Main Point: Christians who fast with purpose will bring spiritual warfare to the battle against the enemy.

What does Jesus say about fasting?

Matthew 6:16-18. Jesus emphasizes how personal and private fasting should be. It’s not a show or a trophy to wear.

Matthew 17: 14-21. Jesus makes it clear that spiritual warfare against darkness requires a willingness to sacrifice in fasting and prayer.

The following are seven circumstances in the Bible in which believers sought God through Fasting.

1. To prepare for ministry. Matthew 4:1-4. Jesus spent forty days and nights in the wilderness fasting and praying before He began God’s work.

2. To seek God’s wisdom. Acts 14:23. Paul and Barnabas prayed and fasted for the elders of the churches before committing them to the Lord.

3. To show grief. Nehemiah 1:1-4. Nehemiah mourned, fasted, and prayed when he learned Jerusalem’s walls had been broken down.

4. To seek breakthrough/deliverance or protection. Ezra 8:21-23. Ezra declared a corporate fast and prayed for a safe journey. Matthew 17:21.

5. To show repentance. Jonah 3:5. Nineveh fasted in repentance.

6. To gain victory/Take the Land. Judges 20:26. After losing forty thousand men in battle in two days, the Israelites cried out to God for help.

7. To worship God. Luke 2: 37-38. Anna would serve and worship God by fasting and praying

Pastor’s thoughts on Fasting:

• Fasting is a much needed discipline in the life of the Christian.

• Fasting prepares you for the work God has called you to do.

• So don’t resist the suffering that accompanies fasting. Rejoice in it! Fasting is a spiritual exercise which God honors.

• As you empty yourself physically and spiritually, you open the door for God to step in and do the miraculous.

• You also become more sensitive to the work of the Holy Spirit, which enables you to hear God’s voice more clearly.