WHAT ROLE DOES FASTING AND PRAYER HAVE IN SPIRITUAL BREAKTHROUGH?
QUESTIONS ABOUT PRAYER
NATURE OF PRAYER
Mark 9:28-29 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive (the demon) out?” He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer and fasting.”
This following commentary on the above verse is not about demonic possession or a guide to exorcism. The reason this passage of scripture was chosen as a part of this resource on understanding prayer is to point out the spiritual power attached to spiritual disciplines like prayer and fasting. Jesus himself explains to his closest followers that in order to fully exercise the authority and power available to you from the spiritual realm, it requires something beyond simply saying the right words. It’s also worthwhile to understand that prayer and fasting are not magical formulas or power-ups like Popeye eating a can of spinach.
Prayer is a posture of the heart, and fasting is a spiritual discipline that strengthens the spiritual aspect of a human by allowing the one who fasts to see a situation more clearly through the lens of the spiritual. If that is difficult to understand, here is a simple way to comprehend what this means. If someone pushed you on your chest, you most likely would be caught off guard and stumble backward, off balance. You may even fall. Now have a person do that same thing again, only this time you are prepared with one foot behind the other and in a stance ready for the push. This time you will not fall or even become off-balance because you were prepared and in a posture that was ready for what was coming.
The same applies in the spiritual realm. Fasting is a way to give up or temporarily diminish the physical things in our lives that so often scream the loudest and become the most urgent so that we can instead allow the spiritual things to rise up to their rightful place of importance. We are changing our posture from one that is oblivious to spiritual realities to one that is sober and aware of them. When we fast, and focus on God while fasting, our prayers can almost be empowered by faith. This happens in a way that cannot come to pass when we are living in a place of total comfort and obliviousness. Fasting is powerful not just for its own sake but because faith, and even more so, Christ, are elevated. That is where the effectiveness of fasting comes from. It’s not a diet. It’s not a fad. It’s not magic. Fasting increases supernatural power because Christ is elevated and placed on the throne where he belongs. Whenever that proper placement and perspective are in place, the flowing of spiritual power is sure to follow. It is not our power, but we have tapped into it because of the right alignment of our hearts and minds in relation to God.
It has been said that fasting acts as a battering ram to smash strongholds or break through barriers that would not be overcome without it. Think about this in your own life. Are there issues that you have been in prayer about that could also be coupled with prayer and fasting? Are there areas in your life that need breakthrough or have become a stronghold in your life?
Prayer is a posture of the heart, and fasting is a spiritual discipline that strengthens the spiritual aspect of a human by allowing the one who fasts to see a situation more clearly through the lens of the spiritual. If that is difficult to understand, here is a simple way to comprehend what this means. If someone pushed you on your chest, you most likely would be caught off guard and stumble backward, off balance. You may even fall. Now have a person do that same thing again, only this time you are prepared with one foot behind the other and in a stance ready for the push. This time you will not fall or even become off-balance because you were prepared and in a posture that was ready for what was coming.
The same applies in the spiritual realm. Fasting is a way to give up or temporarily diminish the physical things in our lives that so often scream the loudest and become the most urgent so that we can instead allow the spiritual things to rise up to their rightful place of importance. We are changing our posture from one that is oblivious to spiritual realities to one that is sober and aware of them. When we fast, and focus on God while fasting, our prayers can almost be empowered by faith. This happens in a way that cannot come to pass when we are living in a place of total comfort and obliviousness. Fasting is powerful not just for its own sake but because faith, and even more so, Christ, are elevated. That is where the effectiveness of fasting comes from. It’s not a diet. It’s not a fad. It’s not magic. Fasting increases supernatural power because Christ is elevated and placed on the throne where he belongs. Whenever that proper placement and perspective are in place, the flowing of spiritual power is sure to follow. It is not our power, but we have tapped into it because of the right alignment of our hearts and minds in relation to God.
It has been said that fasting acts as a battering ram to smash strongholds or break through barriers that would not be overcome without it. Think about this in your own life. Are there issues that you have been in prayer about that could also be coupled with prayer and fasting? Are there areas in your life that need breakthrough or have become a stronghold in your life?