The Bible clearly calls us to fasting. When I mention fasting to Christians, I often hear the statement, I have not been called to fast and when I am, I will fast.

Many talk as if fasting is like going on a mission to a jungle. In reality, every Christian is called to discipline, prayer and fasting. If you are truly serious about your walk with Christ, you will fast. For a Christian, fasting needs to be like brushing the teeth, just something you do to maintain your spiritual life. No big deal, just a regular part of living.

The course of our lives is steered by the decisions we make. Your decision to fast is a sign that you are willing and ready to undergo a complete reconstruction of who you are, letting the Holy Spirit into all the little, dark cubbyholes of your life and getting sincere with your calling. God will honor that. More than anything, God wants our willingness. He is a gentleman and will not barge in. He wants to be invited. Your decision to fast is an invitation.

If you still fear fasting, keep reading. After a few fasts, first-time fasters will see you as a veteran and you will become their guide. It is just a matter of time.

Get Time Alone

Taking care of a church, business or family can make constant demands on your time. Time alone can become a rare privilege but the busier you are the more you need solitude. Your ministry, company or family will survive a few hours without you. Christ got alone each day to recharge. In the midst of constant demands, He made the time for solitude and prayer.

Read the Bible

Channel surfing is the furthest thing from a spiritual high. With each click of the remote, inner emptiness grows. In that state, it becomes exceedingly difficult to read the Bible. Yet, the words of the Bible are spiritual food that recharge our spirit and stir our faith. Psalms are great if you are going through hard times. Ephesians, Philippians, James, and Colossians are great for practical guidance. During your fast, make it a discipline to read the Bible each day.

Meditate

Many Christians, in North America, consider meditation a pagan practice. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in his law he meditates day and night (Psalm 1:2). Meditation is a mental exercise where you take control of your thought life through focusing on a single thought or deep relaxed breathing. If you are distracted by sounds that cannot be silenced, use some earplugs. Do not fight with your thinking; just let it go and return to focusing on the one single thought. Stay aware of your breathing and the tension in your body. Breathe deeply and try to relax your muscles. If you can spend 20 minutes of time in meditation each day, you will be more at peace throughout the day. Here are some examples of thoughts to meditate on: I am loved by God. I have been forgiven for my sin. God is with me. If you lie on a bed, you will most likely fall asleep. Sitting upright in a chair is good. I prefer kneeling on a cushion and leaning over a chair or my bed as in a position of prayer.

Do A Spiritual House Cleaning

When I was younger, I studied the writings of Confucius, The Tibetan Book of The Dead, Buddhism, Astrology, Tarot and every interesting and weird philosophy I could find. Playing bass for a heavy metal band called Black Mass, I became morosely depressed and entered a state of continual torment. Strange things started to happen. Lamps flickered when I entered a room. The guitarist and I almost died. We passed out from a drug overdose and the band practice hall, which was in a barn, caught fire. We were on a farm in the middle of nowhere, but someone entered, dragged our barely-conscious bodies from the fire and put it out. I saw his feet through the smoke. Then he vanished. I did not care; I was becoming suicidal, and life no longer mattered. The next day, at the same time and without talking to each other, two friends visited me with the same message that I was possessed and had to go to a certain church. I flopped into the seat of the truck, and the electrical system died. They prayed and the truck started. I walked into the church, and the pastor kept looking at me and appeared unable to concentrate. I just sat there in some weird trance. Suddenly, he ended the service, and asked everyone to leave, but I was asked to stay. When the pastor spoke to me, I got dizzy and ran to the bathroom with extreme vomiting and diarrhea. When I finally left the bathroom, there were 20 people in a circle and one chair in the middle that I knew was for me. Now, I am free from bondage and living with the protection of Christ. I will never forget the dangers of the spirit realm.

The Bible states that there is a war between light and darkness; that Satan is alive and active on planet Earth and to be aware of his schemes. To get right with God, you have to repent of all the cult stuff in your life. If you have old Black Sabbath albums, crystal balls used for séances, Ouija boards, tarot cards or cult books, you need to destroy them. Remove anything in your house that is an insult to God. If you are reading this chapter because you want the best from God, remember that He is a jealous God and will have no other idols before Him.

For 40 years, cruel desert winds reminded the Israelites of their cowardice in turning back because they saw giant warriors. To Joshua they were midgets before the power of God. With his leadership in five years of war, the battlefield became a nation of peace and prosperity, and the Israelites enjoyed all the blessings of God, in the Promised Land.
Your freedom will not come without a fight. It will not come without a painful struggle. Your Promised Land is vast and rich but it is defended by giants and 31 kings ruling over their strongholds of pride, lust, perversion, greed, fear, addiction, apathy, deceit, low self-esteem, guilt, shame, depression, envy, malice, mistrust, criticism, resentment, control and every emotion, thought process and attitude that stands against you claiming total freedom in Christ.

Casting down imaginations that stand against Christ (2 Corinthians 10:3-6)

A spiritual strong hold is a thought process that is false and stands against Christ. Anything that stops you enjoying the peace and pleasure of God is a stronghold. A stronghold is a distorted thought pattern where the demonic realm can have power over your decisions and actions. A person with a stronghold cannot serve God in that area. A Christian who gossips has a stronghold that allows the person to be used by Satan in that area. A Christian with an addiction cannot have the authority to take others out of addiction.

