Fasting for Spiritual and Physical Healing

Lemonade Diet
¾ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
¾ cup of pure maple syrup or other minimally processed sweetener like evaporated cane juice (no white sugar or honey)
Enough water to make 8 cups (64 ounces)
Cayenne red pepper powder

Mix ingredients in large pitcher. To each individual glass sprinkle a little red cayenne pepper powder to act as a catalyst for cleansing.

For more information on different healing cleanses, see the book Cleansing or Surgery available at amazon.com.

Most people know very little about fasting. You may feel quite apprehensive just thinking about it. But once you know more about fasting, I think you’ll want to try it. Fasting is an extremely useful tool that has wonderful benefits, both physical and spiritual. It is the cheapest medicine there is. Anyone can afford it.

Fasting can help normalize blood sugar levels and blood pressure. It can resolve digestive issues and relieve chronic pain. And it’s famous for shrinking tumors. Most important of all, fasting makes prayer more powerful, and can help us hear God’s voice more clearly.

INTRO

We often talk about the importance of forsaking sin, forsaking possessions, forsaking family, forsaking self. But there is one more thing we can forsake and that is food. And in the giving up of food, even for a short time, God can reveal much to us. As you go about your daily activities, not taking a break to eat, you’ll come face to face with how much you miss food. You may even find that food is so important that it has become an idol in your life.

Water Fast vs. Juice Fast

During a fast, all solid food is eliminated. We do two types of fasts, fasting on water alone, or fasting on fresh squeezed lemonade. If you are fasting to gain spiritual insight, the traditional method is a water-only fast. But extended water fasts can be miserable. If you’ve ever tried a water-only fast, you might recall how difficult it can be after a few days because of depleted energy levels. It is difficult to remain active. You just want to rest.

We have found an alternative to water-only fasts that makes it easier to fast more often and for longer periods. Lemon juice fasts are not as harsh on the body as water fasts, but still provide spiritual and physical benefits. Toxins tend to be eliminated from the body quicker on a lemon juice fast, so there is less discomfort. Fasting, using only freshly squeezed Lemonade, will give you energy to go about your daily tasks. The Lemonade recipe we use is in the description below.

Fasting for Spiritual Insight

Rachel’s Grandma Emma raised nine children and lived healthfully into her nineties. She suffered extreme poverty during the Great Depression, lost a daughter to scarlet fever at the age of eight, and became a widow at a young age.

When asked how she remained at peace through it all, she said that whenever she faced a crisis, she stopped eating and only drank water. Many problems cannot be thought through. You must pray through them. So she prayed and fasted.

Jesus fasted for 40 days in preparation for teaching the great truths of the Kingdom of Heaven. Fasting and prayer seemed to strengthen Jesus for His great mission. After his 40 days of fasting, He returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit. Onlookers were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority. (Luke 4:14-32)

Jesus assumed that we would be fasting as a normal part of our lives. Immediately following the Lord's Prayer, Jesus gave instructions on how to fast:

Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. Matthew 6:16-18

When we are in a crisis situation and problems seem insurmountable, we can seek our Savior's wisdom through prayer and fasting. The Book of Ezra records that a fast was proclaimed “that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions. So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer.” Ezra 8:21, 23

When the apostles were having trouble casting out a demon from a man, Jesus rebuked the demon and cured the child. Then he told his disciples that they were unable to cast out the demon because of their unbelief and added, “this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” (Matthew 17:21) Sometimes the solution requires prayer and fasting.

Apostle Paul mentions a husband and wife giving themselves over for a time to “fasting and prayer.” 1 Corinthians 7:5

Paul says that in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God, in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses and “in fastings.” (2 Corinthians 6:3-5) In explaining the perils Paul had been through, he said he was “in fastings often.” 2 Corinthians 11:27

Spiritual leaders have used fasting as a way of intensifying prayer. The New Testament records Jesus, Apostle Paul, and the Church leaders fasting. In the Old Testament, Daniel, Elijah, Ezra, Esther, David, Hannah, Isaiah, Nehemiah, Zechariah and others fasted. Prominent fasters in Church history include John Knox, John Wesley, David Brainerd, George Muller, and many more.

John Wesley said, “Let us always join fervent prayer with fasting, pouring out our souls before God, confessing our sins, humbling ourselves under His mighty hand, laying open before Him all our needs, all our guiltiness and helplessness.”

Gandhi fasted for political and social reasons. He used a little lemon juice and sometimes a pinch of salt in his water to prevent flatulence. Gandhi saw fasting as the “truest prayer” that “crucified the flesh” and to that extent “liberated the soul.”

These people discovered that abstaining from solid food freed them to focus upon Christ with fresh intensity. Fasting opened up spiritual perception and understanding that was not available during the rush of routine living. They found that when they drew close to God by the deliberate discipline of fasting, God drew near to them. When the demands of the body for food were set aside, they could partake of God more easily.

“The bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” . . . And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. John 6:33, 35

How Fasting Works

Fasting works by self-digestion. During a cleansing fast, the body decomposes and burns substances that are damaged, diseased, or unneeded. These include abscesses, tumors, excess fat deposits, and congestive wastes. Live, fresh lemon juice, picks up dead matter from the body and carries it away.

