 This message is for that Christian who wants to go to higher places. The one who doesn't want to settle where they are. I'm talking about prayer and fasting, the benefits, the practices. We're going to go deep. This is going to be a rich teaching. As I said, this is for that Christian who wants to go deeper. Now, I debated putting this in two parts, but then I put myself in your perspective and I thought, what would I want if I was watching a teaching? Well, I would want everything all at once, give it to me all at once, and then I'll watch it at my own pace. So that's exactly what I'm doing. Now, fasting is the means by which we disconnect from the earthly realm and ascend to higher places in the heavenly realm. Now, I know that may sound odd to someone listening to this, but by that I simply mean that when you fast, you're becoming less aware, less connected, less committed to the things of this world and you're becoming more aware of the things of God. You're setting your mind, you're setting your time, you're setting your emotions, you're setting yourself on the things above. So fasting really is a deeply spiritual practice that helps to tear the tethers that keep us bound to the concerns of this world. As you begin to practice prayer and fasting, there is a greater power that comes upon your prayers. There is a greater strength that comes upon you spiritually. As you fast and pray, you begin to transform into who God called you to be, fasting and prayer. That is a practice that's all too often neglected by believers. In fact, I think it is the most neglected practice in the church today. That's spiritual in nature. I mean, think about it. If I said how many of you pray, most of you would say I pray. If I said how many of you read the word daily, some of you would say, well, I don't read the word as often as I should. If I talked about church attendance, I'm sure that number would even become smaller, those who actually practices. But when I talk about prayer and fasting, I'm sure that is the smallest percentage right there. That is the most neglected of all those spiritual practices. And I don't think that's by accident. I think that's by design. It's an attack of the enemy against the church. As the enemy keeps us from practicing prayer and fasting, he keeps us from the benefits that are unlocked when we begin to implement this deeply spiritual act. So again, this is for Christians who want to mature. This is not the milk. This is the meat. This is for those who say, okay, I'm not here to be entertained. I'm not here to be told what I want to hear. I'm not here just to be because I'm looking for a distraction and for something to pass the time. No. This is for the one who wants to go deeper, who wants to go to higher places. If you're ready to be detached from the things of this world and you're ready to go to higher places in the Spirit, then I want you to tell me so in the comments section right now, whether you're watching live or replay, post it publicly so you can be held accountable. Post it publicly that you want to go to higher places in the Spirit. So looking at this beautiful act of prayer and fasting, looking at this deeply spiritual practice, I noticed something in regards to my study in the Scripture. When I looked at what the Scripture had to say, regarding prayer and fasting, I noticed that, A, the Bible is very clear about the fact that prayer and fasting works. We know that it works, and the Bible is very clear about the benefits of prayer and fasting, as we'll discover in just a few minutes. So we know that it works, and we know that there are benefits that occur when we pray and fast. But as I began to search the Scripture, I noticed something. I didn't see a specific description as to why prayer and fasting works. It's something that happens in the heavenly realm. You know, I know that when we fast and pray, there's a work being done in the one who's praying and fasting. I know that there's a work being done in the one who's implementing this spiritual discipline, but as far as how it looks in the spiritual realm, like what is actually happening in the realm of the Spirit? If that veil could be removed and you could see clearly into the realm of the Spirit, just like you look at this world with your natural eyes, what would you see? What is actually occurring in the realm of the Spirit when we fast and pray? Well, the Scripture doesn't give us the specifics on that. We have to take it on faith. So the Bible tells us about the benefits of praying and fasting. The Bible tells us about the power of praying and fasting. The Bible tells us about the fact that prayer and fasting clearly works, but it doesn't necessarily review all of those details as to what is specifically happening in the realm of the Spirit. And I just find that fascinating. And we can make our guesses. We can infer certain things from Scripture, but ultimately God did not reveal specifically what is actually going on in the realm of the Spirit. Maybe some people claim that they know, but not necessarily based off of Scripture can this be known in any real detail. So fasting and praying is an act of faith. We look in the Word and we see that the Scripture very clearly tells us that fasting and praying works, that there are benefits to it. And so we do this as believers as an act of faith in response to what the Word of God says. Here is the first spiritual law. I want you to write down. I'm going to give you two of them. Spiritual law number one, for every natural act of faith, there is a divine reaction. For every natural act of faith, there is a divine reaction. What does that mean? It means that when I take a step of faith in the natural realm, when I do something in response to the Word of God, when I take him at his word, when I trust in his promises, when I believe what he has said in Scripture, and I act upon what the Scripture says very clearly, that is an act of faith. But that act of faith is carried out in the natural realm. And so carrying out an act of faith in the natural realm always has an effect in the spiritual realm. So for every natural act of faith, there is a divine reaction. Something in heaven happens. Something in the spiritual realm happens every single time you implement a discipline that is spiritual in nature, every time that you obey the Word of God, every time that you trust God over your own reasoning and decide to do it God's way instead of your way. There is something that happens. Our job is simply to do the possible. God is the one who does the impossible. We believe he does the miracle. We preach. He saves souls. We worship. He manifests his presence. We lay hands on the sick. He's the one who heals them. We listen from heaven. God speaks. That is how it works. There is somewhat of a partnership that God has with man in the earth. Not that he needs us, but he chooses to work with us. And so we must implement acts of faith if we are to see the natural world around us be affected by the spiritual realm. The one who lives by faith continually taking God at his word, continually acting based upon what the Scripture says, that one will continually see miracles all around them because miracles by definition are what result when God interacts with a certain life. Spiritual law number two, whatever strengthens my spirit, weakens my flesh. Whatever strengthens my spirit, weakens my flesh. Now I don't have time necessarily to go into details about this particular spiritual dynamic, but the truth of the matter is I don't like that terminology, the term that says spiritual growth. I'm not in favor of that term specifically because your spirit doesn't grow. Your spirit just is. Your spirit is connected with the Holy Spirit. Your spirit is joyful, loving, peace-filled. Your spirit knows God. Your spirit is righteous. Your spirit is one with God. He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him. So spiritual growth is not my spirit becoming stronger. Spiritual growth is not my spirit getting larger. It's not my spirit becoming more powerful. Spiritual growth is when the rest of me catches up with my spirit man. Spiritual growth is when the outer shells of who I am, my body and my soul, begin to catch up with who my spirit is. So whatever strengthens my spirit, and I use that term very lightly because technically your spirit is already as strong as it can be, but whatever strengthens my spirit weakens my flesh. By that I mean as you begin to respond to the spirit man, as you begin to do the things that are according to the desires of the spirit, the flesh, that sin nature, I'm not just talking about the physical body, the sin nature begins to become weaker. It begins to lose power. It begins to lose influence in your life. Here's the problem all too often. We as believers, believers, these are children of God. We're feeding, feeding, feeding the flesh. We neglect the spiritual in exchange for the earthly. We neglect the sacred in exchange for the secular. And this is not something that we ought to be doing. Instead of praying, instead of reading, instead of worshiping, instead of devoting ourselves to the things of God all too often, we neglect our