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There are two general types of fasts, One type, a proclaimed fast, is one which is declared. For instance, a pastor announces that he is calling his entire congregation to voluntarily refrain from food for a certain length of time. The purpose for the fast varies. Most often it is for a time of special prayer.

Another example of a proclaimed fast is a husband and wife who agree to refrain from marital relations for a specific period of time to give themselves to prayer and fasting. Paul speaks of this in 1 Corinthians 7:5, "Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency." This is a proclaimed fast, a time of mutual consent where both you and your spouse may fast at the same time.

Second Chronicles 20 records a proclaimed fast and the results it achieved. During the reign of Jehoshaphat as king of Judah, word was brought to the king that a vast army was marching toward Jerusalem to attack Judah. And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the Lord: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord" (2 Chron. 20:3-4).

The people were called together into the temple and a fast was declared. They determined not to eat until they had heard from the Lord. Jehoshaphat prayed leaning on the promises of protection and deliverance God had made to Abraham and his descendents. In answer to his supplication, the Spirit of God spoke through a Levite and gave them instructions. By following the directions, the victory was theirs. A proclaimed fast will put you in the position to hear from God to receive guidance for a specific situation.

The other general type of fast is personal, one which is not announced to anyone. Always consider your family. The other members of the household may not want to go on a fast with you. Arrangements need to be made for their meals, especially if you are the one who prepares them. (If you are, God will give you the grace to cook the meals for the others without being bothered by it if it's done in love.)

Here are some guidelines: Jesus said, "Moreover when (not if, fasting is not optional) ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward." (Matt. 6:16)

Hypocritical piety will defeat the purpose of a fast. If you publicize your spirituality, you will exchange the reward of God for a reward of men. Their esteem becomes the only recompense you will receive for the effort. "But thou, when thou fast, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; that thou spear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which see in secret, shall reward thee openly" (Matt. 6:17-18).

This passage of scripture is part of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus was not primarily teaching on fasting but rather about hypocrisy and pretension. He spoke of giving alms, praying publicly on street corners, and fasting. He gave examples of how men ought to worship God in humility, not make a show of good deeds.

We are not to make our fasting conspicuous. We should dress, groom, and conduct ourselves in a normal fashion so that we do not call attention to what we are doing.

The purpose of fasting is not to influence God into acting in our behalf. Abstaining from food does not impress Him. Its purpose is to shut off the influence of our flesh in order to be in tune with the Spirit.

Be careful not to fast in order to receive visions or apparitions from the Lord. I made that mistake, and God sternly reprimanded me for it! He showed me that Satan would love to step in and manifest himself as an angel of light to deceive me (2 Cor. 11:14). I made a quality decision not to seek visions. Although, if the Father wants to give them to me, that is fine. But I determined that I would base my faith and receive revelation only through the Word of God.

I know one man who supernaturally received revelation about the authority of the believer several years ago. He wanted more of it. Rather than go to the Word of God, he decided that Jesus would have to appear to him in person.

He set himself to fast until Jesus appeared to him. Not having eaten for more than forty days, he came close to dying. Later on, I heard him relate what Jesus had told him. He could have gotten every bit of it out of the Book of Ephesians.

After that experience, every time he got into the least bit of trouble, he went right back to the same maneuver. Over a period of time, he departed more and more from the Word of God and began depending on fasting for a vision. Before long he was receiving things that were not from God. He was in so much error that after a while his ministry lost its credibility.

Fasting helps us to receive from God but does not push God into action. We don't have to do anything to move God to exercise His power for us. He has already paid dearly for that privilege. The problem is not on God's unwillingness to help us, nor His inability to intervene on our behalf. The problem is our spiritual density - our inability to receive what God has already done for us at Calvary.

The problem is not with God. We are the problem. The transmitter works fine; it's our "receiver" that is not functioning as it should. Fasting is a tool we use that puts us in a position to be more spiritually aware and "tuned in" to God, so we can better receive from Him.

Rewards of Fasting
"But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; (just do what you normally do) that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which sees in secret, shall reward thee openly" (Matt. 6:17-18). "Shall reward thee openly." That is an outright statement of promise right from the lips of Jesus Christ. When you fast, you have a reward coming.

What would that reward be? It is certainly not a pat on the back for not eating. The reward is whatever motivated you to fast. Whatever it is, establish it by faith and proclaim it before you ever enter the fast. Expect to receive it. God will see in secret and you will receive openly.

Perhaps you fast for no other reason than to fellowship with God. That is a sound reason, and you will receive your reward of divine fellowship.

It may be to understand something from the Word, which you know God has been trying to reveal to you, but you haven't been able to grasp. That should be the reward you seek in your fast.

Perhaps you have been praying for unsaved family members. You may feel that there should be more you can do to see them converted. Your fast may be undertaken as a time of special intercession.

In this case, you are not trying to motivate God to save them. He has been trying to do that for years. You are simply making a faith connection with the Father, giving Him the opportunity and the faith to get that job accomplished. Establish that as your reward.

This is also true of a proclaimed fast. Declare the purpose of the fast and that will be reward.

The Fast God Has Chosen
The 58th chapter of Isaiah deals with fasting and observance of the Lord's ordinances and the keeping of His Sabbath. In this chapter, the Lord says, "Is not this the fast that I have chosen? To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?" (v. 6).

"Is it (God's chosen fast) not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast to to thy house?" (v. 7).

Why would God tell us to take the food we would have eaten had we not fasted and give it away? We would do this to get the attention of the poor - to bring the poor to your house. For what purpose? To witness to them for the Lord Jesus Christ. Satisfy their physical hunger first, then feed them spiritually. Through the new birth and the power of the gospel, you can teach them how to be delivered from poverty.

