Adapted from Part 1 of the sermon by Pastor Stephanie Ike Okafor – linked below.
| Principle | Extrapolation | Scriptural References |
| 1. Fasting brings you into the economy of the divine possibilities of God (spiritual opportunities). | When we fast, we stand in agreement that God is the Sovereign One. We are saying to the Lord “I submit my flesh to you as you have dominion over all” and in doing so, we consent to being under the authority of the Most High. This unlocks a whole new world of supernatural opportunities that we otherwise would not have access to in our own power. | In fasting, we begin to unlock the hidden wisdom of God which serves for OUR glory (2 Corinthians 2:7). Proverbs 25:2 (AMP) – It is the glory of God to conceal a matter. But the glory of kings is to search out a matter. “There is favor that will be unlocked in your life when you tap into the understanding of the commandments and instructions of God.” – Stephanie Ike Okafor Further reading: Esther’s fast for God’s favor; Esther Chapter 4 |
| 2. Fasting is a superficial posture of our dependence on God. | A sacrifice is not a sacrifice without some discomfort. We must place ourselves in a position of weakness because it is at that point that God’s strength can take over. By acknowledging that we cannot do this on our own, we open the door for God to step in and intervene. God gives us free will so if we are in the way, He will not push us aside. He instead waits for us to make the choice to allow Him to work on our behalf. When you take a posture of subservience, you can break all forms of addiction off of you. The breakthrough that you need is on the other side of your pride. | It takes our weakness for God’s strength to shine (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). We have to be empty of ourselves to be full of the Holy Spirit. Further reading: King David refuses to offer up a sacrifice that he didn’t pay for; 2 Samuel 24 |
| 3. Fasting should be an external practice fueled by an internal passion to be in relationship with God. | The act of fasting should be an outpouring of your desire for intimate relationship with God. We fast in reverence and awe. “God, I just want to be near you. I want to bask in your presence. I want to know you, to serve you, and to fall in line with what you have planned for me.” The closer we strive to get to Him, the closer He pushes towards us. | Fasting is not something that we do for our benefit but for the glory of our King. In both Isaiah 58 and Zechariah 7, we find the Lord responding to the people and asserting to the people that if we are fasting out of selfish motives, it is useless to Him. The wrong motive equates to empty religion. |
| 4. We fast as an expression of worship. | Fasting is an act of offering yourself up to God like you would give a tangible offering such as money or harvest. You’re telling Him – “Lord, I have nothing better to give you than my life. This is uncomfortable for me but growing closer to you is more important than my comfort.” Do we ever want to be hungry, tired, nutrient deficient, nauseous, or irritable because we’re missing out on our usual creature comforts? No. But we’re willing to do it out of appreciation for and submission to the Father. | Fasting should be your lifestyle like the prophetess Anna, mentioned in the Bible. All that we know about her is that she spent her life in the temple praying and fasting (Luke 2:36-38). Your posture of reverence should be your motivation for fasting. When you have a revelation of the glory of God, offering your body up as a sacrifice becomes a lifestyle as we realize that it is the greatest act of glorification that we can give to our Almighty, all powerful, all wonderful God (Joel 2:12-13; Isaiah 58). |
| 5. Fasting is the humbling of our soul. | We are more apt to fast when we realize that we cannot do this life without the power of the Father. Fasting is admitting that I can’t do anything in my own strength. We’re telling the Lord that we need His insight and wisdom, acknowledging that there are so many things to glean from Him when we step outside of ourselves. In your submission to His divine knowledge and authority, take time to ask God to reveal things to you about yourself that you need to be repentant of to move forward on the path that He has set before you. Ask Him, “what is my next step to get to where you’re taking me?” In acknowledging that you don’t have all of the answers but you’re doing what it takes to submit to the one who does, you are allowing God to grant you His supernatural knowledge. | David acknowledged that he was going through something that only God could fix. Psalm 35:13 (AMP) – But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth (mourning garment); I humbled by soul with fasting, And I prayed with my head bowed on my chest. When Daniel needed understanding of something that he could not comprehend on his own, he acknowledged his limitations and called in the power of the limitless God by fasting. |
| 6. Fasting is a pattern that has consistently birthed the same results from the nature of God’s faithfulness. | Our God is one of pattern. His instructions always yield the same tried and true results because of His faithfulness. Look at the Lord and His use of numbers throughout scripture, for example. The number 3, for example, is the Lord’s number of completion. We see that in the Holy Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – or in Jesus being raised on the third day. Jonah was in the fish for 3 days before his lesson was complete. Another example of God’s patterns can be seen in His use of analogies throughout scripture. Wherever you see water is a depiction of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Every single time. Likewise, very single time we see someone fasting with pure motives in the Bible, they receive healing, revelation, or deliverance. The same is true for us today. | After multiple failed attempts with many men killed, Judah finally won the battle against the tribe of Benjamin after fasting was added to their prayer regimen (Judges 20). Daniel fasted while seeking interpretation of visions and his request was honored (Daniel 1; Daniel 10). Esther fasted looking for God’s favor and favor was shown (Esther 4). Jesus fasted in the wilderness and received the power to resist the temptation of the devil (Matthew 4). |
| 7. Fasting puts the nature of the flesh under the authority of the spirit. | The appetite of the flesh caused the fall of man and continues to be the greatest temptation of the enemy that causes us to stumble and fall. When they lost dominion over the flesh, they lost dominion over the earth. Fasting is an act of forcing the flesh into submission by denying it of its earthly pleasures. Stop submitting yourself to the appetite of your body long enough to start submitting yourself to the will of God instead. True power, freedom, and authority are found when your appetite is connected to the will of God. If Christ is your Lord, meaning that you allow Him to be the true Commander of your life, you should be able to deny your flesh in able to draw closer to Him. | Jesus recognized the works of Satan in his own trusted disciple, Peter, causing him to tell Peter to flee from him. What was the evidence of the influence of Satan? Peter was operating under the command of the flesh, not the wisdom of the spirit (Matthew 16:23). Philippians 3:19 tells us being ruled by your appetite means that your stomach is your god and you are therefore headed for destruction. Don’t let your stomach be an idol. |
| 8. Fasting prepares us for good works. | Jesus went into a season of fasting in the wilderness before he started his ministry. This gave him the strength to complete the tasks that He was sent to this earth to complete as we see in His resisting Satan’s temptation and going on to heal the sick and spread the gospel. The heart of Jesus is to serve. To put ourselves in that mindset, we must submit our selfish, lustful, carnal human nature to the will of the Father by denying our flesh long enough to focus our attention on the desires of the Most High. | Ephesians 2:10 tells us that we were created for good works that God prepared beforehand. Fasting is the way that we clear our mind of all of the external noise to receive God’s direction. Jesus denies food from his disciples, stating that his food is to do the works of God (John 4:34). In other words, he is fulfilled by his calling and not whatever is in his stomach. |
Walking With, Like, and In Christ 
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