time with the Lord for cheap entertainment. We neglect our time with the Lord for social media feeds. We neglect our time with the Lord for binge-watching Netflix shows that you can't even remember two months from now. And we're feeding the flesh and when you feed the flesh, the flesh gets stronger. Now, when I use that word flesh, it's important to remember that sometimes, biblically speaking, the word flesh means sin nature. And other times, biblically speaking, the word flesh is talking about the physical body. The physical body and the sin nature are not the same thing. The sin nature is entirely not of God, whereas the physical body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and can be used as an instrument of holiness and can be used to commit acts of worship that are pleasing to God. So the physical body can be used for either evil or good, sin or godliness. So the sin nature and the physical body are not one and the same. However, there is a very close tie between the physical body and the sin nature. So you'll notice that as you begin to feed the physical body, I'm not just talking about food. I'm talking about giving into the cravings of the flesh, the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. Those are the three aspects of sin. I'm talking about those cravings of the flesh, the lust of the flesh. When you have a habit of just constantly giving into the flesh, your defenses become lowered and the enemy begins to gain ground in your life because you live a lifestyle of not disciplining yourself. So a lack of discipline is actually an open door for the influence of the sin nature. Why? Because every day if you're training yourself to just gratify the flesh, you're training yourself to just give yourself everything you want. You're training yourself to not do anything that you don't want to do. Then that's a very closely tied thing to the sin nature. Why? Because you're not learning to say no to self. You're not learning to subject the flesh. And this is why we as believers must make it a practice to worship God in our physical beings and again for every natural act of faith there is a divine reaction. And whatever strengthens my spirit or the influence of my spirit weakens my flesh. Think of Moses parting the sea. Israel shouting down the walls of Jericho. Elijah calling down fire. The laying on the hands of the sick in Mark chapter 16 anointing the sick with oil. That's James chapter 5 verses 14 and 15. Evangelizing the loss Romans 10 9 through 15. These are acts of faith that God responds to based upon his word. So faith moves things in the spiritual realm. So often believers pray pray pray pray pray from the place of emotion. They're praying from the place of worry. They're praying from the place of the outer shell of who they are. And because they pray from their emotions they expect God to hear them as if they're going to be able to guilt him into a response. But when we pray in this way it's praying from the flesh. God does not respond to our emotions. Notice I did not say that God doesn't care about how we feel. God does indeed care about how we feel. He's quite compassionate and the Bible very clearly teaches that he delights himself in every detail of our lives. And so God does care when you hurt. God is concerned. God does bring comfort. But God does not respond to emotions. He responds to faith. That's a law of the spiritual realm. Faith is the currency of heaven. Faith moves things in the realm of the spirit. Faith, watch this now, removes blockages and tears down stubborn barriers. That is so key because many times Christians run into what they feel is this spiritual barricade that keeps them from moving forward in their walk with Christ. They feel that they hit a wall in their prayer life. They hit a wall in their devotion to the word. They hit a wall in their faith. They begin to doubt. They hit a wall in their holiness. They begin to give into sin and the sin nature. And this right here is precisely when we should implement the act of faith. Remember this, whenever you feel spiritually stuck or stagnant, whether it's sin, whether it's doubt, whether it's fear, whether it's sense of abandonment, whether you feel like the ministry is not going where it needs to go, whether you feel like your study the word is not going where it needs to go, whether you feel like your finances aren't where they need to be. Whenever you feel stuck or stagnant, watch this now, carry out an act of faith. The act of faith has the power to break up those spiritual barriers that prevent our progress in Christ. And so we as believers must learn to live lifestyles of faith. Now Matthew 7.7, go there. By the way, James 2.17 talks about faith without works being dead. Now go to Matthew 7.7. I want to show you something. This is Jesus talking specifically about prayer. And he says, Keep on asking and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking and you will find. Keep on knocking and the door will be open to you. That's Matthew 7.7. Like a sledgehammer chips away at a brick wall. So our prayers chip away at spiritual barriers. Now watch this. And fasting adds more strength to the strike. I want to say that again. Like a sledgehammer chips away at a brick wall. So our prayers chip away at spiritual barriers. And fasting adds more strength to the strike. So picture yourself with a sledgehammer. In the spirit, you're hitting that wall and you're praying. That's your prayer. That's consistency. That's persistence. You're trying to bring that wall down through your prayer. Now prayer is affecting something. Prayer is making the difference. Prayer is establishing the will of the Father in the earth. Prayer is transforming you into someone who can handle what you're praying for. Prayer is shifting things in the spiritual realm. Whether you see it or not. Whether you believe it or not. Whether you are actually seeing it go in the opposite direction that you want it to go or not. When you pray, something is happening. It is impossible to accomplish nothing in prayer. So imagine you're hitting that brick wall with that sledgehammer. Again and again and again. When you fast and you couple that fasting with prayer, you add more strength to each strike. Now again, I may not understand the why. I may not understand all of the spiritual dynamics that are at play in the heavenly realm. But I do obey the what. I may not know why it works. I just know that it works. Pray like the miracle depends on prayer but trust the results to God. Now here's what the Bible says. Go to Matthew chapter 6 verses 16 to 18. Steve, real briefly if you can, just let me know how the chat's doing. So chat is doing amazing over here. I want to read just a few comments here. Our friend Jennifer writes, Thank you Pastor David for this unique message. I will definitely share with my friends and family. We also have our friend Sam here that wrote, I've had so many questions about the topic of prayer and fasting. I'm glad you explained it with simple clarity. So already you guys are being touched and blessed. And I am being blessed by this as well. So continue to comment guys, continue to share your notes in the stream, in the comment section, and we're going to continue with this stream. Matthew 6 verses 16 to 18. And when you fast, don't make it obvious, as the hypocrites do. For they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. Then no one will notice that you are fasting except your father, who knows what you do in private. And your father who sees everything will reward you. Now again, I think that in this portion of scripture, we see a very clear indication that Jesus expects us to fast. You've heard the cliche, Jesus didn't say if you fast, he said when you fast. That's true. So we are to do it. But notice that that implication also has with it the idea that we are to do it regularly. So not just that we are to do it when you fast. Yes, again, the cliche goes, not if you fast, but when you fast. So Jesus expects us to fast. We get that. That's, I think that's basic enough to where we all understand that that is something that is expected of us. But that phrase when you fast not only implies that you will fast. But it implies that you will fast regularly. When you fast, that implies a lifestyle of this, a consistency to this, not that one time you fast or he doesn't put a limitation on it. He says when you fast, this is something that we ought to do regularly. Now watch this. He also tells us to do it privately. So number one, when we fast, we are to do it regularly. Not one time, we are to do it regularly. And number two, do it privately. This is to put into check our motives. This is to put into check the flesh. You know, the flesh doesn't like to fast, but it certainly does love the praise and the adoration that comes when people see it as something that is to be esteemed. So you have to check your motive when you're fasting. You have to make sure that you're doing it for all the right reasons, lest you end up like those Pharisees who do it publicly just to be praised. And then of course end up themselves only receiving that praise. So if you're doing it for praise, if