Anna was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Luke 2:37. Hello and welcome to Episode 3, in our “Empowered Through Fasting” series. When is the best time to fast? That’s our topic this week. We will also share one or two personal experiences on fasting. We encourage you to email us with your personal testimonies on fasting. We will give details on how to contact us at the end of this presentation. My name is Stephanie Wright. Let’s talk about empowerment through fasting and prayer.
Before we get started, if you have not already listened to Episode 1, in this series, “Nothing is Impossible with God,” please do so. It provides scriptures, some basic foundational principles, contemporary examples of fasting with prayer, and caveats on how to fast.
Last week, we discussed why we fast. This week, we will discuss when we should fast. I opened this episode with a scripture about Anna, one of my favorite Bible heroes. Anna was a prophetess who dedicated most of her life to service in the temple while waiting to see the baby Jesus. What is significant about this woman for today’s presentation is that she fasted and prayed for the majority of her adult life. Most interpretations of the scripture believe she fasted and prayed for 84 years after she became a widow. Luke 2:37‑38.
So, when should we fast? Anytime is a good time to fast but the best time is when the Holy Spirit leads you or compels to fast. Let’s reflect once more on how the Holy Spirit compelled Jesus to fast. He is our stellar example on fasting because He was obedient to the Spirit and fasted 40 days and nights then came out of that fast with power to accomplish the work He was called to do. Mark 1:12‑13; 15‑45.
Another example of someone who fasted under the direction of the Holy Spirit is the Apostle Paul. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 11:27, that he was in “fasting” often. Paul indeed needed to be fasting often because he suffered through many test and trials. He was beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, on dangerous journeys, threatened by robbers, threatened by his own fellow countrymen, suffered hunger thirst, cold, nakedness and he finished the list by saying “he had the care of all the churches.” The last one was probably more challenging than any of the other things he went through. 2 Corinthians 11:24‑28.
So, for Paul, fasting was probably anytime and almost all the time. But that is what fasting will do. It helps you through difficult times or as Paul said, “perilous” times. I cannot explain the strength that comes from fasting. It is something you have to experience for yourself. Fasting encourages you when you should be discouraged; fasting gives you hope when you should feel hopeless; and when you want to give up and “throw in the towel” fasting gives you strength to go one more round in the fight and finish the fight.
So, anytime is a good time to fast but what is most important is to listen, hear, and obey the direction of the Holy Spirit in fasting.
Now, please listen as Apostle Charles gives details on how to contact us. And please send an email to cgmpresents@gmail.com with your accounts of how fasting has helped you. God bless.
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Anna was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Luke 2:37. Hello and welcome to Episode 3, in our “Empowered Through Fasting” series. When is the best time to fast? That’s our topic this week. We will also share one or two personal experiences on fasting. We encourage you to email us with your personal testimonies on fasting. We will give details on how to contact us at the end of this presentation. My name is Stephanie Wright. Let’s talk about empowerment through fasting and prayer.
Before we get started, if you have not already listened to Episode 1, in this series, “Nothing is Impossible with God,” please do so. It provides scriptures, some basic foundational principles, contemporary examples of fasting with prayer, and caveats on how to fast.
Last week, we discussed why we fast. This week, we will discuss when we should fast. I opened this episode with a scripture about Anna, one of my favorite Bible heroes. Anna was a prophetess who dedicated most of her life to service in the temple while waiting to see the baby Jesus. What is significant about this woman for today’s presentation is that she fasted and prayed for the majority of her adult life. Most interpretations of the scripture believe she fasted and prayed for 84 years after she became a widow. Luke 2:37‑38.
So, when should we fast? Anytime is a good time to fast but the best time is when the Holy Spirit leads you or compels to fast. Let’s reflect once more on how the Holy Spirit compelled Jesus to fast. He is our stellar example on fasting because He was obedient to the Spirit and fasted 40 days and nights then came out of that fast with power to accomplish the work He was called to do. Mark 1:12‑13; 15‑45.
Another example of someone who fasted under the direction of the Holy Spirit is the Apostle Paul. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 11:27, that he was in “fasting” often. Paul indeed needed to be fasting often because he suffered through many test and trials. He was beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, on dangerous journeys, threatened by robbers, threatened by his own fellow countrymen, suffered hunger thirst, cold, nakedness and he finished the list by saying “he had the care of all the churches.” The last one was probably more challenging than any of the other things he went through. 2 Corinthians 11:24‑28.
