Biblical Fasting
#fasting&prayerseries
(This Weekly Prayer Summary was written by Irene Sentosa, from the CBC English Prayer Ministry Core Team, and edited by Brigitta Tedja)
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We need to have the right perspective on Fasting and Prayer. Two weeks ago, Pastor Paul shared that Christianity today is not about the Cross, but about the couch. Today’s Christianity is not about denial, but about comfort. Last week Pastor James shared about “Drawing Near to God” through prayer.
Today Pastor Him continued the “Fasting and Prayer” series with a sermon entitled, “Biblical Fasting.”
Fasting is refraining from eating or reducing our food intake for a certain amount of time and drawing near to God. Both would need to happen, otherwise it is called a Weight Loss Program with no spiritual value.
There is a spiritual warfare as you fast. The enemy will try to foil your fast such as you may be a little impatient or get into an argument with your loved ones. It wants you to focus on your hunger, on food, on snacks, so that you will be hungry or you would want to eat.
Do not let the enemy manipulate you, but put on your whole armor of God.
Fasting is an act of worship that involves prayer and repentance.
Draw near to God as you fast. Shut your eyes and guard your mind from all distractions (social media, inquiring minds, Netflix, activities that drain your time and fill your mind with pollutants, etc.) and lay down the pleasures of this world for a spiritual refreshing.
Start fasting for a day a week. You cannot just do a 5K run if you have not been practicing 1K or 2K a week.
As we fast, we are aligning our hearts with the Lord and developing intimacy with God. Fasting focuses our minds and bodies on spiritual growth. HOW?
Read His word: read books that will equip you, read books that will expand your horizon. Books that will help you fulfill your call and destiny.
Do things that will grow and stretch you instead of stifling your growth and stealing your precious time.
It takes discipline. You may need help from others walking with you. That is why it is good to be involved in a Small Group, CARE Cell, or partake in a ministry.
Spiritual Benefits of Fasting are Many:
We feed our spiritual man
We become more sensitive to the Holy Spirit, we become more aware of His presence
It helps us to focus on God
Our hearing will be sharpened so that we will be able to hear Him better
To know His will for our lives
God will give us the strength to accomplish His will in our lives and see the hand of God at work
We will find that the absence of food was small with what we gain
Have No Agenda but to Seek Him:
Fasting is taking your focus off of the things of this world in order to focus more on the things of God.
Fasting should be a spiritual discipline in your life, not just when you are in trouble, when you are trying to find a mate, when you are about to be prophesied, or when you are in need. It is fine to fast when you are going through issues, but you need to remember to fast even when you do not have issues, special occasions, or specific needs.
Fasting should also be our spiritual discipline after we have been prophesied because we need the wisdom and revelation from God to fulfill the prophetic word, after we get married, after we get promoted, after we experienced a breakthrough. It is not the time to slack off. It is a dangerous time for the enemy to steal the prophetic word in your life because he does not want you to experience the promises of God.
Seek Him first. Matthew 6:33 NKJV: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
When We Fast:
Show humility, humbling yourself
Acknowledge that He is God
Seek Him first and His righteousness
The result belongs to Him
James 4:6 NKJV: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Isaiah 58 taught about the wrong fast and the right fast.
Isaiah 58:3 NKJV: “’Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice? In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure (AMP: should be grieving for your sins, NIV: do as you please), and exploit all your laborers. Indeed, you fast for strife and debate, and to strike with the fist of wickedness. You will not fast as you do this day, to make your voice (will not be) heard on high.’”
The Wrong Fast
• AMP: Finding pleasure
• NIV: Do as you please
• Should grieve for your sins but instead of you are Striving, Debating and Striking
These are wrong ways to fast, a fast that will not be heard by God. Do you want to fast and God not to take notice? Do you like to humble yourself and not be heard by God?
Ephesians 6 NKJV
11: “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”
You are the devil’s enemy once you become a child of God.
It is your responsibility to put on the whole armor of God and not for others to put it on you.
The enemy is very tricky, does not play fair, will cheat, lie, steal and do all kinds of things to trip you, to fool you, to have you think negatively, to make you give up, to drain you, to have you live in fear and ultimately to destroy you.
12: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
That is why you can have negative thoughts. It is a close combat situation.
You are wrestling against an unseen giant and his minions; therefore, you need to make sure that you are well protected.
13: “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
Take up the whole armor—not partial armor, so that you will be able to withstand in the evil day.
14: “Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness. . .”
Always remember you are a child of God and you will always be the target of the enemy whether you like it or not, but your Father, the Creator of the heavens and the earth loves you.
When we do not walk in truth, we are naked before God and also before the enemy; we are exposed and will become the target of the enemy. Therefore, it is very important for us to always be girded with truth and to put on the breastplate of righteousness.
15: “And having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.”
Wherever you go, do not be barefooted.
But you put on shoes that will allow you to claim souls for His kingdom as you share the Gospel.
16: “Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.”
The wicked one will fire fiery darts when you least expect it.
You need the shield of faith to walk by faith and not by sight.
17: “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
Your minds must be protected by God’s words. There is so much junk that the world is throwing to us. You need His word so that your thoughts will be aligned with God’s thoughts.
Read, meditate God’s Word, and let it speak to you. And not just know His Word or memorize His Word but do it.
There is Spiritual Warfare as You Fast
Satan will always attempt to lure us away from our purpose.
His preferred method appears to be when we are weak, tired, and in physical need – that fits the description of fasting.
Your spiritual man may be strong but how about your physical and soul man?
The same as what Jesus experienced when He fasted for 40 days, He was tempted by the devil:
Jesus was extremely hungry and the devil tempted Him by asking Him to turn the stones to loaves of bread.
