Mike Bickle emphasizes the significance of fasting in the New Testament, presenting it as a normal part of the Christian life rather than a radical practice. He explains that fasting positions believers to receive more from the Holy Spirit and to cooperate in bringing change to their circumstances. Bickle highlights the dual nature of fasting, where it serves both as a means of expressing desperation for more of God and as a celebration of the relationship believers have with Him. He encourages the church to engage in fasting as a community, recognizing its role in preparing for revival amidst societal challenges. Ultimately, fasting is portrayed as a pathway to deeper intimacy with God and greater spiritual effectiveness.

Father, we come to you in the name of Jesus, and we ask you for grace and impartation. We ask you for living understanding. We ask you for inspiration in our heart, even now, that you'd glorify your Son, even in these next few moments. In the name of Jesus, amen. Well, we're starting a fast on Thursday as a spiritual family, and again, it's obviously voluntary for anybody to respond at any level that they want, but I'm using this opportunity to teach on fasting from the New Testament point of view. So we're going to look at a few biblical principles, just to bolster our understanding on this subject. Many of you have a lot of understanding and experience on this subject, and some of you, none whatsoever, and so I'm going to aim at both different groups today. Paragraph A, on the handout here, the Holy Spirit's preparing the church right now across the nations for the greatest revival and the greatest shaking ever seen in the history of the church. There's a revival that's going to go actually beyond what happened in the book of Acts, but there's a shaking that's emerging that will be more dramatic and severe than any time of history. They are both rising up together at the same time on the world stage. In our nation right now, as we're preparing this fast, of course, we're praying first for a greater move of the Holy Spirit in our nation, in our city and our nation, but also we're aware of the growing pressures in society. The shaking is increasing. The moral chaos that's in our nation. The family unit is under full attack. The economics are shaking individually and corporately across this nation and the nations of the world. The rise of Islam in America and all that goes with that. And there's also an increase of compromise in the church. And there's more and more of the good guys, I mean the guys that have been faithful for years, beginning to draw back on essential doctrines and truths of the faith. But at the same time, the Lord is raising up His church, calling more and more people to wholeheartedness and abandonment to the Lord. Now in the midst of this preparation and this even involvement with the Holy Spirit, in the revival that He's pouring out, but preparing to pour out in a greater way, is this subject of fasting. Fasting. With fasting, we respond to the grace of God in a more dramatic way, in a more wholehearted way. Now fasting positions us to receive more from the Holy Spirit. And fasting positions us to cooperate more in changing circumstances in history. That's what's going on with fasting. We receive more, our spirit becomes tenderized, but not only that, we cooperate with the Lord as agents of change, and we're used more by the Lord to bring change to our city and our nation, etc. I have here written that we have a book called The Rewards of Fasting, it's on our website, and you can get it for free electronically if you're brand new to the subject. It's a short book, a hundred pages or so, and it gives a quick overview of what's going on in, I mean what the scripture says about fasting, so I just want to give you that as an FYI. You can get a hard copy in the bookstore if you want, but you can get a free copy electronically, because we want everybody to have a basic understanding of what fasting's about. Now we're looking at a passage that's not on the notes here, from Mark chapter 4, verse 25, and it's this tremendous statement that Jesus made. It's one of the foundational kingdom principles, and here's what he says very simply, For whoever has, to him, more will be given. Very simple statement, but a very dynamic statement with great significance and implications. Let me say it again, he makes a statement, a promise, but he's really also giving us a biblical principle of how the kingdom operates. Whoever has, he's talking about anybody in the kingdom, to whatever measure you have, know this, the Lord desires to give you more, if you respond. And praying and fasting, when we do that, there is more activity of the Holy Spirit that happens in our life, and in our circumstances, in our ministry. I'll say that again, when people pray and fast, there is an increase of Holy Spirit activity. That's a fact. It's a fact of history, it's a fact that is verified in the Scripture, and many of us know that through personal experience. Now how it all works, we don't know all the details, but when God's people pray and fast, the Holy Spirit does more. Well let's look at Mark 4, verse 25 again. Jesus says, for whoever has, doesn't matter who you are, whatever measure you have, know this, I have plans to give you more if you cooperate, and if you respond, and if you're hungry for more. If you're content with what you have, that will be the ceiling. But if you are cooperating and responding to me, I will give you more, that is the plan. But he requires responsiveness, he requires hunger. Now when the Lord gives us, at whatever measure he gives us, his desire is that what we receive stirs our desire for more. So he gives us a little bit, and it's to awaken a bigger vision, a bigger desire for more, but we have to go step by step with him on the journey. The issue is not us convincing God, oh God, give us more, it's the opposite. Jesus is wanting to convince us, I have more to give you, I want to give you more, I want to convince you, but I will give it to you on my terms, that's the key. It's on God's terms. Now the Lord's terms are, I'll give you a few of his terms, is that usually when the Lord gives to us, he gives to us, I mean when he gives increase to us, it's in baby steps. It's in little small measures of increase and growth. Now we like the big and the dramatic things. We don't like growing a little bit in understanding, a little bit more in love, a little bit more in prayer. We want massive, dramatic, giant step increases, and he does give those. But the rule of the kingdom is, he gives baby steps, and that offends many people. They don't like that. They go, when you're ready for the big stuff, I'm ready, and the Lord says no, I will give you more, but on my terms, in my terms I give little increments, little measures of increase. And when we're doing the praying and the fasting and other things, often we don't feel much