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40 Days Fast - Famous Fasts from the Past
The Bible - Biblical Characters Who Fasted
Moses
Moses fasted twice for 40 days-Following his first fast, Moses
received the Law (The 10 Commandments) . The second was to turn God's wrath away
from God's sinful people.
9 When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which the LORD made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights, I neither did eat bread nor drink water:
18 And I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and forty nights: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all your sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. 19 For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, wherewith the LORD was wroth against you to destroy you. But the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also.
Deuteronomy 9:9,18,19
Hannah
Hannah, for a child. She was barren and deeply distraught. God gave her release from inner turmoil. Then He gave her a baby boy, Samuel, who grew into a mighty man of God.
1 Now there was a certain man of Ramathaimzophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite: 2 And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. 3 And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, were there. 4 And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions: 5 But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the LORD had shut up her womb. 6 And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb. 7 And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat. 8 Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?
I Samuel 1:7,8
Elijah
Elijah fasted for 40 days while fleeing in fear from wicked Jezebel, who threatened to have him killed. God gave him comfort, boldness and instructions to go back the way he came and anoint new prophets.
8 And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.
Elijah (1 Kings 19:8)
Jesus Christ
Jesus for 40 days and was then tempted by the devil.
2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered
Matthew 4:2
John the Baptist
John the Baptist - He and his disciples fasted often, as did the Pharisees.
14 Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not? 15 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.
Matthew 9:14,15
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in 1869 in India and was murdered in 1948 by the fanatic Hindu Nathuram Godsey.
Gandhi also fought for the peaceful understanding of different religions.
When fights broke out between Hindus and Moslems he tried to talk to them and
when that did not help he started to fast which he did a lot of times in his
life.
Once he nearly fasted to death when Hindus and Moslems fought against each other. Then the fights stopped and the two religions started to live together in peace again. Gandhi also fasted when he heard of violence against the British or against soldiers or policemen. Violence made him very sad and he had more than once the feeling that all he had done was useless when people fought each other again.
GANDHI ON FASTING
- Fasting is an institution as old as Adam. It has been resorted to for self-purification or for some ends, noble as well as ignoble.
- A complete fast is a complete and literal denial of self. It is the truest prayer.
- A genuine fast cleanses the body, mind and soul. It crucifies the flesh and to that extent sets the soul free.
- What the eyes are for the outer world, fasts are for the inner
- My religion teaches me that whenever there is distress which one cannot remove one must fast and pray.
- Fear is not a disease of the body, fear kills the soul.
- A fear-stricken person can never know God, and one who knows God will never fear a mortal man.
- Where there is fear, there is not religion.
- It is weakness which breeds fear, and fear breeds distrust.
- There would be no one to frighten you if you refuse to be afraid.
- For a non-violent person, the whole world is one family. He will thus fear none, nor will others fear him.
- The golden rule is to act fearlessly upon what one believes to be right.
- Fearlessness presupposes calmness and peace of mind.
Professor Arnold Ehret
Professor Arnold Ehret's record
fast was 49 days. Not only that, at the end of the
49 day fast, Ehret was in better shape than he was going into it. Arnold
Ehret was able
to perform amazing physical feats of strength. Unless David Blaine understands
the theory behind the Mucusless Diet and has been practicing the Transition
Diet for some time leading up to the fast, he will do himself some serious
damage and give fasting a bad name in the process. It would be far better if
he actually knew what he was doing. On the other hand, maybe he has prepared.
But if so, he needs to go 50 days, not 49!
Blaine needs to come out of his fast in 50 days not 44 and be able to perform amazing feats of strength to beat Ehret. The 49 day fast was preceded by fasts of 21, 24 and 32 days duration each in a span of 14 months.
In his day, Ehret's fast was much bigger news than Blaine is now because Ehret was trying to educate doctors in the benefits of fasting. It divided Europe's medical community into Ehretists and non-Ehretists. The phenomenal benefits of Ehret's work have largely receded to a medical backwater now due to the proliferation of large pharmaceutical companies with massive marketing programs. Regardless, as a healing system for degenerative disease, nothing better has ever been discovered nor ever will. Ehret's Mucusless Diet combined with properly done fasting regularly achieves medical miracles.
Thanks to: JN Ontario, Canada