Fast And Pray For Spiritual Breakthough
Weve seen 27 fasting and prayer scriptures today. Have you felt a stirring to try your hand at a time of fasting and prayer? Are there hard things in your life that need an extra dose of spiritual power to break through the chains that are keeping you down?
Maybe you felt the stir but you are still unsure of the specific how tos of fasting. No worries. Ive written a short book to help guide you through the process of fasting.
In the meantime, Id love to pray over you. Let me know how I can be praying in the comments.
in HIM, Tiffany
What Is Fasting And The Benefits Of Fasting
Fasting is the abstinence from all food and drink for a period of time. This can be done for spiritual purposes, such as seeking Gods direction or understanding, or for physical purposes, such as healing.
Fasting has been practiced for centuries and is still popular today. There are many benefits to fasting, including spiritual, physical, and psychological benefits.
Why Christian Should Fast
Fasting is an important part of the Christian life. It is a time when we can focus on God and His Word. It is also a time when we can draw closer to Him. Jesus fasted for forty days and nights before He began His ministry. Fasting is a way to humble ourselves before God. When we fast, we are admitting that we need Him and that we cannot do it on our own.
Fasting can be difficult, but it is worth it. When we fast, we are able to focus on Gods Word and put His will first in our lives. We are also able to better resist temptation and sin. In addition, fasting can help us break strongholds in our lives. Finally, fasting can lead us to spiritual breakthroughs.
If you have never fasted before, I encourage you to start small. Fast for one day or for a certain amount of time each day. As you grow in your faith, you can begin to fast for longer periods of time. I pray that you will experience the blessings that come from fasting and that you will grow closer to God as a result.
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Important Fasting Bible Verses Fasting In Secret
Fasting is a weapon in our spiritual life. If we look at Jesuswe can find he also fasted for forty days and he defeated Satan.
Fasting prayer is different from other normal prayers and its a powerful prayer that approaches God when we suffer for it.
All the Bible heroes like Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, David, Esther had fasted while they were in trouble and the Lord answered their prayer.
When the Lord remains silent by our normal prayers, we must go for fasting prayers to get a quick answer from the Lord.
When the disciples of Jesus failed to cast out the demons, they approached him and Jesus told them that they would be successful only through fasting and prayers.
Fasting prayers is important for our Christian life to weaken the sinful nature. As we are in spiritual warfare so we need fasting to deliver ourselves from the power of sin.
Return To God With Repentance
Even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.
Joel 2:12
Return to me.
What a powerful phrase coming from our Almighty God.
This was a call to repentance, for the people to return to Gods mercy and steadfast love.
And one of the ways to show their truly repentant heart was through fasting.
Even here in the Old Testament, God was not asking for the act of fasting alone. Fasting was a way to show that they desired to return to God with all of their heart.
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What Does Fasting Do Spiritually
Before we finish together I want to point out something in most of these fasting and prayer scriptures. Look at the examples in Daniel and Esther specifically?
Those people were in a desperate spiritual state as well as a desperate physical state. Their lives were in danger. Life was hard in a way we will never understand in the 21st Century Western Church.
When they needed to draw near to God, when they needed answers, when they needed spiritual breakthrough they took prayer to the next level and fasted.
Those are some amazing fasting scriptures for breakthrough! If God showed up for them He can show up for you. Write those verses out, pray over them, remind God of His promises, and be strengthened in your faith today!
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
What fasting does spiritually is draw your heart in humility nearer to the heart of God.
And when you are humble and near the Father, you can hear His voice answer prayers. You can feel his breath move, you can see the future He has for you in hope and joy.
The reward of fasting in the Bible is always a closer walk with God, healing either spiritually or physically and peace even when life is hard.
Fasting and Prayer can change both your heart and a nations heart
Fasting does so much for us spiritually but a look at this example of fasting in Nehemiah shows us that it is also powerful enough to heal and unite a nations heart to God.
New Wine Into New Wineskins
Then Johns disciples came and asked him, How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?Jesus answered, How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them then they will fast.No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.
Matthew 9:14-17
The entire purpose of the disciples and the Pharisees fasting was to show a longing for the day God would show up and show favor to Israel again.
But Jesus was right there with them! There was no need for fasting at that moment.
But immediately afterward, Jesus said, the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them then they will fast.
He wasnt putting an end to all fasting.
He specifically said the time to fast would be coming again!
But now, our fasting isnt filled with mourning as it was for the Pharisees. Instead, its filled with longing because we know Jesus came and will come again!
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Bible Commentary For Matthew 1: 21
Wesley’s Notes for Matthew 17:21
17:21 This kind of devils – goeth not out but by prayer and fasting – What a testimony is here of the efficacy of fasting, when added to fervent prayer! Some kinds of devils the apostles had cast out before this, without fasting.
People’s Bible Notes for Matthew 17:21
Mt 17:21 This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. Compare Mr 9:29. Only by devout waiting before the Lord for strength. Such strength is always needful to the victories of faith. Often, too, we have demons, envy, pride, covetousness, a revengeful spirit, that must be cast out by prayer.
The Complete Biblical Fast
A complete fast could last from part of a day to an entire day to several days or weeks. This was the most common in the scripture so Ill just list a few fasting and prayer scriptures to help you see the pattern.
Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa, and fast for me do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maidens also will fast in the same way. And thus I will go in to the king, which is not according to the law and if I perish, I perish.