while we're doing it. And that's another thing that bothers us. We would rather feel a lot while we're doing it, and then get big increase. Lord says, typically you won't feel that much, and the increase will be small, but I will give you increase after increase after increase, and it will be a journey that will go on your entire spiritual life. But you have to stay faithful, and we have to be responsive. We have to hunger. We can't say, I'm going to wait for the big stuff, and when you give me the big stuff, I'm in the game, because then you'll miss the big stuff and the little stuff. We have to do it on his terms. Because when we stop reaching for more, in that little by little way the kingdom operates, the Lord stops giving to us. Now everybody wants more, but they want more often on their terms. They want big steps, they want to feel a lot, and they don't want to do that much in their responsiveness. And the Lord's just opposite. I'll give you little things, you won't feel that much, and you've got to respond over and over and over again to me. And that's a little bit of what we're doing here in fasting and praying. Now it's important that when we measure the increase of what God gives us, that we measure it in years, or we measure it by the years, not by weeks or months. And what I mean by that is, some people, meaning myself in my early years in the Lord, I would pray and fast, or I would pray for the sick, or I would read my Bible, or whatever kind of outreach. And I wouldn't see much, I wouldn't feel much, and I wouldn't see much increase. You know, I'd go on maybe even a long-term fast, you know, some days or longer, and I would look back and measure it by the weeks, and I'd go, I didn't change that much. Even by the months, you know, a year later, I didn't change that much. But I have found out that when I measure my spiritual growth by decades in ten-year increments, I can see the increase clearly, when you have a little distance looking back at it. Now I wish I would have understood that in my younger days, because in my younger days, I measured by weeks and months, and I was often thinking, well, I guess it's not working for me. I must be doing something wrong. And the Lord's answer is, yeah, you're measuring in the wrong way. That's the only thing you're doing wrong. Because everything else you're doing right, I'm giving you little by little. You're not feeling very much, but you're reaching and you're responsive, and that's all I ask for. That's all I ask. And measure in decades, not in weeks and months. And I look back 40 years later of walking with the Lord, and I see tremendous growth, but when the growth was happening in that week or month or even that year time frame, I couldn't see it. So I want to encourage you as we approach regular fasting, you know, one day a week type thing, some more, some less, or when we have a corporate time of fasting, we don't want to get too into measuring in the immediate time frame. But rather we look back over the years and say, Lord, you have done a great work in our midst. Let's go to paragraph B, back to the notes. Fasting is a normal part of the Christian life. In Matthew 6, verse 17 and 18, Jesus said, When you fast, your Father who is in secret, He will reward you openly. Now Jesus didn't say if you fast, He says when you fast. He's implying by that statement it is a regular part of a disciple's life. He says, do it in secret. Now we're on a corporate fast together, so don't worry that if others know you're fasting, they're not that impressed, they're fasting too, nobody's impressed, it doesn't work that way. But it's important, one of the, a constant theme in the New Testament is this thing in secret, meaning don't draw attention to yourself. That's the point. Draw attention, be preoccupied with connecting with God, not with impressing people and having people look at you. He says in your fasting, don't try to create a reputation of your dedication. You know, in many ways in the kingdom, we can draw attention to ourself. And over and over in the New Testament, don't do that, and this is another example. But the Lord says He will reward us openly. Now He rewards us openly, there's three distinct ways that He rewards us openly. Some of the rewards are external, in our circumstances. That there's an increase of the favor and the blessing of God in circumstances. In our ministries, in finances, in favor and relationship, in various ways. Another dimension of the rewarded openly is internal. Our heart becomes tenderized, we grow in love, we grow in confidence with God. We have a new zeal for righteousness. We have a new understanding of the Word. We have a new agreement with God's heart. That's powerful, I mean that's the great miracle, that's the miracle of miracles, when it happens on the inside of us. But the third dimension of being rewarded openly, which is often overlooked, is that it's eternal as well. That because of fasting, it tenderizes our spirit, and we end up, if fasting is a regular part of our life, we end up making different decisions, better decisions, in terms of righteousness. Because we're more sensitive, we're more in tune. We're more in agreement, and that actually has eternal implications. And rewards in eternity will actually come from the decisions we make that are influenced by a fasted lifestyle in this age. So when Jesus says, the Father will reward you openly, don't only think this age, because this promise goes beyond this age. Well, some people think that fasting is radical Christianity. I've had different leaders, different ones I've talked to, and they think, you know, one particular conversation I'm remembering, the guy said, you guys are so radical. I said, we are? Why? He goes, I mean, you fast once a week. I go, no, no. He says, that's not so radical. That's just normal Christianity. Serving, tithing, blessing your enemies, humbling yourself, fasting, praying, serving, those are just works, those are normal Christianity 101 things. Those are not radical Christianity. He says, well, where I came from, no one ever talked about those things. And I said, well, that's another subject for another day. Maybe it wasn't Christianity. He goes, whoa, whoa. Anyway, we'll talk about that later. But fasting is normal Christianity. I mean, it's Bible, it's New Testament, it's part of our everyday life. So if that's new to you, you think, oh, no, I'm not good at that. Well, good, look at paragraph D. This is just for you. I'm not good at it. Just so you know, nobody's good at it naturally. It takes grace. And I encourage you to ask God for grace for fasting. I ask the Lord for grace for one-day fasts. I don't look at my history. I've done a bit of fasting over the last 40 years. And I don't look at my history and say, wow, I've done certain amounts, so, you know, this one-day fast is nothing. I mean, every time on Tuesday is a staff fast day. I go, Lord, on Monday, I go, I need help