|
FASTING
For your specific needs
Release the incredible power of fasting into your life
by Jentezen Franklin
Wherever you are in life or whatever your needs today, fasting can benefit you. If you are struggling with your health or finances, fasting is a powerful spiritual tool. Maybe you need guidance from God or protection for your family. Fasting is a private discipline with public rewards. It is the spiritual key in certain seasons and situations of your life. Whatever your season in life, release the power of fasting into your needs.
Fasting for your family
Fasting gives you the opportunity to pray and intercede specifically for your family. It’s important to fast and pray for your children’s and grandchildren’s future. God is looking for men and women with fervent prayer lives who will do spiritual battle on behalf of their families! Fasting will open your eyes to the needs of your family. The Lord will point out the needs of your family members from deep within your heart and soul, such as encouragement for your spouse or special prayer and attention for a child. You can fast and pray specifically for a protective covering of safety around your family. Scripture tells how Esther’s people were in danger. Her uncle Mordecai discovered a plot by Haman, one of the king’s advisors, to destroy her family. Before she approached the king, Esther declared a three-day fast for God’s protection (Esther 4:16). Haman wanted to hang Mordecai on the gallows he was building in his courtyard, but God turned it around and the evil conspirator was hanged instead on his own gallows!
Fasting for financial needs
If you face a financial struggle that seems insurmountable, you are not alone. Ezra faced a big problem with the silver and gold he was responsible for in Ezra 7 and 8. He had been given silver and gold from King Artaxerxes to return to Jerusalem (Ezra 7:14-17), but thieves threatened his financial security. Maybe you feel like thieves have stolen what belongs to you financially. When Ezra faced an uncertain financial journey, he declared a fast (Ezra 8:21) and God answered his prayer! If you will fast, pray and obey God’s commandments, He said you will be blessed (Deut. 28:2). The widow in 1 Kings 17:10-16 also faced an uncertain future. Although the woman had very little, she gave up her own food to help Elijah, the man of God. The book of Isaiah says we are called, “. . . to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out . . .” (Isaiah 58:6-7). You can add a new dimension to your fasting if you set aside the money you would normally use for food to help a food bank, support world missions or give to some other ministry that is helping the needy. In the story of the widow, God multiplied the meal in her barrel to last for three and a half years!
Fasting for deliverance
In Mark, chapter 9, Christ’s disciples were frustrated because they could not cast out an evil spirit. Jesus said, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:29). If you are afflicted with addictions or sin, you can go on a fast that frees you from besetting sins as referred to in Hebrews 12:1. Besetting sins are those that ensnare us and hinder us from achieving God’s purpose for our lives.
Through fasting we can break free from the addictions and habits that are not pleasing to God. “Is this not the fast that I have chosen; To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke?” (Isaiah 58:6). Christ said the key to deliverance from sin is fasting and prayer. Maybe you struggle with the emotional bondage of depression or anxiety. Elijah also battled negative emotional feelings. When Jezebel sent word that she wanted to kill Elijah, he became distraught (1 Kings 19:4). He was depressed and even suicidal. That’s when an angel came to Elijah and instructed him to journey back into the presence of God. The Bible says that Elijah fasted for 40 days and 40 nights as he returned to Horeb, the mountain of God. God delivered Elijah from feelings of suicide and fear. He gave Him hope, courage and direction.
Fasting for guidance
Are you faced with a major life decision and don’t know what to do? Maybe you have a job opportunity . . . a broken relationship . . . or an unfulfilled dream. Fasting can help you clear away the clutter of life and discern God’s voice. Saul was going the wrong direction in life. He was hunting down followers of Christ and persecuting them when the light of God’s truth knocked him off his path (Acts 9:3-6). Saul headed to Damascus and “was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank” (Acts 9:9). He didn’t know what to do, but he fasted for God’s divine direction. Then God sent the disciple Ananias to him with guidance (Acts 9:17). Through this process Saul became Paul, one of God’s chosen apostles. Through his fast, Paul received the direction he needed and so can you. When you don’t know what to do or when you face a daunting decision, that’s when you need to fast and pray fervently for God’s direction.
Fasting for health and healing
The Bible gives us a perfect example of how denying ourselves physically can bring good health. It is the story of Daniel and his peers in Daniel 1. The “Daniel Fast” is a fast from meats, sweets, breads and any drink but water for 21 days (Daniel 1:12; 10:2-3). This fast is a partial and a prolonged fast that yields health and healing. Daniel and three others refused to eat the king’s meat and they “appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king’s delicacies” (Daniel 1:15). Daniel and his men were healthier! If you have a physical problem, fast for healing. According to Isaiah 58 when you fast, “. . . your health will spring forth speedily.”
Fasting for our nation
When Samuel took over as priest and judge over the nation, he declared a fast for national revival. Samuel told the people to fast and seek God to return His presence to the nation (1 Samuel 7:3). Our society today critically needs believers who will fast and pray for revival. “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14). We can return God’s presence and glory to our personal lives and our nations . . . will you do your part? Fast, pray and seek Him now.
Fasting for the lost
John the Baptist and his disciples fasted often, according to Matthew 9. He was on the Nazarite diet, which fasted alcohol all the time. He ate little more than locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:1-4). Because of John the Baptist’s constant fasting, I believe he had a greater testimony and influence on the lives of people in his generation than any other man (Matthew 11:1, John 1:6-7). If you and I want to win the lost in our communities, in our nation and around the world, we must do spiritual warfare through fasting and prayer. When you deny yourself and focus on God’s will through prayer, He will begin to open doors of evangelism in your life.
Back to Top |
|
