Join us for 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting – January 2 through January 22nd.

Prayer together in the sanctuary Thursday evenings at 6:30 p.m. on  5th, 12th and 19th

“So we fasted and entreated God for this and He answered our prayer.” Ezra 8:23

FWC takes the first week of every  New Year to pray and fast together. This is a time to separate ourselves unto the Lord, to seek His face both in private times of prayer and coming together each evening for corporate times of prayer. It’s a time to stop other activities and focus on the Lord, to renew our focus and to seek His direction and purposes.

 The Hidden Power of Prayer and Fasting Together

The combination of prayer and fasting boosts the intensity of the prayer ten-fold and even one-hundred fold. It is a powerful tool, but we often pass it up and fail to see great victories that God wants to bring about in our lives.

“It will cost you if you want to know God. You will have to sign your own death certificate on the cross of obedience and in daily surrender of your life, your agenda and your priorities in prayer and fasting,” *(Mahesh Chavda). The closer we draw to Him the more we die, the more our flesh is put to death.  As we behold Him we are changed from glory to glory.

How to Fast

There are several ways to fast. The important thing is to ask the Lord what He wants you to do as one size does not fit all! He supplies grace for fasting and it is amazingly easy to fast when He is leading.

  1. The primary biblical method is to abstain from all food for a period of time, one meal, two meals, or all meals in a day, one day, two days, etc.  If you are embarking on a lengthy period of fasting it is wise to decaffeinate yourself a few days before the start so that you will not suffer a caffeine headache.
  2. Liquids only fast – involves drinking water and some juices as well as decaffeinated herbal teas.
  3. Daniel Fast – while various methods are written about, this basically limits intake to vegetables/fruit – based on the Book of Daniel where he refused the rich foods he was being offered.
  4. Giving up favorite foods, snacks, treats etc., especially if you have a medical condition and cannot give up all food.
  5. Helpful with all of the above types of fasting is a fast of all media, TV, radio, internet, etc. and hobbies that consume much of your time. Play worship music as much as possible. Spend time in prayer that would have been spent preparing food and in these other pass-times.

Corporate Prayer and Fasting

Corporate fasting is like a spiritual nuclear bomb in breaking down the enemy’s strongholds. There is great power in corporate prayer by itself, there is even greater power in times of corporate prayer and fasting.  That is why we have annual periods of prayer and fasting at FWC. We encourage everyone to participate as much as they are able to do so. Together we want to hear what God wants for us as individuals and for us a local expression of the greater Body of Christ.

Fasting is also very helpful with very difficult circumstances or when we feel we are hitting a wall in prayer. This is not pressuring God to act, but rather breaking strongholds in certain situations. Jesus spoke of this in Matthew 17:21 “This kind goes not out but by prayer and fasting.”

  1. Examples of seemingly “impossible” situations that are resistant to prayer: chronic drunkenness, alcoholism, homosexuality, drug addiction, witchcraft, occult involvement, suicide, depression, rebellion, lawlessness, certain diseases like HIV-Aid, cancer and mental illnesses, difficult relationship/marriage struggles.
  2. We can serve the Lord by fasting and praying for those He loves
  3. He can develop our inner life through our fasting
  4. Allows us to tap the power of the Holy Spirit – “facilitates the freer flow of the Holy Spirit through you by dissolving and removing all the junk in your life.” *
  5. The length of the fast not so important as it being led by Him.
  6. Fasting puts our flesh in its place, denies its many desires.
  7. Fasting is obedience to the Word, Matthew 6:16-17 speaks of not if you fast but when you fast.
  8. Fasting shows a desperation and determination for God.
  9. Demons cannot stay around while fasting, fasting welcomes the holy and repels the unholy.  This is important when ministering deliverance.

Some reasons to fast:

  1. To obey the Word of God.
  2. To humble ourselves and get grace and power.
  3. To overcome temptations that are hold us back from moving in power and walking and living in victory in Christ.
  4. To be purified from sin – in the process every nasty habit and irritation will come to the surface during times of fasting, to be destroyed in our lives!
  5. A choice for God and against our flesh – we become weak so He can become stronger in us.
  6. Releases the anointing to accomplish His will.
  7. In times of crisis, fasting draws us closer to God and more able to hear Him.
  8. When seeking God’s direction fasting can clear our heads to hear Him.

Mahesh Chavda says on page 105 of his book*, “Fasting releases a new level of anointing in our life and ministry. It is a discipline that tests, trains, and equips us to walk in power and authority strengthening and transforming our inner self to carry greater levels of his glory.”   We all need a time of seasoning before we minister and fasting can be an important part of our preparation.

* “The Hidden Power of Prayer and Fasting By Mahesh Chavda – some information was taken from this publication.