Fasting for Spiritual Breakthrough: A Guide to Nine Biblical Fasts (5 page)

Fasting in Revival Movements

The discipline of fasting has long been associated with reform and revivalistic movements in Christianity. The founders of the monastic movement practiced fasting as a regular discipline in their spiritual lives. Although later monasticism grew to practice fasting and other forms of asceticism in a vain attempt to achieve salvation, it is probable that the earliest monks fasted in their desire for the Church to experience revival and reform.

Each of the sixteenth-century reformers also practiced fasting, as did the leaders of the evangelical revivals in the centuries to follow. Jonathan Edwards fasted for 22 hours prior to preaching his famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” During the Laymen’s Prayer Revival in America in 1859, Christians fasted during their lunch hours and attended prayer meetings in churches near their places of employment. This prayer revival broke out in the large industrial cities of the northeastern United States.

Prayer was often accompanied by fasting as people sought the Lord for spiritual blessing during the worldwide awakening in 1906. Billy Graham reports fasting and praying during his voyage to England to conduct his first British crusades in the early ’50s. The response in his meetings at that time has been described as one of the greatest revivals of our time. Many revival movements have advocated a return to the early Christian practice of fasting two days each week.

Fasting for Divine Intervention

Periodically, political leaders have declared a national day of prayer and fasting for divine intervention in crisis situations. In 1588, the victory of Sir Francis Drake over the Spanish Armada was widely recognized by the English as an act of divine intervention.

The pilgrims fasted the day before disembarking from the Mayflower in 1620, as they prepared to establish a mission colony to reach the native peoples of North America. It was common for political leaders in many New England villages to call for a fast when they faced a crisis.

Friday, February 6, 1756, was designated a day of solemn fasting and prayer in England over war with France in the Americas. Lincoln also
called for a national day of prayer and fasting during the Civil War. On both occasions, military victories by England and the northern states of the United States were viewed as divine interventions by those who fasted and prayed for those successes.

Similar days of prayer and fasting have been proclaimed by political leaders as recently as World War II. In the midst of the Battle of Britain, George VI designated Sunday, September 8, 1940, as a day of prayer and fasting. In a radio broadcast made days after the day of prayer, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill compared Britain’s state with the earlier threats of the Spanish Armada and Napoleon. In his memoirs, Churchill identified September 15 (the Sunday following the day of prayer) as “the crux of the Battle of Britain.” After the war, it was learned that Hitler decided to postpone his planned invasion of Britain for two days (September 17). Similar calls for a day of prayer also accompanied the D day invasion of Europe by the allies on June 6, 1944.

In short, fasting has a long and impressive history as a discipline adopted by believers for a variety of reasons, but all of them are connected by the principle of self-denial. We may deny the self to emphasize the needs of the nation, of others who need God’s blessing or of our own spiritual needs.

I invite you to find, in the chapters that follow, an approach to fasting that will accomplish such holy purposes in your own life and in the lives of those you love.

“I
HAVE A SEXUAL ADDICTION
,”
A PERSON TOLD ME AT THE CHURCH
altar. This person had been to several counselors, had come to the altar several times and had tried everything suggested. This person was serious about being released from the problem.

“Have you tried fasting?” I asked.

“No.”

I explained the steps described in this chapter for breaking bondage, introducing the Disciple’s Fast: “This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting” (Matt. 17:21,
KJV
).

When I later saw the contented smile on this person’s face, I knew God had answered the prayers and honored the self-discipline of the Disciple’s Fast.

A significant reason to fast is that it releases people from the bondage of sin. “Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness” (Isa. 58:6,
KJV
).

Many Christians are helpless victims to “besetting sins” (see Heb. 12:1,
KJV
). Besetting sins are not common sins of neglect or momentary
lapse. Nor are they sins of rebellion, in which God says, “Thou shalt not,” and the person says “I will” in His face. Besetting sins are habitual sinful behaviors or attitudes that victimize and enslave people.

When you are a victim of a besetting sin, you do not clench your fist in the face of God and transgress His purpose; you are helpless and broken before Him because of your sin. A besetting sin makes you a slave and takes away your will. You cry out, “I can’t help myself!” As one person said, “I am forced to play a game where I always lose, and I can’t quit playing. I hate the game…I hate playing…I hate life.”

The apostles tried unsuccessfully to deal with such a sin involving a demonized boy. Jesus said the problem was so severe that it couldn’t be treated by ordinary means. “This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting,” He said (Matt. 17:21,
KJV
).

Are you, as a disciple of Christ, besieged by a besetting sin that calls for such measures? Jesus died on the cross for all sin, including your besetting sin. The substitutionary blood atonement of Jesus Christ is the most powerful thing on earth because it destroys sin, and delivers from death and hell. Christians sing “There is power in the blood,” and believe in the accomplishments of calvary.

Yet some Christians are in bondage to alcohol, drug, sex and tobacco addictions. Others struggle with compulsive eating, extramarital affairs and lying. Any sin that can’t be broken with ordinary “willpower” can be termed a besetting sin.