tomorrow. And on Tuesday, I ask Him several times throughout the day. And I think that some people don't think to ask for help. And I would urge you to make that a regular part of your dialogue with the Lord. Well, we're going on an extended fast. We don't do these very often. But it's a real privilege to have a community of believers that feel grace to go on this together. Because there's a kind of an added encouragement with a whole bunch of weak and broken people pressing in together. I mean, I appreciate being a part of a community of believers that actually says yes to this. Because it certainly helps me as an individual when you say yes. I know a lot of believers, I've talked to them, they go, I've never been on a corporate fast with 100 people. I've never ever heard of such a thing. And that's not a put down to them. My point is that if you're a part of a community, whether here or another place, that actually sees the value of this, that is a blessing. That is something that you say, thank you, Lord. Because we can do more together than we can do alone. And that principle, of course, is true on many levels. Well, grace to fast, what does that mean, grace to fast? There's several wrong ideas. Some people think grace to fast means they'll never be hungry. They'll never be weak. They'll never feel oppressed. You know, I've talked to the guy and he goes, I don't have grace to fast. I go, how do you know? Why? How do you say that? Well, I'm hungry. I go, I'm always hungry when I fast. Oh, well, I'm weak too. I go, me too. Well, I feel so oppressed. Well, of course, your body's detoxing. The devil's attacking you. Your brain's dizzy. Yeah, you feel a little bit weird. Yeah, yeah, that's how it works. Well, I thought grace for fasting meant, you know, I just soared right through it. No hunger, full strength, alertness, feeling God face to face, glory to God. And then, you know, when it's all over, then I become Clark Kent again when the fast is over. No, there's no Superman status in fasting. I find that when I fast, typically during the fast itself, I feel more oppressed. I feel less, again, your body's detoxing, your brain's tired. But I find that typically, this is not always true, that the tenderness comes after the fast, not during the fast. Now, I wish somebody would have told me that in my early days. Because I thought I was fully backsliding. You know, here I am on day three, four, five, seven on a fast. I think something went wrong. And the truth is, that's how it really is. So what does grace to fast mean? It means that your resolve to continue is greater than your desire to quit. That's when you have grace for fasting. I always want to quit when I fast. I've never been on a fast ever where I did not want to quit. But I have a resolve to continue that's greater than the desire to quit. That's grace for fasting. It's a sustaining of your desire to keep going. It's not about not having hunger, not about not having weakness, and not about ever feeling the spiritual dullness in the midst of it. Those are very normal things that go along with fasting. Paragraph E, some fast with the wrong spirit. They're trying to earn God's favor. They're trying to get attention from other people to show how dedicated they are. And that will mess you up. You don't want to go in that direction. We don't fast to receive God's favor. We fast because we already have it freely because of Jesus. Paragraph F, throughout history, most if not all of the prominent revivalists, the people that God used to bring revival through the Holy Spirit, would bring revival through their labors to a whole geographic area, they were, almost all of them, I don't know of an exception, they fasted regularly and they taught on fasting as a normal practice in the kingdom. Guys like John Wesley and Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards and David Brainerd and Charles Finney and John G. Lake, people like this. Marie Woodworth Eder, Amy Simple McPherson, some of these mighty women that were used in miracles and revivals, they were committed to fasting and they taught on fasting. Matter of fact, John Wesley, it's in the 1700s, the founder of the Methodist church, he fasted two days a week and he insisted on all of his young preachers following that example with him. He insisted on it. Now, we don't insist on anybody fasting one day a week, let alone two, but John Wesley insisted on it. He said, you can't be on my team, so to speak. And he had thousands of young preachers, circuit riders, they would ride their horses town to town and preach the gospel. He unashamedly proclaimed it, he saw the value of it. Romans 2, some practical details for the fast that's coming up, this 21-day fast. Paragraph A, well, begins this Thursday at one minute after midnight on Thursday night, in other words, early Thursday morning. And it goes for three weeks until Wednesday at 6 p.m. We're inviting everybody to join, not just IHOP staff, but many people that feel a connection to this spiritual family, they're a part of other spiritual families and other ministries. We invite you to join with us, many through the web stream, I've already received quite a few responses of people from different nations, saying, hey, we're in this with you. How are we going to fast? Well, the way that the Lord leads you. There's many different ways to fast. The most intensive way to fast is a water fast, where you only drink water and coffee. And so, that's kind of the new modern versions. I think they put in parentheses, and coffee. No, I'm kidding. But that's not the only way to fast. I think here's what you want to do. If you want to participate in this, ask the Lord, what is the most intense way you can do it according to your strength, your life circumstances, and other issues? And respond at the level that He gives you strength to respond. And many will do this on water throughout this fast, and others will do juices, and others will do liquids, and others will do Daniel fast, and all different kinds of ways. And again, we ask people not to ask one another, not to compare yourself, not to tell people. Just say, you know what, I don't want to go there. Kind of a house rule is, don't ask people about it. And if they do, blame it on me. Say, Mike doesn't want us to tell. It's kind of a dumb rule, but I'll just honor it. And so, we just want all the comparing, and the judging, and the who did it, and who should have done it, and who exaggerated it. We want all that out the window. We don't want all that confusing, what's going on here. Paragraph B, we're going to have two corporate times, on Friday and Saturday night, where the whole community gathers, not everybody, of course, in this building. And we're going to say what the leadership believes the Lord is speaking to us throughout the week. We're going to have several different leadership meetings at different levels throughout the week. And I'm asking, you