actually tempted during the entire forty days and not just at the conclusion , as it is written , “ And being forty days tempted of the devil …” ( Luke 4:2 ). Satan was there the entire forty days to mentally harass Christ . We are uncertain of the types of mental pressure placed on Christ during this forty days – or 960 hours – in the wilderness . I have fasted at times and experienced mental thoughts saying , “ You will get too weak to preach so you ’ d better eat ,” or , “ You have gone long enough , so go ahead and stop now ,” or even , “ This actually does no good except making you feel miserable , so you need to eat .” Thus , I am certain during the forty days various discouraging words and thoughts were continually being shot like arrows into Christ ’ s mind .
Recently , during an OCI fast which was called by Pastor Mark Casto , I began to observe something commonly occurring among some who were fasting . It seemed there was an increase in misunderstanding , lack of communication and even offense that would begin to arise among some of the strongest believers . From an outside view , some of these distractions seemed totally ridiculous and made no sense whatsoever . People would misread the comments and the actions of others . I addressed this issue during the fast .
I informed our prayer team that there were two things not commonly taught about that occur during a fast . First , we have the misconception that while we are fasting we are enjoying some type of invisible force field surrounding us that Satan is unable to pierce during the fast . This is totally untrue . In fact , you may encounter more spiritual powers of darkness during a fast , as they know that your consecration will break yokes , bring deliverance and draw you closer to the presence of God . Thus , these attacks of misunderstanding and lack of communication are part of the enemy ’ s plan to discourage individuals from following through with their commitment to fervently seek God . Fasting is a discipline that brings carnal desires under subjection to the Spirit of the Lord .
The second aspect of fasting that is commonly understated is that during a fast the areas where you privately struggle can begin to surface . I have watched fasting men and women suddenly lose their temper , become confrontational and verbally offend others . This used to puzzle me until I realized that God is bringing these hidden weaknesses to the surface so the individual can see “ the real junk ” hindering them and deal with these issues before they become a major stronghold in their life ! In Hebrew , the word fast is tsuwm ( pronounced tsoom ) and means , “ to cover the mouth .” While there are
26 SMG Solutions