Fasting for Spiritual Breakthrough

A Call to Engage in Fasting Biblically

The Cure for Unbelief

In Matthew chapter seventeen, a demon possessed boy is brought to the disciples, and they find themselves unable to help him. This is not their first introduction to demonic possession. Still, something about this encounter is different. Mark’s gospel records that when speaking to Jesus, the boy’s father cries out, “Lord I believe. Help my unbelief!”¹

When people come to the church for help and find no spiritual power there, it is disillusioning. When the disciples ask Jesus why they were unable to help the child, He responds, “Because of your unbelief… But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17:20-21). Based on this passage, some have assumed that prayer and fasting grants a superior level of spiritual power that offers guaranteed triumph over demons. This interpretation appears to miss the point.

Jesus identified the reason for the disciples’ lack of spiritual power with one word—unbelief. He then goes on to say “…this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” It seems to me that Jesus was not referring to a kind of demon but rather to the deeply entrenched unbelief that remained in the souls of the disciples. This unbelief could only be dealt with by prioritizing the spirit above the flesh. They must fast and pray.

The Fast God Has Chosen

The simplest definition of fasting is—don’t eat. If your doctor says you should fast for twenty-four hours, she intends for you to have no food during that time. While fasting for spiritual breakthrough includes saying no to either all or some food, it is a mistake to reduce it to that.

In Isaiah 58:3, the prophet echoes the words of those who felt wronged because their fasting and prayer was not producing the results they desired,

“Why have we fasted
    and You do not see?
Why have we humbled ourselves
    and You take no notice?”

Plenty of modern Christians have been guilty of this same error—touting their accomplishments while accusing God of inaction. God replies through the prophet with what sounds like a hint of sarcasm,

Certainly, on the day of your fast you find your desire
    and are exacting on all your laborers.
4 Certainly, you fast for strife and debate
    and to strike with the fist of wickedness.
You do not fast as you do this day,
    to make your voice to be heard on high.

God was unimpressed by fasting when it did not include a commitment to change the way they treated others. The words that follow mock the very idea of a fast that is limited to not eating,

Is it such a fast that I have chosen,
    a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush,
    and to spread out sackcloth and ashes under him?
Will you call this a fast
    and an acceptable day to the Lord?

God is clearly looking for something more than physical hunger and discomfort. He desires for His people to prioritize godliness, love, compassion…the things of the Spirit above physical things. In the verses that follow, Isaiah describes the kind of fasting God desires,

Is not this the fast that I have chosen:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
    to undo the heavy burdens,
and to let the oppressed go free,
    and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry
    and bring the poor who are outcasts into your house?
When you see the naked, to cover him
    and not hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 Then your light shall break forth as the morning,
    and your healing shall spring forth quickly,
and your righteousness shall go before you;
    the glory of the Lord shall be your reward.
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord shall answer;
    you shall cry, and He shall say, Here I am.

January is a time when believers all over the world often engage in a season of fasting. At Link Church, we have asked our family to join us by dedicating the first three weeks of the year to God in this manner. You can view last Sunday’s message and Pastor David’s call to fasting here: New Year, New Goals- Message 1.

If we want to see answers to our prayer and fasting, we need to heed the Prophet Isaiah’s direction. When we fast, God wants us to loose the bands of wickedness. None of us want to believe we are wicked. Still, fasting and prayer give a great opportunity for self-reflection. Are there areas in your life where wickedness is still present? Choose to let them go. Verse six goes on to tell us that God wants us to undo heavy burdens. Let this season be a time when we remove our expectations from other people. No more heavy burdens. We are called to let the oppressed go free. Are there people in your life who experience your power or authority over them in a negative way? Let them go. Refuse oppression. As part of this response against oppression, also consider what you can do to help those who are oppressed. Fasting is not just saying no to temporal things (eating, physical pleasure, etc.), it is prioritizing eternal things. Verse six further calls us to break every yoke. In other words, there are some things that we need to unentangle ourselves from.

Verse seven urges us to use times when we are eating less or none to stop and consider the plight of those who don’t have food. We are called to use fasting as a way to bless those who are hungry with the food we are not eating. We are commanded to show generosity to those who are less fortunate than us. The meaning of that last line in verse seven is not agreed upon by all, but “hide not yourself from your own flesh” seems to me an admonition to remember to take care of our own families.

Verses eight and nine contain incredible promises, including the assurance of answered prayer. The next few verses reinforce this call to repentance, humility, and generosity, while also reemphasizing God’s promises to those who fast with a right heart.

If you take away the yoke from your midst,
    the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
10 and if you give yourself to the hungry
    and satisfy the afflicted soul,
then your light shall rise in obscurity,
    and your darkness shall become as the noonday.
11 And the Lord shall guide you continually,
    and satisfy your soul in drought,
    and strengthen your bones;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
    and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
12 Those from among you shall rebuild the old waste places;
    you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
and you shall be called, the Repairer of the Breach,
    the Restorer of Paths in which to Dwell.

Seasons of fasting and prayer can be rewarding, but they can also be challenging. Jesus spoke in a way that assumed His followers would fast, pray, and give. Yet, He cautioned His followers not to do any of these things in a way that was intended to increase their own standing with others. Pride is an ever-looming threat to the child of God. Fasting and prayer should increase our humility. If it increases our pride, we are doing it wrong. If you have chosen to fast, commit yourself to doing so in a way that will “make your voice to be heard on high” (Isaiah 58:4). Let your devotion be to God from a sincere heart. Let this season of fasting and prayer drive unbelief far from your heart as you embrace a time of spiritual breakthrough.

The words of Jesus in Matthew six offer a fitting conclusion to these simple thoughts on fasting,

16 “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces so they may appear to men to be fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 so that you will not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

1. Scripture quotes are taken from the Modern English Version of the Bible