this
faithless attitude are those who teach believers
it is impossible to overcome sin, and to,
thereby, take the Land of Promise:
Age-Abiding Life in the
First Resurrection.31
And just like those ten spies of long ago,
anyone in our days who exhibits this faithless
attitude will greatly displease hwhy.32
Moreover, these believers will also obtain the
very thing which they thought to be true:
They will fail to overcome sin and
they will fail to inherit the Land of Promise
so as to reign with the Messiah in
the Millennial Kingdom.33
t s r q u p e o n m l k y j x z w h d g b a
Like all the immutable truths found in the
age-abiding Word of hwhy, the principles
behind fasting are extremely simple; yet this
act of faith produces the deepest, most
profound and far-reaching spiritual results of
anything given to us from the mind and
sovereignty of hwhy El Shaddai. This study is
28
Matthew 11:12
29
Some examples of this violence and abuse: 1Samuel
2:12-17, Jeremiah 23:1-2, Ezekiel 34:1-4, Micah 3:9-11
30
(and especially among believers in the Messiah)
31
Romans 5:17, Ephesians 1:17, 1John 2:25
32
Numbers 14:36-37, Matthew 25:26-30
33
Revelation 5:9-10, 20:4-6
4
an attempt to provide sincere followers of the
Messiah with what will prayerfully be some of
the major aspects of a most monumental act of
True Worship. Fasting is a powerful act of
humility and righteousness, and the truths
behind this practice are strikingly simple. Yet
like the Spirit surrounding all of His ways,
these truths are inexplicably profound with far-
reaching and unfathomable implications. Let
us now spend a few moments contemplating
these great, life-changing truths.
t s r q u p e o n m l k y j x z w h d g b a
==========================
PART ONE:
Some of the Major Spiritual
Principles Behind Fasting
==========================
Expressing Love For hwhy
The ultimate purpose of fasting is to
prepare one’s heart to hear and obey the voice
of hwhy. Our Messiah teaches us that hearing
the voice of hwhy, with the intent to love and
obey Him, is the Greatest Commandment in all
of the Torah:
28 And one of the scribes came, and having
heard them reasoning together, and perceiving
that He had answered them well, asked Him,
Which is the first commandment of all? 29 And
eswhy answered him, The first of all the
commandments is, “Hear, Yisrael: hwhy our
Elohim, hwhy is one: 30 And you shall love
hwhy your Elohim with all your heart, and
with all your soul, and with all your mind, and
with all your strength.” This is the first
commandment. Mark 12:28-30
How does fasting fuel this love and intent? It
is during our times of fasting and prayer that
the Spirit especially teaches us to “be still and
to know that [He is] Elohim.”34 Our soul is
silent unto Elohim35 and we forsake our own
power and strength to wait upon His
strength.36 We bow in prayer to offer petitions
before Him, but most importantly, we wait
with loving submission to hear His Voice:
34
Psalm 46:10
35
Psalm 62:1, Lamentations 3:26-29
36
Isaiah 40:30-31
 During times of fasting and prayer,
our goal is to be attentive to hwhy —to
hear His Voice and to fulfill the Shema
by loving Him and doing His will.
We read that Abraham heard the voice of
hwhy,37 and we assert the patriarch heard that
Voice because he often humbled himself
before the Most High with fasting and prayer.
We will ponder more about Abraham and his
life of fasting shortly, but for now, we study
the misparim 38 of the Hebrew words for
“fast/fasting” and “voice.” In Hebrew, the
misparim for “fast/fasting” (Mwu, tsōme) is
136:
← ← ←
136 = (40) M + (6) w + (90) u = Mwu = tsōme = fast
Yet 136 is also the misparim for the Hebrew
word for “voice” (lwq, kol):
← ← ←
136 = (30) l + (6) w + (100) q = lwq = kol/voice
This is far from coincidence. Ruach
ha’Qodesh39 signifying that our seasons of
fasting and prayer are special times for
fulfilling the Shema by hearing His Voice, His
Spirit, with ever increasing clarity.40 Our
times of fasting and prayer are times to hear
His Voice:
Only when our hearts are inclined
to hear and obey His Voice may our
voices then be heard on high.41
So the humility that surrounds fasting and
prayer involve our humble, loving submission
before hwhy as we seek to know, to hear, and
to do His sovereign will: This is the all-
important beginning of fulfilling the Shema.
