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.