Fasting for Spiritual Breakthrough: A Guide to Nine Biblical Fasts (12 page)

•
Under Jesus
. The conversion of a sinful Samaritan woman instigated this revival in Samaria (see John 4:28-42).

•
Under Philip
. The strong preaching of Philip the evangelist concerning the Kingdom of God produced a great revival in Samaria (see Acts 8:5-12).

•
Under Peter
. (a) At Pentecost, after his great sermon (see Acts 2). (b) At Lydda, after he had healed Aeneas (see Acts 9).

•
Under Paul
. One of the greatest revivals occurred in Ephesus during Paul’s third missionary journey. This account should be carefully read (Acts 19:11-20).
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Step 6: Get in Touch with the Symbolic

God communicates to His people through symbolic events (miracles), days (Passover), furniture (tabernacle) and ceremonies (baptism and the Lord’s Table). The tabernacle was a tent that symbolically communicated God’s holiness and presence. In the same way, the Sabbath was a symbol, as was circumcision.

The Samuel Fast will be more meaningful to you if you are aware of its symbolic significance. It is an outer symbol of an inner desire for God’s presence in your life. When you enter the Samuel Fast, you make a statement to God, to others and to yourself. What symbols in the Samuel Fast will bring God’s refreshing in your life?

a. Not eating
. When Israel came to Mizpah, “On that same day they went without eating to show their sorrow, and they confessed they had been unfaithful to the Lord” (1 Sam. 7:6,
CEV
). Their heartfelt sorrow was evident because they afflicted themselves through fasting. We, too, must demonstrate to God our heart attitude.

A word of caution, however, is needed. Fasting can become legalistic. Some people enter into a fast thinking their “good works” become the basis for answered prayer. When they do not get an answer, they hypocritically blame the system God put into place. People are not saved by good works, and the power of fasting to bring people closer to God resides in God, not in the “work” of fasting. The outer work of fasting can reflect the inner heart’s desire, but it is not a work of human effort that binds God to respond (see Isa. 58:1-5). In His sovereignty, God sees the heart and responds.

b. Sacrificing to God
. From the first time man offended God through sin, he was required to bring a sacrifice to God to demonstrate his sorrow for sin and his request for forgiveness. The first children, Cain and Abel, were required to bring a sacrifice to God:

Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the first-born of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering He did not look with favor (Gen. 4:3-5,
NIV
).

Obviously, Abel’s sacrifice was accepted because the blood of an animal substituted for his sin. Abel should have died, but the animal died in his place. The substitutionary blood sacrifice of Abel made him acceptable to God. Because there was no blood in the fruit sacrifice of Cain, it was rejected.

In the first Samuel Fast, two offerings were made by Samuel and Israel. The important one was the blood sacrifice. “Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. Then
Samuel cried to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him” (1 Sam. 7:9). Clearly, the blood of the lamb was a substitute, an atonement for the life of the sinful people.

There was also another sacrifice. “They [the people] drew water from the well and poured it out as an offering to the Lord” (v. 6,
CEV
). Water was often scarce in the land of Palestine. Pouring water out to God was a symbol of the people’s devotion to Him. At other times, pouring out water symbolized cleansing, satisfaction and life itself. All of these symbols were probably present in the people’s expression of sacrifice to the Lord.

Post-Fasting Attacks

When you enter into the Samuel Fast, your fast is not an isolated event. All of heaven’s forces are poised because God knows you have come into the secret place for prayer and fasting. Your spiritual enemy, however, also knows, and hates that you have entered into a fast to pray for revival and soul winning. “When the Philistine rulers found out about the meeting at Mizpah, they sent an army there to attack the people of Israel” (v. 7,
CEV
).

Even as you enter into your Samuel Fast, Satan may tempt you to abandon your goal. He hates revival because he never wants God to pour Himself on His people. Therefore, Satan will try to (1) make you too hungry, (2) put other thoughts in your mind, (3) tempt you to quit, (4) interrupt your schedule, (5) discourage you and (6) generally attack your fast.

The fast of Israel must have been effective. Samuel had begun praying and Israel had begun fasting. But because Israel gathered at Mizpah to fast, confess her sins and sacrifice to the Lord, the Philistines were quick to attack. There is another principle here. You may not get complete victory just because you fast and pray. Rather than entering into a time of peace and prosperity, you may find yourself under even more attacks from the enemy.

Fasting as a Process

Too often people think they gain complete victory over their sins by going to the church altar. They think they can fast and pray for revival and God will pour out His spirit among His people. Yet spiritual revival
does not flow as does turning on the bathroom faucet, nor does spiritual light come on as does the flick of a wall switch.

Because Christianity is a relationship, so is revival, and relationships take time to cultivate. First we must have a proper relationship with God. Relationships are intricate and complex, so we must spend time fasting to understand God. Second, Christianity involves relationships with others. We must pray for others, and pray with others. We cannot waltz into the throne room of almighty God and immediately get His wholehearted support for our “get spiritually rich quick” plans. Just as a sales presentation at a multinational organization leading to a large contract involves a process of time, so a Samuel Fast leading to revival involves time.

After Israel fasted, they should have been secure in the presence of God—but they weren’t. Instead, “The Israelites were afraid when they heard that the Philistines were coming. ‘Don’t stop praying!’ They told Samuel. ‘Ask the Lord our God to rescue us’” (v. 7,
CEV
). To attain revival, we must desire it wholeheartedly, seek it sincerely and be willing to repent from every known sin; and we must be willing to give up every intrusion into our schedules for the process of relationship building to mature. When we achieve revival, we will have put God first with our time, our talents, our money and our bodies.

