|
The Word of God declares in ISAIAH 52: 1, “Awake, awake; put on your strength.” In this Scripture the word “awake” deals with prayer and
your prayer life. And we also find in JOEL 3: 9 a command to “wake up.” It declares there:
“...wake up the mighty men...” The cry out of the Father’s heart is for
the awakening of believers because of sleeping. The silent believer is not ready for the Lord’s work.
Sleeping believers allow the enemy to bring destruction to them. But, when the believer is
awake, it is then that the enemy is destroyed and his power crippled.
A sleeping believer is one that has lost anointing as Samson lost his anointing while asleep. Dear saint, let’s not lose the
anointing, for we need it now more than ever. And we need to pray as we have never prayed before.
WHY IS FASTING SO IMPORTANT TO PRAYER?
Fasting is what brings the flesh under subjection and enables us to triumph in prayer. Fasting enables us to bring the flesh (our body and appetites) under control. As we fast
we receive dominion with God as we see in the Bible with Jesus’ dominion.
Fasting allows us to say as Paul said in I CORINTHIANS 9: 27 - “But I keep under my body and I bring it unto
subjection.” We bring our flesh under subjection as JOEL 1: 14 declares: “Sanctify you a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the
house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the Lord.”
JOEL 2: 15 declares: “Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call assembly...” Only then will revival come as JOEL 2: 28
says: “And it shall come to pass, afterward, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see
visions...”
“afterward” means that after prayer and fasting, revival comes.
HOW DO WE BEGIN TO FAST?
You start a fast by asking five questions:
1. Is God leading me into fasting and prayer?
2. Are my motives for prayer and fasting right?
3. For what specific needs am I fasting?
4. For what results am I fasting?
5. Will I minister to the Lord during my fast?
THREE TYPES OF FASTS FOUND IN THE BIBLE.
1. For Crisis Situations - ESTHER 4: 16 declares:
“Go, gather together all the Jews, and fast you for Me, and
neither eat or drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.”
This
Scripture refers to when Esther had decided to fast because Haaman wanted to destroy the Jews in Babylon. Before you make a decision to fast, make sure that the Lord leads you into such a fast. It is not
a formula: We must be sure that we are led by the Spirit of God into fast.
ACTS 9: 9 states the three days and three nights when Paul fasted because his own life was in crisis: “And he was three
days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.”
2. The partial fast for revelation of God - DANIEL 10: 3 declares:
“I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my
mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.” Verse 5 declares: “I lifted up mine eyes and looked...” As result of his fast, he was
able to see beyond this world. The partial fast usually extends several days, in his case lasted 21 days. In II CORINTHIAN 11: 27 , the Scripture declares and makes reference to “fasting often
” as in the case of Acts 10: 10, where Peter fasted partially... for it declares: “And he became very hungry, and would have eaten; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance...
” “Trance” here means a state of readiness for a vision.
3. For dominion over the Satan and his demons. MATTHEW 4: 1-2
This is always a 40 day fast. You must be sure before
you ever move into such a fast that God is calling you. In MATTHEW 4: 1-2, we read:
“Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when He had fasted forty
days and forty nights, he was afterward hungered.”
The Spirit of God led Jesus into that fast as He went into the wilderness.
There are only four men in the Scripture who fasted for 40 days:
1. Moses - Deuteronomy 9: 9
2. Joshua - Exodus 24: 13-18
3. Elijah - I Kings 19: 7-18
4. The Lord Jesus - Matthew 4: 1-11
The purpose for this kind of fast is never for your own needs to be met.
It is always for a change in a nation or the world.
HOW DO YOU BREAK A FAST?
I SAMUEL 30: 11- 12 declares: “And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him
bread, and he did eat; and they made him drink water. And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no
bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights.”
Any fast that is longer than three days in length must be broken very slowly.
1. Watch the amount of food you eat.
2. Eat slowly and rest as much as possible.
One very important rule to remember about fasting is this: don’t talk about it.
MATTHEW 6: 17-18 declares: “But you, when you fast, anoint your
head, and wash your face; That you appear not unto men to fast, but unto your Father which is in secret: and your Father, which sees in secret, shall reward you openly.” For a more extensive
study, I recommend a book written by Arthur Wallis titled “God’s Chosen Fast.” It contains a great deal of valuable information about fasting and is one of the best books I have ever
read on this subject.
|
