There are moments in life where it feels like your prayers are hitting the ceiling. No matter what you pray and how long you pray, the breakthrough just isn’t coming. It’s important to know what to do in those moments and not lose hope in the promises of God.
The Bible tells us there are some circumstances that require prayer and fasting for breakthrough. I interviewed Tammy Hotsenpiller for my “Strang Report” podcast to talk about fasting for breakthrough.
Fasting isn’t easy, in fact it isn’t supposed to be easy. The first time I tried to fast in college during the Jesus Movement I felt like was going to die.
“That’s the point. You are dying to your flesh. That’s what you are supposed to do,” Tammy says. As a coach, author and co-pastor of Influence Church in southern California one of the things she teaches is fasting out of conviction instead of guilt.
In her new book, “Fasting For Miracles: A 21 Day Journey to Seeing Faith Become Reality,” Tammy walks you through the biblical meaning and purpose of a fast. In the Greek the word ‘fast’ means to shut your mouth. In the Hebrew the word means no food.
“So when Jesus is telling us to fast, or the Old Testament is teaching us to fast, I believe it’s a food fast, because I’m struggling with my flesh right now in fasting,” she says.
In America we are accustomed to eating whatever we want whenever we want it. When you fast you are clearing your mind and pressing deeper into God. It’s not just about going without food, but it’s an opportunity to grow closer in your relationship with God.
“My focus isn’t on my physical wellbeing it’s on my spiritual breakthrough. I think that’s the difference between a physical fast and a biblical fast,” Tammy says.
In today’s world we hear about intermittent fasting to improver our physical health, but fast for your spiritual health will be prompted by God.
For Tammy, her journey with fasting grew deeper right as the pandemic began. God gave her a prophetic vision of what was going on in the world and she quickly saw the enemy shooting arrows of fear, dissension and confusion.
“This is important because when God gives us prophetic words, He also gives us revelation. He spoke to my spirit and He said ‘pray against the arrows.’ I immediately knew this was demonic. On my walk, the Holy Spirit said to me very clearly ‘fast with Me, fast with Me.'”
Most Christians in churches today don’t understand the purpose and discipline of fasting. In Matthew 17 we read about a father who brings his epileptic son to Jesus for healing. Jesus rebuked the demon and the child was set free. When the disciples came to him later they asked why they weren’t able to cast out the demon. In verse 21 Jesus says, ” But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
In her coaching book, Tammy takes you step-by-step through various fasts and the biblical miracle stories that accompany those fasts. The goal through fasting is to have an encounter with God.
“When the Holy Spirit said to me ‘fast for miracles,’ I knew that He wanted me to do something that would press in deeper than the natural realm,” she says.
There are multiple different kinds of fasts that you can implement in your life. One of the most common fasts is the Daniel fast, often a 21-day fast eating mainly vegetables and water. There are sun up to sun down fasts, and an absolute fast which is no food at all.
Wherever you are at in your fasting journey take a moment and pray and ask the Holy Spirit how you can be fasting for breakthrough in your life.
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