Anointed scriptures on fasting will lead you into higher spiritual dimensions and experiences with God. Genuine fasting which is led by the Holy Spirit moves the heart and hand of God into action. Such can manifest or materialize what seems impossible to the eyes of men and women. Both Old Testament and The New Testament teach on the importance of fasting as children of the Most High. The Holy Scriptures generally present fasting as the Holy Act of abstaining from Food, Drinks, and other Bodily Desires in order to seek God’s will. You can be sure that in seeking God’s will, you’ll end up obtaining his mercy and favor in everything that you do. By reading the stories of many who fasted in the Bible, we realize that God usually grants Wisdom and Supernatural Revelations to those who carry out this practice as directed by the Holy Spirit.
We are taught by the scriptures that fasting helps to establish a more intimate relationship with our savior and lord, Jesus Christ. It also opens our eyes on the great things which he wants to teach us about his father’s kingdom. However, the subject of fasting is one that has lots of contradictions in the modern church. But you can be sure that you are at the right place to get the best scriptures on fasting. We’ll also pour more light on how long to fast, when to fast, how to fast, what to pray during fasting, and what to abstain from when fasting. Just like any other christian sacrifice, fasting should be made out of love. We serve a God who is love in nature. Our sacrifices are made accepted before God through the love in our heart.
Anointed Scriptures On Fasting
Why Should I fast?
Matthew 17:14-21 – To Increase your Spiritual Level
This is a great question which must be answered properly in the light of the Holy Scriptures. There are many Biblical reasons why you should take fasting serious. During Jesus’s physical stay on Earth, he departed from his Apostles for a while. In his absence, a man suffering from heavy satanic attacks was brought before the Apostles to be delivered. The Apostles did all they could to drive away the evil spirit without success. When Jesus came back to them and drove the demon, they asked in private why they were unable to drive the evil spirit. Jesus Christ told them that the level of spiritual power needed for such a deliverance session can be obtained only through Prayer and fasting. We can read this story from Matthew 17:14-21. Hence we can conclude that higher spiritual levels in the walk with God are obtained through fasting and prayers.
Matthew 4:1-17 – To prepare for Ministry
Operating in God’s service is not the easiest thing that you’ll ever do. The life of Jesus Christ reveals all that awaits those who are called by God to work in his vineyard. That’s why a proper preparation period is necessary. This preparation period is there to train, equip, and uplift your spiritual level to stand the wicked forces of this world while doing God’s work without fear. And the best way to do this is through a prolonged period of fasting and prayers. This can be observed in the life of Jesus Christ and that of his immediate Apostles. Before he began the task which God had commissioned him to do on Earth, he retreated to a lonely wilderness where he fasted for 40 days and nights. This was obviously to seek God’s favor and strength all through his ministerial life.
Acts 14:23 – To Seek God’s Wisdom
The scriptures say that Paul and Barnabas earnestly prayed and fasted for the elders of the churches before anointing them into God’s service. This is a clear verse which points out the importance of seeking God’s Wisdom or Opinion on major issues in our lives. God is the author of all wisdom and Knowledge. He is willing and ready to assist anyone who comes to him in need of wisdom to make the right decisions. Humbly come to the Lord ad he will equip you with the wisdom needed to succeed in life.
Jonah 3:10 – To Repent
This is one of the powerful scriptures on fasting in the Bible that encourages and gives hope to the hopeless who have sinned against God. It reveals that genuine repentance that is accompanied with fasting and prayers can make God’s heart to be full of compassion for us. And for sure, when God locates us in his mercy, he will also locate us in his favor. The Scriptures say that Jonah arrived Nineveh and pronounced God’s judgement and upcoming punishment due to their sins as he was commanded. When the king learned that their evil ways had provoked the anger of God, he took off his crown, and royal robe to wear Sackcloth. In his sackcloth, he sad on the dust while throwing some on himself as he commanded every living thing in the city to join in fasting. Their repentance brought God’s mercy and favor on them.
Luke 2:1-37 – To Worship God
Luke 2 recounts a story of an 84 years old prophetess by name Anna. She dedicated her whole life to serving God and would not leave the temple but remain there to worship God every day and night through prayer and fasting. We can say here that her act of fasting was an expression of the love that she had for God. By so doing, she pleased God and obtained his favor. The act of pleasing God through prayer and fasting has not changed. Today, we can also show our love for God through the sacrifice of abstaining from food, drinks, and other other bodily pleasures for a while.
Ezra 8:21-23 – To Seek Deliverance and Protection
This is one of the scriptures on fasting which reveals how Ezra declared a corporate fast and prayer for a safe journey from Babylon to Jerusalem. The 900-mile-trek was quite a long journey and anything could happen to them on the way. But because they knew that God’s protection can keep them safe to their destination, they embraced a period of fasting to call on his favor. God heard their prayers and kept them safe as they moved from Babylon to Jerusalem.
