Episode 2, Empowered Through Fasting with Prayer - a podcast by Stephanie Wright

No weapon formed against you will prosper . . . and when you fast, fast as unto the Lord. Isaiah 54:17, Matthew 6:16, 18. 

Hello and welcome to Episode 2, in our Empowered through Fasting series. Today we are going to discuss three reasons for fasting and we will share a personal testimony about fasting. My name is Stephanie Wright. Let’s talk about empowerment through fasting and prayer.

Before we get started, if you have not already listened to Episode one in this series, “Empowered through Fasting with Prayer,” please do so. It provides scriptures, some basic foundational principles, contemporary examples of fasting with prayer, and caveats on how to fast.

So, why do we fast? The simple answer is “because Jesus fasted.” And, I believe when he said in Matthew 6:16, “when you fast,” not “if you fast,” he is encouraging us to be like Him. And, after all, don’t we want to be like Jesus? We should want to be like Jesus, who after He fasted, did what He was sent to this earth to do. When Jesus returned from His forty days and nights of fasting (with no food), Luke 4:14, says “He returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and he taught in their synagogues.” In other words, Jesus went straight to work proclaiming the gospel. 

Fasting is a feast for your faith. It produces the same fruit Jesus produced through the power of the Holy Spirit. The same anointing will lead you to speak the gospel to the poor in spirit, to want healing for those who are broken in their spirit, to break chains off those bound by evil spirits, to open the natural and spiritual eyes of those blinded, to give comfort and a healing salve to those who have been bruised physically, mentally, or spiritually. In short, fasting with prayer gives us compassion for those who are hurting - not just those we know, like family and friends. 

Now, before we go to our final topic on why we fast, here is a personal testimony of deliverance through fasting. As I testified to in the first episode of this series “Empowerment through Fasting with Prayer,” Episode One, I learned about fasting and learned how to fast when I was a baby in Christ. My church taught the importance and power of fasting. There came a time when I was afflicted in my back so badly I could not sit. It was serious enough that I considered having back surgery, but I knew this was no normal back pain. In addition to fasting, I  prayed and read faith healing materials from early-era evangelists. I do not recall what kind of fast I was on to help deliver me out of the pain but the deliverance was not immediate. I am not sure how many weeks the pain lasted but one day, while on my knees in prayer, I suddenly realized the pain was gone!

As we close, here is a final important consideration about fasting. We fast to God’s glory and therefore, we fast according to His direction if we want real results manifested from the fast.

So, what does God say about fasting? In Isaiah 58:6-14, God asks the following question and I am paraphrasing here. He asks, “Did I choose this fast or did you choose this fast? 

So, why do we fast? We fast not only because Jesus fasted, and to give God glory, and to bless others, but we fast so we can be blessed. And God promises us that we will be blessed in our fasting as long as we do it to His glory and according to His purpose. 

Now, let’s listen as Apostle Charles gives us some closing remarks and tells you how to contact us and how to access past presentations.

Further episodes of CGM Presents: In the Word Podcast

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