Episode 5, "Unmasking the Enemy" Empowered Through Fasting and Prayer

05/22/21 • 13 min

Most of us have seen the Mission Impossible movies and some of us are old enough to have seen the television series. There is one significant scene in almost every movie and many TV episodes where a fake, rubber mask is used to disguise the good guys to look like one of the bad guys. In other words, you did not always know who the real enemy was. That’s what we are going to talk about today. Who is the real enemy when it comes to spiritual warfare in fasting and prayer? We encourage you to email us with your personal testimonies on fasting. We will give details on how to contact us and how to access past episodes referenced in today’s presentation. My name is Stephanie Wright and this is Episode 5, “Unmasking the Enemy” in our series Empowered Through Fasting.

So, who is the real enemy when we talk about being empowered to wage spiritual warfare through fasting and prayer. Well, of course, we all know the enemy from the beginning of time was the devil. It started in the garden of Eden with the temptation of Adam and Eve.

But, today, well, we are going to talk about another enemy. That enemy is us. We can sometimes be our own worst enemy when it comes to submitting to a fast. We sabotage our fast by not being obedient when the Spirit says fast; we sabotage our fast when we compromise with the Spirit on the fast; and we sabotage our fast when we are not sincere (we fast for the wrong reasons). Now, you may not do any of these things but listen anyway so you can be a help to someone else.

So, be empowered through the Holy Spirit and do not be your worst enemy. Obey the call to fast, don’t compromise, and remember the purpose is to do the will of God and in so doing, we will destroy the works of the devil.

Now, let’s listen as Apostle Charles gives details on how to contact us and listen to past episodes. And please send an email to [email protected] with your accounts of how fasting has helped you. God bless.

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Episode 4, Daniel and You in the Lion's Den, Empowered to Fast Series

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Have you ever been faced with death for standing up for what you believe in? How about being thrown into a lion’s den? ROAR! Hello and welcome to Episode 4, in our “Empowered Through Fasting” series. Last week we talked about when to fast. This week we will discuss how to have a successful fast by looking at a righteous man named Daniel. Yes, the Daniel from the Book of Daniel who was thrown to the lions for supper. We encourage you to email us with your personal testimonies on fasting. We will give details on how to contact us at the end of this presentation. My name is Stephanie Wright. Let’s talk about empowerment through fasting and prayer.

Today, we are going to focus on Daniel from the Old Testament, Book of Daniel, and his success through prayer and fasting. We are not going to focus on the type of food Daniel ate in Daniel 1:12 and 10:2‐3, because there is plenty of information on the internet about what is known as the “Daniel Fast.” What we will emphasize in today’s presentation is Daniel’s obedience and dedication to God when it came to fasting and prayer. In addition to Daniel, Chapters one and ten, Chapter 9:3, specifically references Daniel “fasting” but makes no mention of food or sustenance of any kind. We can therefore conclude this was not a partial fast like Chapters 1 and 10, but a complete fast of no food and water or at least no food.

In any event, Daniel’s fasting resulted in answered prayers in all three of the aforementioned chapters. But, why were Daniel’s fasts successful? We will briefly point to three reasons for Daniel’s success: passion, persistence, and patience.

So, what is the key to a successful fast? Love of God, persistence and patience, among other things. And of course, if you feel like you need help in any of these areas, you know what the answer is, right? Jesus said, “[T]he Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and remind you of all that I said to you.” John 14:26, New American Standard Bible. Just ask the Holy Spirit to help you. We have a whole series on the Holy Spirit, so please listen as Apostle Charles gives details on how to contact us and listen to past episodes. And please send an email to [email protected] with your accounts of how fasting has helped you. God bless.

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Episode 6, "The Unplanned Fast: Elijah and Jezebel" Empowered Through Fasting Series

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Episode 6, “The Unplanned Fast: Elijah and Jezebel

Hello and welcome to Episode 6, in our “Empowerment Through Fasting Series.” Today’s episode is entitled, “The Unplanned Fast: Elijah and Jezebel.” Today we are going to learn the significance of an unplanned fast and how Elijah’s fast played an integral role in fulfillment of the prophecy concerning King Ahab’s kingdom and Queen Jezebel’s downfall. Let’s talk about Empowerment Through Fasting.

Before we get started, if you have not already listened to Episode 1, in this series entitled, “Nothing is Impossible with God,” please do so. It provides scriptures, some basic foundational principles, contemporary examples of fasting with prayer, and caveats on how to fast. We encourage you to email us with your personal testimonies on fasting. We will give details on how to contact us and how to access past episodes referenced in today’s presentation. My name is Stephanie Wright. Let’s begin today’s episode with an introduction of Elijah and Jezebel.

Elijah was one of the most well‐known prophets of the Old Testament. He performed many miracles in the Old Testament (stopped the rain and started it again; provided endless food for a widow; brought a child back to life; called down fire on his enemy). All of these accounts are found in 1 Kings 17 and 18; 2 Kings 1 and 2; and James 5. Also, this prophet was so close to God that he was translated from earth to heaven, meaning, he did not die but was taken directly to heaven – in Elijah’s case, he was taken to heaven in a whirlwind. 2 Kings 2.

Queen Jezebel became the wife of King Ahab of Israel around 874 BC. She brought to the marriage heathen practices and idol worship most notably worship of a heathen god, Baal. As stated in the beginning of this presentation, she was one of the most, if not the most, evil woman in the Bible. She brought 450 of her Baal‐worshipping prophets into the kingdom and then ordered the murder of the prophets of the Lord (I Kings 18:4, 13). She engineered the murder of an innocent man named Naboth because he would not sell his vineyard to her husband, King Ahab. I Kings 21. For this heinous act, Elijah prophesied that she would be eaten by dogs by the wall of Jezreel, the city where the king and queen reigned. I Kings 21:23.

Today’s presentation occurred in I Kings 18, and details the conflict between Elijah and Queen Jezebel leading to Elijah’s forced fast. So, what led to the showdown between Elijah and Queen Jezebel is this, basically God got fed up with all the Baal worship so he told Elijah to go to King Ahab and set up the showdown on Mount Carmel. Long story short, in the interest of time, Elijah defeats Jezebel’s prophets.

Out of Elijah’s forced fast came a greater fast, the results of which led to the destruction of an evil queen who controlled an evil kingdom. What is important is that we see the power of fasting, whether small or great, planned or unplanned. We see how God uses fasting to destroy evil and to have his will fulfilled.

We close here by remembering another person who was driven into the wilderness not by evil, but by the Holy Spirit, to fast 40 days and 40 ni