ENCOUNTER WITH POWER
THROUGH PRAYER & FASTING!
How beit this kind goeth not out but by
prayer and fasting (Matthew 17:21).
As we all know, we are in the last days,
which are the days of the manifestation of
God’s power. This is when the kingdoms
of this world shall become the kingdom of
God before the arrival of Christ. It is also an
era where the power of resurrection shall
be in manifestation more than ever before.
Furthermore, in these last days, the
redeemed of the Lord shall be manifesting
the messianic order of anointing (Acts 2:16-
20; Psalms 110:1-3; Revelation 11:15;
Philippians 3:10; Acts 14:11).
BUT, HOW DO WE ENCOUNTER THIS
POWER?
Through a desperate desire: A desperate
desire is the gateway to empowerment.
From scriptures, ‘desperation’ is
interpreted as a thirst, a crave, a longing
and a panting. As it is written:
O God, thou art my God; early will I seek
thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh
longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land,
where no water is; To see thy power and
thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the
sanctuary (Psalm 63:1-2).
It is also written: For I will pour water upon
him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry
ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed,
and my blessing upon thine offspring. And
they shall spring up as among the grass, as
willows by the water courses (Isaiah 44:3-4;
see also Isaiah 41:17-18).
In July 1977, while studying Ezekiel chapter
37, I was very fascinated and I craved for
The BrighterLife Magazine | Page 08
access to that kind of empowerment. As
a result, I went on a three-day mission to
the mountain, crying out to God for
next level empowerment after the order
of Ezekiel. While leaving that mountain
on the third day, God said to me,
“Behold, I have touched your tongue
with the coal of fire; henceforth, as you
say it, you see it.” power.
Also, when Jesus prayed, heaven
opened and the Holy Ghost came upon
Him like a dove. Furthermore, when He
engaged the altar of prayer on the
Mount of transfiguration, He was
empowered and the people were
amazed at the mighty power of God
(Luke 3:21-22, 9:28-35, 43).
We must understand that it takes a
genuine thirst to encounter the power
of God. Likewise, we can pray for the release of
God’s power on our lives for greater
exploits.
Through the prayer altar:
Empowerment answers to demand, not
wishes and that is why the altar of
prayer is the altar of empowerment.
Jesus said: If ye then, being evil, know
how to give good gifts unto your
children: how much more shall your
heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to
them that ask him? (Luke 11:13) Through fasting: We discover from
scriptures that fasting is primarily
ordained for spiritual empowerment,
not for making request. In other
words, fasting empowers us to be in
command of our needs. It is written:
We must recognize that empowerment
is impossible without prayer. It is
written: Thy kingdom come. Thy will be
done in earth, as it is in heaven
(Matthew 6:10).
‘Thy kingdom come’ simply means,
thy power come and we understand
from scriptures that the Kingdom of
God is not in word, but in power (1
Corinthians 4:20).
It is through prayers that we move from
power to great power. For instance,
when the apostles prayed in Acts 1:14
and Acts 2:1-4, they were empowered
by the Holy Spirit. However, when they
prayed again in Acts 4:32-33, they were
re-empowered into the realm of great
Is not this the fast that I have chosen?
to loose the bands of wickedness, to
undo the heavy burdens, and to let the
oppressed go free, and that ye break
every yoke? (Isaiah 58:6).
It is important to understand that
though we pray to be empowered, we
need fasting to walk in power. That’s
why Jesus said, “When ye fast…
When thou fastest…” Fasting is a
matter of ‘When’ not ‘If’. That
means fasting must be our lifestyle and
must be scheduled, just like prayer, in
order to walk in the reality of
empowerment (Matthew 6:16-17).
Everyone who desires to walk in power
must subscribe to the demand of
fasting.