7 WRONG REASONS FOR FASTING

                                7 WRONG REASONS FOR FASTING 

                                             By  PASTOR INNOCENT CHUKS

SCHOOL OF THE SPIRIT CONFERENCE NOVEMBER EDITION COMMON SENSE TO FASTING 

Luke 4:1-2 Then Jesus, full of and controlled by the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led in [by] the [Holy] Spirit. For (during) forty days in the wilderness (desert), where He was tempted (tried, tested exceedingly) by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they were completed, He was hungry. (AMP) 

Jesus was the only one that fasted for 40 days and 40 night... On the old testament, Moses was another example but he didn't actually set out to fast for 40 days and 40 nights. He went up to the mountain to commune with God but in the process, he was cut up in the glory and he eventually spent 40 days and 40 days up there. Fasting is actually not what makes God to answer your prayers... But it is fasting that gives prayer impetus, incense and spirit So fasting makes your prayer to carry intensity and vigor. Daniel fasted for 21 days not because he actually wanted to fast for 21 days. He set up himself to fast for a day but when he noticed to that his prayer was delaying, he continue to press on in prayers that's was how he fasted up till 21 days No where in the Bible are we recommend to fast for 3 days, or 7 days, or 14 days, or 21 days or 30 days or even 40 days. 

Check out our Intermittent Fasting Calculator

We are to fast but not according to a specific number of days... Luke 4:1 says that Jesus was led by the Spirit to fast for 40 days so what it means is that when you want to fast for such long period of days, make sure you are led by the Spirit In one of the appearances of Jesus to Papa Kenneth Hagin, Jesus told me that it is not necessary to have some special days of fasting and some other days of not fasting. Then Jesus said to him, "I rather have you live a *fasted life* and to have you fast. He asked "what do you mean by a fasted life"? Jesus told him that a fasted life is simply a lifestyle of fasting. For example, sometimes on your own you can skip a meal just to use that extra time to pray... Jesus said to him, make fasting part of your normal life an example is where the Bible says that Daniel would not defile himself with a portion of the King's meat... Which means, he was not controlled by his stomach... That is a fasted life A fasted life is making praying & fasting your lifestyle and not once in a while activity. Luke 4:1 shows us that Jesus was led to fast... Which means that an effective fasting is that which you were led to do. The spirit of Might cannot rest upon you when you are not sponsored by the Spirit of God. William Braham in all his Anointing and the miracle working power he was graced with, yet he said that the longest he has fasted was 3 days. Papa Kenneth Hagin on his own only fasted 3 days as the longest In one of the appearances of Jesus to him, Jesus told him to fast for two days for a particular thing, So the fast that Jesus recommended to Papa Kenneth Hagin was just 2 days fasting So in this series, we shall be looking at wrong reasons and right reasons you should fast 

Isaiah 58:6 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? 

Your fasting should end up generating power... to break yokes, to free the oppressed, etc It says, is this not the fast that I have chosen? If there's a fast God have chosen, then there should also be a fast that He has not chosen So now, let's look at the fast He has not chosen

1. To Be Blessed 

Galatians 3:29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.(NKJV) 

Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 

You are already Abraham's seed... You are already a blessing. You don't need to fast to be a blessing because you are already blessed. So it is unnecessary to fast for the very reason to be blessed. God has already blessed us in all spiritual blessings... You are super blessed kind of people. If you are not functioning in the blessings of God, it means there are principles you are not keeping or breaking. If you break principles, You face the consequences there after. So check your life, if you are not feeling like you are not blessed, fasting is not the solution... Find what you are missing in God's word/principles and simply put it into action 

    2. To Defeat satan 

Ephesians 1:19-22 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, (NKJV) 

Luke 10:18-19 And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. (NKJV) 

You don't need to fast cast out devils or to defeat them. You don't need to fast to use the name of Jesus The name is the authority we have in him We are seated far above principalities and powers... FAR ABOVE! SO whenever the enemy wants to mess with you, you rebuke him or cast him cast... Simply use the name of Jesus! You Don't need fasting to deal with Satan because he is already defeated He is a defeated foe already... What you need is the name of Jesus because at the mention of that name every knee bows that JESUS Is the Lord No devil In hell can oppose the name of Jesus. But someone might ask... "But did not Jesus say that some demons can only be cast out by means of "prayer and fasting"?