Jesus was tempted again the second time to appeal to His pride.
Still trying to manipulate and trick Jesus, Satan took him even higher, up on a mountain where Jesus could see all the kingdoms down below. There, Satan offered all that could be seen to Jesus if Jesus would only bow down to him in worship.
Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
Luke 18:12 NKJV: “I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.”
The Pharisee was a “self-righteous” man and his prayer was not answered. On the contrary, the Tax Collector was known as a “sinner”, but he was made righteous.
Fasting is not the time for us to compare or judge. Just because you fast, do not compare and judge others.
How Many of You Want to Fast and Pray Effectively?
Do it in God’s way.
Read Isaiah 58, meditate on it, ask the Lord to reveal it to you.
Not just knowing what is written in Isaiah 58, but do what the Word says. As you meditate on it, God will speak to you. He will open your eyes and show you areas that you need to change.
Put on the Whole Armor of God that you may be able to stand the wiles of the devil
The Right Fast
Isaiah 58:6 NKJV: “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: to loosen the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke?”
When you fast, this is the right fast that the Lord wants you to go through.
It is a progression from loosening the bonds of wickedness to undoing the heavy burdens to letting the oppressed go free and finally to breaking the yoke.
Deal with it once and for all. Matthew 17:21 NKJV: “However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
1. Loose the bonds (plural) of wickedness:
A bond is something you would use to bind someone so that they lose their freedom.
Some physical bonds would be a chain or a rope. Yet this is not speaking simply of physical bondages. This is speaking of spiritual bondages. Satan wants to keep people bound up in sin.
There are people who are literally enslaved and in spiritual bondage today. If you are a believer in Jesus, there should be nothing in your life that exerts power over you. You should not be addicted to anything.
The Bible says, “Whom the Son sets free is free indeed!” Jesus has come to set the captives free. God wants us to be free. As you fast, you are drawing near to God and He gets near to you. He will help you to loosen the bonds of wickedness.
Perhaps there are things in your life that you would like to lay down but have been unable to:
I’ve tried to quit smoking, but I can’t! Try fasting!
I don’t want to do drugs anymore. But I just struggle. Try fasting!
I don’t want to watch porn anymore. Try fasting!
I just can’t seem to stop cussing. Try fasting!
I don’t know how to control my temper. Try fasting!
Need a healthy marriage? Try fasting!
Need peace or breakthrough? Try fasting!
There is a principle in the Word that talks about crucifying the flesh. The flesh is that part of us that desires to satisfy or gratify the sinful nature:
Every time you say no to eating, you are crucifying the flesh.
Every time you say no to dinner and go to pray, you are building up your spirit man and you are decreasing the power that the flesh has over you.
So, it stands to reason that if you can control your appetite for food, you can control any other areas in your life.
2. Undo Heavy Burdens
There are some things that people carry that can become like a heavy burden:
There are situations and problems at work or in families that become a burden. You wake up in the morning and you feel it or when you go to bed at night and you are thinking about it.
It may be that your life is tangled up, your finances are completely messed up, you may have legal situations, you may have problems that are heavy, or maybe your marriage is in shambles.
The solution is to call out to God during times of prayer and fasting.
When it seems hopeless, when it seems like there is no way out, believe that God is the Way-Maker! He has the solution to your heavy burden and can deal with things in an instant that you have stressed over for weeks and months!
Expect divine revelation! Expect the power of God to be revealed as you pray and fast.
3. Let the Oppressed Go Free
If you are a true believer, you should not be possessed by the devil. You cannot be possessed but you can be oppressed by the enemy. Have you ever felt heaviness upon you, you felt like you could not get a breakthrough, or your felt like you do not have the authority to fight your way out? This is the oppression of the enemy.
God says that He wants you to be free from oppression. He wants you to have victory and also your family, friends and neighbors to be free:
Fasting increases your capacity to praise Him and that will cause all heaviness to leave.
Fasting increases your faith level.
Fasting brings victory over the spirit of heaviness and oppression.
Fasting opens your eyes to the needs of a lost and dying world around you.
4. Break Every Yoke
A “yoke” is put on two oxen to control them so that the one who is driving them can steer in the direction the driver wants the oxen to go. Some have found themselves in situations where it seems like the enemy says, “to the right” and they go right. The enemy says, “go left” and they go left. They are under the enemy’s yoke and it affects their emotions and mental state.
What is Driving You?
Some people allow their emotions to drive them
Some people allow stress to drive them
Some people allow anger to drive them
Some people allow lust to drive them
Some are driven to depression and despair by negative thoughts
God wants you to fast and break every yoke in your life. He does not want you to live under that emotional strain, but wants you to be free from every yoke. He wants you to have joy, peace, hope, and courage as you face life’s obstacles.
It is time for every yoke to go!
It is time that the only one who controls you is the Spirit of the Living God!
Prayer Points:
Pray for the breaking off of wrong mindsets and the wrong way to fast – Isaiah 58:3
Pray for an understanding of the right fast and that there is spiritual warfare as we fast
Pray that the church will learn how to put on the whole armor of God – the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shield of faith, gospel of peace, the helmet of salvation and most importantly, the word of God so that we may be able to withstand against every attack of the enemy. Ephesians 6:11-18
Ask Holy Spirit to identify if there are holes that we have in our armor or anywhere in our lives and ask Him how to close those holes so that we will not give any opening for the enemy to attack and defeat us.
Pray and declare that every single person will make the decision to participate in prayer and fasting and as we draw near to God, He will draw near to us and teach us what to pray and how to pray so that we can win this warfare.
As we do the right prayer and fasting, declare Isaiah 58:6 that we will loosen the bonds of wickedness, undo the heavy burdens, break free from the enemy’s oppression, and break every yoke!