What is the secret? this question usually comes from someone with a genuine desire for deeper intimacy with the Lord and knowledge of God's perfect will
for me, fasting has been the secret to obtaining open doors, miraculous provision, favor and the tender touch of God upon my life.
when I was an evangelist, my brother and i traveled together. we would rotate our preaching night. on my night off, I would fast all day for him. on his night off, he fasted all day for me. we went from obscurity to doors opening all over the world through the power of fasting. (note..God)
every assignment has a birthplace. when GOD HAS PLACED A DREAM INSIDE YOU (note..Oh Lord would You do this in me?) that only He can make possible, you need to fast and pray.
now as a pastor, our church begins each year with a 21 day fast. from my early years of ministry until this day, FASTING has BECOME A LIFESTYLE. when i feel myself growing dry spiritually, when I need a fresh encounter with God, fasting is the secret key that unlocks heaven's door and slams shut the gates of hell.
you are probably not content to go through this year the way you went through last year. you know there's more. you know there is an assignment for your life. (note..time is nearly up for me...and still don't know it..) you know there are things that God desires to release in your life and there is a genuine desperation for those things gripping your heart. I want to invite you into this marvelous journey.
when you fast at the beginning of the year and pray, you release the principle found in matthew 6.33: 'seek FIRST the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you...if you seek Him first in the year, get ready for all these 'things to be added to your life throughout the rest of the year!
stated simply, biblical fasting is refraining from food for a spiritual purpose. fasting has always been part of a normal relationship with God. when you eliminate food from your diet for a number of days, your spirit becomes uncluttered by the things of this world and amazingly sensitive to the things of God. as david stated, 'Deep calls unto deep. psalm 42.7 david's hunger and thirst for God were greater than his natural desire for food. as a result, he reached a place where he could cry out from the depths of his spirit to the depths of God. once you've experienced even a glimpse of that kind of intimacy with our God and the countless rewards and blessing that follow, your whole perspective will change. you will soon realize that fasting is a secret source of power.
in the book of Joel, the Lord said, 'and it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. Joel 2.28 God was going to pour out revival -afterward. he was revealing His will for His people - afterward - after a fast, Israel was in sin and god was calling His people to fast in repentance (v15) His promise to them was to pour out revival and blessings on the land.
I don't know about you, but I'm ready for those 'afterward' seasons when God pours out revival! what are we waiting for when we read Scriptures like II Chronicle 7.14? can you imagine if believers in America really took hold of this, if they humbled themselves (fasted...note...and brokenness over unconfessed and unrepented sin. God (note..has promised to heal our land) and send revival!
today, if we have lost anything in this country, we have lost the right way. fasting has all but disappeared from regular christian discipline. we have more media availability for preaching than ever before, yet sin and repentance are seldom preached.
today, our little ones are exposed to every kind of perversion and danger with the click of a button - be it TV, Internet, cell phones or just a stroll through the local mall.
today, the words of the weeping prophet Jeremiah...'are they not ashamed of their loathsome conduct? no, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. so they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when I punish them..(6.15)
there is an enemy that is taking captive entire generations in America today. we are standing at a crossroads. we have the opportunity to stand up like Ezra, to declare a holy fast (Ezra 8.21), and to seek the Lord for the right way to lead this generation.
America has greatly sinned against God through abortion, homosexuality, adultery, rampant pornography and fornication. we have no fear of God and America is rapidly becoming a pagan nation. our only hope is to humble ourselves in fasting and prayer.
nineveh was a great city. in fact, the Bible says that it was so vast it took 3 days just to tour it. historians say N had walls 100 feet high with watchtowers that stretched another 100 feet. surrounding the city of about 120,000 people was a vast moat 150 feet wide and 60 feet deep. N was proud, strong, and impregnable. and if any foreign army wanted to lay siege or attempt to surround and cut them off, they had enough supplies to hold out for at least 20 years. but N was filled with sin.
God sent Jonah to preach repentance to N. he proclaimed, '40 more days and N will be overturned' . Jonah3.4 NIV it is very possible the people of N had some understanding of how powerful the God of Israel was, because they were struck with feat at these word and believed them. they declared a fast and the king even issued a decree that no man or animal was to taste food or even water. without any guarantee, he though by humbling themselves in this manner, God may 'relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish. v9 NIV...
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