Dwight Fletcher | How to fast to turbocharge your prayers

The last seven weeks have been amazing as we have learnt so much about prayer and how to pray prayers that can change the world. Last week, we looked at fasting as a way of ‘turbocharging’ our prayers, and this week, we will look at what the Word says about how we should fast. In every instance in the Bible, fasting involved denying the body food. And so, let’s look at the six steps to effective fasting from food.

STEP 1: SET YOUR OBJECTIVE

Why are you fasting? Is it for spiritual renewal, for guidance, for healing, for the resolution of problems, for special grace to handle a difficult situation? Setting an objective will enable us to pray more specifically and strategically.

STEP 2: MAKE YOUR COMMITMENT

– How long you will fast – one meal, one day, a week, several weeks, 40 days (beginners should start slowly, building up to longer fasts.)

– The type of fast God wants you to undertake (such as water only, or water and juices; what kinds of juices you will drink and how often).

Making these commitments ahead of time will help you prepare and sustain your fast when physical temptations and life’s pressures tempt you to abandon it.

STEP 3: PREPARE YOURSELF

Fasting requires reasonable precautions. Consult your physician first, especially if you take prescription medication or have a chronic ailment. Some persons should never fast without professional supervision.

STEP 4: PUT YOURSELF ON A SCHEDULE

For maximum spiritual benefit, set aside ample time to be alone with the Lord. Listen for His leading. The more time you spend with Him during the fast, the more meaningful your fast will be.

STEP 5: ND YOUR FAST GRADUALLY

Begin eating gradually. Do not eat solid foods immediately after your fast. Suddenly reintroducing solid food to your stomach and digestive tract is likely to have negative consequences. Try several smaller meals or snacks each day if your fast was for multiple days.

STEP 6: EXPECT RESULTS

If you sincerely humble yourself before the Lord, repent, pray, seek God’s face, consistently meditate on His Word, you will experience a heightened awareness of His presence (John 14:21). The Lord will give you fresh, new spiritual insights. Your confidence and faith in God will be strengthened. You will feel mentally, spiritually, and physically refreshed. You will see answers to your prayers.

A single fast, however, is not a spiritual cure-all. A 24-hour fast each week has been greatly rewarding for many Christians. We need to be ‘fasted up’ so that when times of crisis come, we have already fasted in preparation for it. When we read the Bible, we find that fasting is assumed to be a natural part of the believer’s life. The truth is that FASTING BREAKS DOWN BARRIERS AND STRONGHOLDS IN THE SPIRITUAL REALM. The Apostle Paul said: “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds” 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 (NIV) .

We don’t know why fasting, which is largely denying ourselves food, has the spiritual impact that it does, but we know that God’s ways are higher than our ways, and He says that “… this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting”. We live by the Word even when we don’t understand everything about it. We must be a people of prayer and fasting IF we are serious about seeing the miraculous in our lives, our families, our churches, our communities, our nation, and the world. Jesus did not say “f you fast”. He said “when you fast”. We must live like Him who says we must deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him.