Esther 4:15-16 (New King James Version)
15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16 "Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish."
Daniel fasted for twenty-one days for the vision. He would not have received the understanding of the vision unless he had persevered through prayer and fasting. Ezra led the people in a three day fast for direction, protection, and blessing. He deliberately put his trust in the Lord for their journey. Esther could have protected herself, but she chose to put her life on the line for her people, and she sought the Lord for protection and favor. None of these battles would have been won without prayer and fasting.
Today is day three, the breakthrough day. I have already heard two great testimonies of God's goodness and we can expect many more. Today is Baal Perazim, "The Lord Breaks Through".
2 Samuel 5:17-21 (New International Version)
17 When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, they went up in full force to search for him, but David heard about it and went down to the stronghold. 18 Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; 19 so David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?" The LORD answered him, "Go, for I will surely hand the Philistines over to you."
20 So David went to Baal Perazim, and there he defeated them. He said, "As waters break out, the LORD has broken out against my enemies before me." So that place was called Baal Perazim. 21 The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried them off.
Fasting Tip for Wednesday: Praise and worship is a choice. Some of the most powerful times in God's presence begin with obedience that refuses to be affected by how we feel. Finish strong by setting time aside for prayer.
Proverbs 27:7 (Amplified Bible)
7He who is satiated [with sensual pleasures] loathes and treads underfoot a honeycomb, but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.
This verse keeps my thoughts on track when I fast. The sweet "honeycomb" of God's presence is loathesome to a soul that is already full of worldy things. It's amazing how sweet His presence is when the distractions of "modern life" have been removed.
Fasting Tip for Tuesday
Listen to praise and worship that encourages a hunger for God's presence. This is one of my favorites:
CHASING AFTER YOU- JONATHAN STOCKSTILL
CHASING AFTER YOU I AM HUNGRY FOR YOUR PRESENCE
I COME BEFORE YOUR THRONE AND LAY ALL MY BURDENS DOWN
YOU SAID YOU'LL NEVER LEAVE AND I'LL TAKE YOU AT YOUR PROMISE
MY LIFE IS IN YOUR HANDS SO I GIVE YOU ALL I AM
AND I WANT TO BE WITH YOU AND I WANT TO WALK WITH YOU
I FOUND MY DELIVERANCE IS HERE I FOUND MY HEALING IS HERE
I FOUND MY LIBERTY IS HERE I FOUND IT, I FOUND IT
THERE MUST BE MORE NOW FATHER THERE MUST BE MORE NOW SPIRIT THERE MUST BE MORE NOW JESUS
RAIN DOWN, RAIN DOWN
Lord Jesus, we know your will is to heal every hurting person. You want to heal the broken hearted today. We believe You at Your Word and we want to take Your healing power to our generation and we are interceding for broken lives today. In Jesus Name, amen!
Fasting Tip for Monday: Pray. Pray. Pray. Make sure today, that the fast is about worshiping God and not just about going without food. As the spirit becomes more sensitive, we need to feed in more of the Word of God and give God time to speak to us.
Fasting for God
As we begin this fast today, let's make it clear what we are fasting for. We are fasting for God's will to be done, not our own. One of the greatest dangers to effective fasting is the temptation to become legalistic. Legalism is a subtle hindrance to worship, it creeps into our thoughts through pride and before we know it we are comparing ourselves to others. Think about these words from Paul:
2 Corinthians 10:12 (New King James Version)
12 For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.
Selfrighteousness and legalism will keep us from truly entering into the presence of the Lord in worship. The purpose of worship is not to draw attention to our works, but to draw attention to the works of God!
Before I ever started to talk to anyone about fasting, I worked out these issues for myself. I have fasted and given up, and I have fasted without the clear purpose of drawing near to God. I have also had to correct my thoughts that were focused more on the side benefit of weight loss, than the purpose of worshiping God. It seems funny to write these things down, but my goal is to avoid being legalistic at all costs.
Legalistic people don't know who they are in Christ, so their worship becomes a bunch of rules and regulations. Then the focus shifts to questioning what everyone else is doing, what their motives are, and how inferior their worship is. None of that is pleasing to God, and His presence is not manifest in that environment, no matter what the sacrifice may be.
As we fast and pray for God to deliver people from depression, let's rejoice in the humility of fasting. It is a humbling experience to deny the flesh, to discover our weaknesses, and put aside our own desires to hunger for God's presence. These are desperate times, and we can seek God with urgency and passion. That's what I am praying for today, an urgency and passion to see lives changed, broken hearts healed, and minds set free in Jesus name!
Heavenly Father, bless every person that is fasting today, or at any time over the next three days. Let us see how desperate You are to heal and restore lives today. We want to hunger for Your presence and sense the urgency of the times we live in. God, bless people with wisdom and clear understanding of Your will for their lives. We need You, we need Your presence, and we want to see Your will done on the earth today. In Jesus name, Amen.
God bless you. God bless our church family!
Jesus is our healer. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. We know that He wants to heal people today, mend broken hearts, free the oppressed, and deliver those held captive. All we need to say is, "What can I do Lord, how can You use me to touch lives today?".
Matthew 17:14-21 (New King James Version)
14 And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.” 17 Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief;for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
There are spiritual battles that can only be won through prayer and fasting. God has given us very specific directions for the fight. Jesus said we have to fast and pray for some healings to take place. That's what I propose we do as a church, exactly what Jesus said to do.
This coming week we are going to fast and pray for people to be healed of depression. Monday, September 22, through Wednesday, September 24, we will fast and pray for God to set people free from the debilitating conditions of depression.