Consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly; gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD. Joel 1:14
Joel made a proclamation, calling all the inhabitants to consecrate a fast. Fasting is often a neglected spiritual activity among believers. Yet it is being referred to all throughout the pages of the Bible. Fasting is voluntarily abstaining from food for spiritual purposes.
The primary purpose for fasting is self-humbling. God requires His people to humble themselves before Him. “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up” (James 4:10). Fasting is that scriptural means, ordained by God, by which we can humble ourselves before Him. David fasted to humble himself before God (Ps. 35:13). Ezra and the exiles fasted for God’s protection (Ezra 8:21-23). Jesus fasted 40 days before Satan tempted Him (Luke 4:1-2). He overcame the devil and returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee (4:14). The power of the Christian life is the Holy Spirit. “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Therefore, the key to successful Christian living is knowing how to release the power of the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to work through us without hindrances.
To remove any hindrances, we need to put away our old man, our carnality. Many believers never experience this power because of the flesh. “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish” (Gal. 5:17). If we are going to yield to the Holy Spirit, we must deal with the carnal nature. And fasting is God’s appointed way to bring the carnal nature into subjection.
As such, fasting is essential in our lives if we are to be victorious over Satan. Fasting changes the life of a believer. Paul says, “But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified” (1 Cor. 9:27). The most natural thing for us to do when we are hungry is to eat. So when we fast, we are disciplining ourselves and becoming masters over the carnal flesh. In this way, the power of the Holy Spirit can flow freely through us.
When the armies of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir surrounded Judah and Jerusalem, King Jehoshaphat did not trust in man-made weapons for deliverance. Instead he and the people in Judah humbled themselves before the Lord with fasting (2 Chr. 20:3). They renounced the natural and invoked the supernatural power of God. As a result, they had a mighty victory! Let us humble ourselves with fasting and believe God for His mighty hand of deliverance in our lives.
Joel made a proclamation, calling all the inhabitants to consecrate a fast. Fasting is often a neglected spiritual activity among believers. Yet it is being referred to all throughout the pages of the Bible. Fasting is voluntarily abstaining from food for spiritual purposes.
The primary purpose for fasting is self-humbling. God requires His people to humble themselves before Him. “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up” (James 4:10). Fasting is that scriptural means, ordained by God, by which we can humble ourselves before Him. David fasted to humble himself before God (Ps. 35:13). Ezra and the exiles fasted for God’s protection (Ezra 8:21-23). Jesus fasted 40 days before Satan tempted Him (Luke 4:1-2). He overcame the devil and returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee (4:14). The power of the Christian life is the Holy Spirit. “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Therefore, the key to successful Christian living is knowing how to release the power of the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to work through us without hindrances.
To remove any hindrances, we need to put away our old man, our carnality. Many believers never experience this power because of the flesh. “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish” (Gal. 5:17). If we are going to yield to the Holy Spirit, we must deal with the carnal nature. And fasting is God’s appointed way to bring the carnal nature into subjection.
As such, fasting is essential in our lives if we are to be victorious over Satan. Fasting changes the life of a believer. Paul says, “But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified” (1 Cor. 9:27). The most natural thing for us to do when we are hungry is to eat. So when we fast, we are disciplining ourselves and becoming masters over the carnal flesh. In this way, the power of the Holy Spirit can flow freely through us.
When the armies of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir surrounded Judah and Jerusalem, King Jehoshaphat did not trust in man-made weapons for deliverance. Instead he and the people in Judah humbled themselves before the Lord with fasting (2 Chr. 20:3). They renounced the natural and invoked the supernatural power of God. As a result, they had a mighty victory! Let us humble ourselves with fasting and believe God for His mighty hand of deliverance in our lives.
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