know, what's the Lord speaking? Dreams, visions, current ones, and past ones. And on Friday and Saturday night, we'll share some of them, as well as I will share some of the prophetic history from the early 80s, and some things that God said years ago about what's happening in these days, or what's beginning to happen. And then on Sunday, we'll share kind of the best of what was shared on Friday and Saturday night. So, some of you can't make it on Friday and Saturday, which is understandable. And so, you'll come on Sunday, and I'll give you what I consider, as others will be sharing as well, some of the main things that we believe the Lord highlighted. Now, we have a conference. We have a prayer and prophetic conference that's happening right in the middle of this fast, that happens on a Friday and Saturday. And, you know, we planned it a year ago, and so we've got to have it. So, that Friday and Saturday night, we won't have those normal rallying times for our whole community. But that Sunday morning after the conference, we'll do that sharing time there on Sunday morning. And we'll talk more about that next week. Case C, what? What are we doing? Well, many of our leaders, not all of them, but most of them, we have 85 different departments at IHOP, and most of the department leadership team, they have agreed, they said, we want to be for 21 days in the prayer room, six hours minimum, meaning it's more than we normally are. Because if you're going to go through the rigors of fasting, you want to put that bullseye on your heart, meaning, I say that kind of as just a word picture, and you're saying, Holy Spirit, touch me. I want my heart to be touched above and beyond what the normal way is. And if you're going to go through the rigors of fasting, spend more time talking to Jesus with your Bible open, and so be in the prayer room more. So, for these 21 days, our leadership team, most of our department heads and division heads are going to be in the prayer room for six hours minimum, and I would encourage even more. I mean, again, if you're going to do the fasting, you might as well get the benefit. Because to fast without praying is really dieting. Dieting's good, but there's better ways to diet than that. So, let's go all the way, and the reason I'm saying this about the leadership team, just to kind of let you know, so that if your leader is not available, and a little bit tired, and a little bit like, you know, cutting some things out, have an understanding as to what they're doing. And we're asking all of our departments to do less. Everybody do less, except for the shuttles. We've got to keep the shuttles going, and we've got to keep CEC going, and the accounting department, and the maintenance department, and, well, there's a few more things, too. We've got to keep the plumbing, who wants to keep the plumbing going? Okay, maintenance team, accounting, you keep going, too. So, there's others as well, but most of the departments are going to draw back, and we're going to be there in the room together. Top of page two, Roman numeral three, the purposes of fasting. In paragraph A, I give you eight different purposes. You can read that on your own. It's from Isaiah 58, which is the most concise and comprehensive statement in the Bible on the subject of why we fast, of what the goals of fasting. So, those eight are the classics, and you can read those on your own. Paragraph B, a review from the last session that we did on this. Daniel set his heart, he set his face, he set his heart, that's the same thing, to seek the Lord with fasting, prayer. I want to encourage you to be intentional about this, to not be casual. If you're casual, like, well, I'll see how it goes, you know, day one, two, three, and if it goes good, I'll do day four, and I'll kind of play it by ear. That's not a good way to approach a fast. Regardless at what level of intensity you fast, try to get a sense of it before you start, and stick with it. And if you come up short, and you don't hold to that which you've set your heart on, well then, sign back up, and if you blow it, then just sign back up, and jump right back into the thing that you committed to. Don't worry about it, don't be condemned, don't make a big deal out of it, don't confess it to everyone, just jump right back in, and continue the fast in the way that you set your heart originally to do it. Now, the reason I say you don't want to be casual, because if you're casual, you know, about it, like, I don't know, see how it goes, well, day one, you know, you'll get hungry, I think I better eat, I'm hungry. Day two, you'll get weak, well, I think I better eat, I don't feel so good. Day three, people will call you and say, hey, let's get together and go out and do this and that, well, you know, I'm hungry, I'm tired, and people want me, so, I guess I'm not fasting this time. No, you don't want to approach it that way. I assure you, you will get more people calling, and more offers for things, because the enemy wants to make sure that you don't do this. And again, everybody will do it at a different level, and we give grace to that, but set your heart as the point. Paragraph C, Daniel said that when he would fast and pray, he would confess his sin. Now, this is a premier time, I mean, an extended fast, to settle some issues that you and the Lord know they need to be settled. Many believers have one or two issues, they've already agreed. Lord, I agree, I'm going to obey on that issue, and I'm going to settle it. But it's been months that you've been agreeing that one day you're going to settle it. A fast time is a time to burn the bridge, to settle issues, and there's a grace, and I want to encourage you, settle it in this two or three, this three-week period. Just that issue that some is about time, some is about money, some is about attitude, some is about our words, some is about things that we do with our bodies, just settle the issues, break free of those things and say, this is a time I'm going to press in. D, we fast for the fulfillment of God's promises, we fast and pray. Again, prayer always goes with fasting, because fasting without prayer is dieting. Dieting, again, is good, but you want to do dieting well. You don't lose weight by fasting. Those of you that haven't fasted much, that will be disappointing. You lose weight for a week or two or three, whatever. Your metabolism slows down and you end up gaining weight. Three months later, you're five pounds heavier than you were. You go, what was that all about? I thought I went on a fast. No, you just messed with your metabolism. So don't look at a fast as a way to do some dieting. That really doesn't work. I've done a lot of fasts over the years, and if you don't watch it, you actually gain a pound more a month later. How many of you know what I'm talking about? You don't have to put those hands up. So don't look at this as, ah, a great dieting time. No, make this a spiritual