"When thou sees the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?"

God is referring to fasting something more than food. He is talking about fasting clothes. You can do without some clothes as well as without food in order to give to someone who has less than you. Consciously put yourself in the position of giving to others.

Verse 8, "Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee."

What does righteousness have to do with it? Jesus said, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matt. 6:33). Anything you give away will begin to come back to you.

Don't give away rummage and junk. Give your good things away. "For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again" (Luke 6:38). For whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap" (Gal. 6:7). What you give will determine what you receive. If you give your junk, you will receive junk! "And thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward."

The word "rereward" literally means "rear guard" or "rear protection." As we obey the fast God has chosen, we can take the offensive and know that God is on the defensive in our behalf.

"Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking in vanity" (v. 9).

A requirement for the success of the fast God has chosen is to stop judging and accusing others. That kind of talk is all in vain. Let your words always be with grace.

"And if thou draw out they soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day: and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not" (vv. 10-11).

As you are obedient to these scriptures, you will experience an abundance of God's guidance for your life and ministry. You will be fulfilled. The rivers of living water Jesus spoke of will quench your spiritual thirst, and you will have plenty for others to draw on from you.

"And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, the repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths to dwell in" (v. 12).

"If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words" (v.13).

The Sabbath day was the established day of fasting for Israel. God has not bound us to a certain day in which we are commanded to fast, but He has instructed us in the way we should conduct ourselves when we do. Put pleasures aside. Meditate on these verses, and consider what God commanded be done on His day. Many have missed its true significance. The day of the week is not as important as we have thought. God is much more concerned about how His people conduct themselves

"Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it" (v. 14) This happens to be the promise I stood on to receive the first airplane we needed for the ministry.

What is the "heritage of Jacob" which we are to receive through fasting? To answer that question, let's refer back to chapter 32 of Deuteronomy:

For the Lord's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. He found him a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. As an eagle stirs up her nest, fluttering over her young, spreading abroad her wings, taking them, breaking them on her wings: so the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him.

He made him ride the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock; butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou did drink the pure blood of the grape
(vv. 9-14).

The heritage of Jacob insures that we hear the voice of the Good Shepherd and that we are not led astray by the evil one. It guarantees our provision of oil for fuel. It takes gasoline to preach the gospel!

We are also promised prosperity and abundance in the middle of depression. Those tings have already been provided in Christ. Our fasting merely puts us in a better position of receiving them because we are not letting our flesh dominate us. When we truly put God first in every area of our life, then we license him to be our provider of all things.

These verses reveal what Jesus meant when He spoke in the Sixth Chapter of Matthew about the reward. If done properly, fasting can be beneficial both physically and circumstantially, as well as spiritually. Reap the full benefits of fasting and see the difference it can make in your personal life, as well as your ministry.

For quick reference, here is an outline of the proper way to fast:

1) Decide the purpose of the fast before you begin.

2) Proclaim the fast before the Lord. Whether proclaimed or personal, it must be declared before God. Otherwise, you will be tempted to break it. This must be a decision of quality. Say, "Father, with You as my helper, in the name of Jesus, I have settled this today, and until this time tomorrow food will not pass my lips." Once you have made that firm commitment, you will stick by it.

3) Believe before the fast that you receive the reward promised by Jesus in Matthew 6:18. Actually, this assurance is based on Mark 11:24. What things so ever you desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. You are not going to receive because you fast. You will receive because you believed in faith. Fasting is an assistance to receiving.

4) Minister to the Lord while you are fasting. Ministering to the Lord in praise and worship will keep your spirit active and build you up. You will need the additional strength to bear up. (Col. 3:16; Eph. 6:19; Acts 13:1-3).

5) Minister to others during and after the fast. During your fast minister to others only as God leads you to do so. Always be available. But remember, fasting is a period of preparing yourself for greater ministry later on. Afterwards, do not think, "Well, I'm never going to fast again. I didn't receive a thing from God during the whole time I was on that fast." Yes, you did. Now, minister to other people, and you will find out that you have received. You will witness that the power of God is great upon you!

6) Expect assistance from the angels. Jesus had 40 days when He was confronted by Satan on the mount of temptation. After He had successfully resisted Satan's temptation, the Bible tells us, "Then the devil left Him, and behold the angels came and ministered to Him" (Matt. 4:11). The angels ministered to Jesus, and you can expect help from ministering servant, too, by faith. Don't feel for it. The worst thing you can do is go by your feelings. All they will tell you is "I'm hungry." Shut off your feelings. Act on your faith. Confess that the angels are attending you. Continue to thank God for it. They are licensed not only to assist you where you are but also to work for you throughout the world, wherever your influence is needed.

When you do these things according to God's Word, you will see and reap the results of it for years to come. You will think that you must surely be the most blessed person in the world. Things will come to you for which you have not even prayed or asked God. It has happened to me, and God told me later that these things came to me because I had exalted Him months before. He was working in my behalf, and I was then reaping the fruit of the seed which I had sown. Moreover when you fast...thy Father which is in secret...shall reward thee openly" (Matt 6:16-18).

Excerpt permission granted by
Eagle Mountain International Church, Inc.
aka:  Kenneth Copeland Ministries

Author Biography

Kenneth Copeland
Web site: Kenneth Copeland Ministries
 
For the last 50 years Kenneth and Gloria Copeland have been passionately teaching Christians all over the world how to apply the principles of faith found in God’s WORD to their lives.
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