One of the values of fasting is the value of spiritual discovery. What I mean is discovery about the need for Grace to have more full control over your daily life, and especially over your character. The work of Grace in you activates and makes alive the fruits of the Spirit. The fruits: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23) are character qualities that emerge from your life when you surrender control to the Spirit of God.

But, these fruits or character qualities can also be temporarily imitated by the flesh. Your flesh can present with goodness for periods of time. It can sustain faithfulness with effort for a time and under good conditions. You can muster self-control sometimes, with a certain amount of effort as well. But when you fast, your flesh takes a hit, gets angry, and stops cooperating with the production of any false spiritual fruit. As a result you begin to discover where the soft spots are in the Spirit's work of bringing about His lasting fruit in your life.

By this point, you may actually feel less spiritual as you've fasted for a number of days. You've thought, "this is crazy--i thought if I fasted I'd grow closer to God. But I've been more short-tempered, harsh, and distracted the last few days than when I was eating normally." If that's you take a deep breath and be grateful. You just learned that a portion of the fruit in your life has been propped up, supported and upheld by the flesh. Now you can see where the work of Grace--the merciful work of Jesus in you--needs to go deeper in order to produce lasting fruit that depends on Christ and not on food.

One prayer you could pray in response would be, "Lord, as I fast unto You, replace the source of my joy, peace and gentleness with You. Purify my character so that I rely on continual surrender to Jesus instead of the contentment of the flesh."