Ok. So here it is. My lesson on fasting. I also will post the same thing in Spanish thanks to LDS.org, Google Translate and my cute husband. I'm teaching it tomorrow in Spanish, wish me luck!
LESSON
ON FASTING
Since the time of Adam, God’s people have fasted to help
them draw near to Him and to worship Him. Christ is our perfect example in all
things including Fasting. Christ, being
perfect, set the example for us of fasting.
See Luke 4:1-4.
1 And
Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the
Spirit into the wilderness,
2 Being forty
days tempted of
the devil. And in
those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.
3 And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of
God, command this stone that it be made bread.
4 And
Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not
live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
Christ fasted while he was being tempted by Satan.
Our leaders at both the general
level in General Conference and at the local stake level have expressed the
same concern regarding us. Quote: “I
fear … that too many of us are either not fasting on fast day or we are doing
so in a lackadaisical manner.”
These two witnesses should be a
red flag to us warning us of an area in our lives we need to improve in.
I myself am guilty of avoiding
this commandment to fast. For the past 8 years I have had times when I couldn’t
fast because I was pregnant or nursing. I did have a medical reason for not fasting,
however, when I didn’t have any medical restraints, it was really hard to try
to fast again. I searched and tried to
find a way to obey the spirit of the fast without actually going completely without
food and water. I asked a very faithful
woman who had a serious disease what she did in place of fasting. She told me she knew that physically it
wasn’t recommended to fast, but that sometimes she just fasted anyway because
she needed it. She knew that spiritually
there was just no replacement and she needed the spiritual and physical
blessings that come through fasting.
What does it mean to fast?
WHAT IS FASTING
“We are taught that there are three aspects to a proper fast day observance:
first, abstaining from food and drink for two consecutive meals or, in
other words, 24 hours; second, attending fast and testimony meeting; and
third, giving a generous fast offering.”
Fast Offerings:
When we fast each month, the Lord asks us to help those in
need by contributing the money we would have spent on food for two meals.
Through fast offerings we are able to partner with the Lord in helping our
brothers and sisters in need.
PURPOSES OF FASTING
What are some of the purposes of fasting? (Word Strips)
·
Overcome Weaknesses or Problems- Each of
us has weaknesses that we recognize that we need help with.
·
Help or Guidance for Self or Others- We
can fast for guidance in our lives and also for our family, friends or to help
us in our callings.
22 And
he caused that the priests should assemble themselves together; and they began
to fast, and to pray to the Lord their God that he would open the mouth of
Alma, that he might speak, and also that his limbs might receive their
strength—that the eyes of the people might be opened to see and know of the
goodness and glory of God.
23 And
it came to pass after they had fasted and prayed for the space of two days and
two nights, the limbs of Alma received their strength, and he stood up and began
to speak unto them, bidding them to be of good comfort:
·
To Know the Truth of Things (Example of
Alma 5:46)
46 Behold,
I say unto you they are made known unto me
by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and
prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of
myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by
his Holy Spirit; and this is the spirit of revelation which
is in me.
·
To Help Others to Embrace the Truth- We each know a friend or family member that
we would love to have them know the truthfulness of the gospel for themselves.
·
To Overcome Temptation- When Christ was
tempted of the devil, he fasted 40 days.
·
Comfort in Times of Sorrow and Mourning
·
Humility and to Feel Closer to our Heavenly
Father
In General Conference Carl B Pratt suggested to us:
“If we have a special purpose in our fasting, the fast will
have much more meaning. Perhaps we can take time as a family before
beginning our fast to talk about what we hope to accomplish by this fast.
This could be done in a family home evening the week before fast Sunday
or in a brief family meeting at the time of family prayer. When we fast with
purpose, we have something to focus our attention on besides our
hunger.”
Fasting combined with prayer brings increased spiritual power.
Elder Pratt also
said:
“Let us begin our fasts with prayer. This could be kneeling at the table as we finish the meal with which we begin the fast. That prayer should be a natural thing as we speak to our Heavenly Father concerning the purpose of our fast and plead with Him for His help in accomplishing our goals. Likewise, let us end our fasts with prayer. We could very appropriately kneel at the table before we sit down to consume the meal with which we break our fast. We would thank the Lord for His help during the fast and for what we have felt and learned from the fast. In addition to a beginning and ending prayer, we should seek the Lord often in personal prayer throughout the fast.”
BLESSINGS OF FASTING
After chastising ancient Israel for fasting improperly, the Lord, through
the prophet Isaiah, speaks in beautiful poetic language of a proper fast
in (Isa. 58:6).:
“Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness,to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye
break every yoke?” (Isa. 58:6).
If we fast and pray with the purpose of repenting of sins and overcoming
personal weaknesses, surely we are seeking to “loose the bands of
wickedness” in our lives. If the purpose of our fast is to be more effective
in teaching the gospel and serving others in our Church callings, we are
surely striving to “undo the heavy burdens” of others. If we are fasting and
praying for the Lord’s help in our missionary efforts, aren’t we desiring to
“let the oppressed go free”? If the purpose of our fast is to increase our
love for our fellow man and overcome our selfishness, our pride, and
having our hearts set upon the things of this world, surely we are seeking
to “break every yoke.”
“Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that
are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover
him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?” (Isa. 58:7).
“Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shallspring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; …
“Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he
shall say, Here I am. …
“And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflictedsoul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the
noonday:
“And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought,… and thou shalt be like a
I am thankful that I have been able to prepare this lesson. I have
recognized that I have been preventing myself from receiving blessings from the
Lord because of my physical weakness and lack of faith. Things that I now realize can be strengthened
through fasting. I am grateful to the Lord for these promised blessings of
continual guidance, being filled with the living water, being filled with
light, and answers to our prayers. In
the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
ADDITIONAL QUOTES ON FASTING:
We should not expect our young children to fast for the recommended two
meals. But let us teach them the principles of fasting. If fasting is
discussed and planned in a family setting, the small children will be aware
that their parents and older siblings are fasting, and they will understand
the purpose of the fast. They should participate in the family prayers to
begin and end the fast. This way, when they reach the proper age, they will
be eager to fast with the rest of the family. In our family, we have done
this by encouraging our children between 8 and 12 years of age to fast for
one meal; then as they have turned 12 and received the Aaronic Priesthood
or entered Young Women, we have encouraged them to fast for two
complete meals.
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