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Let’s talk about the amazing power of fasting & prayer. I started last year with a 24 hour juice fast and I experienced a spiritual renewal. I had some amazing revelations and I truly felt the Lord leading and guiding me in the most supernatural way.
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Fasting & Prayer is a biblical process that helps you grow closer to the Lord; it gives you the opportunity for a spiritual reset, so to speak. Fasting & Prayer is a spiritual detox and helps to remove any distractions from your walk with the Lord.
I was neglecting my personal quiet time with the Lord as the calendar clicked over to 2021 and the enemy was having a field day in my personal life – he was attacking my marriage, my parenting and my personal relationship with Christ and I was feeling overwhelmed and defeated because I wasn’t equipped for battle. This was not a great way to start 2021.
Intermittent Fasting is something I use as part of my health and fitness journey but I could feel the Lord leading me to shift my focus to a spiritual fast.
Fasting is refraining from something in particular, more typically it is food. Accompany that with constant prayer and daily Bible reading and you have a recipe for a miracle and a spiritual encounter with Christ!
A complete fast is when you only drink liquids – no solid foods at all. It is usually done with drinking only water but sometimes a juice fast is a great alternative. I do complete fasts often as part of my Intermittent Fasting for my weight loss and have often done many 24 hour fasts during the week.
I had never done a juice fast until this year and I really enjoyed it – it helped with the hunger pangs and I was also getting many vitamins and minerals into my body from the fruit and vegetables.
A Daniel Fast is based on the prophet Daniel. He fasted and prayed for 21 days, only eating fruit and vegetables. Many people use this type of fast as a spiritual and physical detox.
I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks.- Daniel 10:3
Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.- Daniel 9:3
A partial fast is also known as the “Jewish Fast” and requires abstaining from all food in the morning or afternoon so you wouldn’t eat anything after the sun comes up and can eat once the sun goes down.
This type of fast requires giving up something other than food, that may be a distraction to you in your spiritual life. An example of this is a social media fast, which I have done many times and has been such an encouragement to me.
Our Focus in September will be Rest In Him so we will be doing a 7-Day Social Media Fast September 3rd – September 10th.
Are you up for the Challenge?
The most common reason for fasting is a fresh encounter with Christ and to get an answer to prayer but there is so much more to it than that. You need to ask yourself why you want to fast? You must be doing it for the right reasons.
There are many reasons to fast: a spiritual renewal, healing or a miracle, a more intimate relationship with the Lord, break free from bondages, help in your marriage/relationships.
Whatever it is, you can guarantee God will be leading and guiding you. When I began my fast, I thought I knew what my fasting focus was but over the course of the day, those ideas changed from mine to God’s.
When this happens, it can be so humbling because you can feel the Lord’s leading and guiding so powerfully.
Here is the article that helped me in my preparation for my first spiritual fast of 2021 >>> 7 Basic Steps to Successful Fasting & Prayer.
It is important for you to forgive those who have wronged you and repent and ask for forgiveness before you begin your fast.
Unconfessed sin and unforgiveness can be a hindrance to prayer and the reason why some prayers will go unanswered. Let go of any ill feelings such as bitterness and resentment towards anyone who has hurt you.
Write down a list of your confessions and take it to God in prayer. Repent and ask God for His forgiveness and know that once you ask, it will be given; you are forgiven. (1John 1:9)
You must also repent and seek forgiveness from those who you have wronged – you must physically ask them to forgive you for the wrong you have done to them.
There are many examples of fasting and prayer in the Bible; read this article >>> 7 examples of fasting in the Bible.
Matthew 6:16-18
“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Matthew 9:14-15
Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.
1 Samuel 1:6-8
And her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. So it went on year by year. As often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. And Elkanah, her husband, said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?”
1 Samuel 1:17-18
Then Eli answered, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him.” And she said, “Let your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.
Nehemiah 1:4
As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
Joel 2:12
“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
Ezra 8:21-23
Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, “The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.” So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.
Matthew 4:4
But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread
alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.
Check out this video and take a look inside the Faith Fitness and Fasting Journal.
We use The FFF Journal in The 14-Day Triple F Refresh Challenge – NEXT ONE IS IN NOVEMBER!
Once the Lord has revealed what your fasting focus should be, you will be able to centre your prayers on this focus. Pray carefully and specifically for your need.
Set intentional times for your prayer and Bible Reading but remember to pray continually during your fast – in the car, in the shower, in the shopping centre etc.
Using a Prayer Journal to record your prayers is a great way to keep track of what you prayed for during your fast. Find a Prayer Journal that also has a Prayer Record where you can write down the prayers and when they were answered. Check out my Etsy Shop: Printables By Kala – My 100pg Prayer Journal has everything you need, including a Prayer Record in the back!
It is such an encouragement looking back on my old Prayer Journals and seeing the powerful way God has worked in my life, and the lives of others, through answered prayer.
You should also have a Prayer Journal that can give you a clear guide of what (or who) you should be praying for – yes, you should be praying specifically for your fasting focus but there will be many other things that the Lord will prompt you to pray for.
A Fasting and Prayer Planner is also a great tool to have when you are taking part in a Spiritual Fast. It can help give you a clear vision.
God speaks to us through His Word so when you are fasting and praying, you need to be in the Word. When you set aside time to pray, read and study your Bible too. Do this at least 3 times a day – morning, noon and night.
The Scriptures that God has given me during a fast has been none other than profound revelations!
I have read passages of Scripture that I have read a million times before but our Almighty God just brings it to a whole new light and He is able to work in our hearts in a mighty, powerful way.
One of the things I absolutely love about Bible Study, is when I am reading a certain verse and the Lord just takes me on a whole new journey where I end up surfing the Bible – not surfing the net, surfing the Bible LOL!
An amazing thing that happens when He takes us to the Scripture that we need to read and soak up.
I encourage you to read your Bible various times throughout the day because it will be an amazing journey.
I have had many spiritual renewals during and after a period of fasting and prayer – and I’ve witnessed many miracles when God led to fast and pray.
Praise be to God!!
When I fasted and prayed the other day, I felt an overwhelming sense of peace and calm, which is exactly what I prayed for.
It is so humbling to know that the Creator of the Universe wants to lead you, guide you and answer your prayers so quickly and in such a mighty, supernatural way.
What about you?
Are you a beginner or veteran when it comes to fasting & prayer?
Leave a comment below and let me know what encouraged you the most in this blog post and please share with others who may want to take start seeing the amazing power of Fasting & Prayer!