you're doing it to be looked at as spiritual, if you're doing it to be celebrated, well then when you fast and you receive those things, that will be your reward in full. But if you want there to be a spiritual blessing, if you want there to be a spiritual purpose behind the reason for your fasting, then of course you will do it privately. Now let me balance this out because I think this particular verse has been the source of a lot of superstition. People think in the same sense that they, you know, people have superstitious beliefs like in regards to the birthday wish. They'll say something like, you know, what did you wish for? And the other person will say, well, I can't tell you because then if I tell you, my birthday wish won't come true. Well, we understand that superstition. I've actually had a couple of friends who were so protective of their fasting. I remember one time I was at lunch with one of my friends and I didn't even really think about what I was asking. I didn't think he would make a big deal about this but, you know, he wasn't eating with us and so I just casually asked, oh, are you fasting? And he seriously got us and he goes, well, there you go. Well, there it goes. There goes all the benefits of my fasting. He was upset that I asked him if he was fasting. So I had to explain to him like, that's not how it works. Fasting is not like a birthday wish that if anybody discovers, not that I believe in the superstition behind the birthday wish idea, but you get what I'm saying. I'm using it as an analogy. That's not how fasting works. It's not like if they discover that your fasting suddenly loses all its power. Now, Jesus wasn't telling us too fast secretly in the sense that if anybody finds out about it, it's going to lose all its power. No, not at all. Jesus was telling us to do it with pure motives and to not do it publicly for the sake of being seen. If you look at the early church and you look at the record of how they function, you actually see that from time to time the early church would fast corporately, meaning this is something that they would do together. How are you supposed to fast together if nobody knows that the other is fasting? How are you supposed to coordinate a corporate fast if nobody knows that anybody is fasting? So don't take this to the extreme of superstition to believe that you have to hide it and that if anybody discovers that you're fasting, that suddenly, oh, there go all the benefits. God's going to judge me now. No, Jesus is addressing a very specific problem of people who are wanting to be seen and this is just not something that the scripture is saying. This is not what Jesus is teaching. So do it regularly, yes. Do it privately, yes. Don't do it to be seen. Do it unto God. But God's not going to punish you if somebody finds out about it. God's not going to punish you or take away the benefits if you decide to fast corporately as a church. That's not what the scripture is implying there. Do it in faith. You have to do it believing that God is going to respond to it. Now we're going to get into the dynamics of what exactly is happening. I want you to be rid also of this superstitious idea that God is responding because we are suffering. Some people imagine that they fast to suffer and that the more they suffer, that the more responsive God is to them and that's not the truth at all. And then of course, do it prayerfully. So number one, do it regularly. Number two, do it privately. Number three, do it in faith. And number four, do it prayerfully. A fast without prayer is just a diet. If you're fasting but you're not praying, you're just starving yourself. Maybe there are some physical benefits to it. I'm not exactly sure what your specific situation is. But if you're just fasting, if you're just not eating, then that's not going to have any spiritual benefit because you're not adding prayer to it. You're just participating in a ritual, not something that is spiritual. You're just doing the man-made aspects of it. I shouldn't say man-made, but you're doing just the practical aspects without adding to it that supernatural element. I had a friend who would fast every now and then just because he liked the idea of being really, really hungry and then eating a good meal after three days. And even though that's comical, I think that's illustrating the idea that many times believers do it for all the wrong reasons. So no, we're not talking about just fasting. You have to add prayer to it as well. Let me know, Steve. How is the... We're going to get into the types of fasting right now. Steve, ask the chat if this is helping with any misconceptions. So SpearFamily, right now, how is this message helping you? I can already tell through all of these comments here. People are already having questions and I can't wait to get in the Q&A later. But again, guys, how is this message impacting you? Let me know right now in the comments section. Okay, so now we're going to talk about the types of fasting. Now, let me give you a definition of fasting that I found helpful. It's very practical and it's biblically based. You can write this down. The discipline of abstaining from food or something desired for a given period of time in order to devote oneself more to prayer and the word of God. I'll say that one more time. The discipline of abstaining from food or something desired for a given period of time in order to devote oneself more to prayer and the word of God. Again, without prayer, fasting is just a diet. So number one, we see the food fast. And this is found in Matthew chapter 4 verse 2. The Bible says after fasting 40 days and 40 nights, he was hungry. Notice there in Matthew 4 verse 2 that there's no mention of Jesus being thirsty. Also, the devil didn't tempt Jesus with water. He tempted him by challenging him to turn the stones into bread. And that's the lust of the flesh. That's the point at which Jesus was being tempted there. So here we see that there is the fasting of food. Next we see, and there's an important distinction here because a lot of people not being led by the Spirit actually foolishly carry out certain forms of fasting that actually could be lethal. So I'm going to get into that in a moment here, actually right now. Number two, there's the food and water fast. Now let me show you something here. When it has to do with food and water, look at how long the fast goes for. I know Moses fasted for much longer, but I'm going to get into that in a moment. Esther 4.16, the Bible says, Go and gather together all the Jews of Suza and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. Notice that the limitation here is three days. And then you go to Ezra chapter 10 verse 6, then Ezra left the front of the temple of God and went to the room. And the Bible says he spent the night there without eating or drinking anything. I have to bring this up and make it a larger print. He was still in mourning because of the unfaithfulness of the returned exiles. So there we see that there was the fasting of food and water all night. So when you fast food, you can go much longer than when you fast food and water. Now I sadly have read of certain people trying to prove a point who would go out into the desert or the wilderness, pastors I've heard of, and I'm not by any means trying to mock them or criticize them. I think it's quite tragic, but I think it's a warning to us to not do this foolishly because we are dealing with our physical bodies and we have to steward the bodies that God gave us properly. I've read articles about pastors who tried to prove a point who will go into the desert or the wilderness and they'll try to fast from food and water for 40 days and then they end up dead. Now I know, as I said, that's quite tragic and I'm not trying to even bringing it up. I feel bad bringing it up, but it's an important thing to talk about because I'm warning you to not be foolish in the way you carry this out. That sometimes, I'm not saying in every instance, sometimes that's spiritual pride trying to prove a point or just outright foolishness or ignorance and I don't mean ignorance in the way most people use it like as an insult. Ignorance simply means to not be aware of something. And I think that had they looked at the Scripture, they would have seen that Jesus didn't even fast from water for 40 days. He fasted food. So when you fast food and water, you have to be very careful with how you do that because you can go much longer without food than you can without water and I must say as a disclaimer, I'm not giving you medical advice. I'm just telling you what the Scripture teaches here. So again, there's the food fast, which can go much longer than the B, food and water fast. C, there's the dietary fast. This is Daniel chapter 10 verse 3. All that time I had eaten no rich food, no meat or wine crossed my lips and I used no fragrant lotions until those three weeks had passed. Now, here Daniel is abstaining from certain foods to be more devoted to God. So in a way, this can be described as a fast and I know there are some debates about this. I've heard some people say there's no such thing as a fast where you eat and that's kind of