Fasting

And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove ; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.  Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.  (Matthew 17:20-21)

Fasting is also a part of God’s strategic battle plan. It is combined with prayer to wage effective warfare in the spirit world.

Fasting, in the most simple definition, is going without food.

According to the Bible there are two types of fasts. The total fast is when you do not eat or drink at all. An example of this is found in Acts 9:9 involving Paul’s divine intervention with God: 

For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

The partial fast is when the diet is restricted. An example of this is in Daniel 10:3:

I had eaten no rich food, no meat or wine had entered my mouth, and I had not anointed myself at all, for the full three weeks.

PUBLIC AND PRIVATE FASTING:

Fasting is a personal matter between an individual and God. It is to be done in private and not boasted about:

Moreover when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance; for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.

But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;

That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.         (Matthew 6:16-18)

Leaders may call a public fast and request the whole church fellowship to fast:

Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly.      (Joel 2:15)

THE PURPOSES OF FASTING:

There are definite spiritual purposes for fasting. It is important that you understand these, for if you fast for the wrong reasons it will be ineffective.

Study each of the following references regarding the purposes of fasting. They reveal the great power of fasting in spiritual warfare. You fast:

            -To humble yourself:                                        Psalms 35:13; 69:10

            -To repent of sin:                                             Joel 2:12

            -For revelation:                                                Daniel 9:2; 3:21-22

            -To loose bands of wickedness, lift heavy

  burdens, set the oppressed free, and break

              every bondage:                                              Isaiah 58:6

            -To feed the poor, both physically

  and spiritually:                                                Isaiah 58:7

            -To be heard of God:                                       II Samuel 12:16,22; Jonah 3:5,10

Fasting does not change God. It changes you. God relates to you on the basis of your relationship to Him. When you change, then the way God deals with you is affected. You do not fast to change God, because God does not change. But fasting does change how He deals with you. Read the book of Jonah for an example of how this happened in the city of Nineveh.

How long you fast depends upon what God speaks into your spirit. He may lead you to fast a short or lengthy time. Be sensitive to hear what He is saying to you.

Biblical Studies

Also See:

A Good Prayer Life

Victorious Through Prayer

Unanswered Prayers