THE POWER OF FASTING
The biblical foundation for fasting as a form of spiritual-warfare
Throughout the scope of scriptural and church history, one manifestation, among others, of healthy, vibrant Christians and churches has been the practice of the biblical spiritual discipline of fasting.
Though it may seem to be a lost art or a foreign concept in our present day, fasting has endured for over two millennia as a means of Christ’s ongoing grace for his church.
FASTING IS BIBLICAL
Jesus’s teaching in the Gospels, particularly in Matthew, is plain enough. In addition to the fact that Jesus himself modeled a habit of prayer and fasting to us (Matthew 4:2), Jesus also gave explicit instructions for “when you fast,” not “if” (Matthew 6:16–17). More than that, in speaking about what his followers would do after his departure, he said, “then they will fast” (Matthew 9:15; also Mark 2:20; Luke 5:35).
Beyond Jesus’s own words, we find a pattern of fasting as the early church grew and multiplied in the book of Acts. In one of the most pivotal junctures in the story, the leaders in Antioch “were worshiping the Lord and fasting” to seek God’s guidance at a key moment in their church life (Acts 13:2–3). While they were doing so, the Holy Spirit spoke to them, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them” (Acts 13:2). Then “after fasting [again] and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off” (Acts 13:3).
Then, Acts 14 provides us with a pattern of prayer and fasting “in every church.” As Paul and Barnabas revisited the cities in which they had made new converts on their first missionary journey, they “appointed elders for them in every church” and “with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed” (Acts 14:23).
This trajectory is not just something that pops up in the New Testament, as there are over 25 specific accounts in the first 39 books of the bible where the people of God sets themselves apart to pray and fast.
FASTING IS SPIRITUAL
In some of the opening lines of Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount, he declares a Kingdom promise of invitation and fulfillment that lies in wait for whoever may pick it up.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled” (Matthew.5:6)
Fasting is the spiritual discipline that helps us feed the spirit and starve our flesh; a tangible opportunity to deny ourselves and stir our hunger for the things of the Spirit. Fasting is not for the spiritual elite or seemingly mature, but rather it’s an open invitation for all those who are hungry!
It is the theme of God’s heart that those who seek after him will find him and will be satisfied. When Jesus died on the cross, we read that the heavens were forever opened, never to be closed to us again, with access to the Father made open for all who hunger and thirst! Fasting, therefore, is an opportunity to lay hold of everything that has already been made available for us in Jesus.
FASTING IS WARFARE
When Daniel sought an interpretation for a vision, he prayed and fasted for three weeks. He then was visited by a heavenly being who said, “from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia” (Daniel 10:12–13).
The angel was sent as soon as Daniel began praying, but it took him three weeks to arrive. It’s no accident that the messenger said that his struggle with the Prince of Persia lasted exactly the same amount of time that Daniel’s fasting and prayer did: 21 days. The reason for this is that the warfare in the spirit realm was being fought in a real sense by Daniel in the prayer realm.
Fasting is an opportunity for us to seek God for spiritual breakthrough or deliverance.
Before any of the “noise”, rush and distraction of the day kicks in, follow our daily reading plans available on our Life Changers app to help you in this.
Want to learn more about why we fast as Christians? Read these short blogs here:
http://blog.lifechangers.org.za/2018/01/17/3-reasons-why-christians-should-fast/
http://blog.lifechangers.org.za/2018/08/22/fasting-what-it-means-and-why-we-do-it/
http://blog.lifechangers.org.za/2017/01/26/four-reasons-why-we-fast-as-christians/
http://blog.lifechangers.org.za/2020/01/30/how-to-make-the-most-of-your-fast/