How to Do a Long Fast and See the Impossible

I remember the first time I saw my buddy drinking lemonade with cayenne pepper and maple syrup, and he said that he was doing it for ten days.And then I heard of more of my friends doing various types of fasts for all types of health reasons. Fasting for health reasons has begun to gain wide acceptance in American culture.People fast for all types of purposes, both physical and spiritual, but I didn't personally feel any inclination to go on a long fast for the first 33 years of my life.It took me seeing a vivid dream to believe that long fasting should be a normal part of my walk with God.In the dream, I was met by two of my friends. One of them looked at me and said, "What's the longest time you've ever fasted?" I said, "10 days", with a hint of pride in my voice. I thought maybe he had come to congratulate me on my devoted spirituality.But instead he laughed at me. And it was a deep belly laugh, the kind that makes you wish it would stop.Then I woke up. At first, I was happy to find out that no one was laughing at me.But then I sensed the Holy Spirit saying, "Jonny, if you want to see the kind of miracles and the movement that you are asking me for, then ten days is nothing. It's laughable."That hurt. It hurt because my pride was wounded, and it hurt because I love food. Although you can't see from my waste line (I have a ridiculously fast metabolism), I eat a ton of food. I didn't like the idea of eating less or no food for extended periods of time.But I was compelled by the vision. I had been asking God for the impossible, and I sensed him saying that this was part of the path to get to where he was leading me.After having this dream, I did a 21-day fast where I only drank juice and milk. During the fast, a Muslim woman came to faith in Jesus and then within a couple of weeks had a dream about me. She explained, "A man appeared to me. I couldn't see his face, but he said, 'Jonny and his wife are full of power and they can do anything.' "I know that technically I'm not supposed to tell you that I fasted (according to Matthew 6). But my purpose in sharing it with you isn't so that you think I am amazing, but rather to open a door for you, a vision of a possible path for you to access things that seem unattainable.Before Jesus did any miracles, God announced who he was (the Son and completely well-pleasing to Him) and He sent him into the wilderness to fast. The whole fast was about Jesus securing His identity as a Son (despite the devil's attempts to have Him doubt who He was).Fasting doesn't make you more powerful. It shows you who you are. The impossible is accessed when you understand who God is and you know who you are. I didn't become more powerful because I fasted. God used the fast to speak to me through this women's dream to remind me about what he already told me in His Word, that I can do anything through Christ (Philippians 4:13).So back to the title of this blog: how to do a long fast. Here it is. It's only one step. Are you ready?

1. Get hungry - If you want to go on long fasts, get hungry for God to do the impossible. Motivation is the key missing element in our fasting for long periods of time.  If you want to know who God is and who you are, which will help launch you into doing what only God in you can do, then get motivated. Get hungry for life to look different than it does now. Get convinced that it can look different. When you fast, you discover who God is, and you discover who you are, and when you truly know who you are and who God is, nothing will be impossible for you.

There are a plethora of books out there to help you with the practical aspects of fasting. You can start with Richard Foster's Celebration of Discipline in the chapter on fasting.But you will never read those books if at first you don't get hungry to see God use you in ways that go beyond your natural abilities and talents.Do you have any stories of how long fasting impacted your life?