At the beginning of each year , thousands of ministers accompanied by millions of Christians initiate the New Year with a united call to fast – choosing to submit their bodies , souls and spirits to the discipline of fasting . The prophet Isaiah gives one of the strongest defenses for a chosen fast and explains the marvelous results that follow a special time of consecration through fasting ( please read Isaiah 58:5-9 ).
In the early days of the Pentecostal movement , fasting was a common expression of both a commitment to draw closer to God and a desire to see the convicting power of God released upon the unsaved and unbeliever . I have personally known of men , such as Dr . T . L . Lowery , who were led to fast for forty days . On the thirtieth day I saw him munching on ice and drinking water to hydrate his body . I was also present at the Alabama Church of God Camp Meeting in Bessemer under the old metal tabernacle on the fortieth day of his fast , when he was asked to preach . He was so weak he gripped the pulpit to stand on his feet . About 10 minutes into his message , suddenly , like a bolt of lightning igniting a tree , the power of God struck him and he began preaching with a loud voice and boldness . As T . L . shook under God ’ s power , the Holy Spirit flung a blanket of God ’ s glory over the entire crowd of about 4,000 ! The power of God fell . It seemed that everyone near him , especially on the platform , began to fall under God ’ s power . It was a memorable moment and a life-changing experience for all of us “ young preachers ,” who desired for God to bump us up to a new level of ministry . When Dr . Lowery was asked by church leaders why he felt the need to fast forty days , he replied , “ There is a place in God that I have not gotten to yet and I am hungry to find it and experience it !”
My own father , Fred Stone , was a man of fervent prayer and fasting . When I share with youth that my dad saw at least 16 people totally healed of cancer the last ten years of his ministry , they often ask , “ What was his secret to see these types of miracles ?” The answer is threefold . First , Dad had compassion when he saw the sick and afflicted – meaning his heart was moved with pity for them and his compassion connected him to their need with the remedy that Christ was the healer . Second , there are two spiritual gifts that Paul the Apostle identified as the “ Gifts of healing and working of miracles ” ( 1Cor . 12:7-10 ). Dad earnestly desired these gifts to manifest through his ministry in order to bring deliverance to the hurting . I personally witnessed these gifts in operation at specific times when dad would minister . Third , dad was a man of fasting . Though he suffered with diabetes , especially the last ten years of his life , he would fast for days before going to a church to minister even in his mid-seventies ! While this may not have been wisdom on his part according to his doctors , his spirit burned within him to see God demonstrate His power for the hurting . When asked why he could pray for the sick and thousands receive healing while he still suffered from diabetes , he replied :
“ I don ’ t have the answer . But I do know that Elisha received a double portion of the anointing of Elijah and when Elisha died his bones raised a dead man . Yet we are informed that Elisha died of a sickness . How can a man with such inward anointing die of sickness ? It is a mystery so I let God take care of the things I don ’ t understand …”
The three significant keys Dad used to impart God ’ s grace of healing to those seeking this grace of God for their bodies , mind and inner spirits were compassion , the gifts of the Spirit and sharpened faith through fasting .
Temptation During a Fast
When Christ was directed by the Holy Spirit into the Judean Wilderness for forty days to encounter the temptations of Satan , we assume that Satan arrived with this mental assault after the forty days . His attacks were designed to make Jesus question his identity as the Son of God (“ If you be the son of God ” – Matt . 4:3-11 ). However , Luke penned that Christ was
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