The Principles and Power of Fasting

Jan 26, 2024 | by Olusegun Iyejare

What Is Fasting According To Dr. Myles Munroe?

According to Dr. Myles Munroe, a fast is a conscious, intentional decision to abstain for a time from the pleasure of eating in order to gain vital spiritual benefits. Fasting should be a natural part of the life of a believer. In the same way that we practice the habits of reading the Bible and prayer, we should also practice the habit of fasting. The Bible gives the same level of significance to both fasting and prayer.

In Matthew Chapter 6, it says “When you fast…” and “When you pray…” meaning that both fasting are not options but what God expects of His people. Fasting is not a curse of the law and it is not “works” that grace comes to free us from. Jesus said, “The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them [His followers]; then they will fast.” So the ascension of Christ is our entrance into the dispensation of fasting.

The Purpose of Fasting by Dr. Myles Munroe

1. Seeking God

Fasting creates an avenue to seek the face of God with concentration. When you fast, you abstain from pleasures and the things that naturally draw your attention so you can use that time with undivided attention to seek God.

2. Putting God First - Fasting was designed to make us put God first. When we put aside other things that are of importance to us to seek God, we reaffirm Who has the priority in our hearts. When you fast, it means that you want to be with God more than you want to spend time with other people, that you want Him more than your business or your busy-ness. Your fasting shows God that He is first in your life. It is a purposeful commitment to Him.

3. Creating an Environment for Prayer - Fasting does not go without prayer. All through scriptures, wherever fasting is mentioned there is prayer. Therefore, fasting adds to our prayers the environment for God to work. It enables us to see the fulfilment of God’s Word and purposes for us as individuals and as the body of Christ.

4. Interceding for Others - Many times when we see people fast in Scriptures, they usually do it to intercede for someone, a nation, or God’s purpose. Think of Esther, Nehemiah, Anna, and so on. Fasting goes beyond just praying because sometimes our prayers can be very selfish. We often pray only for our own wants and needs. Fasting was designed to take prayer into a completely different realm— away from self.

The Principles Of Fasting by Dr. Myles Munroe

Principle #1 - Fasting is not just missing a meal. As we have seen in the purpose of fasting, you don’t just miss a meal and say you have fasted. Fasting includes seeking the face of God and paying.

Principle #2 - Fasting is not dieting. The purpose of fasting is not to lose weight or to keep in shape. Fasting is a spiritual exercise primarily designed for spiritual purposes. If your intention of deciding to fast is to keep fit, you aren’t fasting.

Principle #3 - Fasting demands replacing meals with the reading of the word and prayer.

It is popularly said that fasting without prayer is a hunger strike. Everything you are abstaining from while you are fasting should be replaced with a spiritual activity— reading the Word of God, spending time with God, and praying.

Principle #4 - Fasting demands dedicated time for meditation. Because light is expected to break forth while you fast (Isaiah 58:9), you are expected to align yourself to receive that light through meditation. Biblical meditation is not emptying your mind and keeping it silent. Instead, it is filling up your mind with the word and pondering on it.

Principle #5 - Fasting requires spending much time in the Word. Remember that the first purpose of fasting is to seek God, so you must spend much time with the Bible, reading to understand and apply to your line while you fast.

How to Pray and Fast Effectively by Myles Munroe

Being consecrated and committed to God
Fasting while having the right priorities
Lifting people’s burdens
Having the heart of a giver, showing love to others
Having a burden for souls

The Benefits of Fasting by Dr. Myles Munroe

We need to understand the value and significance of emptying ourselves of food and filling ourselves with God. Fasting enables us to increase our spiritual capacity. It exerts discipline over our physical appetites. It brings the body under subjection to what the Spirit desires. We are spirits, but we live in bodies.

Most of the time our bodies control us. When you fast, your spirit increases its control over your body. Fasting enables you to discipline your body so that the body becomes a servant of the Lord, rather than the master of your spirit. Your body begins to obey your spirit rather than its own impulses and habits.

The Result of Fasting by Dr. Myles Munroe

When you fast, you are open to God. Your spiritual capacity to hear and receive is increased. You are empty of your own interests, and you are ready for Him to fill you. Fasting does not change God; it changes us and our prayers. Fasting aids your hearing from God Fasting opens you to receive the power from God Fasting gives you breakthroughs in difficult situations because it draws from the power of God.