David Diga Hernandez - The Power of Prayer and Fasting: 15 Purposes

I want you to remember these two spiritual truths: for every natural act of faith, there is a divine reaction, and whatever strengthens my spirit weakens my flesh. So, if whatever strengthens my spirit weakens my flesh, and if there is a divided reaction for every act of faith that we take, then that means that prayer and fasting bring about great power. Whatever is caused by increased power in prayer and whatever is caused by a weakening of the flesh can be obtained during prayer and fasting. So, let’s take a look at what the scripture says. Here, I am going to show you 15 purposes of prayer and fasting.

Number one: mourning. Joel chapter 2, verse 12 says, «That is why the Lord says, 'Turn to me now while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.'» Nehemiah chapter 1, verse 4 states, «When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven.» In the Old Testament, mourning often accompanied prayer and fasting.

Number two: repentance. First Samuel chapter 7, verse 6 says, «So they gathered at Mizpah, and in a great ceremony drew water from a well and poured it out before the Lord. They also went without food all day and confessed that they had sinned against the Lord.» Here, we see in the Old Testament that repentance was often accompanied by prayer and fasting. These people were turning from idolatry toward the Lord.

Now, fasting, I have to clarify, is not a means by which we punish ourselves for our wrongdoing. In fact, we don’t need to punish ourselves for any wrongdoing because Christ received the fullness of the wrath of God upon the cross. So, if God poured out all His wrath upon Christ when He was on the cross, that means there is no more wrath left over for you and me. Thus, this type of repentance with prayer and fasting is not a way of punishing ourselves or giving ourselves lashes; it’s not a way of, so to speak, crucifying ourselves. This is a time when you can restart; this is a time when you can refresh yourself. After repentance, it’s good to fast because this puts the flesh into subjection. This is somewhat of a spiritual reset that takes place when you fast and pray. You weaken the flesh, so after you repent of a sin or a sinful habit, it’s a good practice to fast so that you can put the flesh in a weakened state and get a fresh start.

Number three: clarity. Acts chapter 13, verse 2 says, «One day, as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Appoint Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.'» This is not the only verse where we see the Holy Spirit speaking clearly after the disciples fasted, but we see often in church history, especially in the book of Acts, that when people committed themselves to prayer, they positioned themselves to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit more clearly than if they had not positioned themselves with prayer and fasting. Often, you’ll see that prayer and fasting is followed by a time when the Holy Spirit speaks clearly. So, fasting can be used to bring clarity to the voice of the Holy Spirit.

Number four: ministry establishment. Acts chapter 14, verse 23 says, «Paul and Barnabas also appointed elders in every church with prayer and fasting. They turned the elders over to the care of the Lord in whom they had put their trust.» When you fast before the establishment of a ministry or the appointment of people into ministry, you set them up with a firm foundation.

Number five: favor. Esther chapter 4, verse 16 says, «Go and gather therefore all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die.» Of course, many of us know the story of Esther, where she went to approach the king on behalf of her people. She risked her life, but before she entered that place of risk, she had people fast and pray that she might obtain favor. So, that’s number five: favor.

Number six: healing. Psalm chapter 35, verses 13 through 14 say, «Yet when they were ill, I grieved for them. I denied myself by fasting for them, but my prayers returned unanswered. I was sad as though they were my friends or family, as if I were grieving for my own mother.» Here, the scripture is showing us that you can fast and pray for someone’s healing. Now, of course, in this context, the individuals that were prayed for were not healed, but we see that the individual was surprised by the fact that they weren’t healed despite having prayed and fasted. Look at what the scripture says: «Yet when they were ill, I grieved for them. I denied myself by fasting for them, but my prayers returned unanswered.» Also, in 2 Samuel chapter 12, verse 16, the Bible says, «David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and went into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground.» So, you can pray and fast for healing.

Number seven: spiritual preparation. Matthew chapter 4, verses 1 through 4 say, «Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After He had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, He then became hungry. The tempter came and said to Him, 'If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.'»