true, I guess in the more traditional sense, but if you look at the biblical principles around the idea of devotion to God, we see here very clearly that Daniel was doing so in a way of honoring God, he was able to or he chose to abstain from certain foods and then D, there's abstaining fast. Now this one particular verse, I think reveals to us that you can fast more than just food. Watch this. The Bible says, 1 Corinthians 7, 5, do not deprive each other of sexual relations unless you both agree to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time so you can give yourselves more completely to prayer. So the Bible goes on to say, afterward you should come together again so that Satan won't be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control. There in 1 Corinthians chapter 7, verse 5, we see that it's possible to abstain from other acts or other things besides food in order to devote yourself more to God, which is why I gave the definition of the discipline of abstaining from food or something desired for a given period of time in order to devote oneself more to prayer and the word of God. Now, even though Paul the apostle here is talking about the act of sexual intimacy, I think the spiritual biblical principle has universal application. And so I think this actually opens the door for other forms of fasting. People can fast social media. I wouldn't recommend announcing it. People can fast video games. People can fast hobbies. People can fast certain things. The idea is simply to abstain from something that you desire or that you enjoy in order that you might use that time to devote to God in word and prayer. These are intensified seasons of devotion to God wherein you give up something in order to replace it with that devotion. So indeed, this is an indication that you can fast other things. So those are the different types of fasting. The food fast, number two, the food and water fast, number three, the dietary fast, and number four, the abstaining fast. Now again, I want to emphasize this very important note. There is a big difference between a food fast and a food and water fast. And of course, we're looking now at the lengths of time. And this is where I'm going to talk about Moses, which was a supernaturally sustained fast. So typically, whenever you see a fast that goes beyond three days in the Scripture, and this is very important to note, whenever you see a fast that goes beyond three days in the Bible, typically it's a fast from food, not a fast from food and water. So if it goes beyond three days, it's not a water fast. That's only food you're fasting. The average person can go without food for about 21 days. And the average person can go without water for about three days. And again, this isn't medical advice. I'm just reading to you some statistics that I picked up from online. Now be wise and be very careful about how you go about carrying these fast and these disciplines on in your life. So we see the different lengths of time here in Scripture. I'll read these briefly and then we're going to get into the benefits. And I think the benefits will really stir your desire too fast and pray. So we'll get into these lengths of fast. I'm talking about how often we should fast and then we'll talk about the benefits. So first we see the partial day fast. This is found in Judges chapter 20 verse 26. They did it for part of the day, not the full day. Then we see a one day fast. This is 2 Samuel chapter 1 verse 12. Then we see a three day fast Esther chapter 4 verse 16. That's the food and water. And then it's not food and water from there. It's just food. There's the one week fast in 1 Samuel 31 13. There's the 21 day fast in Daniel chapter 10 verse 3. There's the 40 day fast we see in Matthew chapter 4 verse 2. It's interesting that only after 40 days Jesus became hungry. That might be a supernatural element there. And then in Exodus chapter 34 verse 28, we see a supernaturally sustained fast. Now watch this. Moses remained there on the mountain with the Lord 40 days and 40 nights. In all that time, he ate no bread and drank no water. And the Lord wrote the terms of the covenant, the 10 commandments on stone tablets. So Moses was meeting with God face to face, which was the reason why he didn't need water after three days. But again, that is a supernaturally sustained fast. So again, proceed with wisdom I should say. Now, this begs the question, how often should you fast? Now some records which are not in Scripture seem to indicate that the practice of fasting was done twice a week. And looking at the parable of Jesus, we see that seems to be implied here, that the people understood anyway. That fasting was to be done twice a week. Luke chapter 18 verse 12, I fast twice a week and I give you a tenth of my income. However, there's no clear command in the New Testament that prescribes for the believer a fast two times a week. You will not find anything in Scripture that commands the believer to fast a certain amount of times per month or per week or per year. That's just not something that the Bible gives to us. So taking together all of the things that we see here in Scripture, seeing that there are different lengths of fast, different types of fast, I would actually believe, or I would actually teach rather, that the conclusion we make is we are to be spirit-led in all these things. So in terms of the type of fast, the length of fast, that is to be what the spirit leads you to do. And in doing this, if we follow the way of the spirit, we avoid legalism while also embracing the benefits and the power of fasting. So if you were to ask me, now people ask me the question point blank, David, how often should we fast? Okay, I'm going to give you now my opinion. Let me be very clear here. What I'm about to say is not based on Scripture alone. I'm throwing my opinion in there. Again, I'm telling you, I've studied this. I'm looking at this. I've seen the different types, the different lengths, the different frequencies of fast. And now I'm telling you that based upon what I see, I think my opinion is of some value to you, but again, it's not Scripture. My opinion, I recommend that you fast at least quarterly, at least quarterly. Now, there will be some in the comments who say, David, we should do it more than that. I agree with you. There will be some who say, well, I can't do it that often because of such and such situation or medicals. Okay, then be led by the Spirit. I'm giving you my opinion on that at least quarterly. I would say, I would go even so far as saying, monthly is probably good, but at least quarterly, we as believers should fast. Either way, it should be a consistent lifestyle we see here in Luke chapter 2, verse 37. The Bible says, Then she lived as a widow to the age of 84. She never left the temple, but stayed there day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer. So it is a part of a lifestyle. Now let's get into the benefits of fasting. So, Tim, if we can, can we bring up the comment section so I can see it? I want to make sure we're all on the same page. Now, I know some of you are going to watch this on replay, but by looking at the comments, I get an idea of where people are at this point in the lesson. So let me know in the comment section what your thoughts are, questions. Okay, I see Sunny says, How often should we fast? And I just gave that. So perfect timing on that question. Ebene says, I do twice weekly. So twice weekly is what we read about, again, referenced in Luke 18-12. This is good to do if this is what you're led to do, but again, in the New Testament, there's no prescription for us to do this in any frequency. So quarterly seems non-legalistic. Yeah, well, be careful with that too. It's a great point you're making, Mary, great point. But be careful with that too, because even then, some people might go, well, you didn't fast at least quarterly, you know. So again, legalism is all about a workspace mentality. And it's about trying to use a system to get a response from God. When God doesn't respond to systems, he responds to sincerity and faith. And then we see, okay, someone says go to the Father quarterly and how long? Well, how long? Again, I would say you could do it spirit-led, spirit-led on the length. And again, we see all different examples of fasting. Partial day, one day, three day, one week, 21 day fast, 40 day fast, and then the supernaturally sustained fast. So if you're meeting with God on the top of the mountain and he's speaking with you friend, friend, face to face, as he was with Moses, okay, maybe, maybe that might be something you can consider. Legalism is workspace mentality. That's right. Truth is out there says, what about the headaches from lack of water? Well, this is where I would say we have to exercise wisdom. You know, Jesus was not against medical practice. Jesus used a parable in which he said, it's not the healthy who need a doctor. It's the sick who need a doctor. Now, even though Jesus wasn't directly endorsing medical professionals, he would not have used that medical profession as an example of something that's good to communicate a truth to us concerning the salvation of