Post-Fasting Action

We usually set many spiritual forces into motion when we begin to fast. Although we may be unaware of what is happening, we have seen that fasting puts the power of God to work, and that it may agitate the power of Satan. Several things can be done after your Samuel Fast to encourage the work of God and discourage the work of Satan.

You may have to ask forgiveness of someone, make restitution or start a new Christian service. Also, you may have to tithe, share the gospel or spend lengthy times at the church where the presence of God is manifesting itself. When you enter the Samuel Fast, be prepared for God to work. You cannot put God in a box called a sanctuary and tell Him when He can start manifesting Himself—nor can you stop Him when you’ve had enough.

Look for Signs of Victory

As Samuel was praying for Israel, they went out to attack the Philistines.
But God saw the hearts of the people, and He began answering even as they prepared to fight. “The Lord answered [Samuel’s] prayer and made thunder crash all around [the enemy]. The Philistines panicked and ran away” (v. 10,
CEV
).

Israel probably did not expect victory in this manner. As the army gathered into assault lines, and as soldiers strapped on their helmets or checked their equipment, God planned victory in another way.
The Living Bible
describes the scene in this way: “The Lord spoke with a mighty voice of thunder from heaven, and they were thrown into confusion, and the Israelis routed them, and chased them...killing them all along the way” (v. 10,
TLB
).

Victory as a Process

The thunder from heaven was only the beginning of the battle. What Israel experienced at the battle of Mizpah was similar to the first British victory over the Germans at Alemein during World War II. Following the battle, Winston Churchill stood to speak in Parliament with cautious optimism: “This is not the end. This is not the beginning of the end. This is the end of the beginning.”

The thunderous sound of victory over the Philistines was not the final victory. As the Philistines ran away, “The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Car” (v. 11,
NIV
).

When God gave victory to Israel, the nation might have thought peace had finally arrived, but Israel’s dream of peace was only partially realized. “The Philistines were so badly beaten that it was quite a while before they attacked Israel again” (v. 12,
CEV
). Notice that the Philistines were badly beaten, and that it was a long time before they were again attacked. But there
was
another attack and another battle. You will have battles with sin and attacks from the evil one as long as you live, so continue to apply this principle to your life. The victory you achieve as a result of the Samuel Fast “Is the end of the beginning.”

When you enter the Samuel Fast, you ask for revival—for God to pour Himself out on His people. This may happen in a one-time experience; for instance, at a Sunday morning service where God works in the midst of the church. That doesn’t guarantee, however, that God will do the same work the following week. The Philistines were a lifelong problem to Israel: “For as long as Samuel lived, the Lord helped Israel fight the
Philistines” (1 Sam. 7:13,
CEV
). Because victory is not just a one-time event, but a continuous process, the Samuel Fast is something you will do for the rest of your life.

Celebrating with Symbols of Victory

Just as symbols were important during the Samuel Fast itself, they can be used to celebrate the victory. After the great battle at Mizpah, “Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer [which means “stone of help”], saying, ‘Thus far the Lord has helped us’” (v. 12). Years later, as the children of these soldiers would walk by Mizpah, they could see a stone to remind them of a past victory.

a. Your victory stone should look to the past
. We place plaques on our walls and mementos on our desks to remind us of the times we won a track meet. We have a special book dedicated to us because we met a sales quota. These “victory stones” help us remember past achievements, hence building up our anticipation for future achievements. When you think back to Ebenezer, remember that “the Lord helped us.”

b. Your victory stone should look to the present
. Next time you walk into the church sanctuary, notice the foundation stone of the building. It probably tells you the date when construction began or when the building was dedicated. Although it reminds you of a past event, you feel the present enjoyment of that church sanctuary weekly. That foundation stone is an “Ebenezer”—a stone of help.

c. Your victory stone should look to the future
. When I go into the gymnasium where I teach, I look up into the rafters and see the banners that indicate where our various teams have previously won the Big South Conference. Looking at those banners motivates our team to win another victory. The phrase “thus far has the Lord helped us” implies the need for God’s help in the future.

The need for leadership to secure the blessing of God
. Remember when you enter the Samuel Fast that God’s people are sheep, and their basic need is for a shepherd. The Samuel Fast sometimes dictates that you not pray for revival, but for God’s
instrument
of revival—a godly leader through whom God can work.

Israel had been in bondage for years before Samuel arrived on the scene. The old judge Eli was fat, lazy, blind and ineffective. Before him the judge Samson had broken his Nazirite vow and was addicted to sexual lust. Neither of them was able to give the nation the leadership it needed. Then God prepared a young man named Samuel, who was dedicated to Him from his birth. This was the young man through whom God brought revival and victory.

The need for unity among God’s people
. When you enter the Samuel Fast, you must pray not only for revival, but also for unity among God’s people. You will never feel closer to the people of your church than when you fast together, sacrifice together, receive God’s answer together and rejoice together.

The need for faith and works
. There are two extremes in the Christian life, and it is easy to gravitate into either. Some go to the extreme of thinking that programs, meetings and other human activities will bring about revival. Although God works through organization, there is no way that we can do the work of God with efficient management. It requires spiritual power that is tapped only by faith, not works.

Some go to the other extreme of only praying for revival. Remember the principle:

We need a balance of faith and works. God and man must work together. “We are God’s fellow workers” (1 Cor. 3:9).

The role of symbols in God’s work
. This principle is worth mentioning again. Although there is no power in a symbol, a symbol can represent great power. Some think that wearing a cross around one’s neck or putting a cross on a building will bring about the blessing of God. That is not the case—the opposite is true: When we have the blessing of God upon our lives, we will want to show it by displaying the cross. The power is in the God of the cross. The same is true with our buildings. We pray for God to work in our buildings, then we put crosses on the buildings to tell the world that this is where God is living and where He works.