“Pastor, I’ve been fasting for months now for God to heal me, but nothing has happened yet. What could be wrong?”

You don’t fast for God to heal you, you fast to find the God that heals. Or better yet, you fast to find the Word for your healing.

I know that the Old Testament shows us episodes where individuals or a people fasted just so that God could show them mercy and compassion. The purpose for their fast was so that God would look upon them with compassion and turn away from the wrath or punishment He had determined to bring upon them. An example would be how God sent Jonah to Nineveh to warn them about the punishment He had planned to bring upon them because of their iniquity. When the people of Nineveh heard it, they immediately declared a fast – repenting of their sins. And we’re told that God forgave them.

They deprived themselves of pleasure until they were certain that God had forgiven them. That kind of fast was necessary because there was no way to know that you have been forgiven except a message is received from God. Think of Daniel, I’m sure he didn’t plan to fast for 21 days, but that’s how long it took for him to receive answers over the matter he was fasting about. After Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross, the subject of forgiveness had to be by faith. Don’t expect that God will send a prophet to confirm that He has forgiven you, you have to believe that He has forgiven you once you ask for forgiveness repentantly.

In the New Testament, a lot of things have been willed to us as sons of God, and healing, health and wholeness happens to be one of those things that were willed to us. When it comes to receiving the will of God, fasting for God to have compassion may be out of place, the right way to fast will be to access the revelation that establishes the will.

There are two scriptures that has always given me concern in the bible. Let me share them with you:

SCRIPTURE 1:

James 4:
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

So this scripture clearly reveals a level of authority that your submission to God and His word can bring to you. That authority is so great that once you resist the devil, he should flee from you. The bible didn’t say he will leave you alone, it says he will “flee”. In other words, he will run for his life.

So you can speak to the sickness in your body by the Word of the Lord, and it will run away from you, as though it was never there. That’s how to resist the devil, by the Word.

But the question is, what if he remains after resisting him by the Word?

SCRIPTURE 2:

1 Peter 5:
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour
9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

So in the first scripture, he appears as a regular devil that can be easily resisted, clearly because he has no stronghold on you. But in this second scripture, he appears as an adversary, one who has a legal hold on you. When the devil comes as an adversary, the matter is no longer between you and the devil, it’s now between you, the devil, and the courts of heaven.

In this case, a single resistance won’t make him flee, he has an on-going court case, so your initial resistance may not work. Actually, whenever you notice that the scriptures that used to deal with a certain matter no longer deals with that matter, then you should know that the devil has gotten a legal hold on you. What you’d need to do is what verse 9 says, “Resist him stedfast in the faith…”.

That’s right! Just because the sickness didn’t go after resisting it the first time doesn’t mean you should give up, no! Be steady in fighting back in faith. Continue fighting until you win.

This is why we fast, so that we can find scriptural reasons or revelation for our liberty. Whenever what we know isn’t working, it means there’s something we need to find. And just as the scripture says, when we have found it, there shall be a reward, and our expectation shall not be cut off.

As a New Testament believer, if all you’re doing while you fast is praying, then you may be wasting your energy. Your fasting should be to find the right word for your situation. Finding it may not be easy, but your liberty depends on it. You may have to spend money in buying books, burn the night candles in reading them, sometimes you may not even eat for days. It’s not about the fast, it’s about what you’re searching for.

As I conclude, your fasting does not really move God to act on your behalf, it only compels Him to grant you access to revelation. So if you’re not searching for revelation while you fast, what can God do for you?

I hope this has brought enlightenment to someone.

Remain ever blessed, in Jesus precious name!

#EmekaAnslem
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