the law. So Jesus wouldn't use medical professionals in a positive light in his parable if he wasn't someone who believed in that. In fact, I believe this is one of the gifts that God has given to us. People who practice medicine, doctors, physicians, the Lord has given us these people and they're working in conjunction with God's will to reduce sickness and so forth. So think also how Paul told Timothy, a little wine for your stomach sick because you are so often sick. So there, that is an encouragement to use medicine. So I'm not against medicine. I'm not against medical professionalism. Neither is the Lord, neither is scripture. So there's nothing wrong with checking with your physician to see about what they recommend in terms of your fasting. Okay, thank you, Tim, for the comments. Let's bring those down now. Let's look now at the benefits of fasting, the benefits of fasting. Now, remember in the introduction I gave, what is important in terms of fasting? This is not about making yourself suffer. So many believers approach fasting with that. Like they're giving themselves 39 lashes on the back. They're being martyrs about it. They're saying, look, Lord, how miserable I am. Surely you're pleased with my misery. Surely you're going to be responsive with how terrible I feel. And we imagine that God's looking over from heaven going, well, you haven't suffered enough. I'll answer your prayer when you've suffered enough. That is not at all our approach to fasting or how it should be. This is what the scripture says concerning the benefits of fasting. I'll read it to you now. Number one, morning and repentance. Not morning like daytime. Like morning as in, I'm sorrowful. I'm mourning over something that broke my heart. Morning and repentance. Joel 2.12 is an example of this. Nehemiah 1.4 is an example of this. First Samuel 7.3 through 6 is an example of this. Biblical characters, especially in the Old Testament, would fast whenever they were grieved, whenever they faced a difficult circumstance. The death of a loved one, they would grieve. When they realized they broke God's command, they would grieve, they would fast, they would mourn. Now, this sort of fasting is still practiced by some, but from the New Testament perspective, I think we have to find a change in mentality. In the New Testament perspective, the fasting for repentance serves an entirely different purpose. See, in the Old Testament, the individuals would fast when they were repenting, and then the Lord would respond to their fast. They were showing God, look how sorry we are. But in the light of the New Testament, in the light of the New Covenant, that's not necessary anymore. Here's what I wrote concerning this. Because we now live with the wonderful consequences of Calvary, there is never any reason for a believer to punish themself for sin. Self-inflicted pain, torture, or torment is a religious way to find forgiveness. Fasting is not a means to punish oneself for wrongdoing. There's no need for that, as Christ has already absorbed all of the punishment for your sin. So this idea that I'm fasting to punish myself because I want God's forgiveness, that's just not biblically founded. This, rather, should be our approach. Think about it this way. When you fall into some temptation, it's not something that happened overnight. I'm showing you now the purpose of this type of fasting, where this can apply in terms of the New Testament, because there was one way to look at it from the Old Testament perspective, and there's a new way to look at it now from the New Testament perspective, the repentance fast, if you will. But when you fall into sin, or when your old habits begin to return, or old character traits of an old nature begin to surface, maybe you're becoming more impatient like you used to be, maybe you're falling into a sinful habit like you used to fall into, the old man coming back to life, so it is sometimes in certain seasons of life. But in those seasons where the flesh becomes stronger, where the sin nature has more influence, and we repent of a sin, it may be a good idea to fast, not to earn God's forgiveness. Please hear me very clearly. In those seasons where you've been caught up again in the flesh, and you want to return to that spiritual state, you want to return to that Christ-like state, you want to return to practicing holiness, you want to break some habits, when we fast for the sake of repentance, we're not fasting to try to buy God's forgiveness. Rather, we're doing a spiritual reset. Think about this. If you fall into sin on Friday, it's not because you were tempted on Friday. If you fall into sin on Friday, it's because Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, you were allowing your mind to dwell on temptation. You were filling your heart, you were listening to things, you were seeing things that fed the flesh. And so, your flesh came to this point of great strength, and only when it came to that point of great strength did you finally commit that act that you should not have committed. Only when it came to great strength, are you now, only when it came to great strength, did you now begin to see those old patterns begin to resurface. And so, we as believers, after a season of failure, after a season where the flesh is stronger than it should be, it should be completely weakened, after that season, it's good to reset yourself. Why? Because when you fast, you're weakening the flesh again. Yeah, you may repent of that sin. Yeah, you may receive the forgiveness of God, but it's also a good idea to not only receive the forgiveness of God, to not only turn from that sin, but to get the flesh back in a weakened state so that habit doesn't return. So think about how it takes months, weeks, days, to fall into the ways of the flesh. Well, when you fast, it brings you back to the spiritual state so that you're not in the fleshly state that caused the problem in the first place. So fasting in terms of for repentance can be done specifically to reset the playing field, to weaken, again, the flesh and the sin nature so that you can have a fresh starting point. So you repent, you receive the forgiveness of God, and then you fast. You say, okay, I had a bad week, but I'm going to weaken this flesh now. So I repented, I received God's forgiveness, now I'm moving forward, and I'm going to start moving forward with the fast so that I can bring my flesh back to a weakened state so I start again with a weak flesh. So in terms of fasting for mourning and repentance, this is the New Testament perspective. This is the New Testament application. Number two, you fast for clarity. In Acts chapter 13 verse two, the Bible says, one day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, appoint Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them. So here we see that as they began to fast, the Holy Spirit spoke. Fasting, because it disconnects you from this world, because it makes you care less about the things in this world, because it weakens the flesh, it makes it more easy to recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit. So when you fast, it produces spiritual clarity. Number three, the third benefit of fasting, ministry establishment. Acts chapter 14 verse 23 says, Paul and Barnabas also appointed elders in every church. Watch this now. With prayer and fasting, they turned the elders over to the care of the Lord in whom they had put their trust. So here we see elders being established in the church and they begin their work in a season of prayer and fasting. Fasting helps to create a moment of pause. You know, sometimes we rush into things, but if you fast and pray, that is a season of pause, a time of reflection. And this is where God's guidance can be sought. And again, as we saw with point number two, with clarity, you're pausing, you're taking a moment, you're establishing that ministry. Acts chapter 13 verses two through three says, this one day, as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, appoint Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them. So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way. Okay, okay, watch this. Let me show you something here. Let's read this again, but slowly. Acts 13, two and three. One day, as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, okay, so he already gives them the instruction. Watch this. The Holy Spirit said, appoint Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them. So the Holy Spirit spoke, but watch this now. After more fasting and prayer, wait a minute, why would you need to fast and pray after the Holy Spirit spoke? Because fasting and prayer is about more than just receiving instruction with clarity. It's about establishing with a good foundation. The men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way. Even Jesus, before he began his ministry, took time aside to fast and pray. We see an example of that. We read it a couple of times. Matthew chapter four, verse two, but also ad verse number one. And you see that as Jesus is being led into this new season of ministry, he goes to fast. The Lord also dedicated himself. Watch this now. This is incredible. The Lord himself