Scripture promises, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man” (1 Cor. 10:13). Your temptation to sin is not unique; others face it as well. You, however, are chained to it like a compulsive slave. Yet Scripture promises “a way out” (see 1 Cor. 10:13). The Disciple’s Fast can be that very way of escape for you, as a disciple.

Why Are We in Bondage?

Besetting sins beset us because we believe Satan’s lie. “He is a liar,” Jesus said (John 8:44). Satan lies to us about sin and we believe him instead of God. In besetting sins, Satan gets us to believe one of the following three lies (otherwise called “compulsions”):

Because we believe Satan’s lie, we cannot see that there
is
a way of escape. Although we can change our desires and find the answers, we believe we are powerless because we have surrendered our wills to Satan rather than to God.

Satan’s lie convinces us that we have no power against sin. Fortunately, Paul testified for our encouragement, “For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice” (Rom. 7:19).

When Satan controls our thoughts, he controls our lives. When he lies to us about our lives, we are in bondage.

We ask the questions: How can we break external bondages in our lives? How can we regain control of our lives?

The demon-possessed boy’s father did not understand his son’s problem. He said, “Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is a lunatic, and sore vexed: for ofttimes, he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water” (Matt. 17:15,
KJV
). The father thought his son was sick or had some internal retardation, not understanding that his son was controlled by an external spirit. But Jesus knew that a demon had entered into the boy and had taken control of his life.

The father brought his boy to the disciples for deliverance, but “they could not cure him” (Matt. 17:16). The disciples were unable to break the boy’s bondage.

Some people are unable to quit smoking or break their homosexual relationships. Although they weep, pray sincerely and seek deliverance, they remain in bondage. The Disciple’s Fast deals with these kinds of bondages.

You are wrestling for control of your life when you enter the Disciple’s Fast. By controlling what you eat, you determine that you will control your life for God’s purpose. When you make a vow and reinforce it with the Disciple’s Fast, you move into the strength of decision making. You give up necessary or enjoyable food as a demonstration of the commitment of your will. When you make a choice to fast, you strengthen yourself to stand against a force that has enslaved your spiritual appetite. In the Disciple’s Fast you control your physical appetite to
strengthen your spiritual appetite. Look at what happens in this fast.

You make a life-freeing choice to be delivered
. One who came to Jesus asking for healing was confronted with the Lord’s question, “Do you want to be made well?” (John 5:6). Jesus knew the man wanted to be cured, so why did He ask the question? He was not asking for information, because Jesus knew all things. He was asking to build anticipation or “willpower” in the patient. Jesus wanted the man to
desire
the power that He could give him.

Some people will go to their church altars to ask God to take away bondages. “Lord, please take cigarettes from me,” they beg. These people are often expecting God to do it all. They want God to “zap” them and instantaneously take away their appetites for tobacco. That is not the way God works. He wants us to look within, so
we
make the decision to follow Him. God does not want people to be robots controlled by switches He presses to force them to give up their sins.

God wants people to love Him voluntarily and to quit sinning voluntarily. He wants us to demonstrate our commitment to Him, not in one big “quick change,” as Clark Kent into Superman, but by making choices and acting on those choices.

You recognize that an external power is responsible for your bondage
. The boy’s father in Matthew 17 did not recognize that a demon held his son in bondage. Apparently the disciples did not recognize the cause of the problem either. Yet Jesus immediately “rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy” (v. 18,
NIV
).

One of the first steps in the Disciple’s Fast is to recognize the external power of our bondages. This does not necessarily mean we have demons, but it does mean we are controlled externally, not internally. Some believe they are alcoholics because their fathers were alcoholics. Others have convinced themselves that they were born as homosexuals. Although the causes of these problems are external, these people suffer internal depression. “I’m worthless,” they inwardly confess, and give up—when in fact, if they regained control of their bodies through fasting, they could reach into their spirits to take control of their inner humanities. Recognizing that an external power has made us weak is the first step in recovering control of ourselves.

You confess your previous lack of faith
. Before you can be strong, you have to confess your weakness. Before running the marathon, the runner must realize the physical need to practice, exercise and build up the physical body. The disciples did not realize their need in the face of the
demonic power in the boy, therefore they could not cast out the demon. They asked, “Why couldn’t we force out the demon?” (Matt. 17:19,
CEV
). Jesus answered, “It is because you don’t have enough faith!” (v. 20).

It is a statement of faith to recognize what God can do. It is also a statement of faith to recognize what a person cannot do. Faith is recognizing God’s strategy and submitting to it.

You specifically state your besetting sin
. As you will see in the next section, the Disciple’s Fast involves stating its faith-purpose specifically. When you are fasting to break bondage, you must write out the specific bondage you want to break. Notice what happens when you start writing:

• You strengthen your will by stating what you want.

• You focus your energies on the problem.

• You build up anticipation to break the problem.

• You build up your faith in God to expect an answer.

Jesus said to the disciples, “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence” (v. 20,
KJV
).