engagement, because the dieting thing will disappoint you if that's what you're into, because a fast is not the way. It really isn't a way to lose weight. The way you lose weight is exercise, proper diet in smart ways. But as you're doing this time of fasting, there are promises, paragraph D, that God has given you as an individual. He's given you as a family. He's given us as a spiritual family. But here's the way God's promises work. He promises to bless us. He promises to use us, and various promises like that. God's prophetic promises are invitations. They aren't guarantees. The Lord says through an impression that when you're reading the Word, He'll give you a sense of a promise, or maybe a person will speak it, or maybe a prophetic dream. He's going to use you in a certain way. That's not a guarantee. It's an invitation that if you respond to the Lord, then it is a guarantee. But it's based on responding in a continual way. And so fasting and praying is a part of that. And again, fasting, you always want to put praying together with fasting. So we want to actively seek the Lord for the promises. We want to participate with them. And one fast doesn't release all your promises, but it's over a lifetime. It's over years of responding to the Lord, prayer fasting, and other ways as well. In humility and servanthood with our finances, we respond to the Lord in many ways that go together with the promises being fulfilled in our life. I gave an example of Daniel and Cornelius, how they fasted and prayed. And Cornelius' whole family was saved in the wake of this. Paragraph E, there's a fast-to-stop personal crisis or national crisis. And that's a bit of what we have in focus. There's an economic crisis. There's an emerging crisis of Islam. There's a moral chaos happening in our family, I mean, in our nation. There is a family problems happening as the enemy's attacking the family unit. And there's crisis everywhere. And fasting does position us to release the favor and the power of God to avert a crisis, to stop it altogether or to minimize it. I give you a couple examples here in paragraph E on the notes from Hannah to Joel to Jonah. So you can read those on your own. Those were ones that fasted and prayed. And the crisis, the desperate situation was turned around as the Lord answered them. Paragraph F, there's a fasting for a greater release of power. And we're praying for power in our ministry individually as a spiritual family for more healing, healing for individuals that are sick, healing for family members. Most of us in this room, we have a family member that needs a breakthrough of the Lord in their life or their heart. Maybe they're not walking with the Lord. This is a great time to lock in for 21 days and really focus on praying for God to visit that family member. Well, we want healing in our nation as well. And in the nations, there's an international crisis. And what's happening in Israel and the Middle East is going to shake many, many things in the world. This is an hour beyond any time in history, I believe, for prayer and fasting. I mean, I'm talking about not just this year. I'm talking about these decades that are following. What a critical time for outpouring of the Holy Spirit and to avert crisis through prayer and fasting. Well, the famous Bible passage in Matthew 17 about the relationship of fasting and prayer to greater release of power. That the disciples who had raised the dead, they had healed the sick, blind eyes had opened, paralytics had walked, but they prayed for this young man who had epilepsy. And now, not all epilepsy is related to a demon, but in this case, there was a demon involved in the epilepsy. And you can read the whole account in Matthew 17 in your Bible. I just give an abbreviated version here in the notes. And the disciples prayed for this young boy. He was throwing himself in the fire and damaging himself, and there was no success. So, verse 15, the father comes to Jesus and says, what's the deal? My son's an epileptic. I brought him to your disciples. I mean, they've been raising the dead. What's the deal? Why can't they heal my son? I don't get it. They can't cure him. And verse 18, which I don't have here, Jesus cast the demon out. And then the disciples in verse 19 said, why couldn't we cast that demon out? And then Jesus gives a surprising answer. Verse 21, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting. Like, what? I mean, are there demons that don't go out except prayer and fasting is a part of the spiritual warfare? Yes, the answer is yes. Now, spiritual, I mean, fasting and prayer does not earn us spiritual authority. We don't earn power over a demon. The power over the demon has been fully given to us as a free gift by Jesus' death and resurrection. He defeated Satan on the cross. He triumphed over him on the cross. So we're not earning it. The authority that Jesus has over demons is clear in its total. Well, then why do we pray and fast if we already have the authority? Because praying and fasting, I don't, I'm not claiming this is the whole answer, but I believe it's part of the answer. Praying and fasting, it tenderizes our spirit, and we have far greater revelation and far greater faith. In the context of prayer and fasting, our faith is far stronger. Our agreement with God, which is the same thing as faith, our agreement with God is far clearer and stronger. And by operating in stronger faith, we have authority over, or what happens is when we pray, that demon comes out. Our faith is stronger. Our fasting and prayer doesn't earn us authority, but it positions us in a place where we operate in more agreement with the Holy Spirit, and therefore, there's greater manifestation of power. I believe that's one of the main points Jesus was making here. But we can get that greater faith for our family members. We can get that greater faith for our nation, and fasting and prayer positions us to grow in faith. Paragraph G, an open heaven. There's an increased release of angelic activity related to fasting and prayer, personally or for national issues. Daniel is the main example of this in the Old Testament. We looked at this in the last session, where Daniel fasted and prayed, and on several occasions, angels appeared. There's an increase of angelic activity. Angels appeared that would not have come if he would not have fasted and prayed. That's the miracle or the glory of it. The angel said, we came because you cried out in fasting and prayer. That's why we're here. The clear message is, if you would not have fasted and prayed, we would not be here. More angelic activity happens when God's people fast and pray, and we're believing God for that. Top of page 3. Paragraph H. Another thing we're fasting for is for more direction, supernatural direction. We all need more direction for our personal life, for our families, for our marketplace assignment. We need more direction for what's happening in