 Matthew 17:16-17 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.

 In every attempt by the disciples of Jesus to cast out demons, they succeed in all but only this one The first reason they failed with casting out the demon was their Faithlessness(unbelief) After explaining their unbelief and Faithlessness, in vs 21, he then added another point to them by saying,

 "But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting." If you watch Jesus' comment, he said, "this kind"... Not every kind of demon but this kind It simply means that this kind of demonic oppression submitted to those that live a life of prayer and fasting It does not mean that you should go and fast before attempting to cast out any 😈 devil! NO It also means that a life of prayer and fasting puts you on a level and a class where nothing shall be impossible to you... This is why it is important to live a fasted life 

   3. Holiness

 We don't fast to be holy 

Colossians:1:22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight 

You see that? Jesus' death presents us holy, unblameable, and unreproveable in the sight of God So you don't fast to be Holy… 

  4. Righteousness 

You don't fast to be righteous because we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus 

5. To Be Rich 

Proverbs:10:4 He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich. 

The major reason some people are poor is because of laziness and not prayerlessness. Diligence brings wealth 

You don't pray and fast to be rich... Don't! 

Fasting and prayer is not the language of wealth. 

The language of wealth is being a solution provider, work, labour, goods and services 

That's why people that doesn't know God still make cool cash... Because riches doesn't understand the principles of fasting and prayer 

   6. To Prove One's Spirituality Or Advertise One's Devotion 

Matthew 6:16 "When you practice some appetite-denying discipline to better concentrate on God, don't make a production out of it. It might turn you into a small-time celebrity but it won't make you a saint. (MSG)

 First he said, when You fast... Which means that Jesus expects you to fast. Not "if You fast" I love this translation... It called fasting," an appetite-denying discipline " wow Don't fast to show people how good you are with fasting... If you do that, You are a hypocrite In the school of the Spirit, if you do anything with the wrong motive, You have completely failed in that practice In the school of the prophet, if you pray and fast so that you can show your devotion, then if you have failed in that practice 

   7. To Make History/Break Record

If your motivation for Fasting and praying is to make a history as the man with the longest period of fasting, then heaven is already shut against you In the school of the Spirit, if you fast because you want to break records for Fasting, then you miss the mark

 Let me tell you a story 

One day, a friend of mine went to the mountains to pray, He found two guys... One have fasted for 8 years and the other 4 years in the mountain. They are now living in the mountain. He asked them why? They said of God called them to be prophets and they are looking for Anointing and power of God, this is the reason they now live in the mountain and have fasted for 8 years and 4 years respectively. If you search their heart well, You will notice that they have wrong motive for Fasting Maybe they want to show people how powerful they have become because they fasted for 4 and 8 years One day I heard of the story of another guy that have fasted for 400 days... 6 to 6 fasting for 400 days, because he is looking for Power Listen, after he finished fasting for 400 days, nothing special happened to him... Why? Wrong motive must have hidden in his heart. You cannot carry the power of God is you harbor wrong motive in your heart... God gives his power to the humble, and to the meek and simple One day, another girl fasted for 21 days dry... After the 21 days, someone died in her neighborhood. She rushed there and raised him back to life.... But the next day, she too died. (She will be in heaven by now) One day, a friend of mine fasted for 40 days 6 to 6 fasting. After the fasting, nothing special happened to him... Why he wanted to make history that among all of us friends, that he has fasted more than anyone did.

Fasting is good But you should know when to fast and when not to fast Use the Intermittent Fasting Calculator

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