Fasting: Present-Day Fad or Biblical Principle?

As with all living things, you need to rest. Sleeping is not the only kind of rest you need. Your digestive system and other organs need a rest from their work as well.

This understanding of the human need for rest is not new to mankind. God introduced the principle of a Sabbath rest to His ancient Jewish nation. It is one of the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:8). Israel was given specific instructions regarding this divine command to work six days and to rest on the seventh day each week.

This principle of rest was important as well to their agricultural system. The Israelites were commanded to allow their fields to be fallow every seventh year to give the soil the rest it needed to reestablish its own mineral and nutrient content. (See Lev. 25:1-7).

Today a decreasing number of modern farmers are following this biblical agricultural principle of resting the soil. As a result, the soil has become depleted of some of the minerals and other nutrients that our bodies crave for health. And chemical fertilizers do not succeed in giving us the abundant mineral content of healthy soil.

It is interesting to note that in the animal kingdom, it is a natural habit to seek rest and to abstain from food especially when the animal is sick or injured. A sick animal refuses to eat and finds a place to rest where it can lap up water and be safe. Some animals hibernate, resting for an entire season without eating.

Rest is also a powerful principle of healing for the human body and psyche. Every night as you sleep, you are providing refreshing rest for your mind and body, which aids health in a tremendous way. Sleep deprivation is a commonly known form of torture, emphasizing the fact of our innate need for rest.

Fasting may be considered an internal rest for the body, allowing it to restore stamina and energy to vital organs by activating the marvelous self-cleaning system with which it is designed.

As a doctor, I have been able to look closely at the various popular methods of fasting. Some of them are good, while others can be downright dangerous.

Fasting is often thought of as taking nothing by mouth. Technically speaking, this is true, but it’s not the type of fasting I suggest for detoxification. I consider total fasting—not eating or drinking anything—very unsafe. Your body must receive at least two to three quarts of water a day to sustain your life, for you can live only a few days without water.

Although there are many ways to fast, the kind of fast that will bring about the optimum health benefits described in my book Fasting Zone is a partial fast. This type of fasting provides fantastic health benefits.

For example:

—Fasting gives a restorative rest to your digestive tract.

—Fasting helps the body’s designed healing processes to automatically work by giving them a chance to rest from other activities.

—This rest for “digestion as usual” in turn allows your overburdened liver to catch up with its task of detoxification.

—Your blood and lymphatic system also receive needed cleansing of toxic buildup through fasting.

—Fasting allows your other digestive organs, including the stomach, pancreas, intestines and gallbladder, a much-deserved rest, which allows your cells time to heal, repair and be strengthened.

A powerful, natural way to bring relief to your body from the burden of excess toxicity, fasting is also a safe way to heal and prevent degenerative diseases. As you can see from the list above, the primary way that fasting allows your body to heal is by giving it a rest. {eoa}

Prayer Power for the Week of Jan. 26, 2020

As you complete this first month of the new year, ask God to help you walk in optimum health—body and soul—by learning to live a fasted lifestyle, one which benefits mind, body, soul and spirit. Continue to pray for a global outpouring of His Holy Spirit, beginning with our own nation. Pray that believers would unite in prayer and purpose for our nation, its allies and the world. Pray for our leaders and the upcoming elections. Pray that righteousness would prevail in our midst. Read: 2 Chronicles 7:14. {eoa}