I’m aware many churches will be embarking on some serious fasting this January for various reasons as pertains to individual ministries:
21 days fasting
40 days fasting
50 days fasting
100 days fasting
120 days fasting
The reasons for these fasting include:
– To have power over enemies in 2017 (you have it already as a believer)
– To have open heavens in 2017 (who told you it’s closed before?)
– To stop satanic interferences in 2017
– To have financial prosperity in 2017
– To be heavily anointed in 2017
– To break generational curses in 2017 (do you know who you are as a believer in Jesus?)
– To scatter the devil’s head in 2017
Now listen carefully: no matter how much you try to ‘sugar-coat’ fasting for believers, the following 7 truths still remain valid when it comes to what the Bible teaches on fasting:
– Fasting IS NOT a commandment to believers in Jesus!
– Fasting IS NEVER a requirement for being anointed. The anointing comes automatically on any call of God on your life.
– The New Testament NEVER proposed any NUMBER of DAYS for believers to fast!
– Fasting is NOT a booster to get prayers answered.
– Fasting does NOT bring financial prosperity
– Fasting comes by personal ‘instinct’ or response to a circumstance/situation.
– It is PRAYER God answers, not Fasting.
Please get this: It is NOT wrong to fast! But it is absolutely wrong to think you must fast in order to operate in the giftings of the Holy Spirit.
Oh, fasting has good advantages but only if the points I listed above are not neglected! You can feel like separating yourself from food for a while in order to concentrate on prayers. It’s ok ayto fast especially in a church schedule for the benefit of devotion to prayers. Cool and acceptable! But you must always remember the 7 points listed above!
Listen: There are people who must NEVER fast due to their health conditions. Don’t go and kill yourself in the name of ‘my church is fasting’.Maintain a good prayer and word study lifestyle and you are ever ‘good to go’!
If you are ‘fasting’ and you felt dizzy while fasting, GO AND EAT! Anybody that presents Fasting to Believers as a ‘do or die’ affair is just being either wicked or totally unfair! I love to always remember how the Pharisees came to Jesus to ACCUSE His disciples for NEVER fasting.
‘…Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples DO NOT FAST?…” (Mark 2:18)
Oh my! I so love that verse! It’s so evident that Jesus never imposed fasting on any of His disciples. How then did they get empowered?
‘…And He appointed twelve, SO THAT THEY WOULD BE WITH HIM and that He could send them out to preach, and TO HAVE AUTHORITY to cast out the demons…’ (Mark 3:14)
Wow! ‘…SO THAT THEY WOULD BE WITH HIM…’ That’s what brings the anointing! BE WITH HIM! Maintain a good prayer and word study lifestyle and you are ever ‘good to go’!
Listen: All through the gospels, it was only ONCE that it was recorded that the disciples could not cast out a demon. Only ONCE!Beside this example, these guys (who NEVER fasted) were just terrorizing devils everywhere!
‘…“Lord, even the DEMONS are subject to us in Your name…’ (Luke 10:17)
‘…And they cast out MANY DEVILS…’ (Mark 6:13)
But some people today have been fasting like ‘serious’ and are yet to cast out ONE demon!
Before you say Jesus said this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting, kindly ensure you check other translations and commentaries on those verses…and you will realize Jesus never said so. Fasting was not there in the original translation.
It is simply: ‘this kind goeth not out but by PRAYER.’ (Mark 9:29 NLT, NASB, MSG, NIV)
In fact, the parallel verse found in Matthew 17:21 is totally an interpolation….and wasn’t there originally too.
Paul wrote to Timothy strict principles to be followed concerning church administration….and I’m still surprised why he never mentioned ‘fasting’! But he was very emphatic on Prayer! (1Tim 4:5, 2:8, 2:3, 5:5) Could it be because Timothy had little health challenges with his stomach? I think so!
‘… your stomach because of your frequent illnesses…’ (1Tim 5:23)
I feel it would be so unfair to impose fasting on Timothy when he is dealing with health challenges! Could it also be because Fasting comes by personal ‘instinct’ or response to certain circumstance/situation? I really think so too!
What am I saying in a nutshell? It’s okay to fast especially in a church schedule or personal commitment for the benefit of devotion to prayers. Some people have the ‘gift’ to fast…just as Paul had the ‘gift’ to stay unmarried! (1Cor 7:7-8, Luke 2:37) These kind of people can fast 100 days and still be bouncing strong! It’s a gift! If you like the gift, ask God for it. (1Cor 12:31) The advantage is that if well utilized, you will always be in a prayer mode and ‘rejuvenated’ spirit. But if you don’t have this gift, I pray of you to simply make sure you maintain a good PRAYER AND WORD study lifestyle and you are ever ‘good to go’!
If you must fast at any time, please always remember these 7 truths at all times:
– Fasting IS NOT a commandment to believers in Jesus!
– Fasting IS NEVER a requirement for being anointed. The anointing comes automatically on any call of God on your life.
– The New Testament NEVER proposed any NUMBER of DAYS for believers to fast!
– Fasting is NOT a booster to get prayers answered.
– Fasting does NOT bring financial prosperity
– Fasting comes by personal ‘instinct’ or response to a circumstance/situation.
– It is PRAYER God answers, not Fasting.
As long as you have these truth resolved in your heart, you are at liberty to choose how you want to join a fasting schedule of either your church or personal devotion. The bottom line remains: Maintain a good prayer and word study lifestyle and you are ever ‘good to go’!
I hope this clears the air for many believers. Remain addictively under Grace.
Amen.
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