Dust and Ashes
We know that Abraham was given to a life
characterized by fasting and prayer because of
the words which he spoke to hwhy when the
37
Genesis 26:4-5
38
In Hebrew, “misparim” means “numbers.” In honor
of hwhy, the Elohim of the Hebrews (Exodus 3:18, 5:3,
7:16, 9:1,13, 10:3), this writer has chosen to use the
word “misparim” instead of the Greek-based word
“gematria.”
39
The Spirit of hwhy
40
Proverbs 4:18
41
Isaiah 58:4
5
Most High appeared to him by the oaks of
Mamre:
And Abraham answered and said,
“Behold now, I have taken upon myself to
speak to hwhy, but I am dust and ashes.”
Genesis 18:27
This statement shows us Abraham—who
heard the voice of hwhy 42—was well-
instructed in the humility associated with
fasting and prayer.43 When expressing the
humility and affliction which are to
characterize the mindset of the one who is
fasting, many men of old laid on the ground:
They laid down in the dust and covered
themselves with ashes.44 In many of the
accounts we read, those seeking hwhy would
also lay down in sackcloth and ashes, putting
dust on their heads.45 Identifying with dust
and ashes is both humbling and prophetic:
1. The dust is both our humble origin as well
as our fate 46. All men suffer the First Death47
and truly grasping the reality of this fact is
both sobering and humbling.48 Apart from the
life that hwhy gives, we are mere dust. And
dust has no caused to be lifted up. This shows
us some of the humility to be associated with
dust and the First Death during our times of
fasting and prayer. When mentioning the
humility which one expresses during times of
42
Genesis 26:4-5
43
“The fear of hwhy prolongs days” (Proverbs 10:27),
and nothing promotes the fear/reverence of hwhy more
than times of fasting and prayer. Also, science has
shown that longevity is associated with a life
characterized by a lower caloric intake. We assert
Abraham lived to be 175 years of age due to his “fasting
oft.” Matthew 9:14, 2Corinthians 11:27 And Yitschak
(Isaac) was the oldest of the three patriarchs: He lived to
the age of 180. And what was one of the appellatives
given to hwhy by Ya’acob/Jacob? Jacob called hwhy
“the Fear of Isaac.” Genesis 31:42 And Jacob died at
the age of 147. We assert all three of these men lived a
life characterized by fasting.
44
Job 16:15, 30:19, Lamentations 3:29
45
2Samuel 13:19, Esther 4:1-3, Psalm 102:3-9,
Jeremiah 6:26, Ezekiel 27:29-31, Daniel 9:3, Jonah 3:6,
Matthew 11:21
46
Genesis 3:19
47
Hebrews 9:27
48
Psalm 90:3-12
fasting and affliction, the psalmist wrote of our
humble origin:
My soul cleaves to the dust:
Give me life, according to Your Word.
Psalm 119:25
The dust spoke of death,49 and cleaving to the
dust was an acknowledgement by the one
fasting that only the power of hwhy could enter
into a situation and bring about life, and
resurrection, and deliverance.
2. Ashes will be the fate of those who incur the
Second Death,50 and apart from the atoning
blood of the Messiah, we are all ultimately
worthy of such a judgment. This shows us
some of the humility which is to be associated
with ashes and the Second Death during times
of fasting and prayer. Sha’ul wrote, “If we
judge ourselves, then we are not judged.”51
This is one of the things which should occur
during our times of fasting and prayer:
Those who judge themselves worthy
of the Second Death—those who know that
they would be turned to ashes, if not for the
atoning blood of the Messiah and the salvation
He offers—those are the believers who
are also given power to overcome
the Second Death.
Abraham, we are told, has already overcome
in this manner: He has overcome the Second
Death. And eSwhy tells us the patriarch will
sit victoriously with all the prophets in the
coming Kingdom.52 Since Abraham declared
himself to be “dust and ashes,” we know that
he entered into many occasions of fasting and
prayer during his lifetime. And this is quite
significant for those who still wish to express
the faith of Abraham 53 in their lifetimes. It is
simply not possible to emulate the patriarch’s
life of faith apart from identifying with dust
and ashes as we seek hwhy during times of
regular fasting and prayer.