dedicated himself to all night prayer before choosing 12 of his disciples. Luke 6, 12 to 13. One day, soon afterward, Jesus went up on a mountain to pray and he prayed to God all night. At daybreak, he called together all of his disciples and chose 12 of them to be apostles. Now, I'm speculating here. I can't prove this, but I speculate that because there were 12 hours in the evening and the night, that Jesus spent one hour praying for each of the 12 apostles. And he took this time out to pray that the establishment of their ministries might be done properly. If even Jesus had to fast and pray to establish their ministries, shouldn't we? Luke 6, 12 to 13 says, oh, excuse me, we just read that. I want to read this quote to you. All believers are called to do ministry, but not all believers are called to do all forms of ministry. Those who want to be in ministry, leadership, pulpit ministry, teaching ministry, church authority, spiritual mentorship, must be processed. This is a problem, an epidemic we have in this day and age. 1 Timothy 3, 6 says a church leader must not be a new believer because he might become proud and the devil would cause him to fall. There's something to be said about the process before the promotion. And fasting is a part of this process, both for the appointer and the appointee, both the one who is appointing that individual into ministry and the one being appointed into ministry. Why? Because it helps to bring clarity and it helps to deeply root the ministry as the one sends and the one goes, both of them are fasting to help bring forth that spiritual foundation. So, fasting is for the establishment of ministry or the initiation of one's calling. Fasting deepens the reach of spiritual roots for beginning the work. Number four, you can fast for favor. So let's just recap real quick and I'll keep reading. Number one, for mourning and repentance. Number two, to receive clarity. Number three, for ministry establishment. I can do a whole lesson on just that one. That's an incredible, incredible thing that we see in the New Testament. Number four, you fast for favor. Esther 4.16 says, Go and gather all the Jews of Suza and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, day or night. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go to see the King if I must die, I must die. So here we see Esther fasting for favor. Now favor isn't a sinful word. I think, I'm just going to be real with you. Like I said, we're getting into the meat today. We have a real problem with extremism in the body of Christ. And I think extremism almost in every sense is unhealthy. Like, okay, there are some healthy extremes. Like, if I'm extremely in love with God, there's nothing unhealthy with that. If I'm extremely careful about my integrity, there's nothing wrong with that. If I'm extremely honest, but not rude, there's nothing wrong with that, right? So there's nothing wrong with certain forms of being extreme. But I think in the body of Christ, we have some extremism. I think that's fair to say. I think that's a balanced statement to make. Like, for example, there are some believers who think everything is a demon and that we have others who think nothing is a demon. We have some believers who think it's all about the prophetic and then we have other believers who don't even believe that the prophetic is for today. And so we have to be careful to always center on Jesus. Now, in terms of extremism in this area, we have those who preach prosperity as if it's the centerpiece of the gospel, as if everything about our calling, everything about our devotion to God is all about getting him to do for us. That's a form of extremism that's called the prosperity gospel. But then there's another side to that that's not biblical at all. Either this idea that any talk of prosperity, any talk of blessing or financial increase it, that's somehow this thing that puts a bad taste in God's mouth, not at all. When you fast, you can fast for favor. The Bible says in Psalm 3723, the Lord directs the steps of the godly and he delights in every detail of their lives. Ask him to put you in the right place at the right time under the right circumstances and stop worrying about religious people who tell you not to ask God for anything. It's okay to ask for favor. It's okay to be blessed. It's okay to be prosperous as long as you avoid either extreme. So this idea is this religious notion that if you ask God for anything that's wrong, if you ask him to increase you, you're being selfish or immature or faithless or you've lost your focus or you're not emphasizing the right things. Look, as long as it doesn't become the center of the gospel for you, as long as it doesn't become all about the things that God wants to bless us with, that's where you have to be careful. But as long as it doesn't become that extreme thing and you keep it biblically balanced, why not? Fast for favor. Number five, you can fast for healing. Psalm 35, 13th to 14 says, Yet when they were ill, I grieved for them. I denied myself by fasting for them, but my prayers returned unanswered. I was sad as though they were my friends or family as if I were grieving for my own mother. 2 Samuel 2.16, David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and went into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground. Remember, fasting amplifies, amplifies, amplifies your prayers. Fasting adds a greater measure of power to your prayer. I don't, again, we don't understand why, but we understand that it occurs, that it happens when we fast and pray. Now, of course, we must accept the sovereignty of God in every single doctrine of faith, in every single biblical belief, healing included. Our job is to have faith, our job is to believe. God is the one who heals, and he heals according to his sovereign will. So though we have faith, there are some times where you'll see that people aren't healed. And if they think that God has to respond to their faith, well, they're going to be miserable if they don't see God responding to their faith every single time that they want it. But we can't let that take away from the fact that you can fast for healing. That's in the Scripture. Number six, fast for spiritual preparation. And again, we go back to Matthew chapter four, but you can read verses one through four. Now, Jesus wasn't just fasting for the establishment of a new ministry. Jesus was fasting for a new season. Think about this. So not only can you fast and pray to establish a new ministry, but when you fast and you pray, it brings about the spiritual preparation that's needed to enter into that season. So you're expecting a child, fast and pray. You're starting a new job, fast and pray. You're beginning a new career, fast and pray. Moving to a new state, fast and pray. Making a new business deal, fast and pray. Looking for a spouse, fast and pray. You can fast and pray for all of the major decisions of life because fasting and prayer bring forth spiritual preparation. And again, not just the establishment of ministry, but for all major life changes. Why can't you call on God for any major life change? Why wouldn't you detach from the things of this world so you can go to a place of better clarity when it comes to hearing the Holy Spirit? Why wouldn't we? So that's spiritual preparation. Number seven and this one, we're going to get into these next two. You know, let me give you one one and then I'm going to get to these other two because I want to spend some time on these other two. Let me give you nine and 10 and then I'm going to go back to seven and eight because I want to spend a long time on seven and eight because I really think it's going to bless you. Let me know in the comments if this is helping you. Also post your questions, we'll be getting those in a moment. Even on replay because that actually helps to get the dialogue going and you may ask a question that you think no one else wants to ask but then you have the courage to ask it and so other people get blessed too. So nine and 10, number nine is protection. You can see Ezra 821 and the number 10 is increase in spiritual authority and deliverance. Matthew 17, nine through 21. And that's of course the story of the disciples who were unable to cast out the devil. They asked the Lord, why couldn't we do it? He said this kind, not unbelief, talking about the demon, said this kind only comes out through prayer and fasting. And so the prayer and fasting, I should probably word this differently because it doesn't necessarily increase your spiritual authority but it gives you greater access to that authority that's already there. I mean, you can't increase the authority of Christ, it's already supreme. But your access to that authority is what's increased when you fast and pray and of course it helps you to deal with higher ranking demonic powers. That is the only instance in scripture by the way that talks about strong demons. So we don't deal with strong demons by rituals and incantations and renouncing in special prayers and identifying it, getting its name, getting its backstory, getting its favorite color. No, it's just a simple response in faith. And on a side