Chapter 3

THE POWER OF FASTING

“Now, therefore,” says the Lord, “Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm.

—JOEL 2:12–13

SOME DEMONS ARE stronger and more stubborn than others. In these cases casting the demons out may require prayer and fasting. Sometimes there is just no other way around it.

Some kinds of demons just don’t give up. They are arrogant and defiant. And you may have to do something unusual, extraordinary, and beyond the norm to see breakthrough. Some little sweet prayer is not going to do. It is going to take an anointing that destroys the yoke. When you fast, the anointing increases in your life. The authority, power, and faith of God come alive when you lay aside some things and fast. You will find yourself getting stronger and stronger.

Isaiah 58 talks about how we can fast to break every yoke to undo the heavy burdens. Fasting makes room so the oppressed go free. Fasting breaks bondages and causes revival. When you are dealing with a serious issue, perhaps something you don’t know how to handle, sometimes the best thing to do is let go of some food for a little while and pray against that thing.

As you humble yourself through fasting, the grace of God will come upon your life. The Lord will be the strength of your life. What you could not do in the flesh you will be able to do by the Spirit of God. It’s not by might nor by power but by the Spirit of the Lord that every mountain is removed!

Fasting has many benefits, but one is that it can release the breaker anointing. Micah prophesied that the day of the breaker was coming up before his people. We are living in those days.

The breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the LORD on the head of them.

—MICAH 2:13, KJV

The Lord is a breaker. He is able to break through any obstacle or opposition on behalf of His covenant people. Fasting will cause breakthroughs to continue in families, cities, nations, finances, and churches. It will help believers break through all opposition from the enemy. A life of consistent fasting will cause many victories to manifest. God’s will is that His covenant believers live lives of victory and perfect peace, with nothing being impossible to them.

FAST IN THE RIGHT SPIRIT

In Jesus’ day, the Pharisees fasted with attitudes of pride and superiority.

The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are.…I fast twice in the week.

—LUKE 18:11–12, KJV

Anytime you are full of pride, being legalistic and religious, you can fast and pray all you want, but you won’t see many miracles. The Pharisees didn’t experience any miracles as a result of their prayer and fasting. They had no power. They couldn’t heal a hangnail. The Pharisees had nothing but long robes—robes with no miracles. Jesus performed many miracles because He was humble and full of mercy, love, and compassion toward people.

We must approach fasting with humility. Fasting must be genuine and not religious or hypocritical. This is what God requires in fasting. We must have correct motives in fasting. Fasting is a powerful tool if done correctly. Muslims and Hindus fast, but their fasts are merely religious. Great miracles and breakthroughs happen when fasting is done in the right spirit.

Isaiah chapter 58 describes the fast that God has chosen:

• Fasting cannot be done with amusement (v. 3).

• Fasting cannot be done while mistreating others (v. 3).

• Fasting cannot be done for strife or contention (v. 4).

• Fasting should cause one to bow his head in humility, like a bulrush (v. 5).

• Fasting should be a time of searching the heart and repenting.

• Fasting should be done with an attitude of compassion for the lost and hurting (v. 7).

This is the fast that God promises to bless.

The enemy knows the power of prayer and fasting, and he will do everything in his power to stop you. Believers who begin to fast can expect to encounter much spiritual resistance. A believer must be committed to a fasted lifestyle. The rewards of fasting far outweigh the obstacles of the enemy.

WAYS TO FAST

Fasting is beneficial whether you fast partially or fully. Practicing one-day fasts on a consistent basis will strengthen your spirit over time and give you the ability to discipline yourself for longer fasts. Three-day fasts with just water are a powerful way to see breakthroughs. Fasts longer than three days should be done by people with more experience in fasting.

I do not recommend long fasts unless there is an emergency or if one is led by the Holy Spirit to do so. Daniel fasted twenty-one days and saw a great breakthrough for his people (Dan. 9–10). Daniel was also a prophet, and God will use prophets to fast for different reasons to see breakthroughs. Jesus fasted forty days before beginning His ministry. I do know of people who have fasted forty days and have seen great breakthroughs.

A partial fast can include some food such as vegetables and can be done for a long period of time. Complete fasts consist of only water, and water is important to cleanse the system of toxins that are released through fasting. The Holy Spirit will reveal to you when you need to fast.

FASTING RELEASES BREAKTHROUGH

Fasting, coupled with prayer, is one of the most powerful weapons you can use to release breakthrough. As a covenant believer, deliverance and freedom are part of your salvation package. The enemy fights you for this freedom. This is why we are in a battle. When you begin to fast and pray for the enemy’s hands to be taken off your stuff, following is what you can expect to be released.

• Fasting will release God’s glory for your protection (Isa. 58:8).

• Fasting will result in answered prayer (Isa. 58:9).

• Fasting releases divine guidance (Isa. 58:11).

• Fasting will cause you to have great victory against overwhelming odds (2 Chron. 20:2–3).

• Fasting will release the power of the Holy Spirit for the miraculous to occur (Luke 4:14, 18).

A fasted lifestyle is a powerful lifestyle. When you are challenged with unbelief in a situation or facing a stubborn demon like some of the spirits we will explore in this book, I encourage you to fast and pray for breakthrough.

DECLARE THE BENEFITS OF FASTING OVER YOUR LIFE

Lord, I believe in the power of Your chosen fast (Isa. 58).

Let my fasting destroy the yokes that the enemy has set up against me.

Let Your light come into my life through Your chosen fast.

Let health and healing be released to me through Your chosen fast.

Let me see breakthroughs of salvation and deliverance in my life through Your chosen fast.

Let miracles be released in my life through Your chosen fast.

Let Your power and authority be released in my life through Your chosen fast.

I humble my soul through fasting; let Your favor exalt me.

I drive every stubborn demon out of my life through Your chosen fast.

Let Your covenant blessing and mercy be released on me through Your chosen fast.

Nothing is impossible with You, Lord; let my impossibilities become possibilities through Your chosen fast.

Let every assignment of hell against me be broken through Your chosen fast.

Let all pride, rebellion, and witchcraft operating in my life be destroyed through Your chosen fast.

Let Your anointing increase in my life through Your chosen fast.

Let me enjoy restoration through Your chosen fast.

Let all habits and iniquity in me be broken and overcome through Your chosen fast.

Let my prayers be answered speedily through Your chosen fast.

Guide me through Your chosen fast.

Manifest Your glory to me through Your chosen fast.

Let the strongholds of sexual impurity and lust be broken in my life through Your chosen fast.

Let sickness and infirmity be destroyed in my life, and let healing come forth through Your chosen fast.

Let all poverty and lack be destroyed in my life through Your chosen fast.

Remove all oppression and torment from my life through Your chosen fast.

I humble myself with fasting (Ps. 35:13).