49
Genesis 3:19, Job 10:9, 34:15, Psalm 22:15
50
Matthew 3:7-12, 5:27-30, 10:28
51
1Corinthians 11:31
52
Matthew 8:11-12, Luke 13:28
53
Romans 4:12, 16, Galatians 3:7-9
6
“The fear of hwhy prolongs days,”54 and
nothing promotes the fear/reverence of hwhy
more than times of fasting and prayer.
Consider for yourselves: Who has more
fear/reverence before hwhy: The one who
knows that, apart from the Most High, he or
she is mere dust—and only worthy of ashes—
or the one who is lifted up with pride and self-
sufficiency of any sort?55
Fasting Prepares the Heart:
Breaking Up the Fallow Ground
Because the Spirit of hwhy dwells with the
humble and contrite heart,56 fasting especially
prepares the heart to seek and find hwhy. We
may read of those who did and did not prepare
their hearts before hwhy. Negatively, of
Rehoboam we read:
“And he did evil, because he prepared
not his heart to seek hwhy.”
2Chronicles 12:14
But on a positive note, Ezra the scribe did
practice fasting with prayer; and so we also
read he had prepared his heart:
“For Ezra had prepared his heart to
seek the Torah of hwhy, and to do it, and to
teach in Yisrael statutes and judgments.”
Ezra 7:10
Through the prophet Hosea, hwhy also spoke
of how we must prepare our hearts to seek
Him. However, in this case, the Spirit refers to
fasting and prayer as “breaking up the fallow
ground,” preparing the untilled soil of our
hearts:
Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap
according to kindness; break up your fallow
ground: For it is time to seek hwhy till He
comes and rains righteousness upon you.
Hosea 10:12
Thus, it is through fasting and prayer that the
believer truly prepares the heart and breaks up
the fallow ground so that the seed of the Word
may find the best soil,57 allowing the rain of
54
Proverbs 10:27
55
Deuteronomy 32:15, Luke 12:16-21, Revelation 3:16-
17
56
Isaiah 57:15, 66:2, Matthew 5:3
57
Matthew 13:3,8,23
the Spirit58 to bring about the ultimate growth
within us. All other aspects of fasting
naturally follow from this major intent on the
part of the true worshipper: Preparing our
hearts to hear hwhy and to obey His Word.
Fasting shows the intent of the heart to live
reverently59 and fuels the fire of zeal for
anyone who seeks to love hwhy with all the
heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Hungering and Thirsting
After Righteousness
The physical hunger and thirst which
accompany fasting are intended to be outward,
faith-expressions toward hwhy60 of a deeper,
inner, spiritual hunger and thirst on the part of
one who desires to know and to live in
accordance with the will of the Most High.
The spiritual hunger and thirst which emanates
from within the heart of one seeking hwhy is
expressed through fasting and prayer. Faith
without works is dead:61 A person can say62
he hungers and thirsts for hwhy, but fasting and
prayer are the substance of such true faith.
Fasting and prayer are the authentic expression
of faith towards hwhy that our spiritual hunger
and thirst are real and sincere. A spiritual
hunger and thirst for hwhy was expressed as
the psalmist endured physical hunger and thirst
during his times of mourning, fasting, and
prayer:
As a deer longs for the water streams,
so my being longs for You, O Elohim. 2 My
being thirsts for Elohim, for the living El.
When shall I enter in to appear before
Elohim? 3 My tears have been my food
day and night, while they say to me all
day, “Where is your Elohim?”
Psalm 42:1-3, ISRV
David also thirsted after hwhy, and we should
not suppose it was only because of a lack of
58
Isaiah 44:3, Hosea 10:12
59
2Timothy 3:12
60
And we emphasize toward hwhy, but not outwardly
toward others. Matthew 6:16-18 However, do not err
by taking this to mean that corporate fasting among a
body of believers was ever forbidden by the Messiah
(see Acts 13:1-3). For many in our days make such an
erroneous assumption.
61
James 2:17,20,26
62
James 2:18
7
physical water; the great psalmist of Yisrael
hungered and thirsted for the Presence of the
Most High:
O Elohim, You are my El; I earnestly seek
You; my being has thirsted for You; my flesh
has longed for You in a dry and thirsty land
without water. 2 Therefore, I have had a
vision of You in the set-apart place, to
see Your power and Your esteem.
