Luke 5:33-35 - Then they said to Him, Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink? And He said to them, Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days."
INTRODUCTION
Anyone can pray, but few pray with power. What is it that changes ordinary praying to powerful praying? The answer is most assuredly fasting. Fasting is the practice of deliberately abstaining from usual nourishment for the purpose of adding power to our prayer and stimulating spiritual growth.
Biblical fasting is a form of self-denial for the sake of Jesus and His kingdom. It is a deliberate abstinence from some or all food for a spiritual purpose. Fasting in the biblical sense is chosing not to partake of food because your spiritual hunger is so deep, your determination in intercession so intense, or your spiritual warfare so demanding that you have temporarily set aside even fleshly needs to give yourself to prayer.
The spirit of fasting can also be applied to sleep. Christ often fasted from sleep in order to spend more time alone with the Father. You can fast from sleep for the same reasons you fast from food.
Through fasting and prayer, you can so concentrate the power of prayer on your own lusts: lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and pride of life; that you can live a holy and pure life in God's presence. So, when Satan comes, he can find no place in you.
Fasting and prayer causes one to become much more spiritually sensitive to our Lord, causing more power in one's life to combat the forces of Satan.
PEOPLE WHO FASTED IN THE BIBLE
MOSES TWICE FASTED FOR FORTY DAYS
Deutronomy 9:9 - When I went up into the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant which the Lord made with you, then I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water."
Deutronomy 9:18 - And I fell down before the Lord, as at the first, forty days and forty nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all your sin which you committed in doing wickedly in the sight of the Lord to provoke Him to anger.
JOSHUA FASTED AFTER THE DEFEAT AT AI
Joshua 7:6 - Then Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads.
IN THE TIME OF THE JUDGES
Judges 20:26 - Then all the children of Israel, that is, all the people, went up and came to the house of God and wept. They sat there before the Lord and fasted that day until evening; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.
IN THE TIME OF SAMUEL
1 Samuel 7:6 - So they gathered together at Miz'pah, drew water, and poured it out before the Lord. And they fasted that day, and said there, "We have sinned against the Lord." And Samuel judged the children of Israel at Miz'pah.
JEHOSHAPHAT AND HIS PEOPLE FASTED
2 Chronicles 20:3 - And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
Verse 17 - You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem! Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you. They won by fasting and praise without one hour of fighting or bloodshed.
HOW TO FAST UNTO THE LORD
Fast To Please The Lord - Zachariah 7:5 - Say to all the people of the land, and to the priests: 'When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months during those seventy years, did you really fast for Me - for Me? That means God treasures your fast when you fast to please Him.
Fast In Response To Holy Spirit's Leading - Acts 13:2 As the ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, "now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away."
Fast To Humble Yourself Before God - James 4:8-10 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. Fasting is one way to humble yourself before God.
Fast To Seek God's Face More Fully - Jeremiah 29:13 - And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. Fasting is a sacred way to seek God with all your heart.
Fast As A Holy Discipline Of Your Soul: Leviticus 16:29 - This shall be a statute forever for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who dwells among you. To fast is to put up a fight, not just with Satan but with self. The children of Israel were required to afflict their souls once a year.
THE EFFECTS OF FASTING
Fasting Gives Victory Over Temptation: Matthew 4:2 - And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Jesus fasted forty days and night, afteward He faced the major temptation of his life and defeated the devil. Fasting therefore, releases divine power needed to win spiritual battles over Satan and self.
Fasting Provides Wisdom For Making Major Decisions: Luke 6:12 - Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles. Jesus spent an entire night in prayer before chosing His disciples. Most scholars believed He did this without food and water. This suggest that fasting in prayer can be vital to the believer's need for guidance in serious matters. No doubt fasting aids in clearing the mind of those distractions that might hinder wise decisions.
Fasting Leads To Direct Victory Over Satan: Mark 9:29 - This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting. This is the account of the disciples trying to cast out devil out of a demon-possessed boy. Frantically they sought a victory, but nothing seemed to bring deliverance. Observing their difficulty, Jesus stepped forth and cast out the devil out of the youth. Afterward, when the disciples asked the reason why the demon refused to leave on their command in prayer. Then the master told them the secret to spiritual power. He said "this kind of demon can not be cast out, but by prayer and fasting."
This account in Mark proves that fasting leads to direct victory over Satan. Ordinary prayer restrain Satan, fasting with prayer stops Satan in his tracks. It is not that normal prayer is absent of power, but that fasting bring more power. Fasting gives our praying a sharp cutting-edge to our sword of the Spirit - the Word of God, when released in prayer.
Fasting Was Vital In the Lives Of Past Church Leaders: A casual study Church history reveals how important fasting was to those who paved the way in spreading the gospel around the world.
John Wesley - the founder of the Methodist church believed so much in the importance of fasting that he refused to ordain young men to the ministry who would not fast two days a week.
Charles Finney - said "sometimes I would find myself, in a great measure, empty of the power of God. I would go and visit, and find that I made no saving impression. I would exhort and pray, with the same result. I would then set apart a day for private fasting and prayer fearing that this power had departed from me, and would inquire anxiously after the reason of this apparent emptiness. After humbling myself and crying out for help, the power would return upon me with all its freshness. This has been the experience of my life."
