Fasting for Breakthrough: Are You Dangerous to the Devil?

by Marilynn Chadwick

"Fasting is a little scary," remarked a friend who had decided to fast for the first time. She's right. Whether it's food, a favorite treat, social media or shopping, giving up something we depend upon can leave us feeling empty. Thirsty.

Maybe that's why fasting is so powerful. I'm forced to switch my lifeline from food (or whatever) to God himself. I find myself hungrier for his Word and more receptive to his voice. Even Jesus chose to fast before his duel in the desert with the devil. He had just been baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit. Afterwards, God spoke from heaven saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

What an amazing spiritual mountaintop experience! But notice what happened next: “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry” (Matthew 4:1,2 NLT). It was the Holy Spirit himself who led Jesus into the desert. A place of vulnerability and isolation. On top of that, Jesus fasted for forty days and nights. Not exactly the breakfast of champions. Why would he physically weaken himself in preparation for the fight of his life?

“The tempter came to him and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread’" (Matthew 4:3, 4 NIV). The devil's first of three temptations hit Jesus right in the gut, so to speak. He tempts him to turn stones into bread. What could be wrong with that? Jesus could simply try out his divine power. Turning stones into bread wouldn't cost him any money or cause a scandal. And hunger after forty days with no food seems like a legitimate need.

But Jesus, weak in body yet mighty Spirit, knew the fight with the devil was not over. His counterattack came straight from the Bible, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God'." With each successive temptation, Jesus fired back at the devil with Scripture until the evil one finally slinked away in defeat.

For forty days, Jesus had prepared for this time of testing by fasting, praying, pouring over God's Word. He was armed and ready. Power to contend with the devil didn't come from his human strength or logic, but from the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.

I wonder if we hunger for the true bread of the Spirit? We nourish our bodies with food. We keep our cars fueled up. We recharge our smart phones and laptops. But are we humble enough to admit that we can't win our spiritual battles without God's Word? Jesus showed us how. We don't live by the "bread" of this world alone, but by every Word from the mouth of God. That's how we stay armed and dangerous to the devil.

Fasting for Breakthrough: Breakthrough in Broken Places

Fasting can be a powerful weapon in our prayer arsenal. Though I still have much to learn, I have noticed how fasting adds strength and precision to my prayers. The combination of fasting and prayer is like a one-two punch that has resulted in several spiritual breakthroughs in long-standing problems.

But the most powerful testimonies I’ve ever heard about fasting came in a most unlikely place. The lesson is one I have never forgotten. Some time ago, David and I were invited to teach a group of men and women church leaders in Burundi on the subject of prayer.

Burundi is a tiny nation in central Africa, often referred to as Rwanda’s twin. Its people suffered a lengthy civil war lasting over a decade. It was sparked by revenge killings and then a frenzy of killings resembling the horrific genocide in Rwanda. Burundi’s civil war was hidden from the eyes of the world—and lasted much longer. With a GDP per capita of $237, Burundi remains maybe the poorest country in Africa and, by some accounts, in the entire world. Amazingly, the believers in Burundi had remained faithful through it all. They were resilient. Even joyful.

But Burundi was not the place I expected to learn my most memorable lessons on the power of fasting. David and I spent the afternoon sharing biblical insights on prayer and allowed time at the end for questions. One man raised his hand and stood up and asked, “Why did you not talk about fasting?” I looked around at their faces. I knew food was scarce—how could we talk about fasting when we weren’t sure they had enough to eat?

But I underestimated the spiritual fervor of those men and women, all survivors of the genocide. They shared story after story of how God had intervened in miraculous ways—dramatic stories of provision and deliverance from evil attacks during the war, often through prayer and fasting.

I left that encounter humbled and realized what a powerful tool fasting can be for believers in broken places—or for any believer when we face our own broken places. And I felt convicted that it’s time to stop losing wars we should be winning. For our homes, families, and communities. We can learn a lesson from believers in Burundi. Maybe we, too, can discover the power of prayer and fasting for breakthrough in our most broken places.

Fasting for Breakthrough: How Esther Saved a Nation (Part Two)

Continued from yesterday…

God is never actually mentioned by name in the book of Esther. But throughout the story, we see Esther quietly responding to what I believe must surely have been God’s whispers. I don’t think the Lord would have entrusted the very survival of the entire nation of Israel into the hands of a teenager unless he knew she would listen and obey.

Training our heart to hear God’s voice is one of our most important jobs as believers. We do this primarily through reading God’s Word and spending time in prayer. But for some reason, fasting helps us depend on God and sharpens our hearing.

As we saw yesterday, Esther was devastated by the news of the king’s edict to destroy the Jews. But she was even more terrified by the request made by Mordecai. He asked her to appear before the king and beg for mercy. The risk for Esther was huge. Everyone throughout the palace courts knew the rule: If someone went to the king without being summoned, it was an automatic death penalty—that is, unless the king extended his golden scepter. It had been 30 days since Esther had last been summoned to appear before the king.  Mordecai challenged Esther with these now famous words: “Who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14).

Esther found strength from the Lord. She told Mordecai to have all the Jews gather for three days of fasting. She and her maids would do the same. When this was done, she assured him, “I will go to the king, even though it is against the law” (v.16). Then she uttered words that are among the most stirring declarations in the entire Bible: “And if I perish, I perish.”

At that point, Esther broke the back of the adversary. The fasting and prayer with God’s people set the stage for a miraculous and strategic series of events that brought about the salvation of the entire nation. Through her courageous faith, wisdom, and ingenuity, she exposed Haman’s wicked plot. The enraged king sent Haman to the very gallows he had built to hang Mordecai.

The story of Esther is thrilling and full of suspense. Good triumphs over evil. And in the end, Esther influenced her husband, a pagan King, to deliver the Jews. The king promoted Mordecai to second in command in all the Persian empire. Esther ruled as queen. An ordinary teenager who dared to step out and obey God. She risked her life, and in turn, saved a nation. Fasting and prayer were part of the arsenal she used to make herself strong.

Esther must have learned to hear and obey God during her years under the watchful eye of Mordecai. Perhaps that is where she also grew to appreciate the power of fasting and prayer. Somehow, she managed to remain surrendered to God, even while serving as queen. Her dramatic three-day fast put her in a place of utter dependency. In the end, it brought great power to her petition for the deliverance of her people.

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For more inspiration on fasting from the story of Esther, check out Woman of Valor, Discovering the Courage & Strength God Gave You by Marilynn Chadwick. Simply click here to order your copy.