Faith and Fasting

In Esther 4:15-17, the Bible says, “Esther sent a message to Mordecai, saying, “Bring together all the Jews in Susa and tell them to go without eating for my sake! Don’t eat or drink for three days and nights. My servant girls and I will do the same. Then I will go in to see the king, even if it means I must die.”

At that time it was illegal to go to the king without him inviting you. And anyone who broke that law of going into the king could be killed, but Esther knew that if she could have the favour of God, she could break the law. She fasted and broke the law and was not killed because she had the favour of God.

When you fast, there is a law that you break. It might be a law of poverty that has been transferred from generation to generation in your family, it might be a law of limitation or failure, but there is a law that you break. Hannah also broke the law of barrenness by refusing to eat and pouring out her heart to God. When Eli the priest saw her he thought she was drunk, but she was in prayer & fasting.

Fasting is a covenant with God and goes along with prayer. There are some people who go into fasting, their stomach knows they are fasting, their time knows they are fasting but God doesn’t know why they are fasting, because in their fasting they do not pray.

Fasting without prayer is no fasting at all, but it’s a diet. Fasting always goes with prayer. In that prayer, you must also have faith. In that way, when you finish fasting , you will see the results. As a child of God you must live a life of fasting & prayer.

As a young man myself, I lived a life of fasting and prayer. I remember when I attended an my 1st interview, I fasted and prayed and asked God for Favour. Indeed God showed me His favour because the very same day that I was interviewed they asked me when I can start working.

I was working in the banking industry and at the time it was white dominated, as a black young man in the a white dominated environment, I needed the favour of God, I constantly prayed and fasted, and declared that all my superiors when they see me, they will favour me. And really they favoured me, they promoted me and gave me opportunities that I would not have had if I did not fast.

You also can fast and pray for anything. For example if you are a business man you can pray and fast for open doors in your business. But it is important to take action after fasting. You don’t just fast & pray and think that things will happen, no. you must also take a step of faith.

Some people fast & pray and do not take a step of faith, they say they are waiting, but we never really know what they are waiting for. I say take a step of faith and apply for the business contract that you have always wanted, then you will see the favour of God.

When you are married, you cannot just go into fasting without your spouse. Because the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 7:5 “Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you..”

Fasting in faith will break every law that is against you. You fast with faith when you give yourself to prayer during your fasting. When you walk out of your prayer room people start to say “you look beautiful”, what they won’t know is that you broke the ugliness inside of you through praying and fasting.

The Bible says in Romans 10:11, “The Scriptures say that no one who has faith will be disappointed”. The way in which you fast, will show your trust in God and that trust will not bring you disappointment. When you fast and deny yourself food to pray for a specific purpose, God will not disappoint you.

Fast in a way that you give yourself completely to God. Not that fasting that people enter into but soon they get involved in acts of the flesh like anger. Some when they are fasting they end up fighting and insulting others. That is not the kind of fast that pleases God. Some say they are fasting but they go around bragging about their fast. They tell anyone who cares to listen that they are fasting.

Fasting should be kept between you and God. When people offer you food you just tell them that you are fine, because you know that you are in covenant with God. In Isaiah 58: 3 to 12, the Bibles speaks to us about the kind of fasting that God wants. “The kind that will bring you results. You wonder why the Lord pays no attention when you go without eating and act humble. But on those same days that you give up eating, you think only of yourselves and abuse your workers. You even get angry and ready to fight. No wonder God won’t listen to your prayers”.

Fasting is about doing good and to those who are in need. This is why I encourage you to give and share. When you are fasting you do good by giving to those in need. You do not give what you don’t want, but you give what matters to you the most. Because when you give, God will multiply.

But when you hold on to things that you don’t need how will God give you more? How will God multiply you? Right now if I can ask you how many of you have nonperishable food items in your houses that has been there for more than 2 months, you will find many here. Yet we have a ministry that distributes food items to the needy in the church.

I will not even begin to ask about clothes. But I can tell you that if you have not worn those clothes in more than 2 months, you don’t need it. Bring it to the giving ministry so that we can give it to those in need. Do not deceive yourself by thinking that you will loose weight and wear those clothes again.

Giving is part of fasting and prayer. When you are in prayer and fasting and you see someone in need and you are able to help them, do not hesitate to help them. Remember that you are a life changer. Whatever you do to others, God will also do for you, this is what the Scripture in Isaiah 58 says.

Giving is not only about money. You cannot say that you can’t give because you don’t have money. There is definitely something that you can give. Anything that matters to you, you can give it, and God will reward you in the very same way that you have given. You can also give your time by serving in the house of God.

I want to challenge you to give something very precious to you, something that you don’t usually give, and see God doing to you what you have done to others. When you have given your best, get into prayer and fast, see what God will do in your life.

To God be the Glory.