our nation, what's happening in our mission base. And the Lord gives us some direction, but He has much more to give all of us. He has much more information than He wants to give all of us. But He goes, I'll only give it to you on the basis you're hungry for it. Not an occasional, hey Lord, bail me out, tell me what's going on. But a real focused, sustained seeking for understanding of God's will. He goes, if you really care, I'll give it to you. Not a casual prayer, hey, tip me off. But a sustained prayer, and fasting goes along with this in the New Testament. Paragraph I, there's grace to understand. Not just God's will, like in paragraph H, we're now in paragraph I. But to understand God, His Word, His end time purposes. I mean, they're written in the Bible, but most people read them and go, I can't make any sense of this. Well, when the angel visited Daniel, we have it right here in Daniel chapter 10. He's praying and fasting for 21 days. In Daniel chapter 10, verse 12, the angel says, your words, your prayers were heard in heaven. I have come because of your words. What an amazing statement. Here's this mighty angel, he goes, I'm here because you prayed and fasted. And not only have I come, I'm also going to give you understanding of what's going to happen. You're going to have supernatural understanding. The next passage here in Daniel 9, Gabriel appears in Daniel 9. It's a different encounter than Daniel 10, a very different experience, two years apart. In Daniel chapter 9, the angel Gabriel says, I've come forth to give you skill to understand. There's an anointing. There's a supernatural ability to understand what's already written in the Bible. I want to understand God's heart. I want to understand his word. And I want to understand 150 chapters in the Bible of which the premier subject, the primary subject, is the end times. 150 chapters. Most of the church is mostly illiterate of these 150 chapters. And when they read them, they're kind of like, I don't get it. And the Lord says, why don't you ask me about them? I'll give you skill to understand if you care. I'll give you more understanding of my heart. And fasting and prayer is a part of that. Let's go to Roman numeral 4. Now this is the, I'll just spend a moment on this, and this is my main point here, is the subject of the bridegroom fast. Now this is a new type of fasting that's not in the Old Testament. This is a type of fasting that Jesus himself introduced in the New Testament. It's a fasting out of desire to connect with God's heart. It's a fast of desire. It's motivated by desire for intimacy. It's not motivated to have more power in ministry, which that is biblical. It's not crying out for new direction. That's biblical. It's not fasting to avert a crisis. That's biblical. All of those types of fasting are biblical. They're in the Old Testament, and they're upheld in the New Testament. They are part of the new covenant to fast in those ways. But Jesus introduced an entirely new perspective, a new paradigm of fasting. I call it the bridegroom fast. That's not the official name. There isn't an official name. But he introduces it in a conversation with John the Baptist's disciples here in Matthew chapter 9, verse 14 and 15. The, verse 14, Matthew 9, verse 14, the disciples of John, they are perplexed. They came to Jesus, and they're confused, legitimately confused. They said, why do we and the Pharisees fast regularly, often? And the record shows that they fasted twice a week. But your guys don't fast at all, never. Because we fast and pray. You guys eat and talk. They go, we're confused. John the Baptist is this holy, radical man. He taught us well. He told us you're amazing. How come you don't teach your guys to be dedicated to God? I can see Jesus smiling, enjoying this. Because they're challenging Jesus' ability to call people to dedication, His willingness. You know, they're saying, you don't really have a good discipleship philosophy. Your guys eat and talk. Our guys fast and pray. You guys seem to play a lot, but you've got miracles. We don't get it. We're totally confused. And again, I can imagine Jesus smiling. They're not understanding He is God in the flesh, standing in front of them. But I think He likes this. He goes, you know, I love your zeal. I love that you care that the disciples of the kingdom would be wholehearted for God. That's good. But in verse 15, as is typical of Jesus, He answers a question with a question. Now, in the flesh, I don't like that. I ask the Lord a question. He asked me a question. I go, don't ask me a question. I'm asking you a question. And by doing that, the Lord's in essence saying, no, I'm giving you the question you need to be asking. Okay, I'll ask you a question, but will you answer that first one? Many times, no answer at all. Like, oh, wrong question again. But anyway, I've noticed that about Him. He's asked a question all through the Gospels. He answers with a question. And it's a very strange question. Very perplexing. This perplexed the disciples of John more than even the fact that Jesus didn't teach on fasting. This really throws them off. They go, what are you talking about? But not only are the disciples of John thrown off, the 12 apostles are thrown off. That's my opinion. It doesn't say they are, but I think they are. Jesus says, okay, here's my answer why my guys don't fast. Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The disciples of John said, what? No, no, we're not talking about bridegroom. Friend of the bridegroom is like the best man at the wedding. And the 12 apostles, Jesus is naming them friends of the bridegroom like the best man at the wedding. They're the one that helped the bride to receive the bridegroom. And Jesus is calling Himself a bridegroom, and He's calling His apostles like, you know, in that role of the best man at the wedding. Everybody's confused. I can imagine that the disciples of John going, of John the Baptist are going, no, no. We're asking about fasting and prayer. You're talking about being married or dating or something. We don't know what you're even talking about. What do you mean? Then the apostles look, and Jesus, they haven't been with Him very long. We thought you were single. Well, aren't you from Nazareth? Aren't you single? Are you married? Well, yeah, I am sort of. And I'm not, I am from Nazareth, but really I'm from eternity. And I am married. Well, what's her name? She is you. I'm married to you guys. You just guys don't get it. You'll see it down the road. I mean, this is throwing up. The apostles are going, you're married? When? John the Baptist's disciples are going, why did you change the subject? We want to know about fasting. And I just see so much perplexity going on in this conversation. Well, Jesus is connecting mourning for the bridegroom with fasting. That connection is the strategic connection that makes this passage make sense. So Jesus is saying, yes, I am a bridegroom. You're right. But I am God in the flesh with deep desire for my people. That's who I am. I'm a bridegroom God. I'm God in the flesh. And when God is in the flesh, walking with his people, communicating his desire, looking in their eyes, showing his zeal, and the radiance of who he is, exhilarating their heart, they don't need to fast to encounter more of God. I'm with them. I'm next to them. They feel love. They feel close to me. They don't need to mourn for God. I'm here. Don't mourn. And they're all going, wow, that's intense. He goes, that's why they don't fast. You only fast in this regard to touch God more. I'm with them. The reason they're eating and talking, they're celebrating. I love them. I'm God. I'm near them. I mean, it's amazing what they're experiencing, and they love it. But then Jesus really throws off his disciples, his 12 apostles, but the days are coming when the bridegroom will be taken away, and they'll fast. The apostles are going, you're going to be taken away? They don't know he means by death. He's talking about his death on the cross. I'm going to be taken away, and then I'm going to give you the Holy Spirit, and then you're going to fast, and then you'll touch me. That's what he's saying. But the apostles are going, you're going to be taken away? Like, are you and the girl moving somewhere? Where are you going, bridegroom? He goes, no, you'll see. You'll see, because when I'm taken away in death, he explains it to them later, then you will long for that nearness that you've experienced, that joy of walking with me for three and a half years. You'll long for it. You'll say, oh, for that nearness, that feeling of him looking in our eyes, the love that he had, the closeness to him. And you're going to be surprised, because when you fast, the Holy Spirit will communicate that same nearness of my heart to you, and you will feel loved again. You'll feel my beauty. You'll understand my heart. And the more you fast, the more you will encounter me. And there's a limit on that. Some people take that to weird extremes. I mean within the context of the biblical testimony. Fasting will position you to experience more and experience deeper and faster the heart of the bridegroom. The desire of God, you will feel his desire for you. Now there's a tremendous paradox, because Jesus says in that day you'll fast, or he could have said in that day they will mourn for me. They will mourn for the good old days of nearness. But the good news is the Holy Spirit will bring those days of nearness back to them when they fast. And not that only when they fast, but with fasting as a regular part of their life, that nearness of his heart of the good old days will be restored to them. So, in the grace of God, do we mourn or do we rejoice? I mean are we grateful or are we desperate? Which is it? I mean do we approach this fasting, Oh, I just mourned so much I want more. Or do we approach this fast going, Jesus, we believe your word. You are near us, thank you. Are we grateful or are we desperate? And the answer is both. It's a paradox in the grace of God. We are grateful for what we have. We say thank you, thank you, thank you, but we're desperate for more. So we rejoice for what we've experienced, but we know there's more. And the vision that there's more, it causes pain in our heart. We can't live without more. Oh, but we're thankful for what we have. Oh, but we have to have more. It's this kind of tearing, wrenching of the heart. See, some people are desperate and not grateful. They pray and fast. I know different groups like this. They pray and fast. They're desperate for more. Oh, what's happening today is nothing. There's no power. There's no sense of doing anything. We're not going to fast and pray for more, and we're not going to do anything until then. They're desperate, but they're not grateful in the present tense. And they're missing it. They're missing the work of God right in front of them, even though it's little, but it's real and it's important. Other groups, not so many, but other groups, I know a few, they're grateful. It's the opposite, but they're not desperate. They have a revelation of what's in front of them. The little dimensions of power, they love it. They go, this is fantastic. That's a good attitude. But they think this is as good as it gets. I've heard different leaders say that. This is as good as it gets. They're filled with gratitude, but they're not desperate. The Lord says, oh, no, I have so much more to give you. So what is it? Do we mourn for the bridegroom with fasting, or do we rejoice by faith for what he's given us? The answer is both. It's a paradox. Paragraph E. We do not fast to motivate God. In the bridegroom fast, we're not motivating God to pay attention to us. We fast because he already is paying attention, and we want to feel it more. We want to experience it more. We're not fasting that it would be true. We're fasting because we want to experience more of it. It's a fast not to move God's heart. It's a fast to move our heart. And that's why we have this monthly bridegroom fast, and I don't know that everybody is engaged in it with this kind of mindset, but we want to come before the Lord, and we know that fasting causes our spirit to be tenderized so we can feel more, we can receive more. We want a breakthrough in our heart. Top of page 4. Paragraph H. The bridegroom fast is centered on the subject of desire. It's us experiencing God's desire, and the Spirit awakening our desire. The bridegroom fast is about desire being experienced and enlarged. Beloved, I refuse to accept the current state of where I'm at. I'm grateful for what God's done in my heart over the years. I am so grateful, and I thank you for it. But I am desperate for more. I refuse to accept the level that I'm at right now. I want more desire. I want to feel more. I mean, there's an ocean of desire. I mean, an ocean of love. It's this burning desire. I want more of it. I want to feel it from God, and I want to feel it back to God. Paragraph I. Fasting positions us to be expanded in our spiritual capacity. Fasting is like a catalyst. We don't earn anything, but we position ourselves to receive more, to receive it faster. Do you want to receive more of the love of God? You want to receive it faster, and in bigger measures, throw fasting into your prayer time. You know, different seasons of my life over the years, I've had the grace of fasting where I had a real desire to fast more, and then other seasons less. But I'll tell you one thing. As I look back over the years, I refuse to live without the grace of fasting in my life. Because when the grace of fasting is not there, and I can get it more by asking for it, then I fast less, and my spirit's not near as vibrant. I love a vibrant spirit. I am so excited about living alive on the inside in my spirit. Exhilarated with God. And when I fast, that exhilaration goes up. Oh, I love that. I don't