Day 8 – The Power of Fasting

“Bear up the hands that hang down, by faith and prayer; support the tottering knees.  Have you any days of fasting and prayer?  Storm the throne of grace and persevere therein, and mercy will come down.”

– John Wesley

Throughout the Bible, we see instances of the people of God fasting and praying. Jesus Himself fasted on many occasions. If so many of our biblical heroes, including our Saviour, employed this discipline, then we must take notice.

Fasting, together with prayer, unlocks something in the spiritual realm. It is the precursor to repentance, wisdom, and breakthrough. Fasting will bring you to your knees and lift your hands in worship in ways that nothing else will  (Nehemiah 1:4).

As John Wesley said, fasting and prayer help us to “storm the throne of grace,” and as we fervently seek the Lord, His “mercy [breakthrough, blessing, wisdom, grace etc.] will come down.”

If you want to see the power of fasting at work, what better place to look than the Word of God? Take a moment to read through these passages.

• Fasting breaks the power of bondage and oppression – Mark 9:29
• Fasting brings divine wisdom, direction, and vision – 2 Chronicles 20:34
• Fasting brings clarity and empowerment in our ministry – Acts 13:2
• Fasting brings repentance and ushers in revival – Joel 2:12-13
• Fasting aligns our hearts with God – Isaiah 58:6-8
• Fasting brings breakthrough in impossible places – Ezra 8:21

When we fast, we unlock a power that goes beyond our understanding. It brings us into agreement and alignment with the plans and purposes of heaven and allows us to connect with God with clarity. There is a deep strength in prayer and fasting that renders the power of this world void. It disarms the hold that the temporal world has upon us, lifting our eyes to the unseen. “Fasting helps express, deepen, confirm the resolution that we are ready to sacrifice anything, even ourselves to attain what we seek for the kingdom of God.” (Andrew Murray)

When we begin to see the power contained within this discipline, we start to see why the enemy, through our fallen flesh, battles so hard to disrupt us in its pursuit. If it were just a religious performance, or a special Christian diet-plan, and it had no power to shift the principalities and powers of this world, then it would be easy, right?

It’s hard because it’s effective, and it’s effective because there is divine power and enablement (i.e. grace) attached to its practice.

Hudson Taylor, when speaking about the Chinese church said, “they recognized that this fasting, which so many dislike, which requires faith in God, since it makes one feel weak and poorly, is really a divinely appointed means of grace.  Perhaps the greatest hindrance to our work is our own imagined strength; and in fasting we learn what poor, weak creatures we are—dependent on a meal of meat for the little strength which we are so apt to lean upon.” (emphasis added)

This power is not distant or unreachable. On the contrary, it is right there at hand, ready and available for those who decide to align with this biblical instruction. God is waiting for us to put aside our own agendas and earnestly seek after Him. He is not holding out but is ready to pour out His abundant blessing, wisdom, and grace upon us.

The power to change our circumstances and situations is ready, but the choice is ours to engage in the process of accessing it. Let’s do this together!

Amen.

You can access all of the Reflection and Awe: Lent’s Purpose series here.

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