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By Isaiah-Phillips Akintola

One of the most profound benefits of fasting lies in its ability to redirect our hearts back to God’s original ordained intention for human existence: The clarity that emerges from this sacred discipline reveals a profound truth to the last day Church; we can no longer depend on human wisdom, intelligence, or strength to navigate the complexities of our age. Ecclesiastes 9:11. Rather, we must collectively return to the place of divine order, the spiritual pattern that heaven ordained for engaging earthly living.

Scripture further illuminates this principle in Zechariah 4:6: “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.” This verse captures the essence of what fasting accomplishes in the believer’s life, it strips away our reliance on flesh and repositions us under the government of the Spirit. Similarly, Jesus declared in John 6:63, “The flesh counts for nothing. The Spirit gives life.”

Through biblical-focused fasting, we discover that depending on God’s voice and allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us into His purposes cannot be overemphasized. We must become people of the Spirit, where every action, decision, and engagement with life flows from our total commitment and obedience to the Holy Spirit’s voice.

Preparation for Spiritual Warfare
What often occurs after seasons of fasting reveals a critical spiritual principle: people tend to default back to soulish operations and familiar patterns when the discipline ends. However, we must understand that fasting doesn’t prevent temptations or attacks; rather, it prepares us for them. This preparation follows the exact pattern we observe in Christ’s ministry, where fasting served two distinct yet interconnected purposes.

First, fasting became the launching pad for Jesus’ ministry. Matthew 4:1-2 records how “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.” This season of fasting established a solid spiritual framework and developed the competence that enabled Christ to map His direction through the Father’s guidance. This fasting created spiritual capacity divine readiness for the work ahead.

Second, fasting prepared Jesus to face the inevitable temptations that would challenge His calling. Luke 4:13 reveals that “when the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.” The enemy’s departure was temporary, not permanent, indicating that spiritual warfare is an ongoing reality for those who walk in Kingdom authority.

The period during and after fasting represents one of the most challenging seasons in a believer’s journey. The enemy comes specifically to test whether your spirit has indeed been revived, rebuilt, and shifted to a higher position of authority and power. Satan wants to discover if you have truly moved to a new level of spiritual perception—if you can now see and engage life differently than before.

This testing follows biblical precedent. After Moses descended from Mount Sinai, having fasted forty days and nights in God’s presence, he immediately encountered the golden calf rebellion (Exodus 32). After Elijah’s supernatural victory on Mount Carmel, Jezebel’s threats drove him to despair (1 Kings 19). These accounts remind us that spiritual highs are often followed by intense testing.

The enemy will strategically use the very things, people, and circumstances that God addressed during your fast to tempt you back to former positions of soulish wisdom and human strength. First Peter 5:8 warns us to “be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” Recognizing this pattern empowers us to stand firm against the schemes of the evil one.

Developing a Spiritual Algorithm
The key to sustained transformation lies in developing spiritual routines learned during fasting into systematic patterns that create automated Kingdom responses. Building a powerful spiritual lifestyle through fasting resembles constructing a well-established system—challenging to build initially, but once established, it begins to function automatically and produce consistent results.

This concept mirrors what David experienced and expressed in Psalm 62:11: “One thing God has spoken, two things I have heard: ‘Power belongs to you, God.’” This scripture reveals how a spiritual person learns to respond according to the ascended Spirit’s ways.

When we develop spiritual systems aligned with God’s ordained patterns, we create what could be called a “spiritual algorithm”, a divine framework that functions according to specific Kingdom principles and produces predictable, God-glorifying outcomes.

Romans 8:5-6 reinforces this truth: “Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.” Fasting rebuilds, rebrands, and rejuvenates our spirit to respond according to God’s original intentions for our lives.

When we develop our spirits according to God’s ordained design, we construct a profound system that enables continuous growth in the pathway of Spirit-empowered living. Living through the Spirit’s power means every action, decision, motivation, and inspiration we respond to must be divinely guided through obedience to the Spirit’s requirements.

This transformation affects and directs how we respond emotionally, psychologically, and through every aspect of our spiritual faculties. Galatians 5:16 instructs us to “walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” Our responses become guided by the life and power of God’s Spirit dwelling within us.

Importantly, the Holy Spirit will never force compliance. John 16:13 promises that “when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.” We must correspond to the Spirit’s voice in obedience to the inner promptings we feel. Submitting to the Spirit’s instructions, directives, and leadings requires responding to that still small voice regularly until it becomes an amplified voice we can clearly hear and follow.

Maintaining Spiritual Vitality
When our spirits come alive through fasting, we must maintain the spiritual system that keeps that vitality active. This maintenance requires motivating ourselves in prayer, meditation, and listening attentively to the Holy Spirit’s communications. Through these disciplines, we train our spirits to hear God’s voice clearly and respond quickly and accurately to what we’ve heard, allowing His word to become the transforming power that brings change to every area needing transformation.

First Thessalonians 5:17 commands us to “pray continually,” while Psalm 46:10 instructs us to “be still, and know that I am God.” These practices create the spiritual environment where divine communication flourishes and spiritual sensitivity increases.

The Spirit of the Lord serves as our helper in every situation. Jesus promised in John 16:7, “But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I send him, he will come to you.” This divine assistance becomes available when we align in obedience and cooperate with the Spirit’s directives and operations.

Through sustained fasting and spiritual development, we are awakened to the ways of Spirit; our inner man reunites with its ordained place of functionality. Our spiritual ears, eyes, and ability to discern what God’s Spirit communicates become increasingly powerful and clear. True fasting restores our position of spiritual identity, competence, grace, and function.

When we continue in the spiritual transformation received through fasting, we become men and women whose lives reflect heaven’s designed authority on earth. We become authentic representatives of God’s Kingdom within society, empowered to change, transform, and reform not only our immediate families and communities but potentially the globe as a whole.

Second Corinthians 5:20 declares that “we are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.” Our lives become the very voice of God’s divine authority in the earth. We manifest the kind of life exemplified by Daniel, who served in foreign kingdoms while maintaining unwavering devotion to God; Moses, who led God’s people through divine power; Elijah, who demonstrated heaven’s authority over earthly circumstances; and Paul, who transformed the ancient world through Spirit-empowered ministry.

We become heaven’s answer to the world’s awaiting manifestation of authentic sonship. Our lives transform into living expressions of God’s prophetic purposes in the earth, demonstrating that the Kingdom of heaven is indeed at hand and accessible to all who seek it with sincere hearts.