Fasting Tablets - (Part 2) 

by Pastor Vincent Imwensi

In this second part of the article “Fasting Tablets”, we want to consider the spiritual benefits of prayer and fasting to a Christian.

In part one, I did describe fasting as “spiritual tablets” that not only helps us to secure spiritual healing and breakthrough but also delivers to us several physical benefits - and we looked at the health benefits of fasting (click here to read it if you haven’t).

Let me start by saying that prayer is a powerful force on its own and you can achieve a lot through prayer without fasting. So it is not until you have fasted before God can hear or answer your prayers.

However there are times when it becomes necessary to mix our prayers with fasting. That takes our prayers to another level.

Make no mistake about it – there is a difference between prayer alone on one hand and prayer and fasting on the other. They are not the same thing, just like boiled rice is not the same thing as fried rice even though both are rice!

Teaching on this subject (in Mat.6:16), Jesus said “when ye fast” not “if ye fast”. So fasting is a necessity for any believer who wants to walk in victory.

Here now are some of the spiritual benefits of fasting and prayer:

Overcoming the excesses of the flesh so your spirit can soar high.
Jesus said, 'the spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak' (Mt.26:41) The weakness of the flesh is often the greatest problem that confronts many believers which is responsible for sinful habits and carnal indulgences.

But when you engage yourself in fasting and prayer, the flesh and its appetites are subdued and brought under control as your spirit gains ascendancy over the issues of your life. 

The Apostle Paul said “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway”. 1Cor.9:27.
Even the Apostle Paul had issues with his flesh too but he kept the flesh under subjection. I believe that regular seasons of prayer and fasting was how he did it.

Are you struggling with lusts, sinful habits and carnal appetites? Try fasting and prayer – it works.

Indeed, regular practice of fasting will do a lot to help us to subdue the flesh and walk in victory before the Lord.

Sharpening your spiritual sensitivity
A season of fasting and prayer enhances your spiritual sensitivity and places you in a position to receive divine guidance and direction. Like somebody puts it, fasting clears our spiritual eyes and ears so we can more accurately discern the will of God for our lives.

If you want to know God’s will or if desire His guidance in any particular area, you will do well to give yourself to fasting and prayer.

Humbling your heart before God in genuine repentance.
Fasting helps us to humble our minds and hearts before God and maintain a tenderness of heart.
Also, where a believer has committed a serious blunder or sin, a time of fasting and prayer ought to be undertaken to ensure a thorough and heartfelt repentance.

This will ensure not only forgiveness, but also an inner healing of the soul - especially when it is a wilful sin or is as a result of spiritual callousness, indifference or hardness of heart.

Sin not only deceives but also deadens the conscience and this applies to believers too. In fact, there are many believers whose consciences have been hardened to varying degrees, even as we speak.
But The scripture teaches that godly sorrow works repentance and we see several examples in the bible. 

Superficial repentance is the reason why so many believers confess a particular sin and the next day, they are back to it.

Combating wicked satanic devices and ungodly laws
The account in the book of Esther provides an eloquent illustration for this point. Queen Esther, Mordecai and the rest of the Jews overturned the wicked plans of their enemy (Haman) who had gone as far as getting the king to sign their death warrant.
How did they do that? It was through the mighty weapon of fasting and prayer that the enemy’s planned onslaught was overruled in their favour.

Has the enemy put you in a tight corner threatening to swallow you up? Maybe you need to engage this mighty weapon of prayer and fasting!

Securing favours before those in authority
Sometimes your breakthrough or the turn-around that you need is in the hands of those in authority over you – i.e. dependent on their decision. How do you get them to decide in your favour? By appealing to the One that has their hearts in His palms (the almighty God) – Prov.21:1

From scriptures, we see that heartfelt cry accompanied with fasting and prayer gets the job done. This is clearly illustrated in the case of Nehemiah (see chapters 1 and 2) as well as in the life of Esther (chapter 5)

Averting tragedies that seem inevitable
Acts chapter 27 narrates a frightening account of how the Apostle Paul and 276 fellow travellers aboard an ill-fated ship nearly got swallowed up in the fury of a raging sea.

In verse 20 it says: “And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away”. But what saved the situation? Paul’s prayer and fasting! See Acts 27:21-25

Forcing open closed heavens (or closed doors) 
Even though God had promised Elijah that He was going to send rain after 31/2 years of drought, the rain did not come until Elijah prayed.

But it was no ordinary prayer – it was prayer backed with fasting. The bible says that Ahab went to eat and drink but Elijah went up to mount Camel apparently fasting, to pray.(1Kings 18:41-44) And the heavens opened, the rains fell and the earth brought forth her fruits.

Matching force with force – overcoming higher demonic powers
Demonic personalities and powers (which are often behind difficult situations and various afflictions in people’s lives) can prove stubborn sometimes and they are on different levels.

There are some that you cannot rout until you employ not just prayer, but prayer and fasting. Jesus made this clear in Mark 9:29 when He said “This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting”

Also talking about fasting in Isaiah chapter 58, the scripture teaches that when we do it right, fasting can among other benefits result in breaking the bands of wickedness, lifting heavy burdens and releasing the oppressed to go free. Isn’t that what the New Testament believer is called to do as we preach the gospel?

 
Four Keys to make your fasting effective:

These four things are vital for effective fasting:
First: Clean up. Examine yourself and confess/repent of every sin in your life. Sin blocks answer to prayers even with fasting.

Secondly, spend time with the word of God – study and meditate on it. By so doing, you not only feed your spirit, but God is able to minister to you on a number of issues. Sometimes, the breakthrough you are praying for will come simply through what the Lord ministers to your spirit as you study and meditate on His word.

Thirdly, give adequate time to prayer – create as much time as possible to pray. It should be prayer and fasting – not just fasting alone.
In fact, fasting is to prayer, what the pole vault is to high jump (it helps you to jump much higher that would have done otherwise). But of what value is a pole vault when you are not going to jump?

Fourthly, make sure your faith is being actively released as you fast and pray because faith is the hand that receives from God even when we fast. Jesus said “According to your faith, be it unto you" (Mt.9:29).
So it doesn’t matter how long we fast or pray, without actively exercising faith in God’s word, there is no guarantee for answered prayers.