Did you know that there is an invisible struggle going on right now for control of your mind? Right now, you are under attack! You are facing what you may call “peer pressure,” or society pressure—perhaps the greatest pressure on any teen trying to live a good, wholesome lifestyle.
Teens need help battling the pressures of those around them. But consider the fact that most parents these days are getting caught up in their busy, career-driven lifestyles, leaving their teens to fend for themselves morally. Not only are teens facing tremendous pressure from every place in society, they are essentially facing it alone.
You don’t have to face these pressures or fight this war alone! Regardless of your parents’ involvement in your struggles, there is one thing no teen can do without if they wish to defeat the enemy. That is God’s help. It is realizing that you, of yourself, cannot resist these temptations—your adversary is a million times stronger than you. And your adversary is not peer pressure or the temptations toward immoral trends—although those are some of his weapons in trying to destroy you. Your enemy is the very real, spiritual devil who is actually the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4).
In previous articles, we have outlined three of the four basic tools for growing spiritually and overcoming: prayer, Bible study and meditation.
But daily prayer, regular Bible study and constant meditation upon God’s way, however necessary, are not enough—especially in these dangerous times.
If only there was one tool designed to implement all of the other three tools we’ve discussed. If only there was a tool that could sever this magnetic pull to Satan and the lifestyles he purports, and create a magnetic attraction toward God—the One who is all-knowing, all-loving, all-good, all-powerful. If only something like this existed, your power of resistance, over time, could be made invincible.
The fourth tool actually fulfills these descriptions. Used correctly, it is your most powerful weapon. It is fasting.
Before you enter this study, ask God to open your mind and give you this crucial understanding about the greatest, and perhaps most neglected, weapon in your spiritual armory.
What and How
What is fasting? Technically, it is going without food and water for a certain period of time.
1. Is there a time every year when God commands a fast? Leviticus 23:27.
2. Are the words “afflict” and “fast” interchangeable? Ezra 8:21 and Isaiah 58:3, 5. The word “afflict” in the Hebrew language actually means to humble or to weaken, usually by going without food and water.
3. How long does God’s commanded fast last? Leviticus 23:32.
So, from sunset to sunset (24 hours), God’s people fast on the Day of Atonement. (Request our free booklet Pagan Holidays or God’s Holy Days—Which? for more information on keeping this day).
4. Did the New Testament Church keep this day of fasting as well? Acts 27:9.
Why and When
1. What are some wrong reasons for fasting? Isaiah 58:3-4.
Those who fasted here in Isaiah 58 were doing it to show off, becoming more vain, instead of truly afflicting the soul and becoming more humble. God says He won’t recognize your fast day if it is only to get something—“to make your voice to be heard on high.”
2. Yes, your voice will be “heard on high” if you fast properly, but what should be the primary reason? Verse 5.
Remember, fasting is a means by which you can gain the upper hand over Satan—by putting total and complete trust in God Almighty, his superior. But that cannot be done if you are pompous and self-righteous. God only helps those who face the stark reality of how helpless they are. And what demonstrates that to you more than not eating or drinking for 24 hours or more? This really shows you how weak and dependent you are.
3. If your fast is one that God approves of, one that is truly humbling, then what kind of power will you have in overcoming sin—in resisting Satan and his pulls? Verse 6.
A Mighty Weapon
Notice, fasting will “loose the bands of wickedness.” It will “undo the heavy burdens” and “break every yoke.” Wow! What an amazing weapon against the wickedness you are faced with every day. What better way to free yourself from the slavery of those immoral pressures you withstand at school and elsewhere.
1. What was one of the main reasons that Eve disobeyed God and took of the forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden? Genesis 3:6.
She saw that it was “good for food.” It looked pleasant! The first humans went astray from the beginning through their stomachs!
The whole reason that man was put on this Earth was to qualify to replace Satan the devil as ruler of the Earth. (God put him in charge of the planet before he turned evil. After he rebelled, God would use man to qualify to replace him.) Since Adam and Eve failed, giving in to their physical senses—their stomachs in particular—Jesus Christ had to come as a second Adam (1 Corinthians 15:20-23) to succeed where the first one failed. He would face Satan in the most titanic spiritual battle ever fought to this day!
2. How did Jesus Christ prepare for this battle? Matthew 4:1-2.
3. What was the first thing Satan tempted him with? Verse 3.
The number one pull in your body is not a desire to be popular, desire for money or even sexual desire. It’s what goes in through the mouth and to your stomach and sustains the very physical existence that you are—food! And Satan knows that. That is why he tempted the hungry Christ with it!
But Christ resisted. He overcame Satan as a human being, thus paving the way for us to do the same. When He returns to this Earth, He will kick Satan off his throne, and those of us who qualify now to replace Him by following Jesus’ example will be there ruling with Him!
How did Christ gain the strength and power to qualify? By fasting! So how could you defeat the powerful Satan the devil and qualify to rule with Christ without fasting? You cannot!
Your battles with Satan are not as colossal as Christ’s were. But you do battle Satan daily. And you are battling him at a time when he is more angry than ever; he knows his time is about up (Revelation 12:12). He is in an impatient rage as he attempts to destroy anyone qualifying to take over his global rule of the Earth!
When you fast, you show God that nothing will stand between you and Him—not even the desire to sustain your temporal existence. You become closer to Him and His way of thinking. In fact, the holy day where fasting is required is called the Day of Atonement—when broken down, that word means at-one-ment. It is a day when you are more “at one” with God. In fact, it pictures the time when the evil adversary is kicked off his throne and cast into a bottomless pit for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:3; see also Leviticus 16:21-22, 29-31) and the whole Earth is at one with its Creator!
Reasons and Methods
So what are the main reasons you should fast? To understand God’s will (in making important decisions); to understand a spiritual subject more deeply; to develop more zeal for God’s way; to help the Work of God to go around the world; to thank Him for all His blessings; for help in a trial; for deeper repentance, forgiveness and help in overcoming a sin.
Here are some other things to note about the methods of fasting: 1) besides the Day of Atonement, which goes from sunset to sunset, a fast any other time during the year can be a period of time that you choose—noon to noon, 9 a.m. to 9 a.m., 6 p.m. to 6 p.m., etc. (or perhaps shorter or longer than 24 hours depending on the circumstances); 2) go without food and water; 3) pray, study and meditate more, which means you’ll need to 4) pick an appropriate day—a school day usually doesn’t work, whereas a vacation day or a Sunday is usually an excellent choice.
How often should you fast as a teenager? If you understand this truth, you must fast once a year during the Day of Atonement. How often you fast beyond that is a personal decision. For a teenager, about ten times a year would be extremely helpful, depending on age and maturity.
So get on a regular fasting program as soon as you can. This is a dangerous world. Pressures on you are tougher than they’ve ever been. Satan, the god of this world, has been cast down from heaven to Earth (Revelation 12:9, 12), and he wants to fight you! It is no coincidence that you have it harder than other teens if you are trying to live God’s way. But you are not alone! Go to God in daily prayer and Bible study, think always about His way and His plan, then every so often go to Him in fasting—showing Him that you realize that you, of your own flesh and blood, are nothing, and that you rely on Him for everything—particularly for His strength to win this spiritual war.