I’m finally nearing the end of The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson, a book that’s having a tremendous impact on me.
Batterson discusses fasting. He writes …
Fasting has a way of fast-tracking our prayers. Because fasting is harder than praying, fasting is a form of praying hard. In my experience, it is the shortest distance to a breakthrough. (136)
Batterson adds, “an empty stomach may be the most powerful posture in Scripture” (138).
Fasting gives you more power to pray because it’s an exercise in willpower. The physical discipline gives you the spiritual discipline to pray through. An empty stomach leads to a full spirit. The tandem of prayer and fasting will give you the power and willpower to pray through until you experience a breakthrough. (144)
Fasting is certainly one of the more challenging spiritual disciplines. It’s also one of the most neglected ones. I was challenged by what Batterson had to say about fasting!
For more on The Circle Maker, see my previous posts: “The Circle Maker” 1.0, “The Circle Maker” 2.0, as well as Spiritual Priming and Shaping Culture and Prayer Idiosyncrasies.
thanks Randy. I’ll be checking this out.
Thanks, Gail. I’m planning to write two more posts — a 4.0 with some quotes from the last section and then one follow-up post with some takeaways.