note, when you're casting out a devil, if it doesn't come out, the biblical option is to fast and pray. You come back, try to cast it out again. If it doesn't work that time, it's likely, likely a mental illness. Now let's go back to seven and eight. This is really where I think some of the meat is because I want to really delve into this because I think when we fast and pray, some of the greatest benefits are done internally. Some of the greatest benefits are the transformation of self. That is the transformation of self. That really is one of the greatest benefits, what prayer and fasting does for you. So, number seven and eight, number seven is learning dependence on God and number eight is practice for temptation. Practice for temptation. Why would I practice that? I'm going to talk about that in a moment. Now, I told you I would talk about the definition of breakthrough, what that means. Often when we talk about breakthrough, what most people imagine is, okay, breakthrough means when I get to that place in life where I never have to suffer again, where I never have another trial again, where I never have another issue again. That is not what breakthrough means. Breakthrough in the way I'm describing is spiritual. Breakthrough to me is when you become more like Christ. Breakthrough to me is when you become more loving, more patient, when you overcome a sinful habit. That is a breakthrough. And so we're going to talk about how to get that here. Number seven, learning dependence on God. Now, fasting affects everyone differently. For me, when I fast, usually day one and two are the easiest for me. Day one and two, no problem. In fact, there's some days where I forget to eat anyway. So day one and two, typical. I know, Britain, you can identify with that. We were just talking about that today. The pace of life, you're moving, moving, moving, studying, studying, studying, studying, studying, and all of a sudden you realize, I didn't eat today. Okay, so for me, day one and day two easy. I know other people, it's the opposite where day one and two are the most difficult and then after that, it becomes easier. So for me, there's a different way it affects me, but the way it affects all of us is that as we begin to become hungry, I'm going to get real practical here, we become weak, we become tired, grumpy, irritable, tempted to break the fast. Now, it's in this state of vulnerability that we can really learn to rely on God. Again, referencing Matthew four, three, through four, we see that the devil comes to tempt Jesus. And instead of making the stones into bread, what does Jesus do? He speaks forth the word. And what does he say? Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. He's talking about being sustained by spirit, not by flesh. What a powerful truth we can learn there. By the way, when you fast and when you pray, it's interesting how the things of the world just don't matter anyway. It's interesting that nothing matters. You ever try to watch something on YouTube when you're fasting? You can't even concentrate on the video. You try to read a good book, your eyes are too tired. You go out to hang with friends and they're talking just kind of annoys you. You go for a drive and you're thinking, my goodness, I could fall asleep at the wheel any minute. When you begin to fast and pray, the physical body becomes weak. And when the physical body becomes weak, so does its cravings. Now, this doesn't mean that you should starve yourself to death because that would liberate you in some way. No, no, that's not what I'm saying. This just means that in that state of vulnerability, you really learn to rely on God instead of on what sustains you. This is why, by the way, I personally am not a big proponent of the Daniel fast. You can do it if you want. Again, it's an exercise of some discipline. It's an exercise of cutting some things out to make more room for the things of God. So there's nothing wrong with it. Anything that minimizes flesh and maximizes spirit, I have no issue with. But personally, I wouldn't consider the Daniel fast a fast outright, but still, this is why I'm all for mostly just doing a food fast and sustained only on water because even some people, when they fast, they use a juicer. And they're drinking smoothies all day. I'm thinking, that's not really fasting because you're still receiving nutrients and energy. I'm fasting so all I can have is this smoothie. Or I'm fasting so I'm going to have some coffee. Or I'm fasting so I'm going to liquefy my meal. I mean, that's pretty much the same thing. I mean, you're still receiving nutrients. You're still receiving sustenance. You're still receiving strength and your body's still absorbing it and using it. But when you fast in this way, you learn, I'm weak. Nothing interests me. And you learn to say, okay, Lord, I really need your strength today. I really want to be filled by you. And then, and then you go to pray. The flesh isn't thinking of a million things. You know why? Because it's too weak to do that. Your emotions aren't running wild necessarily. Why? Because you're exhausted. And it puts you in this state where only, only, only the presence of God brings satisfaction. And that is a real beautiful place to be in. So it helps you to learn dependence on God. It's the discipline of self. Now, it's also number eight, practice for temptation. One more time, let's look at Matthew 4. Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. It was during that time of temptation that Jesus turned to fasting. Now, one of the reasons why fasting works so well is because it puts you in such a vulnerable state, as I just mentioned in my last point. But think about this. When is it the most difficult to exercise patience? When you're tired and hungry and irritable? That is when it's the most difficult to exercise patience with others. Joy, peace, when your flesh is just not in a good mood. Now, years ago, I visited a pastor friend of mine in Southern California and he takes me into his office and he shows me this incredible, it was like he had built the cockpit of an airplane. It was a simulator, it was a flight simulator. And I walk into this thing and I'm telling you, it's in his house. I don't know how much he even invested in this. And I'm looking and I see there's all these screens. There's the steering wheel for the airplane. There's all of the different instruments and all of the different things that were basically simulating the cockpit for this plane. So he takes me on this simulator and he tells me, okay, I want you to help me fly this thing. So he puts on this headset and he tells me to put on a headset. And I thought it was interesting because as I went into this simulator, it wasn't just like me and him and we're in this virtual world. There was like a whole world of people who were participating from all different parts of the world online inside of the simulator. So we were watching other planes pass us and they were actually people flying those planes. They even had a simulated, what's that called, air traffic control. There were people who were sitting with headsets on in their homes doing virtual air traffic control. And it was like this whole hidden virtual world of people who were aviation enthusiasts. And so I got really intimidated by that. I'm thinking, okay, I thought we were just going to play like a game. I thought you were just going to teach me to fly and it was just going to be me and you. No, now I'm in an airport. I can obstruct other people's flights. I can ruin other people's day. And you didn't just take like, it wasn't like time-lapsed flights. When you were flying it, you were flying it. So if I crashed into someone, who was flying, they were flying for three days, or not three days, three hours. They were flying for half the day, you know. And so someone could be flying for six hours and as they're landing, if I ruin their landing, I ruined half of their day. So I'm kind of nervous. I'm putting on the headset. I'm going forward on the runway and he's guiding me, directing me. And we take off. He says, it's going to be a short flight. I think it was like a 45 minute, 25, 45 minute flight. And I'm sitting there and he's not saying anything to me. We're just talking. He's talking air traffic control every so often. He gives me instructions and we're sitting. You have to picture this. We're sitting there in this simulator for like 30 minutes and just staring at the screens every few minutes. He would tell me, adjust this, just that. And I'm thinking, okay, I wasn't expecting this. And I didn't know it was, this would be taken so seriously. So I started becoming intimidated. And then he starts telling me, okay, we're going to land the plane. And after 30 to 45 minutes of flying in the virtual sky, as we're landing, I crashed the plane. I remember he was just so defeated. He just took his headset off, looked over at me. He said, well, you crashed. And everyone, I guess I had ruined someone else's flight. I don't know. It was, I didn't completely understand that world anyway. But I said, thank God it's just a simulation. You know, people ask me all the time when they're fasting and