In the midst of the fifty-day sales drought, I felt the Lord wanted me to fast. How long? I had no idea. Why? I did not ask and had no clue. So, I began fasting the next morning.
For my fast, I drank water and and ate no food, but I allowed myself morning coffee.
Did things quickly improve for me? Heavens no! My sales drought continued.
On the 14th evening of the fast, I received a phone call from a former client’s wife. Somehow, I had once mentioned to him that I believed the Lord could heal his wife of an ailment.
“Larry, do you really believe the Lord can heal me?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“When can you pray for me?”
Two days later, I showed up at her home with my pastor and her husband. Her daughter-in-law was also there. We chatted a bit until I felt a presence of God fall upon me. I walked over and began praying for her.
As I prayed, I discerned her ailment was caused by a demon rather than being a physical issue. As my prayers increased in tempo, I felt an inner urge to command it to leave.
“Go!” I proclaimed.
Then, I turned to the daughter-in-law, and prophesied, “You’re going to have a baby. So, fix up a room for the child now.”
The daughter-in-law broke down and cried. She eventually collected herself enough to tell us how she and her husband had just undergone extensive tests, discovering they could never have children.
That night, on the sixteenth day, I ate again.
The lady phoned two nights later. “Larry, did you know what ailment I suffered from?” she asked.
“No.”
“I had Tourette Syndrome,” she said and explained how her tics and rants kept her housebound and away from public gatherings for years. “I’m totally healed. Thanks.”
A year later, I received a card from the daughter-in-law announcing the birth of their baby girl.
And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast the demon out?” So He said to them, ”This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.” (Mark 9:29)
Sometimes, in spiritual warfare, we have to fast in order to win the battle.
What was the third lesson I learned during the fifty-day sales drought?
(Continued in Part 9)
Fasting. That is a much neglected gem. We want to try so many other things, while we know God is calling us to fast. And, then, I am hearing so often of people “fasting” from things other than food. I am in no way saying God doesn’t call us to loosen our grip on the things of this world and to deny ourselves of those pleasures for a season. But, I wonder if that is what God means by fasting or is it sometimes our way of easing the pressure of the call? I’d be interested in knowing your opinion on what it means to “fast” in a biblical fashion, Larry.
Cristal,
The Bible reveals fasts in different ways, but I only see it in relation to food. The standard fast is to drink water, but eat no food. The Esther fast (Esther 4:16) or Ninevah Fast (Jonah 3:7) is fasting from both food and water. Then, there’s the Daniel Fast (Daniel 1:12) in which only vegetables and water are consumed.
Now, could the Lord tell an individual to fast from TV or video games or whatever? Yes, the Lord uses words that we understand, but I wouldn’t want to make that a blanket statement for others to follow.
What a perfect example of why we need to fast . .why I need to fast. Thanks Mr. Larry! God bless you as you stay ready for what He wants you to do!
Debbie,
Thanks for your encouragement. Take the rest of the day off and play volleyball.
Not so much about fasting, but I noticed something you did in your praying that I believe is significant. I do believe that it is not as much asking for God to do this or that (sometimes) as it is us telling Satan to go.
Jesus told him to go and he went. We sometimes tell him to go and he just stands there with his arms crossed and says, “Make me.” We need to be better about standing right back and saying, “Okay; I will”.
Cool story.
Mike,
A long time ago, I felt the Lord wanted me to study all the scriptures on casting out demons. When I did, I noticed Jesus always said, “Go.” And they did. We have that same type of authority in us.
Thanks for pointing that out.
I want to thank you for being the encouragement that you are to me, and bless you by nominating you the following three awards that Cathy Craig Neil blessed me with: The Shine on Award, The One Lovely Blog Award, The Blog of the Year Award 2012. http://diasolifeontheborder.org/2013/01/11/a-tip-of-the-hat-to-my-fellow-bloggers/
Blessings, Dave
Dave,
Thanks. I’m honored to know you.
Fasting, in the sense of abstaining from a particular activity or spending time focused on something specifically to the exclusion of all else, is something I am familiar with. Fasting, in the sense of abstaining from food, is something I have never done, although I am well aware of the practice. I can’t imagine doing it either, since going without food for even a single day leaves me in a state of low-blood sugar and weaker than a kitten. Practical suggestions? Or should I even attempt it?
Don,
Fasting is not an exercise my body craves. It likes blueberry pie three or four times each day. So, I look upon fasting as a grace exercise where I often take the advice of Hebrews 4:16 and run to the throne of grace, crying out for mercy and grace in my times of need.
Fasting is not an exercise I like to beat people over the head with because it can easily be twisted into legalistic bondage. But I personally know that fasting produces advances in spiritual warfare, healing, and seeking the Lord.
I believe it’s up to each person to decide for themselves.