Burning ones Fast and Fasting ones Burn: Cultivating Greater Hunger for God
Excerpt taken from Chapter 1 in Fasting for Fire: Igniting Fresh Fire to Feast upon God
by Jennifer A. Miskov. Ph.D.
My recommendation for the Christian church today is to call a moratorium on all activity and focus on coming into worship until the fire descends and engulfs us in the sacredness of His presence.(1)
—A. W. Tozer
Fire
Burning ones fast and fasting ones burn.
Fasting and fire are inseparable. There is something about fasting that ignites an all-consuming fire for God inside. Fire brings us to a place of intense focus. Fire can also represent passionate, burning love. No other lovers can compete for our attention when we are captivated, on fire, and intently focused on the face of Jesus.
Hebrews 12:29 says that our God “is a consuming fire.” Choosing to live in the fire is essentially embracing the fiery presence of God Himself. When doing this continuously, there is a unique purity and consecration that happens. In the fire, everything must be purified and refined like gold. There is a respect for the holiness of God by welcoming a life refined by the fire.(2)
Fire can also represent revival. If we define one element of revival as simply being more in love with Jesus and completely yielded for His purposes, then as we focus our gaze upon the fire in His eyes, signs, wonders, and miracles are sure to follow. We don’t need to strive for revival to be released through our lives when our hearts burn for the One Thing more than any other lover. Revival is something that will naturally flow from the fire of God’s presence in our lives and our intimate communion with Him.
Resurgence of Fasting
Fasting for Fire: Igniting Fresh Hunger to Feast Upon God originally came from a blog I wrote in 2014 entitled “Fasting: The Lost Art of Feasting Upon God.” Interestingly enough, this has been one of my most frequented blogs. This surprised me. I always loved fasting, but to realize others were also interested was a fascinating discovery. Because I have experienced God in powerful ways as I have adopted a lifestyle of fasting, I want to share more about this pathway to intimacy and show how easily accessible it is no matter one’s starting point.
We are alive at such a unique time in history when God is bringing in one of the greatest harvests of souls we’ve ever known. So many people will be entering into the family of God in this new season. How amazing would it be if, when people entered into the kingdom of God, they also embraced a lifestyle of fasting that was marked by intimacy, consecration, and revival from the very start?
Unfortunately, many Christians have yet to discover or embrace the gift of fasting in our day. But what if fasting were not something exceptional in our generation? What would happen if spiritual fasting became a regular part of the Christian life rather than something reserved only for the religious elite? Or better yet, what if fasting for fire became the norm? I wonder what deeper levels of union with Jesus and profound revelation of the Holy Spirit might be tapped into when more believers access this pathway to intimacy. What type of deeper communion, extraordinary miracles, mass salvations, defining moments, increased anointing, and power might be released when the body of Christ strengthens her muscles in this way? How many more revival fires might be ignited when a community of burning ones gathers together, praying and fasting to take hold of more of God?
When a generation embraces the fire of God by setting themselves apart to fast, we will see an unstoppable army of lovers running hard after Him regardless of the cost. These fiery, consecrated, and set-apart saints will turn the world upside down for His glory. And fasting will be one of the pathways to increase and sustain their flame of love for Jesus.
Hunger
In my studies of revival history over the last several decades, the number one attribute that is present in the beginnings of almost every revival I’ve looked at is hunger. I discovered that hunger was the strongest component that initially stirred people to pray, position themselves, press in, and be desperate for a move of God. This hunger was first stirred up in their own lives, which later became catalytic for everyone around them.
So, if hunger for more of God is one of the most prominent elements God has used in history to catalyze revivals, wouldn’t it be amazing if there was a way for us to cultivate greater hunger for God today?
What if I told you that there is something very practical you can do today to cultivate increased hunger for God? Or that there is something you can integrate into your lifestyle that will radically accelerate your spiritual growth? Well, I have good news for you. There is! Fasting done with the right motives is one sure way to grow your hunger for God and access deeper levels of intimacy with Him. Besides asking God to give you the gift of hunger, you can also choose to embrace a lifestyle of fasting to grow your hunger for Him. A lifestyle of fasting can also contribute to greater anointing and power working through your life as you continue to yield to the Holy Spirit.
Jesus
Let me just say from the start that fasting is not the answer.
Jesus is the answer.
Fasting is not a formula to get God to do what we want. Fasting is simply one of the gifts or pathways to intimacy given to us that can help accelerate our growth in Christ and lead us into deeper union with Him. If signs, wonders, and miracles follow times of fasting, that’s amazing. However, that is not the focus of our fasting or our end game here. The point of fasting for fire is to get more of Jesus and allow Him to get more of us. Fasting is simply an invitation to know God more. It is all for Jesus. It must begin in Him, find its source in Him, and end with more of Him. In all of our fastings, may we get more of Jesus as our reward.
1 A. W. Tozer, The Fire of God’s Presence: Drawing Near to a Holy God edited by James L. Snyder (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 2020), 41.
2 See Leviticus 6:8–13; Matthew 3:11; Romans 12:1–2.