On a fast, the body is forced to operate more efficiently in order to survive and this often has long-term favorable effects. While fasting, the eliminative organs are given a rest from the usual burden of digesting food and eliminating wastes. This allows them to cleanse toxins from the tissues. After fasting, the digestion of food and the utilization of nutrients is greatly improved.

Disease Symptoms

Fasting brings about certain disease-like symptoms in the body. You may experience headaches, foul breath, coated tongue, stomach unrest, emotional disturbances, dizziness, and body odor.

When you notice such symptoms, do not become overly concerned. Just accept them as a passing discomfort caused by your body attempting to rid itself of toxins. Do not become discouraged, but continue on your fast. Be sure to keep drinking plenty of liquids, which will help flush the poisons out of the body faster.

Fasting can last from a few hours to 40 days or even longer. If you desire to tune-up and rejuvenate the body, one week to 10 days is usually sufficient. The hardest day of any fast is the third day. That’s when you’ll have the strongest desire to eat. After that, your body will adjust and you’ll no longer crave food as much.

A 24-hour fast gives the digestive system a rest and helps rebalance the body. This short fast can also be used as a time of prayer and meditation. Begin fasting on the morning of the first day and end the fast on the morning of the next day. Since the fast lasts only 24-hours, it is easier to make the commitment. During waking hours, drink water or the Lemonade Diet listed in the description. Drink when you are thirsty or hungry. Most people consume about 2 to 4 quarts of liquid during this fast.

Fasting For Physical Healing

Rachel’s first experience with fasting was not intentional. We had been married about a year when she fainted at the law office where she worked. She was rushed to the hospital where the doctors found a cyst the size of an orange pressing on her ovaries. They wanted to operate right away, but she was too weak. They sent her home to rest and build up her strength.

This diagnosis came with sad news. After the surgery, we would not be able to have children because Rachel’s ovaries would be removed.

Rachel went to bed where she remained for almost three weeks. I was told to give her nourishing meals, but I knew nothing about cooking. I lived on Sugar Pops cereal and baloney sandwiches. When I offered them to Rachel, she wanted none of it, but only sipped water.

Finally, she was strong enough to return to work. The doctor reexamined her and found the ovarian cyst had shriveled up and was gone. This was doubly good news because no surgery meant we could start a family, which we did. This was our first opportunity to see the power of a water-only fast.

Through the years we have done many fasts. When I did water fasts, it was while I was in jail for my allegiance to Jesus Christ. Typically these fasts lasted about 20 days. The purpose was to lay my life down in prayer and fasting for those who were holding me in jail. I looked emaciated and my chest was sunken. One jailer told me, “I’m on duty tonight. Please don’t die.”

But I wasn’t dying. I was healing, spiritually and physically. I was supposed to have surgery on my dislocated shoulder, but then I was arrested. After 23 days of water fasting, my shoulder was healed and the pain gone.

We knew of a man who ran a supervised water-fasting retreat in the Catskill Mountains. He invited anyone with health issues as diverse as migraines, arthritis and even cancer to come stay at the lodge. No electronics were allowed, but people brought crocheting, needlepoint, crossword puzzles, board games, books, and other classic pastimes.

The cook had it easy - guests were fed only spring water. Those who were able, were encouraged to walk the beautiful trails or at least sit out under the trees and meditate and pray. He explained that fasting purges the excess toxins from our livers and kidneys.

Paul Brenn believed that fasting was the most efficient means of correcting any disease. Though Brenn was not a doctor, under his loving care tumors shrunk, pain disappeared, and many returned to their families healed of their diseases. Isn’t it miraculous that a strict diet of absolutely nothing but H2O cures so many?

Lemonade Diet

Rachel and I have also fasted many times on the Lemonade Diet. The longest I fasted on Lemonade was 41 days. It was supposed to be 40 but we had miscalculated. During this fast, I had plenty of energy and did not look emaciated. Besides the spiritual revelations I received, several minor health problems disappeared.

Fasting on the Lemonade Diet offers faster physical results and provides spiritual benefits as well. It is much easier than water fasting. If you start to get hungry, just drink more Lemonade. We have witnessed many people healed from disease and spared from surgery by going on the Lemonade Diet for 10 days. As a welcome side effect, extra pounds are shed.

C.B. told us, “The Lemonade Diet has given us a miracle. A heart specialist had diagnosed Gerald with clogged arteries. Gerald did the Lemonade Diet for 10 days. Then he returned to the doctor. His clogged arteries were clear - no surgery, drugs, or other treatment was necessary.”

Standing Until the End

When you start a fast, you must first count the cost. Are you willing to go without food for the entire duration? What about your work situation and home life? How will your cleansing fast disrupt those around you? Will it cause inconvenience or hardship for them? Will you need to prepare their meals even though you will not be eating? On the other hand, have you invited fellow-workers or family members to join you?

Once you have counted the cost, purpose in your heart that you will discipline yourself to complete the fast. You will be battling with your flesh, which desires the stimulation and pleasure of food. Cleansing fasts are a small way of overcoming that “old man” within, who is only interested in gratification of self. These fasts are one more way to learn to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Him.

When you are feeling weak and want to abandon the cleanse, remember that you have purposed in your heart to finish. Therefore, stand until the end and you will receive the reward.

You may fast for spiritual reasons and find out some of your physical problems have gone away, or you might fast chiefly for physical health and find that you receive spiritual revelation. Fasting will recharge, renew and rejuvenate your whole being - body, mind, and spirit.

Wake up and repent. The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.