Psalm 63:1-2, ISRV
Above all others,63 eswhy the Messiah,
brought life and immortality to light through
the Good News,64 and He taught us a great
deal surrounding fasting and prayer. And
eswhy was referring to nothing less than
fasting and prayer—and to those who truly
hunger and thirst for hwhy during times of
fasting-derived affliction—when speaking
these words to the multitudes:
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst
for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”
Matthew 5:6
Fasting-Derived
Affliction and Humility
When hunger and thirst set in on the one
who worships hwhy with fasting and prayer,
weakness, affliction, brokenness, and humility
prepare the heart to better hear the voice of the
Spirit. And the Word of hwhy indicates He
will save an afflicted people:
For You will save an afflicted people,
but haughty eyes you will bring down.
Tehillim/Psalms 18:27
Through fasting-derived affliction, humility,
and brokenness, we enter into a Sanctuary of
His Presence which cannot be otherwise
known. When we read that hwhy chooses to
make His dwelling with those who are of a
“contrite and humble spirit,” it must be
realized that the reference is to those who have
humbled themselves before Him with fasting
and prayer:
For thus says the High and Lofty One
that inhabits eternity, whose Name is set
apart: I dwell in the high and separate place,
63
Colossians 1:18
64
2Timothy 1:10, John 10:10
 with him also that is of a contrite and humble
spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble,
and to revive the heart of the contrite.
Isaiah 57:15
And this is what the believer who fasts and
prays will experience: hwhy will especially
make His dwelling place with that person.
During our times of fasting and affliction, not
only will hwhy make His Presence and His
love known to us, but we will also experience
His Personal reviving—His Personal touch
that imparts such indescribable love and
healing. Through Isaiah, hwhy would later
speak, once again, of those who humble and
afflict themselves before Him with fasting and
prayer. And we see just how similar is this
promise to that which was read in Isaiah 57:
For all these things has My hand
made, and so all these things came to be,
says hwhy: but to this man will I look, even to
him that is poor and of a contrite spirit,
and that trembles at My Word.
Isaiah 66:2
We assert the trembling spoken of here is the
trembling characterized by fear/reverence,
love, gratitude, and brokenness. This is the
same fear/reverence, love, gratitude, and
brokenness seen in the woman who anointed
eswhy,65 and this is the same fear, trembling,
and brokenness seen in Sha’ul,66 who fasted
often.67 When abiding under the contrition
and humility brought on by fasting and prayer,
it is impossible to read the Word, or to sing, or
to pray, without yielding up such tears of love,
joy, gratitude, and brokenness. This is not
something which one has to “try” to bring
about: This is something which the Spirit of
hwhy will most certainly do within us, once He
has brought us to the point of humility and
brokenness.
On more than one occasion, King David wrote
of those who had sought hwhy with fasting and
prayer and who, as a result, were walking
before Him with broken and contrite hearts:
65
Luke 7:37-38,44
66
Acts 20:31, 1Corinthians 2:3, 2Corinthians 10:10
67
2Corinthians 6:5, 11:27
8
hwhy is near to those that are
of a broken heart, and saves such as
are of a contrite spirit.
Psalm 34:18
Such humility and brokenness, we learn, is
what hwhy regards to be the ultimate sacrifice
in True Worship:
16 For You delight not in sacrifice, else
would I give it: You have no pleasure in
burnt-offering. 17 The sacrifices of Elohim
are a broken spirit: a broken and contrite
heart, Elohim, You will not despise.
Psalm 51:16-17
Above all others, eswhy the Messiah brought
life and immortality to light through the Good
News,68 and He taught us a great deal about
fasting and prayer. The Savior was referring
to nothing less than fasting and prayer—and
to those whose hearts are subsequently poor,
broken, and contrite before hwhy—when He
spoke to the multitudes and said:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for
theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.”
Matthew 5:6
All of the Beatitudes are, in fact, fasting
related, and through these great Teachings, our
Messiah magnifies the Torah69 and teaches us
the favor and truth of hwhy in unparalleled
abundance.70
He Must Increase
and I Must Decrease
It must be one of the most overwhelming
and instructive Scriptures in all of the Word of
hwhy. We speak of that simple line which was
spoken by Yochanan as he was nearing the end
of his life and ministry. When speaking of the
Savior, Yochanan said:
“He must increase, but I must decrease.”
