Are you ready to fast to refocus spiritually now? Fasting and prayer are the super-powers for Christians. When you pair fasting with prayer, it packs a supernatural punch in the spirit realm. Fasting and prayer go together but need not be in vain. Vanity is present when you do not have a relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ.

I explain why I recommend fasting for a spiritual reset and a closer walk with God in this teaching. Keep in mind that this is a part of the prayer and fasting series, so I will go deeper into how to fast on the next installment.

Fasting Analogies

Do you drive your car for years without changing the oil and filter? No, when your vehicle needs an oil change, you change it. When your body needs a shower or a bath, you take one. When it’s time to spring clean your home, you go to work. After cooking food in the kitchen, you wash the dishes.

Do you leave your trash in your home for months? No, you take it outside for regular pick up. When you’re hungry and need to eat food, you make arrangements to partake in a meal.

 

Related Reads:

How to Pray

How to Cure the Soul

How to Bear Good Fruit

 

[av_video src=’https://youtu.be/8c5Q3U23bXI’ mobile_image=” attachment=” attachment_size=” video_autoplay_enabled=’aviaTBvideo_autoplay_enabled’ format=’16-9′ width=’16’ height=’9′ conditional_play=” id=” custom_class=” template_class=” av_uid=’av-368ifr’ sc_version=’1.0′]

Spiritual Food Cures the Soul

Soulful, your spirit needs food, and you must feed it with the Word of God. The Holy Spirit will remove the debris that block spiritual nutrients from penetrating your soul. When you allow God to remove the soul contamination, you stand stronger against temptation. During Jesus’ fast for 40 days and nights, the devil tempted Him, but He fought off the attack with the sword of the Spirit.

 

Matthew 4:3-4 NKJV says, Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’

 

This passage of scripture is a Biblical principle in action. Jesus is demonstrating how you are to resist the enemy. Your spiritual life is the most critical part of your existence, and it needs more than physical food. Spiritual clutter interferes with the Holy Spirit’s ability to move His living water through your heart and soul.

You block the Spirit’s flow by allowing the wrong thoughts to pollute your mind. When you are soul-influenced instead of Spirit-led, it’s time for you to fast to humble yourself. A Christian is always to seek the Holy Spirit’s leadership as opposed to feelings and contrary thoughts.

 

[av_promobox button=’no’ label=’Click me’ icon_select=’no’ icon=’ue800′ font=’entypo-fontello’ color=’theme-color’ custom_bg=’#444444′ custom_font=’#ffffff’ size=’large’ box_color=” box_custom_font=’#ffffff’ box_custom_bg=’#444444′ box_custom_border=’#333333′ label_display=” link=’manually,http://’ link_target=” id=” custom_class=” av_uid=’av-2g8q5z’ admin_preview_bg=”]

NEVER MISS AN UPDATE. SIGN UP FOR LIFE TRANSFORMING CONTENT NOW:

[/av_promobox]

 

What Pollutes the Soul

When you allow pollution from sin, unhealthy food and drinks, gossip, media, entertainment, and bad experiences to download in your soul, they become toxins. Toxicity builds up and erodes God’s ability for His Spirit to get through to you the way He desires.

Even the overconsumption of good things such as learning about success, reading good books, and pursuing your purpose can also be idols. You must keep God first and set aside a particular time to get quiet with Him daily.

In the book of Daniel, he did not want to defile himself with the king’s delicacies. Back then, they offered food to idols. Many of the things we consume on a daily basis defile us too, and we know it. However, Daniel took a stand against it with a partial fast.

 

Daniel 1:12 NKJV says, “Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink.

 

During this partial fast, Daniel and his friends looked much better than the servants who ate the king’s delicacies. When you eat off your King’s menu, you’ll shine bright like the light on the hill.

 

To Fast or Not to Fast

Someone once told me that fasting isn’t for every believer, and it’s a special gift for some people. Nevertheless, if you are a disciple of Christ and believe fasting is only for some people, you are missing out on greater intimacy with God. If you think it does not apply to the church, I encourage you to research fasting further.

I have read countless testimonies about the supernatural power people experienced during a fast. I also have countless supernatural experiences I can share about my time in fasting and prayer.  

I dare not say any of my personal experiences in fasting were counterfeit. Fasting has its place now just as much now as it had back then.

I know with absolute conviction that I would have missed out on valuable wisdom, insight, illumination, and breakthroughs I experienced as a result of them.