Nehemiah 1:1-4 – To Show Grief
The scriptures say the Nehemiah mourned, fasted, and prayed when he learned that the walls of Jerusalem were broken down and God’s children left in disgrace. The vulnerability of the Israelite to their enemies made him cry-out to the lord through fasting for help. The sadness in his heart moved him to earnestly fast in order to call back God’s mercy and favor to Israel. It is in this same light that we ought to pray and fast when our hearts are troubled. Before being arrested, Jesus Christ made a prayer which reflected the worries in his heart. Whatever be it that troubles our peace, we should always remember that God is able. He did it in the past, he is still doing it now, and he will certainly do it in the future.
Judges 20:26 – To Gain Victory
The Holy Scriptures say that after Israel had loose 40,000 men during war in a period of 2 days, they earnestly cried out to the Lord for help. It is said that everyone moved out in pains and went up to Bethel where they sad in tears before the lord. Upon realizing that they had turned away from their sins and were in great sorrow, the Lord Most High decided the next day to give them victory over the Benjamites.
The Reasons Why Many Do Not Fast
Even though the Old Testament and New Testament Scriptures both emphasize on the importance of fasting, many people are slow to fast. There are many reasons why many people do not fast and why others are slow when it comes to fasting. We’ll pour more light on the main reasons.
Ignorance
In most cases, it is said that ignorance is a heavy crime which must be paid for in a big way. However, this does not eliminate the number of people who live in ignorance about things that concern them. Many Christians in the society today have not been taught of the importance of seeking God through fasting and prayers. There are many church’s today that hardly attribute entire sermons on the importance of pleasing God through fasting. However, it is our duty as Christians to help our brothers and sisters who are weak in the faith to become strong. Hence, we ought to do our best to assist everyone around us on how to fast and please God.
Fear
Yes, fear is a limiting factor to many. A good question to ask here will be that to know what they are afraid of? Many are simply afraid of the fasting idea in general. Such people do not even want the scriptures on fasting to come their way. Some are afraid of the unknown. Others are afraid to end up with an intense feeling of hunger. Some are afraid that they’ll start and not reach the end while others are simply paralyzed by the idea of fasting. As the scriptures say, Satan is out to fill us up with fear and a feeling of not being able to overcome our bodies. You should not create room for fear because it is not coming from God. Instead of looking at your weaknesses and personal strength, you should rather focus on God for strength. God’s strength will never fail.
Rebellion
We should not try to hide behind ignorance to free ourselves from the guilt of not fasting. The truth is that a larger segment of Christians are aware of the importance of fasting. In short, fasting is a christian duty or assignment. However, when God’s spirit tries to lead many into fasting, they ground their heels into the ground as they reject the call to obey God.
Reasons why you should seek God through Self Denial
- The act of fasting is a normal christian duty or assignment.
- Both the Old and New Testament present fasting as a normal act of discipline for God’s children.
- Fasting can greatly transform your prayer life into a richer personal walk with God.
- Through fasting, we all humble ourselves before God.
- The act of fasting enables the holy spirit to reveal your true spiritual condition thereby leading to a transformation.
- Through fasting, God’s truth becomes more meaningful to us.
- Fasting sharpens our minds to quicken revealed truths from the Holy Spirit.
- Fasting takes us closer to God.
- Through fasting, we are more likely to experience God’s favor.
- Fasting equips us with the power of the Holy Spirit.
More Scriptures On Fasting
Acts 13:2
This is one of the powerful scriptures on fasting that reveals the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. We are made to know in this verse that when the Apostles were praying and fasting, the Holy Spirit spoke to them. The Holy Spirit asked them to keep aside Saul and Barnabas for the work which God had called them for. Hence, we can say without doubt that prayer and fasting has the ability to reveal God’s mind to men and women. If you’ve been wondering what your spiritual gift is, you can take a period of fasting and prayers and for sure God will answer you. This is also applies for anyone who wants to know what God has called him to do in the Body of Christ.
Joel 2:12
In this scripture, the Lord Most High says that if his children will realize their mistakes and turn to him with all their hearts in mourning, weeping and fasting, he will have mercy and bless them. Hence, no matter what your sins are, you can make up your mind to sin no more and turn to the lord for mercy through fasting and prayer. He will not only locate you in his mercy but will also locate you in his favor.
Exodus 34:28
This is one of the most powerful and anointed scriptures on fasting which led to the delivery of God’s commandments to man. It says that for 40 days and nights, Moses was in God’s presence on the mountain without food or water. This prolonged fasting period gave birth to the 10 commandments.
This brings us to the end of our writing. We hope you enjoyed reading. But there is one important thing we’ll like to point out here. Men like Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist, and Jesus Christ had the special grace of fasting which permitted them to get into prolonged fasting periods like 40 days and nights without food and water. We know of people who have tried such out of their own wills and they ended up dying. Remember that we are not called to fast in order to beat someone’s score. We are to fast according to God’s Spirit. Do not fast because you’ve been forced to or just because you see people fasting. Fast out of love and desire for God. This will make your sacrifices acceptable before him.