John 3:30
While Yochanan was obviously referring to
eswhy the Messiah, many have rightly
perceived that this simple statement also gives
us a wonderful picture of what must take place
68
2Timothy 1:10, John 10:10
69
Isaiah 42:21, Matthew 5:17-20
70
John 1:14-17
for the Messiah’s life to be revealed in the life
of the individual believer: Through prayer and
obedience, the life of Elohim is manifested in
those who follow the Messiah. Yet what is
overlooked, unmentioned, or perhaps, largely
unknown, is that fasting is an essential part of
how we decrease 71 so that the Messiah might
increase within us. We assert this profound
Scripture will only find its ultimate and
greatest fulfillment in the life of the believer
who ministers before hwhy through fasting and
prayer. During times of fasting and prayer, we
decrease—both literally and figuratively—
and, as a result, the Spirit of the Messiah
within us will most surely increase. hwhy
desires to reveal His Son in us, just as the
Sha’ul has said:
15 But when it was the good pleasure of
Elohim—Who separated me from my mother’s
womb, and called me through His favor—16 to
reveal His Son in me, that I might preach
Him among the Gentiles …
Galatians 1:15-16
The Son of hwhy was revealed in the apostle,
even as He will be revealed in the lives of all
those who follow Him. hwhy desires to reveal
His Son in each of us, even as He did in the
life of Sha’ul. And while Elohim will reveal
His Son in many different ways, fasting and
prayer are the common catalyst. The only
question here is: “Just how hungry is each
person to acquire all those things which have
now been made available through the shed
blood of eswhy the Messiah?” Those with a
greater hunger and thirst for righteousness will
seek hwhy more earnestly through fasting and
prayer, and they will be rewarded according to
their faith.
Entering Into His Rest
The ways of hwhy are ways of peace, rest
and refreshing. Times of fasting and prayer
are intended to be times of entering into rest
which is physical, emotional, and spiritual.
Physical Rest: Science has shown that all of
our bodily organs need rest, and fasting gives
much-needed rest to our digestive organs. The
heart also gets rest as it has to do less work:
For the heart, there is increased labor
71
Psalm 119:141
9
associated with digesting and metabolizing
food, so fasting brings this vital organ a much-
needed rest.
Emotional Rest: Our emotions need rest, and
the greatest rest to be had is found by trusting
in the sovereignty of hwhy, regardless of how
things might look around us. Our times in
fasting and prayer are especially meant to be
times in which we still our souls and
continually cast our cares upon Him. These
are the times we can more fully and
continually abide in His Presence and feel the
reality of what hwhy has said in Tehillim 46:
Be still, and know that I am Elohim:
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.
Tehillim/Psalm 46:10
Fasting and prayer are special times for us to
be still and to know that He is Elohim: In the
quiet humility of fasting we more fully learn
that He will surely work to be exalted in
regard to our burdens; He will surely work to
be exalted in regard to all that He has
foreordained in His sovereign will. We learn
to have even greater rest in His unstoppable
plans and purposes. Walking in this reality
gives us unspeakable emotional rest.
Spiritual Rest: Because fasting results in the
Presence of hwhy more greatly dwelling with
us, it certainly leads to the procurement of
greater spiritual rest. Hordes today are
unaware that they have sought out so much
vanity for fulfillment simply because they
have a great void which may only be filled by
the Spirit of hwhy: Only a relationship with
the Creator will fill the chasm in our souls.
Times of fasting and prayer take this
relationship to its greatest and most intimate
levels.
The prophets wrote many special lines
about the rest we have when returning to dwell
in the Presence of hwhy. These Scriptures are
most certainly fulfilled any time we bow
before Him in prayer, even when one is not
fasting. Prayer is the means by which we draw
near to hwhy and rest in Him any time we are
led of the Spirit. Nothing in this present work
intends to lessen the importance of prayer,
even when one is not fasting:
 Of all that we may do, continual prayer
is the ultimate act of righteousness.
However, the special intimacy obtained during
times of fasting and prayer is an intimacy that
is carried forth, even when one is not fasting.
Fasting and prayer propel us forth into greater
vistas of love and service to the Most High
because it opens the route by which His Spirit
may more fully indwell and encompass all that
we do and all that we say. Of the faith-rest we
are to have when bowing in prayer before
hwhy, the Spirit says through the psalmist:
Be still, and know that I am Elohim:
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.
