The Rewards of Fasting by Mike Bickle

Author:Mike Bickle [Bickle, Mike]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2012-06-22T16:59:07+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

Fasting to Break Spiritual Strongholds

The False God of Food

One of the most significant things Jesus said concerning the power of fasting is recorded in the Book of Matthew. His disciples could not cure a demonized boy and the boy's father came to Jesus for deliverance. The disciples were perplexed as to why they could not cast the demon out and Jesus told them that a lifestyle of prayer and fasting was the key: “‘Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.' ... Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, ‘Why could we not cast him out?' Jesus said ... , ‘This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting'” (Matt. 17:15-21). In essence, Jesus was telling the disciples that the anointing to break Satan's power over the lives of His people was linked to prayer and fasting. Fasting is one of the necessary elements we should embrace when we confront demonic strongholds.

There is a false god that must be dethroned in our lives—the god of physical appetites, specifically the god of food. This god undermines the cross of Christ. Philippians 3:18-19 says, “For many ... are enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction and whose god is their belly... ” Food, which is a God-ordained blessing, has been exploited by demonic powers. Paul addressed this false god, which had established a spiritual stronghold in some people in the New Testament Church. He said their god was their belly, their physical appetites.

As shocking as it seems, we have given real territory in our lives over to demons by allowing food to be an idol in our lives. Paul put his finger right on this idol and called it a false god. It usually goes unrecognized today. Believers in the Western Church allow this god to reign in their lives uncontested, day in and day out, and do not realize that through indulgence they are worshipping something other than the one, true God.

No one thinks they worship food; no Christian wants to worship food. Yet our appetites—our desire to eat—can preoccupy our schedules and plans to the point where it becomes one of our primary life goals. Some think about food continually, imagining what they will eat next and ordering their days around it. They don't even recognize they have been caught in the snare of putting their trust in food. This false trust manifests itself when we eat to calm our nerves; to have the courage to face our fears; to cover the reality of our internal struggles; and to feel comfort and joy. If you were honest, what would you say is the primary source people use to calm their nerves, relieve

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