Spiritual Weapons: Fasting and Prayer
By Chuck E. Tate
"Freeze!" …my dad screamed at the startled burglar who was siphoning gas from the church bus.
Rewind.
When I was a kid, my dad was the head of security at the church we attended. Late one night he received a phone call that someone was trespassing and appeared to be siphoning gas from one of the church buses.
My dad told the person on the other line to call the police and out the door he went to assess the situation. Sure enough, there was a man siphoning fuel. My dad wanted to get a better look, so he snuck around to the back of the bus trying his best not to be seen or heard. As he placed his hands on the bus to support himself and peek around the corner, he slipped and fell directly into the burglar's line of sight!
Uh-oh.
My dad didn't know if the man was armed, but one thing was for sure, my dad was unarmed and exposed. Without even thinking my dad held out both hands together with his fingers pointing out—in the shape of a gun—and screamed, "Freeze!!!" The startled burglar yelled, "Don't shoot! Don't shoot!"
"Back up under the streetlight, turn around, and put both hands on the bus," my dad yelled back. "Okay, okay. Don't shoot! Please don't shoot!" yelled the scared perpetrator.
My dad was able to secure the burglar (with his finger gun) until the police arrived. The first cop who arrived on the scene said, "Cover me while I cuff him!” and ran over and handcuffed the man before my dad could even say anything. Several more officers arrived, and word finally got out what had actually happened. Roaring laughter followed.
The would-be-robber was only a teenager and had never been in trouble before. "Do you want to press charges?" the officer asked my dad.
"Nah, just give him a good scare."
"Give him a good scare, huh? Ha, ha! That we will do," replied the officer. He walked over to the young man and said very firmly and almost yelling, "You see that man standing over there (pointing to my dad), he could have shot you dead!"
The authority one can demand while holding a fake handgun (pun intended) or actual handgun is powerful. What's even more powerful is the arsenal of spiritual weapons Jesus authorized you and I to use against the enemy. Sadly, most Christians never pull out the most impressive weapon of all—fasting and prayer. Fasting without prayer is simply not eating or changing your diet. While praying without fasting is still an effective weapon with powerful results, fasting—when combined with prayer— is a 1-2 punch like no other!
PHOTO: Jeremy Yap / Unsplash
Remember when Jesus healed the demon-possessed boy because the disciples couldn't? They were perplexed and asked Jesus why they couldn't cast it out. Here is Jesus's response in Mark 9:29 — So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”
Boom!
If you have taken the time to read the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) or perhaps you've been a Christian for an extended period of time, then you are familiar with some of the miracles Jesus performed during His monumental ministry on Earth. If not, here are a few: He turned water into wine, He opened blind eyes and unstopped deaf ears, He made mutes talk and cripples walk. He multiplied a sack lunch and fed thousands, He walked on water, and He even raised the dead. There are also many miracles that weren't included in Scripture. “Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written (John 21:25).”
All of these miracles happened in a 3-year span and I believe there was one significant event that set the stage for all of them: Jesus fasted and prayed for 40 days before He began His ministry. I believe this is why the devil tried to take Him out before He could even begin—and had Jesus given in, none of the miracles mentioned beforehand would have taken place.
Spiritual Warfare
There's a story in the Old Testament where Daniel goes on a 21-day fast and then an angel shows up to deliver a message to Daniel after the fast. Here's what the angel said to Daniel:
“Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia (demonic spirit) blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the archangels, came to help me, and I left him there with the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia. Now I am here to explain what will happen to your people in the future, for this vision concerns a time yet to come (Daniel 10:10-14)."
Did you catch that? From the moment Daniel prayed, his request was heard, but the answer didn't show up until 3 weeks later. Why? Because there was a demonic spirit blocking the way! Paul reminds us in Ephesians 6 that our battle is against against "evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12)."
What's this mean? Spiritual warfare is real. Demonic spirits are real. The enemy is real. But Jesus (who already defeated the enemy) is real and He has given us the authority and weapons to stand up against the enemy.
So, the next time you're in desperate need of a breakthrough, begin a fast and fold your hands—not in the shape of a handgun, but as a posture of prayer—and start using the spiritual weapons God gave you.
Your breakthrough is in motion.
“…this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people." —Isaiah 58:6 (NLT)
Chuck E. Tate is a pastor, podcaster (Revival Town Podcast), and author of ‘41 Will Come.’ He’s also on the Think Eternity writing team.