#6 Power Through Fasting

What is fasting and what is its purpose? In the stricter sense of the word, to fast is to go without food for a designated amount of time during which the drinking water is allowed and encouraged. Most often associated with spiritual purposes and is an expression of humbling oneself.  It may also be a ritual to consecrate oneself unto God.

Today, I want to focus on the power of fasting as related to our topic of adding fervency to prayers. Jesus spoke of the power of prayer and fasting after an encounter with a boy possessed of a demonic spirit. In the short version of this story, (Matthew 17:14-21) the disciples could not cure him… but Jesus did cure the boy as he cast a demon out of the boy. The disciples were perplexed and asked Jesus why they did not succeed. His answer came in two parts. Jesus initial comments, a word of rebuke (publicly), “O faithless and perverse generation…” but later when the Disciples asked him (privately) why they could not cast out the devil from the boy, Jesus replied,

• Traditional Fast-One Day 24 hour Fast – Example you eat dinner tonight and you don’t eat again until dinner the following night.
• Intense Day Fast – 36 hour fast – Example you eat dinner tonight and you don’t eat again until breakfast (Break Fast) the day after next.
• Intermittent Fasting – Fast one meal a day for a week, a month, etc. (No snacks in between). For example, eat breakfast and don’t eat again until dinner.
• A Daniel Fast – This is biblical code for a partial fast. This is a limited/restrictive diet for a set period of time. Some people chose what they won’t eat, for example, no meat, no beverage but water. While others approach it with only what they will eat, such as, only soup or rice and beans. Read Daniel 10:2
• Extended Fasting – 3 to 40 days

The combination of prayer and fasting is a key to add fervency to your petitions. So don’t just fast and forget to plug into God. Be intentional, replace your entire mealtime (preparation, eating, cleaning up) with prayer, scripture reading, and putting faith into action. *We will look more into other scriptural reasons to fast with our next publication.

Wisbit Tip #6

These Wisbits are not for entertainment. These desperate times compel us to desperate measures. The application of these tips will unleash powerful prayer. Choose from the fasting options above and fast for God’s mercy and grace to come with His Kingdom. Prayer Tip Six. Fasting is a biblical way to stir faith and release the kingdom of heaven upon earth.

See you again soon,
Robert

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