Psalm 46:1072
Our times of prayer should be permeated with
the spirit of faith and rest—the spirit of being
still and resting in the powerful love and
sovereignty of hwhy: We must be assured that
He will always do those things which will
ultimately bring Him the greatest exaltation in
all the earth.
The prophet Isaiah also spoke of how great is
the rest to be had whenever we kneel before
hwhy: As we draw near to the Father through
the blood of His Son, His Spirit will always
impart His rest to those who place their trust in
Him:
… to whom He said, “This is the rest,
you give rest to him that is weary;
and this is the refreshing” …
Isaiah 28:12
Those who imagine prayer to be dry and
lifeless must realize: Prayer is anything but
dry; true prayer involves resting in the
Presence of hwhy and casting the burdens of
our hearts before His Throne of love and
kindness. When drawing near to the Father
through the blood of His Son, the Spirit of
hwhy will always impart His rest to those
whose petitions express trust in Him:
72
We know this text was just cited a few paragraphs
prior to this, but the concept is of great importance and
worthy of repetition.
10
For thus says the Sovereign hwhy,
the Qadosh One of Yisrael, “In returning and
rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in
confidence shall be your strength” …
Isaiah 30:15
This great rest may be known any time we
pray before Him, but it is often experienced at
a richer level during times of fasting and
prayer.
t s r q u p e o n m l k y j x z w h d g b a
==========================
PART TWO:
Significant Results of Fasting
==========================
The Spirit/Presence of hwhy
Those who afflict their souls with fasting
and prayer enter into a realm by which the
Spirit of hwhy can dwell with them
increasingly. We have already visited those
texts which show hwhy is pleased to let His
Spirit dwell with the humble and contrite of
heart.
For thus says the High and Lofty One
that inhabits eternity, whose Name is set
apart: I dwell in the high and separate place,
with him also that is of a contrite and humble
spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble,
and to revive the heart of the contrite.
Isaiah 57:15, 66:2
Meekness, humility, and righteousness are
things which must be learned, and they are
best learned during times of fasting and prayer
in the Presence of hwhy:
Seek hwhy, all you meek of the earth,
that have kept His ordinances; seek
righteousness, seek meekness: it may
be you will be hidden in the day
of the wrath of hwhy.
Zephaniah 2:3
Shelemo/Solomon wrote,
The fear of hwhy is the instruction of
wisdom; and before honor is humility.
Proverbs 15:33
Simply put, nothing cultivates humility and the
fear/reverence of hwhy more than fasting and
prayer, especially since He will Personally
teach those who so draw near:
From Your judgments I have not turned
aside: for You Yourself have taught me.
Psalm 119:102
The Light of hwhy
In the Presence of hwhy is light, and by
dwelling in this light, those who draw near to
hwhy will also have increasing light from His
Word:
For with You is the fountain of life:
In Your light we will see light.
Psalm 36:9
More importantly, by its nature, the light
banishes all darkness. So those who draw near
to hwhy will have increasing power and victory
over all darkness and temptation: Abiding in
His Presence, they will be transformed into
His image:
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding
as in a mirror the splendor of the Sovereign,
are transformed into the same image,
from splendor to splendor, even
as from hwhy the Spirit.
2Corinthians 3:18
Does His Presence transform us, or is Elohim
a liar? Of course, we know His Presence does
transform us. Not knowing, or not long
experiencing this transforming light, there are
those who insist sin is inevitable. As
mentioned earlier, we account that teaching to
be tantamount to what was spoken by the
unfaithful spirit of the spies of old:
Just as those ten spies told Yisrael it
was impossible to take the Land, so their
modern-day counterparts would tell us it is
impossible to overcome the giants of sin.
But the writer to the Hebrews tells us
otherwise:
You have not yet resisted to the point
of blood, in your striving against sin.
Hebrews 12:4
This New Covenant teaching clearly indicates
we can even attain to the point of death in our
striving against sin. But that also means sin
can be overcome. Light, life, restoration,
blessings, and revival were promised to those
11
who sought hwhy with fasting, prayer, and
repentance.73 We pray that all of our readers
will partake in this light increasingly.
The Power of hwhy
It would be a dangerous thing to possess
the Power of hwhy without possessing the
Mind of hwhy; without being quick to listen
and slow to anger; without having experienced
the smallest measure of His overwhelming and
infinite lovingkindness. The penchant for
power seen among believers today is out of
balance. Many of today’s “power brokers”
want nothing to do with the immutable Torah.
