There is an interesting event in scripture mentioned in Matthew 17:14-21 (NASB)
14 When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic and is very ill; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him.” 17 And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not drive it out?” 20 And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. 21 [But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”]
Verse 21 is not in some of the earliest manuscripts but that is besides the point. Fasting is a demonstration and action concerning faith with the result of moving mountains of opposition to the plan of God.
The scripture also shows that the early church spent much time in prayer and fasting. The first illustration is in Acts13 2-3 (BASB)
“While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”3 Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.”
So fasting is “ministering to the Lord”. It is not trying to twist God’s arm to get what we want. As we minister to the Lord in fasting, He then gives us instruction as to His will. The second illustration of this is found in Acts 14:23
“When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.”
Thus, as fasting was in the early church, it should become a regular practice for believers for the purpose of staying in tune with the Holy Spirit for God’s will concerning the direction for His will in both the church and world. If we are deliberate and purposeful, the Lord will remove the opposition to the freedom and manifestation of His Kingdom. I’m looking very much to these 2 journeys of fasting starting today and next month to see what God will give us as far as His purpose for us as a church concerning our nation. The Spirit and the bride say “Come, Lord Jesus!”