ever want to live without a grace of fasting, although it ebbs and flows in different measures. But I ask for it regularly, all the time. I mean, for some years. I wouldn't say daily, but real regularly. Lord, increase my grace for fasting, because I know the vibrant spirit that comes from adding fasting to seeking God's face. Paragraph L. Five rewards of the Bridegroom Fast. And again, on this book, the rewards of fasting that we have on the internet, again, you can get it for free, electronic copy. I break these down in details. They're pretty self-evident. Tenderizing our heart, changing our desires, increasing our understanding, etc. Let's end with this. Paragraph M and N. Two qualifiers. The final two paragraphs. The first qualifier is, I mean, it should be self-evident, but there's always a few people who don't understand it, so it needs to be said. Fasting is always voluntary. Always. You know, one person asked me, Is fasting mandatory if we join the staff? I go, No! No! Fasting can never be mandatory. We don't lock you in a room and say, Fast! Well, I don't know. No, no, we can't make you love God. We can't make you fast. We can't make you be humble. We don't want to. We want to motivate you to where you do it. Fasting is always voluntary. That should be self-evident, but it needs to be said anyway. No, you don't have to fast and be in our staff. You don't have to love God with all of your heart, but it's a privilege if you want to. It's within your reach in the grace of God. And then paragraph N, the second qualifier is, The level which a person engages in fasting should be determined by their age and by physical limitations. There's physical disabilities. There's physical illnesses. There's even stations in life. You know, I think of the mother at home with all the children, and she's going like, How am I going to make this work? And the answer might be, You shouldn't do it like you did before. You ought to do a different scaled-down version of it. You have circumstances where it's not really practical for you to do it. There's people with eating disorders. And those kind of situations of illnesses, disabilities, always and only fast under the supervision of a doctor. We've talked about that at other times, so I won't develop that. Minors, we encourage them not to fast. We say discourage, but more than that, we strongly urge parents, Don't have your young ones fast. If they want to participate, which is natural, have them trade in the cookie for broccoli. You know, like, Boy, we're on this fast. We haven't had a cookie for like 14 days, only 7 more days. You think you've got it bad? The hoods, they're eating liver. Like, Oh my goodness, you know. At least we get broccoli. They eat liver. Maybe you draw back on the cookies or something on the young ones, or some treat or whatever. There's little ways to do it without infringing upon the basic nourishment that's required for a minor to be healthy. But another thing to aim for is the fasting in other arenas. TV, movie, internet, social networking, entertainment, video games. That for the Lord, they're going to draw back on some of those things. And, you know, some different ages do these at different levels. And they're going to seek the Lord more. I don't mean hours and hours and hours, but they're going to read a couple of Psalms or something instead of playing that game. There's ways they can participate with us. And it's for real, and the Lord takes it very seriously. And we honor them in that. But we don't want them under this burden. And we want them to feel honored in the community, in their youth. So when they get older, they go, Oh yeah, I went back on that fast. I remember when I was 9, I did it all the way. I mean, no cookies, no video game. I went all the way and read two Psalms every day. I mean, straight through the thing. They'll tell the story. Maybe more than that. Who knows? Well, amen. Let's just end with that. Let's stand. Father, we thank you. I want to ask you to take a moment and ask the Lord, What would you have me do? Now, most of you have already determined. You've known about this for a few weeks, what you're going to do, what level. But I want us to have a setting of our heart right now. A setting of our heart. Lord, I want to do it at this level, whatever it is. Again, physical disabilities and illnesses, you take that into account. But you're saying, I am setting myself in as much as I can. So I just want the whole room, just for a moment, just to close your eyes. So we're not distracted. Let's just talk to the Lord. Say, Lord, this is what I want to do. Or maybe you don't know yet. And you say, Lord, what would you have me do? Before Thursday, give me a hint. Give me a sense. But this is a time to, if you have that sense, to declare it to the Lord. Just quietly in your heart. You're saying, Lord, this is what I'm going to do. I'm setting my heart, Lord. I'm setting my heart before you. Lord, I want to engage with you. I want to be a part of this thing. I want more direction. I want more clarity. I want to experience more power. But I want to feel your heart more. I want to love you more. Lord, I ask you to just release your grace in this room right now. Release your grace. I ask you on the moms, on those working in the marketplace, on the children, on the elderly. All the different categories. Release grace. That this would be a community endeavor together. We'd go on a journey according to the grace of God. Now, if you would like prayer, you're saying, you know, I need prayer this morning for grace. Now, we all need prayer. But you're saying, no, there's some physical things I'm thinking about or some circumstances or just, I don't know. You know, I'm just a little unsettled about this. But I want grace. I would just like a human being to pray with me. I want to invite you for whatever reason you would like grace to come and stand up here. Or if you are in a personal need, I mean, if you need personal prayer for any other subject, I invite you as well to come. To come and stand on these lines. Maybe you need prayer for healing, for a situation at home. Come and stand on these lines. Just go ahead and stand on those lines right down there. That's perfect. I'm going to ask the others in the room that you'd come and join. If you've had any grace on your life in the past for fasting, even once or twice, come and just pray for one or two people. I encourage you. Everyone. We don't need everybody, but I'm saying everyone that loves the Lord in this room. You're part of the ministry team. Come and just pray for two people. Take about 90 seconds a person. Two, three minutes. Pray for two people. When they come to pray for you, tell them if you have a specific need. I want to love you like you love me. My heart to burn within me. Release your grace. Jesus, mark our hearts. Jesus, mark our hearts. Jesus, set your seal upon my heart. Jesus, set your seal upon my heart. Jesus.