For a person who gossips the main stronghold is pride that supports the attitude that other people’s sin should be exposed while hiding their sin. Guilt is another stronghold that supports the stronghold of gossip and focusing on other people’s problems is to feel better about themselves. Each stronghold has alliances for strength.

Strongholds get rooted in our life through believing a lie such as I need drugs to feel good. I can’t live without my soap operas. I need a good stiff coffee every morning. I always blow it. My life is a mess. I can’t handle stress. These statements may appear innocent but they have the power to govern decisions, attitudes, and emotions and allow the power of distorted faith to empower a stronghold.

It is faith that connects us to the spiritual realm. False beliefs twist the power of faith creating power shifts in the spiritual realm. When many people believe the same thing it has an impact on a global scale, creating strongholds in every nation, organization, religion, church, group, family and movement. Each stronghold has multi-tiered levels of power, authority and control that maintains Satan’s earthly kingdom. Many of which are so strong they will stand until the return of Christ.

The Bible says that truth shall set your free but freedom is a lengthy painful process. In six weeks Joshua conquered 26 kingdoms but it took five years for the last five. Some strongholds were quick some took years of assault.

To gain victory, Joshua mastered the art of war and fought effectively. He studied his enemy for weakness and knew his own limitations and strengths. In the same way the conquering of the sin nature needs skill, study, planning, persistence, patience, and the courage to endue pain. Above all, you will need the faith to see yourself victorious, standing against all odds, the amazing person God intended you to be, an over comer, conqueror, enjoying the incredible blessing of His glorious freedom.

To change your life in a powerful way you need to master the art of fasting. In this fast-paced, money-centered culture, fasting is the reset button that takes you back to who you really are. It gives you time to be at peace and find yourself. It opens doors in the spiritual realm that can free a soul or change a nation. From Christ battling Satan in the desert to the divorced cashier battling breast cancer, fasting has a power to transform the outcome.

God’s heart for you is total freedom in Christ. Not only spiritual freedom but freedom from sickness, disease and needless suffering. After years of intense pain and useless medications, I remember the moment when I stepped out of the shower and, as I dried myself, realized my body no longer hurt. On a 30-day juice fast, my organs had healed.

When God breathed life into Adam, the work was complete. No extra ears or missing brain cells. A perfect body in a perfect world; disease and sickness did not exist. But God’s heart was saddened. He saw the future, witnessed the Temple of God being degraded through pleasure-centered living and so the human body was created with a self-regulated, healing mechanism. Sickness, disease, injury or shock became the triggers for the body to enter the fasting state. When given the opportunity, the healing mechanism of fasting touches more than just the cells of the body but reaches the depth of the soul causing the intense, spiritual changes for which fasting is so famous.

Homogenized Christianity

Never have I met a Christian yet, who wanted to live a lukewarm life. Never have I seen a Christian start out with the intention to sell out. The wear and tear of living withers passion. Compromise offers the easy way out, but deep within the soul weeps and asks, Is this all there is?

Compromise has a hefty price tag. Stressed out, angry, frustrated and overloaded, operating on spiritually “empty” we give God the leftovers. The garbage the heart gets poured out to others. Those you love the most suffer first.

Being busy becomes a substitute for being Godly. Surface living grows shallow roots that break in stormy trials. A happy face cannot cover up spiritually bankruptcy and a pierced soul crying for freedom as state I have known too well.

Examining my conduct and intentions, I often fall short. It is painful to get real and ask myself, “Am I serving God or self?” I know I am not alone as many Christians are in the same state, yet my heart wants more. That is the reason for this book. I do not profess to be walking in Total Freedom but these writings are my battle for it.

God sees your future. He sees you glorious and pure, receiving your reward in Heaven. No matter how ugly and demanding is your present sin is victory is yours. If you repent He forgives and you are guilt-free. Proclaim it. Speak it. Every time you fail state, I have victory. I have overcome. I am free. Demons will shriek in terror as these proclamations cut with the edge of a sword. You have the authority of Christ, you are free, and no sin can make you bow in obedience.

When life wanes into the hollow darkness of death, it will not be the victories, trophies or empires we built that will fill our thoughts but the memories of the ones we love. Your soul will cry out for last moment to share.

When that day comes, each of us will have regrets. The working mother wishes she had spent more time with her daughter. The alcoholic looks back on years wasted. When you stand before Christ and the events of your life are reviewed, what will you see? Will you be watching a shallow, self-centered person striving for self-gain or the painful sacrifices of a humble servant? As I write this, tears come to my eyes for I look at my own heart. I see how much less I am than what He wants me to be, how often I turn away and chase worldly desires.

It is easy to rationalize sin and self-centeredness because everyone does it. Yet, each of us knows right and wrong. You want what is right, and that is the reason you are reading this book. You are following an earnest hunger for a deeper connection with God and are willing to fast, willing to change, willing to sacrifice, humbled and hungry for more. With this attitude, fasting will be a catalyst to deep change.

To get practical, make a list of what is important, why it is important and what you are doing to reach it. During your fast, spend time studying each entry of importance. Lay it out before God, pray and wait. If you get stuck putting a value on a project, possession or achievement, consider the Apostle Paul’s value system. After one meeting with Christ on a dusty road, His most important values were slashed to zero, tossed in life’s dumpster and the only thing considered valuable and beyond price was knowing Jesus. When you mark the price tags of your life, look a little closer. The stuff thought of as most valuable may be junk before Christ. You do not have to have regrets at the end of your life.