Yet no one who spurns the Torah of hwhy can
be a true prophet.74 Even so, many today
claim to have power from on High while
openly rejecting His immutable Torah. But
the Messiah will surely cast out those who
walk in anti-Torah darkness regardless of what
miracles they have done in this lifetime.75
hwhy gave power to Eliyahu, He gave power to
His Messiah, and He will give power to those
who truly seek Him with fasting and prayer.
But those who desire His Kingdom know that
the power belongs to hwhy: They are not lifted
up in pride against the decrees of the Torah.76
They are true shepherds—who direct all
Yisrael to walk in accordance with His
enduring and immutable Law—the Word
which He has commanded across the many
eons of time it will still take to fulfill the 1000
generations which have been prophesied in the
Torah.77
Feeding His Sheep
Through the prophet Yechezkel (Ezekiel),
hwhy spoke this indictment over the shepherds
of Yisrael who fed themselves instead of
feeding the flock:
Thus says the Sovereign hwhy:
Woe to the shepherds of Yisrael that
feed themselves! Should not the
shepherds feed the flock?
Ezekiel 34:2
73
Isaiah 58:1-13
74
Deuteronomy 13:1-4
75
Mathew 7:21-23
76
Psalm 119:21
77
Deuteronomy 7:9, Psalm 105:8, Matthew 5:17-20
And we have at least one negative example of
this in the Scriptures, seen in the sons of Eli,
Chophi and Phinechas, who fed themselves
instead of feeding flock.78 And these men
were soon judged. Yet those shepherds who
sought hwhy by fasting and prayer did just the
opposite: Instead of feeding themselves, they
fed the flock. We see the apostles did this in
the early assembly:
1 But in those days, the disciples multiplying
in number, there arose a murmuring of the
Hellenists against the Hebrews because their
widows were overlooked in the daily
ministration. 2 And the twelve, having called
the multitude of the disciples to them, said, It
is not right that we, leaving the Word of
Elohim, should serve tables. 3 Look out
therefore, brethren, from among yourselves
seven men, well reported of, full of Spirit and
wisdom, whom we will establish over this
business: 4 but we will give ourselves to
prayer and the ministry of the word.
Acts 6:1-4
Many years ago, one misled teacher actually
attempted to set forth the theory that the
apostles were being pompous in their directive.
We heartily disagree: Instead of being
pompous, these men—who were in fasting and
prayer—wisely avoided the realm of food and
eating altogether! Unlike the shepherds of
Yisrael, who failed to feed the flock, these
men were not feeding themselves so they
could feed the sheep of the Messiah with His
living Word. Like the apostles, those who
forego feeding themselves, being given to
times of fasting and prayer, will also be
empowered in the Spirit to feed His sheep!
t s r q u p e o n m l k y j x z w h d g b a
A Few Closing Thoughts
The natural man rejects fasting outright,
perhaps due to a carnal unwillingness to
suppress the appetite even for relatively brief
periods of time.79 One could rightly expect
this from the unconverted. But for sincere
believers to outright reject fasting is a concern
78
1Samuel 2:12-17, 22-25, 27-34
79
Romans 8:7-8, Philippians 3:19
12
of significant proportions. There is an ancient
saying which pertains to the start of the longest
journey; it goes something like this:
The journey of a thousand miles
begins with the first step.
Our spiritual sojourn through this life is much
like that 1000-mile journey on foot. Once one
has placed his or her faith in the Messiah, if
that person refuses to seek hwhy by fasting and
prayer, then the first major leg of this life-long
journey has not really even begun in earnest.
To follow the Lamb wherever He goes,80 we
must believe and keep His Teachings.81 He
clearly teaches us the importance of fasting. A
believer who does not fast is much like a light
which continually flickers due to a fluctuating
power source caused by a nearly severed
and/or shorted cord. Such light may be
minimally helpful, but it cannot dispel the
darkness.
To be sure, fasting is not an end in itself,
but it is most certainly a rather significant and
necessary beginning—the beginning
expression of a lasting, far-reaching faith,
expectation, and love. And such seeking is
clearly a valid and a required beginning in the
mind of hwhy, so that those who refuse82 to
seek Him by fasting and prayer simply never
get past “square one,” so to speak. Their
service rendered for the Kingdom of hwhy will
be without reward, and their understanding of
His Word and ways will remain deficient,
watered-down, and incomplete.83
We are commanded to teach every nation all
that the Messiah taught, and since eSwhy
indicated a life given to fasting and prayer
would characterize His followers after His
ascent to Heaven,84 we advocate nothing less.
