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How hungry are you? I'm not talking about "I need a snack to get me through." I'm talking about the kind of hunger that requires immediate nutrition to keep you from fainting.

:My children were in the habit of saying "I'm starving" every time they had the slightest craving. One day I told them, "no, you aren't starving until your stomach is distended from malnutrition and you're too weak to hold the food to your mouth and require someone else to do it for you. And you are willing to eat warm mush that looks like it has already been consumed and regurgitated." That's starving! My teenager responded with her usual "oooh, gross mom" and the other two lost their appetite.

How hungry are you for the things of God? How bad do you want to see your family saved? How much do want to be free from cancer, delivered from alcohol or drugs, victorious over sexual immorality? Is it really worth it to see the manifestation of your dreams, to experience your financial breakthrough, to receive your answer, to get to the other side of this mountain? If skipping a few meals is too big a price to pay, then you need to question how badly you want it!!!

Fasting, coupled with prayer, is one of the most effective and powerful tools a Child of God has to obtaining victory. Why do you think it's so hard? Depriving the flesh of anything is not only difficult but we live in a society that says we should get whatever we want when we want it. Maybe that's why adultery, drug addiction, and pornography are so popular. The instant gratification is great until the adulterous affair leads to divorce and life of deceit, and the drugs lead to addiction, health problems and sometimes death. You get my drift. What we want is not always what we need.

I guarantee you that fasting and prayer will provoke miracles in your life. It is not a requirement for the Christian and you will go to Heaven if you never fast a meal in your life but there are some situations in my life, and probably in yours, that require supernatural assistance. I'm not just trying to make it to Heaven. There are loved ones in my life that are "hell-bound" at this moment. I need a healing in my body as I write this article. The windows of Heaven need to be opened over this ministry so we can do everything God has called us to do. So, I must pray and I must fast!!! Is there something specific in your life right now that you have prayed and sought God over? Matthew 17:20,21 says that some obstacles will not move simply with prayer. Some things require the supernatural union of prayer and fasting. Just ask King Jehoshaphat what he did in 2 Chronicles 20 when he was surrounded by the enemy. Queen Esther skipped a few meals herself when her people faced execution. Moses fasted and came down from the mountain with the Ten Commandments. Daniel fasted, Paul fasted, King David fasted. Jesus, the Son of God, felt it necessary to fast. It launched his ministry. We need to realize that fasting is a powerful weapon that Satan wants us to neglect and ignore. He will do anything to discourage us from using that weapon.

Fasting is only effective when it's joined with prayer and obedience. I didn't say perfection. I said obedience. If you are fasting and you have an evil thought or say something you shouldn't -- repent and move on. However, if you are not paying your tithes or you are disobedient in another area of your life, fasting will help expose those areas but won't become the powerful tool it can be until you begin to walk in obedience.

It does not come easy. The greatest things never do. I know and have experienced miraculous things because of fasting and yet, it is still quite difficult for me -- but worth it. Start small. Skip one meal and dedicate that time to communion with the Lord. Feast on His word instead of chicken. Build your fasting muscles.

The first fast I ever attempted lasted approximately 2 hours and 35 minutes. A chocolate chip muffin suddenly became more important to me than relief from our financial despair. We were a young couple rolling dimes and quarters to pay for diapers, facing possible eviction, our utilities had just been turned off, and our one vehicle was in need of repair. And I just had to have that muffin. I thought I wanted a financial miracle more than anything. I was desperate. But the Lord showed me just how programmed I was to immediate satisfaction. We will never walk into everything God has for us if we don't first learn to discipline our flesh. And that's a life-long process. So don't beat yourself up if about midway through your fast you begin questioning whether a Big Mac might be a little more important than having your marriage restored.

Our military in Iraq are fighting a violent war. They have guns and tanks and they are trained to fight with their hands. What if they only chose to use their fists and their guns? If they wanted to destroy a compound full of terrorists and cause mass destruction, wouldn't it be wise to pull out the tank? Like the armed forces, we too have different kinds of weapons to use against the enemy. But depending on the type of battle and the severity of it, sometimes it's necessary to pull out the tank.

If your obstacles are insignificant and your vision is small, then by all means, don't you miss a meal. Have dessert too. But if God has called you into something so far beyond your current circumstances, beyond your capabilities and resources and what He's showing you is so crazy that you can't discuss it with anyone -- than you need to fast. If you are facing an impossible situation, whether it be financial, physical, spiritual, or mental -- then you need to fast. Don't just use this weapon. Learn everything you can about it. The drivers of those tanks wouldn't be nearly as affective if they could only drive in reverse. They need to know exactly how to maneuver that thing. Study your weapons. The bullet can't be released from the chamber of a gun unless you know where the trigger is.

You can do this!!! If you fail, just welcome yourself to the human-race and try again.

Just talking about fasting makes me crave a Butter Finger Blizzard from Dairy Queen. What? I said you could do it -- I didn't say it would be easy...

Until next time,
Karen
Daryl Williams Trio
http://www.darylwilliamstrio.net

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