Fast With Purpose

Main Point: Christians who fast with purpose will bring spiritual warfare to the battle against the enemy.

What does Jesus say about fasting?

Matthew 6:16-18. Jesus emphasizes how personal and private fasting should be. It’s not a show or a trophy to wear.

Matthew 17: 14-21. Jesus makes it clear that spiritual warfare against darkness requires a willingness to sacrifice in fasting and prayer.  

The following are seven circumstances in the Bible in which believers sought God through Fasting.

1. To prepare for ministry. Matthew 4:1-4. Jesus spent forty days and nights in the wilderness fasting and praying before He began God’s work. 

2. To seek God’s wisdom. Acts 14:23. Paul and Barnabas prayed and fasted for the elders of the churches before committing them to the Lord.

3. To show grief. Nehemiah 1:1-4. Nehemiah mourned, fasted, and prayed when he learned Jerusalem’s walls had been broken down.

4. To seek breakthrough/deliverance or protection. Ezra 8:21-23. Ezra declared a corporate fast and prayed for a safe journey. Matthew 17:21.

5. To show repentance. Jonah 3:5. Nineveh fasted in repentance. 

6. To gain victory/Take the Land. Judges 20:26. After losing forty thousand men in battle in two days, the Israelites cried out to God for help.  

7. To worship God. Luke 2: 37-38. Anna would serve and worship God by fasting and praying

Pastor’s thoughts on Fasting:

•Fasting is a much needed discipline in the life of the Christian.

•Fasting prepares you for the work God has called you to do.

•So don’t resist the suffering that accompanies fasting. Rejoice in it! Fasting is a spiritual exercise which God honors.

•As you empty yourself physically and spiritually, you open the door for God to step in and do the miraculous. 

•You also become more sensitive to the work of the Holy Spirit, which enables you to hear God’s voice more clearly.