The Power Of Fasting

“Is this not the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bond of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke?” Isaiah 58:6

The primary purpose for fasting is self humbling. It is the scriptural means, ordained by God, for us to humble ourselves before Him. When Ezra was leading the Jewish exiles back to Jerusalem, the route they took was most unsafe. Ezra had two alternative: to move in the natural by seeking help from the Persian king, or to experience the supernatural by trusting in God’s divine protection. He chose God. Exra and the exiles fasted and humbled their soul before God and God protected them (Ezra 8:21-23).

In 2 Chronicles, we read that Judah was surrounded by three armies from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir. King Jehoshaphat and his people were outnumbered and, logically speaking, they were at a crippling disadvantage. However, the people of God humbled themselves, fasting to seek God’s help (20:2-4). As a result, “the LORD set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated” (20:22). By fasting, God’s people renounced the natural to invoke the supernatural. The most natural thing for us to do is to eat. When we give up eating, we are deliberately turning away from the natural by turning to God and to the supernatural.

Before Jesus entered His public ministry, He was led buy the Spirit into the wilderness where he had a confrontation with Satan. Prior to that battle, He fasted 40 days, humbling Himself before God, which subsequently led to His victory over the devil (Luke 4:1-2). “Then Jesus returned in the power of the Holy Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region” (4:14). it is one thing to be filled with the Holy Spirit, but another thing to be in the power of the Spirit. Jesus says, ”Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believers in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father” (John 14:12). If we want to live a life of victory over Satan and do the powerful works that Jesus did, then it seems logical that we must also begin where Jesus began—with fasting

Fasting is to loose the bond of wickedness, undo the heavy burden, free the oppressed, and break every yoke of the devil. So when our backs are against the wall; when the enemies surround us; when temptation seems too overwhelming for us to bear, when our ministry lacks the power of the Spirit, God has ordained fasting as a means by which we can humble ourselves before Him in order to invoke the supernatural for our miraculous victory!