Day 4 Fasting Journal

“Day 4: Target Your Prayers

Paul said the weapons of our warfare are “mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds” (2 Cor. 10:4, KJV ). And such weapons need to be honed to properly hit the target. In Matthew 17, the disciples were frustrated because they could not cast the demon out of the boy. Jesus explained, “This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting” (v. 21). Among other things, fasting helps you to focus and target your prayers more effectively.

I love the statement Jesus made in John 10:27: “My sheep hear My voice.” That is how He created us. He speaks to us, and we are able to hear Him speaking. Do you want to hear the voice of the Creator? Do you want to know Jesus more deeply? Do you want to know the direction He desires you to take in life? I do.”

“As I was completing my book Fasting, I was beginning my fifth twenty-one-day fast since entering the ministry. I began my first one when I was just seventeen years old. My parents were always godly examples when I was growing up, so even at that young age I was becoming aware that fasting was a part of being a true follower of Christ. If you are a parent reading this book, I want you to know that even children can begin to understand these concepts, and it is important that they learn them at a young age.

Prior to that first twenty-one-day fast at the age of seventeen, I had completed shorter ones. In fact, it was during a three-day fast that God revealed His assignment for my life. I was praying and seeking His will. That is when He called me to preach.

Recently, the Lord shared something with me that I believe will help you as you desire to hear His voice and know His will. He said simply, “Every assignment has a birthplace.” Every assignment, every call of God, every direction from Him starts somewhere. God has specific assignments “for your life. But how do you discover them? How will you hear His voice? How will you know His will for your life, His plans for you? Whom should you marry? Where should you live? What job should you take? What mission field is calling your name?

The answer can be found in the appeal Paul made to the Romans: “Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service” (Rom. 12:1). Remember the three Christian duties I covered in day 1? Giving, praying, and fasting. That is how you “present” your body to God as a “living” sacrifice. Fasting keeps you sensitive to His Spirit, enabling you to live holy. Paul went on to say, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:2).

I am convinced that we will never walk in the perfect will of God until we seek Him through fasting. When you present your body in this manner, you open yourself up to hear from God. “You will prove or discover His good and perfect will for your life. Paul was fasting when God called him and shared the assignment for his life (Acts 9:7–9). Peter was fasting on the rooftop when God gave him a new revelation and called him to take the gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 10). Fasting prepares the way for God to give you fresh revelation, fresh vision, and clear purpose.

In the Book of Joel, the Lord said, “And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions” (Joel 2:28). God was going to pour out revival—afterward. He was revealing His will for His people—afterward. After what? After a fast. Israel was in sin, and God was calling His people to fast in repentance as a people: “Blow the trumpet in Zion, consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly” (Joel 2:15). “His promise to them was to pour out revival and blessings on the land. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for those “afterward” seasons when God pours out revival, when our sons and daughters prophesy! What are we waiting for when we read scriptures like 2 Chronicles 7:14? Can you imagine if believers in America really took hold of this, if they humbled themselves (fasted) and prayed? God would heal our nation and send revival!”

“But if He is going to pour out new wine, our wineskins will have to change. Jesus said, “No one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins” (Mark 2:22). I had never seen the connection between fasting and the new wine before. But if you look at this passage, Jesus had just finished telling the Pharisees that His disciples would fast once He was gone. Fasting is what prepares you for a new anointing (Mark 2:20). God can’t put that kind of wine in old skins. If you want new wine, new miracles, new closeness, new intimacy with Him, then it’s time to call a fast and shed that old skin for the new.

Fasting prepares the way for God to give you fresh revelation, fresh vision, and clear purpose.”

“On your fourth day of fasting, remember:

• Listen as you pray.

• Record His response to your prayers.

• You begin to settle into the fast.

•

Thoughts for your journal:

(Write your thoughts in a separate journal.)

• Is there any healing that you need physically?

• What are the needs in your family right now?

Prayer Focus Day 4: Intercessors”

“You are a spiritual “gatekeeper” in your home, your family, and your city. Your intercessory prayers for these areas help maintain a wall of protection against demonic attack. Interceding is intervening, or stepping in on behalf of another. Even people who would never speak to you in person have no defense against your prayers. Your prayers can go into bars. Your prayers can go into crack houses. Your prayers can go anywhere. E. M. Bounds said, “Prayers outlive the lives of those who uttered them.” Spend today focusing on your own intercessory prayer life, praying for other intercessors, and praying that God would raise up more intercessors. We need prayers that will outlive our generation!

Intercessory targets for my family, my city, and my country:

(Write your thoughts in a separate journal.)

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

—EPHESIANS 6:18, NIV”