As with everything in the realm of obedience,
fasting is an act of faith, expectation, and
love into which one must grow.
80
Revelation 14:1-4
81
Deuteronomy 18:15-19, Matthew 17:5, John 14:23
82
Hebrews 12:25
83
Revelation 3:1-2, John 15:5
84
Matthew 9:14-15
But spiritual growth requires action, and a
mere mental ascent to the goodness of fasting
will not bring about spiritual benefit. We pray
no one will make the mistake of waiting, only
to realize many years from now that you have
missed out on so many vital opportunities to
serve your Creator, and to enter into a greater
spiritual progression, because you failed to
humble yourself before Him during so many
special and blessed times of fasting and prayer.
This article was begun in 2008, in an attempt
to consolidate some of the more striking
spiritual truths behind fasting. Please know
this work has been written in judgment of no
one. However, having experienced—firsthand
and nationwide—the close-minded objections
of numerous believers who outright reject the
truth of fasting, this work was written with a
view towards helping those who are honestly
seeking the truth of the matter. Emerging
from the Dark Ages, many men have died in
their mission to translate and distribute the
Scriptures. Many were burned at the stake by
those who wished to retain their ecclesiastical
power:
The hope of such power-hungry men
was to keep the multitudes in the dark
regarding what the Scriptures really said.
Consequently, many of the reformers,
translators, and distributors of these light-
revealing efforts were burned at the stake.
For their sakes, and certainly for the sake of
his Messiah, this author feels obligated to
make sure every true doctrine, and every
upright practice, is not set aside in disuse, or
ill-repute, based on unlearned deductions
which never came forth from the Mind of
hwhy. As we have seen, fasting often was
taught by the Messiah and practiced by all of
His apostles. t
C.P.
12/24/2010
t s r q u p e o n m l k y j x z w h d g b a
PC
Personal Copyright 2008-2011,
by Craig Peters
Version 1.0
We believe most copyrights have been abused
worldwide in religious circles as false shepherds
and other merchants feed on the sin of the people.
13
These many abuses have filled the worship house
of hwhy with money changers who hinder True
Worship by robbing and oppressing the poor.
Zechariah 7:10 Many have turned reverence and
the worship of hwhy into a means of great, personal
gain. Micah 3:11, 1Timothy 6:5-10, 1Peter 5:2 We
assert such things were never meant to be, Isaiah
55:1,2, Mark 11:15-17. Hence, our copyright is
intended to allow for free distribution of the Word
of hwhy with the following, minimal limitations:
• This document may be copied and distributed (or
freely printed in its pdf format after being
downloaded from the Internet):
– If it is left unaltered.
– If it is left in its entirety.
– And if it is given away at
absolutely no cost.
Matthew 11:5, Luke 4:19, Galatians 2:10
• Neither this article, nor any portion of this
article, may be included in any publication which
is sold. This stipulation applies regardless of the
nature of the organization or the nature of its
sales, meaning: profit or nonprofit. Further,
whether an organization’s publication is of a
religious nature, or otherwise, this stipulation still
applies.
• With the exception of our first stipulation (i.e.,
the one specified under the first bullet point giving
permission to photocopy the work in its entirety),
publishing any portion of this work without the
author’s written permission is strictly prohibited.
For other free documents which are offered to
provide encouragement and edification from the
Word of hwhy, please refer to the following
website:
http://www.scribd.com/yhwh26echad13
t s r q u p e o n m l k y j x z w h d g b a
An Excellent Translation of the Scriptures
“ISRV” is an acronym which means: “INSTITUTE
FOR SCRIPTURE RESEARCH VERSION.” This
acronym has been used in the current document to
indicate we have quoted a Scripture text from the
excellent translation produced by the INSTITUTE
FOR SCRIPTURE RESEARCH – an organization of
Messianic believers based in South Africa. These
believers have published a most helpful, edifying
version of the Word of hwhy which is entitled “The
Scriptures.” For those wishing to make further
inquiry, the ISR website address is:
http://www.isr-messianic.org