 

What is Fasting About

Fasting is about you abstaining from food or drink to focus on God for a period. Spiritual fasting is about you sacrificing your will to grow closer to the Lord. Abstaining from food and drink allows the Holy Spirit to be dominant in your life.

During the fast, you replace your mealtime with prayer, reading and studying the Word, and meditation.

When your flesh cries out for food, you instead learn to let the Bread of Life sustain you.

Some health conditions would prevent fasting from food for an entire day or more for some people. But a small sacrifice of one or two meals for one day can still be extremely beneficial.

If you have yet to go into a spiritual fast, please pray about it and consult with your doctor.

 

Study the Bible on Your Own

 

Fasting for Divine Intervention

Fasting, along with prayer, has many benefits. Abstaining from food is an act of sacrifice and obedience to God. When you let Elohim know you are serious about your petition, you will hear from Him.

In the book of Esther, an edict was allowed to annihilate all the Jews. Haman got the decree declared, to exterminate the Jews, approved by the King through manipulation.

Although king Aheraus was married to Esther (his new queen), he had no idea she was a Jew.

It’s important to note that during those periods, people did not go back on their word. Therefore, Mordecai (Esther’s cousin who raised her) asked Esther to deal with the matter urgently. Since the queen had to have permission to enter the kings chamber, she needed heavenly intervention, so she ordered all the people to fast.  

 

Esther 4:16 NKJV says, Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!

 

Guess what? Fasting and prayer worked. God heard their petition and cries for help. God intervened through the King and allowed Esther to sign a new decree in his name, which allowed the Jews to fight back and protect themselves from this plan. God’s plan for the Jews prevailed and saved them all. Can you imagine the outcome if they did not fast and pray in this situation?

 

Prayer Without Fasting

Praying without ceasing is mandatory in the Christian walk, and it is enormously influential. However, depending on the petition, you may need to travail and pack a more potent punch with a fast. When you pray, spiritual warfare and resistance are happening in the spiritual realm. The enemy does not want you to prevail.

Fasting is a supernatural targeted missile. Please read Daniel 10 to see what I mean. Also, in Matthew 19, a man bought his demon-possessed child to the disciples, but they were unable to cast the demon out.

 

Matthew 19:17-21 NKJV says, Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.

 

Some things will not break unless you fast. Fasting means you partner with God and boldly declare your faith and belief that God’s plan will prevail. Nonetheless, when you put your focus on Christ through praying and fasting, you will witness powerful things happen. I encourage you to do your part and co-work with God. Spiritual advancement involves sacrifice. Lay yourself on the altar.

In Esther, the Jews used their spiritual weapon of fasting to co-work with God through prayer.

 

Fasting and Spiritual Growth

The closer you grow in your relationship with Christ, I can’t see fasting not being a part of your spiritual arsenal. Your flesh needs to stand down when situations get desperate.

No matter how spiritually mature you are, you still have blind spots, tough decisions to make, need prayers answered for you and others, and must witness to the lost—these things require a quiet soul. A peaceful soul means greater penetration of the Holy Spirit.

Again, don’t forget you are God’s co-worker!

 

Turn up the Spiritual Temperature

Look at the current climate and condition of this world today. The devil is turning up the heat and getting desperate. Since the devil is doubling down, you should do the same. Pull out every spiritual weapon you access to engage in this spiritual warfare.

Now is not the time to throw tons of processed and sugary foods into your temple. It would be best if you had life-giving nutrients from living foods to flood your brain and temple. You need the Word of God to saturate your soul and magnify the Holy Spirit inside you.

When you eat, your body works for hours to digest food. When your body is digesting food, it also ties up your brain for some time. So, since it has to work hard, a full or partial fast will quiet the temple.

Break up your regular day-to-day cycle with a fast.

Your routine makes it easy for the enemy to set traps in your life when he knows too much about your patterns. He knows when you eat and when your brain will be tied up working on digesting your meals.

 

Conclusion

Now that I explained why you should fast, please pray over it. You may do corporate fasts annually with your church, and that is awesome, but personal fasts are just as vital. Jesus loves you and desires for you to draw from His overflowing fountain.

 

Soul Actions:

Do more research on the various types of fasting.

Decide upon which life issues/concerns you will include in your fast.

Ask the Lord to help you to grow deeper with Him through prayer and fasting.

 

Do you fast? If so tell us about it. If this article has blessed you in any way, please share this with two friends.