Yet even now, declares the Lord,Return to Me with all your heart,And with fasting, weeping and mourning
Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions. For I was ashamed to request from the king troops and horsemen to protect us from the enemy on the way, because we had said to the king, The hand of our God is favorably disposed to all those who seek Him, but His power and His anger are against all those who forsake Him. So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and He listened to our entreaty.
Even the lost saw God move through a Complete Fast
The people of Nineveh observed a fast that turned the hand of Gods wrath away.
These were a people who were far from God, enemies of Gods people. Still, we see God loves people, God cares for us even when we are struggling through sin!
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How Long Should You Fast For Prayer
There is no one answer to this question, as different people will find different lengths of time to be effective. However, it is generally recommended that people start with a shorter fast and work their way up to longer fasts over time.
Some people may find that fasting for a day or two each week is enough, while others may choose to fast for longer periods of time.
Ultimately, the length of time that a person fasts for prayer is something that they should prayerfully consider and experiment with to see what works best for them.
Matthew 1: 21 Context
18And Jesus rebuked the devil and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. 19Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? 20And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place and it shall remove and nothing shall be impossible unto you. 21Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.22And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men: 23And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry. 24And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute?
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Seeking The Holy Spirits Guidance
So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.
Acts 13:3
It would seem that the church here fasted for guidance from the Holy Spirit. They didnt know what to do next, but they ached for Gods direction.
And this particular instance of fasting happened after Christs coming.
This fasting was not about legalism.
This was a deep hunger in these people searching for guidance of the churchs next steps.
Fasting For Guidance And Direction
6. Acts 14:23 Paul and Barnabas also appointed elders in every church. With prayer and fasting, they turned the elders over to the care of the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.
7. Acts 13:2-4 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.
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What Does Fasting Do For Prayer
Biblical fasting means saying no to yourself and saying yes to God. Biblical fasting means to deny the flesh in order to find a more powerful connection with the Holy Spirit.
And in the same way that a regular fast is supposed to boost your metabolism, fasting is a way to super-charge the power of your prayer life!
Why are Fasting and Prayer So Important
Prayer is a way to let go and give everything over to God.
I dont know about you, but when I look at the world around me I feel scared. Life is hard and getting harder every year. The lost world keeps getting crazier and more sure they are right.
The Christians around me are more intolerant. Very rarely do I see a glimpse of the power or abundant life Jesus said His disciples would have.
That scares me. Does it scare you?
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
Jesus, when talking to the disciples talks about the life of a believer being powerful and abundant. How do you get to that place of living a powerful, abundant life? I dont see much evidence of it around me and I desperately want it, dont you?
After many years in the faith, I realized there are parts of the scripture that we the Church ignore. Fasting is a spiritual discipline that the original believers would have practiced and seen great value in.
Jesus said we will fast when we need Him and a fast will be necessary.
Important Bible Verses About Fasting And Prayer
Fasting and Prayer are two important spiritual disciplines that every Christian should practice. When we pray, we are communicating with God and seeking His guidance and wisdom. When we fast, we are denying ourselves earthly pleasures in order to focus on our relationship with God.
The Bible has a lot to say about prayer and fasting. In these verses, we see that prayer and fasting are to be done with a humble and sincere heart for the purpose of drawing closer to God.
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Bible Verses About Fasting And Praying
- Matthew 6:16-18Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash …
- Ezra 8:21-23Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance. For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers …
- Matthew 6:1-34Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in …
What Did Jesus Say About Fasting And Praying
Jesus said that when we fast and pray, we should not be like the hypocrites who love to be seen by others. We should go into our rooms and close the door, and then our Father who sees in secret will reward us.
Fasting and praying are great ways to draw closer to God. When we humble ourselves before Him, He will lift us up.
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Christian Quotes About Fasting
Fasting helps express, deepens, confirms the resolution that we are ready to sacrifice anything, even ourselves, to attain what we seek for the kingdom of God. Andrew Murray
By fasting, the body learns to obey the soul by praying the soul learns to command the body. William Secker
Fasting restrains our physical pleasure, but it enhances our spiritual pleasure. Our greatest pleasure comes by feasting on the person of Jesus.
Fasting reduces the influence of our self-will and invites the Holy Spirit to do more intense work in us.
Christian fasting, at its root, is the hunger of a homesickness for God.
Prayer is reaching out after the unseen fasting is letting go of all that is seen and temporal. Fasting helps express, deepen, confirm the resolution that we are ready to sacrifice anything, even ourselves to attain what we seek for the kingdom of God. Andrew Murray
Fasting is abstaining from anything that hinders prayer. Andrew Bonar
Fasting in the biblical sense is choosing not to partake of food because your spiritual hunger is so deep, you determination in intercession so intense, or your spiritual warfare so demanding that you have temporarily set aside even fleshly needs to give yourself to prayer and meditation. Wesley Duewel
Bible Verses To Read When Fasting For A Job
Psalm 37:4Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalms 90:17 And let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us And establish thou the work of our hands upon us Yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
2 Thessalonians 3:10 For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.
Matthew 7:7 Keep on asking and it will be given you keep on seeking and you will find keep on knocking and will be opened to you.
Colossians 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men
Exodus 5:18 Go now and work. No straw will be given you, but you must still deliver the same number of bricks.
Proverbs 24:27 Prepare your work outside and get it ready for yourself in the field and afterward build your house and establish a home.
Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Psalm 27:14Wait for the Lord be strong, and let your heart take courage wait for the Lord!
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