“Pastor, I cannot fast for too long, otherwise I’d begin to feel pain in my stomach. What can I do?”

Think about your question for a moment, is it really true? Is it really the pain that stops you from fasting or the fear of the pain?

I’ve taught you that a stronghold is a spirit that sponsors an habit or a thought till it becomes a system that runs your life. But to grant clarity to this question, I may need to go deeper into that popular scripture:

2 Corinthians 10:
4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds
5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

So verse 4 unveils an opposing spiritual entity called strong holds. And the exact word used to battle strong holds is to “pull down”. In other words, the surest way to battle strong holds is to pull them down. I know I’ve taught you how to use prayer against strongholds, but furthering my study on this subject, I’ve realized that praying against a stronghold alone may only give you temporal relief. Strong holds hardly die but fire. Which means warfare prayers alone may not destroy their hold on you. It may weaken them for a moment, but the struggle will continue.

Verse 5 continues by telling us both what it means to pull down strong holds and what a spirit of stronghold actually does. It says, “casting down imaginations…”. Let’s consider verse 5 from two other Bible translations:

2 Corinthians 10: (BBE)
5 Putting an end to reasonings, and every high thing which is lifted up against the knowledge of God, and causing every thought to come under the authority of Christ.

2 Corinthians 10: (NIV)
5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

So “imagination” in the King James version means argument or a reasonable idea that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. Think about it, it’s reasonable to avoid fasting if it affects your health, but we both know that it’s against the knowledge of God. And the more you give in to that reasoning, the stronger that spirit has a hold on you. If you continue like that, it won’t be long before you begin to advocate against fasting. You’d find yourself telling people not to fast because it causes sickness.

But that’s not true, a stronghold is at work in you. Strongholds are a category of spirits that hold people bound and keep them in perpetual bondage. And one of the ways they execute their assignment is to sponsor reasonable ideas or arguments that keep an individual bound.

Before a man becomes a drunkard, chances are that it began with a spirit of stronghold. That spirit kept telling you to drink to wipe away your sorrows. And truthfully, each time you drank, your sorrows were momentarily wiped away. As long as you find momentary freedom through drinking, that spirit will always give you reasons to go back to it or any other mundane thing that gives temporal ease. If only you know that God can both heal your heart brokenness and also restore all that you may have lost.

Some woman have put their hands in evil things just to ensure their husband isn’t seeing another woman. They were okay until this spirit began to minister arguments and reasonable ideas into their mind. And because women naturally process thoughts through their emotions, they act on the idea immediately – without filtering it by the word of God. Their husband may not even be cheating, but the marriage is on its way to destruction, only because of a spirit that wasn’t discerned. The annoying part is, even if she discovers that the husband isn’t cheating, that spirit will keep introducing new ideas. If she had no defense against the first, then more will come.

The only way to battle against strongholds is to cast it down by the word of God. Anything else may just give you temporal ease. So fast and pray, and if you feel pain, don’t agree with that thought, fasting is part of God’s program for believers. If Apostle Paul fasted often, then you should be able to fast often. If you feel pain while fasting, plead the blood of Jesus and receive your healing, don’t make an excuse for it, don’t exalt that negative reason.

Remember that the arguments may seem to have facts that support them, but they are not true. Think about what happened to Adam and Eve, Satan brought a reasonable argument before Eve, but holistically, it wasn’t true. The bible says our health will spring forth speedily when we fast, how is it possible that it’s the same fasting that now affects your health?

When it comes to battling strongholds, it’s who has the strongest argument that wins. So, just incase that spirit has taken over certain areas in your life, it’s time to fight back with the truth. I’m not saying you won’t feel pain, you will, but deal with pain with truth, not with facts or reasonings.

I hope this has brought deliverance to someone.

Remain ever blessed, in Jesus precious name!

#EmekaAnslem