praying. They say, David, you know, I decided to fast for three days. And I was trying not to give into temptation, but you know, I forgot I was even fasting. And on the second day I reached out for a snack. I ate the snack. Is God angry with me? Is he upset with me? Did I sin against God? No, it's just the temptation simulator. And this is why I tell people not to feel condemned when they break their fast, or when they couldn't go the three days that they wanted to go. Why? Because it's just a simulator. It is a temptation simulator with very, very, very poor conditions. Meaning you're the most tired. You're the most hungry. You're the most irritable. And that's a dangerous combination. In fact, this is why I tell ministers all the time to stay rested, because if you're not rested, you're more susceptible to giving to temptation and sin. And so when you fast and you pray, you're putting yourself in the simulator. You're putting yourself in the temptation simulator, and you're learning in that moment to subject the flesh. You're learning in that moment of irritability to show patience. You're learning in that moment of being tired to demonstrate joy and positive truth speaking by the Spirit. You're not giving in to the flesh. You're putting yourself in the worst possible conditions and teaching yourself to say no to the flesh and yes to the Spirit. I mean, if you can say no to the flesh when you haven't eaten in three days and you're tired and you're irritable, you can say no to the flesh when you're well rested and eating and sleeping and so forth. This is why I call fasting and prayer the temptation simulator. It helps you to control your impulse. That's mastering the split second decision. I'm going to teach this to you here. I told you we're going to take our time with this. Mastering the split second decision. This is so key. You ever notice that when you're angry and you go to say something that you know you should not say in anger, that the split second before it leaves your mouth, there's that moment of pause. There's that split second where you go, I shouldn't say this. And this right here is the voice of the Holy Spirit or it's your spirit resisting the flesh. Most people ignore that split second voice that says don't do it and we call those people impulsive. They don't pause long enough. They don't listen to that pause. They don't listen to that still small voice that guides them in that moment and they just say what they want to say. They just do what they want to do. You know when you're fasting, sometimes you forget that you're fasting. You see a snack on the table, you reach out, take a bite and you realize, oh my goodness that was impulsive. Why? Because you just said yes to the cravings of the flesh. You weren't thinking of anything else and you learn now to master the flesh in the split second decision. The split second before you say what you shouldn't say. The split second before you go to that website. The split second before you go to that house. The split second before you drink that drink or take that drug. The split second before you allow your mind to go where it should not go. That split second you learn to master the impulse when your flesh is irritable, tired and hungry. And you do it, as I said, in the worst conditions so that you can practice. It teaches you to master your exhaustion, maintaining your character in the midst of exhaustion and fatigue. I can't tell you how many times I've been super exhausted and I come back on an airplane and I'm just watching people fumble around for their bags and not paying attention, not listening to the instructions. Like Steve, you and I were talking about it the other day. We get off on the plane and we notice people, as soon as the plane lands, everybody stands up. Why? They're not going anywhere and they don't realize they're blocking other people from getting their stuff and because they're all standing, they're keeping us from getting off the plane sooner. And after 40 hours of travel from a small island all the way over to back to Los Angeles, that can be a test of character. I'm tired, I'm exhausted. I'm just thinking, please Lord, speak to each and every one of these people. Give them common sense, I pray, and we'll have to learn to subject the flesh, to master that exhaustion, to master patience and long suffering, to master temptation and distraction and dependency on the things of the world. So to recap here, and then we're going to pray, fasting benefits, the reset for repentance, number two, clarity. Number three, ministry establishment. Number four, favor. Five, healing. Six, spiritual preparation. Seven, learning dependence on God. Eight, practice for temptation. Nine, protection. Ten, increase in spiritual authority and deliverance. Now let's pray, and then I want to talk to you for just a second. Father in the name of Jesus, I lift your people to you now and I pray that you would allow this word to deeply affect them. Let this word take deep roots in their hearts and minds. Holy Spirit, bring to remembrance to us these things we ought to remember when we should remember them. Be that great reminder, precious Holy Spirit. And Father as your people commit themselves to this deeply spiritual act, I pray Lord that you would cause them to go to higher heights in the Spirit than they've ever thought possible. In the mighty name of Jesus we pray, and I want you to say it because you believe it, say amen. Now don't turn off this video just yet. Whether you're watching live or on the replay, I want to talk to you real briefly about how you can get involved with helping our ministry fulfill its mandate. You know, there are thousands of people who receive from this ministry and all glory belongs to Jesus. This is not my ministry. This is the Holy Spirit's ministry. This belongs to the Lord. It's his work. I'm just a steward. My team and I, we just take care of what belongs to the Lord and we're so thankful that we get the opportunity to be able to do that. And you know, one of the things I'm so encouraged by continually, like I can't tell you how much this means to us is that there are thousands of you, thousands who every single month, every single week, support the work of this ministry through generosity and through financial giving. And I want to say thank you to those of you who do that because we can't do it without you. I know it's spiritual sounding to say, no brother David, all you need is God. I get that. Yes, all we need is the Lord. But you know, he designed it so that we need each other. So by God's design, according to his will, I couldn't do this without you. I really couldn't. And I thank God for partnering us together. And so there are thousands of people who give to this ministry, thousands of people who are partnered monthly. Let's take the comments off just for a second. There are thousands of people who partner with us monthly. And so in doing this, they're doing their part to help the ministry. Help us continue to fund these live streams. Help us continue to fund the content. Help us continue to do events around the world. Why? So that souls can be saved. So that lives can be impacted. That's why we do what we, that is the great why behind what we do. We want to see the kingdom of God expanded in the earth. We want to see souls saved. We want to see people saved, healed, delivered, empowered, set free. And you can be a part of that. I'm asking you, please join the thousands who support this ministry and do your part. And ask the Holy Spirit what your part is. Maybe your part is $5 a month. Cancel Netflix, cancel Hulu, so that you can support the ministry. It's worth it, I promise. Maybe your part is to give a one-time gift right now. Maybe your part is to give $15, $30. Some people give $100 a month. Whatever your part is, ranging from large to small, one time to monthly, I'm asking you to get involved right here, right now. Support this ministry by going to davidhernanisministries.com slash donate. Give a one-time gift or become a monthly supporter. And I'm actually going to be able to see the names that come in. I'm seeing now different people giving from all around the world. Let me see here. It's, wow, wow, wow. Thank you so much. Wow. What a tremendous support base we have. Thank you to Dorcas Alawuni who became a monthly partner. Adiyana, thank you for your monthly partnership. Carmen, thank you for becoming a partner. Loray, thank you for becoming a partner. Miriam, thank you for becoming a partner. And then I see Yamilex and Altagracia and Joy and Patricia and Melinda and Peggy and Destiny. My goodness. Thank you all for becoming a monthly partner. And thank you to Shireen for your one-time gift. Wow. What a generous gift you just gave to the ministry. We appreciate that support. All of you supporting from all around the world. It counts. It matters. Do your part today. Get involved with this minute. You may say, I've been so blessed by the ministry. I've been helped by what you're doing. Do your part. Get involved. DavidHernandezMinistries.com slash donate. Now, if you enjoyed this teaching, you will love the teaching for signs the Holy Spirit is trying to speak to you.