So, for Paul, fasting was probably anytime and almost all the time. But that is what fasting will do. It helps you through difficult times or as Paul said, “perilous” times. I cannot explain the strength that comes from fasting. It is something you have to experience for yourself. Fasting encourages you when you should be discouraged; fasting gives you hope when you should feel hopeless; and when you want to give up and “throw in the towel” fasting gives you strength to go one more round in the fight and finish the fight. CHEERS!
Fasting helps you overcome bad habits no matter how major or minor they are. One year for Bible study, my husband and I taught on fasting during what is considered the Lenten season or about six weeks before Resurrection Sunday (Easter). While we did not require attendees to sacrifice anything during the six‑week period, we did encourage it. I decided to sacrifice drinking my favorite “soda-pop” (I say “soda-pop” because in some parts of the country it’s called “soda” and other parts of the country it’s called “pop.”) Anyway, I had this awful habit of going to the pop machine at work every day around two or three o’clock in the afternoon to get a can of my favorite soda-pop. It cost $1.00, every time I went to that machine. I would not just go buy some pop at the store because I might drink two cans of the stuff instead of just one. (I guess you could say I was lacking in self‑control.) Nevertheless, by giving up that soda-pop for six weeks, I was delivered from that bad habit. To this day, my soda-pop habit has been conquered. I only occasionally have to have a can of the stuff. And by the way, the Bible study on fasting that was supposed to end in six weeks, ended up going on for a year and we still had more topics on fasting we could have covered. Now, that is an example of a small thing to be delivered from but fasting helps to deliver from more serious habits or addictions than too much soda-pop. Witness the number of people who have been set free from sexual addictions like pornography. Yes, fasting can break those kinds of chains too.
A lot of people fast only when trouble rears its ugly head. That’s better than not fasting at all, but it is better to develop a consistent, committed plan for fasting. Why? Because it builds you up, it builds up your faith and when the Spirit says fast, you will not struggle with knowing it is the Spirit and then obeying. Jude 1:20, tells us to build up our most holy faith. It is sort of like a good, physical workout. If you are not consistent and committed to working out, you will find yourself huffing and puffing when you do exercise. In fact, you may not want to exercise at all.
An example of being ready to fast in the moment, impromptu, happened to me last year. The Spirit compelled me on this particular day to stay in my bedroom and pray and fast until about 5 p.m. I did not understand why I was being told to do this, but I did. Well, the next day we were hiking with our grandsons and my husband had a little episode in which he was attacked in his physical body. We almost had to call the paramedics but the episode passed and he was fine. He was encouraged to take a little bit better care of himself after that incident. But that is what I am talking about when I say be consistent and committed in fasting. You need to be ready to obey the Spirit when you are told to fast and pray because you do not know what is going to happen the next day or the next hour for that matter. We are spirituals warriors and a true warrior is ready for action in a moment’s notice.
Another time when we should fast is when the pastor calls for a corporate fast. But you don’t have to wait for the pastor to initiate a corporate fast. By all means, if the Spirit directs you and if your soul needs to, fast. We went through a dry spell at one of my previous churches where the pastor did not call for a corporate fast for a while but I knew I needed an extended fast. My soul was just in need, so I fasted I think for two days. But there was another time the pastor did call for a corporate fast and this is kind of a funny story.
I was feeling pretty good about the pastor’s instructions for this particular corporate fast until he said “no caffeine” was to be consumed during the fast. I am sure my head did a quick jerk and my eyes shot wide open when he said that because that meant “no coffee” and decaf was not going to cut it for me. Nevertheless, I obeyed and sacrificed my precious coffee and guess what? I survived! It was probably worse for those people he told “no snacking between meals.” That wasn’t difficult for me but I heard at least one person say how difficult it was for them.
A final note. Don’t judge other people and how they fast or do not fast. We each have enough to do being obedient to how and when God tells us to fast. Read Romans 14:10, which tells us not to judge our brother and that includes sister too.
So, anytime is a good time to fast but what is most important is to listen, hear, and obey the direction of the Holy Spirit in fasting.
Now, please listen as Apostle Charles gives details on how to contact us. And please send an email to cgmpresents@gmail.com with your accounts of how fasting has helped you. God bless.