KEY SCRIPTURE:2Co 11:2″7 KJV In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.”

In the above key scripture, apostle Paul reveals the difficulties, challenges and sacrifices that he had to go through or endure in order to be more effective in his service of the Lord or to maintain his faith against diverse oppositions.

He talked about hunger and fasting. Hunger is a moment when one wishes to eat, yet because there is no available food one stays hungry. fasting is rather the opposite. In fasting, food may be available yet one chooses not to eat in order to seek the face of God in prayer and the meditation on God’s word. Fasting is therefore a sacrifice in which one humbles his soul before God for a more effective service. We see throughout the scriptures that all the servants of God who were very effective in the hands of God fasted. Apostle Paul was greatly used by the Spirit of God in the demonstration of the power of GodAct 19:11 KJV “And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:”
He said in our key scripture that he fasted often.

In our previous study, we said God uses vessels that are dead to themselves. Remember God’s fire would come only if there is blood of sacrifice on the mercy seat. Fasting is a form of sacrificing or slaying one’s life for the Lord.

Now let’s consider some men and women of God who were powerfully used by the Lord in their days.

Charles G Finney was an American Presbyterian minister ( 1792-1875) ŵas mightily used by God. This man would fast for three days without food and water before visiting a city to preach there. Even before reaching the city a wave of conviction of sin and subsequent repentance would fall on the people. There were instances when people would be slain under the power of the Spirit even before he met them.

Evangelist T L Osborne after his failed .mission to India came back home to America and started seeking the Lord in days and weeks of fasting. The Lord Jesus appeared physically to him and mandated him to go and manifest God’s healing grace to his generation. He started holding mass meetings with great signs and wonders in over seventy nations across the globe.

Kathryn Kuhlman, a woman who dedicated herself unto the Lord was powerfully used by the Lord in diverse healing of all kinds of diseases. She made a comment to Dr Myles Munroe that it is all about fasting and prayer. This woman of God would be ministering and she would just levitate and be suspended in the air after some moments.

Evangelist A A Allen who encountered the resurrected Jesus in a time of fasting and prayer was told by the Lord that a servant is not greater than the master, and that to experience the ways of the master, the servant must go the way of the master. This man of God fasted forty days on the water without food on a number of occasions and was powerfully used by the Lord to deliver men from all kinds of medically incurable cases.

Apostle Joseph Babalola of Christ Apostolic Church in Nigeria fasted forty days on water on a number of occasions. There was an occasion when he had to stop praying directly for the sick because there were too many. He found a river, prayed over it, and everyone who was sick just had to enter or fetch some to drink, and they were all healed. There was an occasion in which he felt thirsty but could find no water body to get some He had to hit a rock with his palm like Moses did and water gashed out for him to drink.

There are countless men and women who are living in our times manifesting God’s great miracle power because they fasted RIGHTLY.

Please remember that it is not just the act of fasting and prayer that ushers one into God’s power but a decision to honour God with your life.

THOUGHT: IF YOU WOULD SEEK THE LORD, YOU WOULD ENCOUNTER HIM.

FURTHER STUDIES

Luk 4:14 KJV” And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.”

Mat 7:7 KJV Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: