Text: Luke 4:1-8
Memory text:
“And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward, He was hungry.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭4‬:‭2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Fasting is not just about missing meals, a movie, or a fun time at the beach, it’s about making room for God. Fasting shuts the voice of the flesh and provides an undivided attention for your spirit to commune with God. Anything that consistently stops you from fasting is standing between you and greater encounters with God. The first thing the Spirit led Jesus to do when He wanted to begin His public ministry was to fast. Fasting is a must for anyone who wants to fulfill destiny.
Some people just avoid fasting, claiming that they don’t like or can’t tolerate hunger and the discomfort it brings (Phil 3:19). Firstly, no one loves hunger or immuned to hunger, not even our Lord Jesus, for He also experienced it! (Matt 4:2). Fasting is a training in self-discipline. Those who rarely fast fall easily into temptation and foolish lusts. The devil has no fear or respect for believers who can’t miss meals for the sake of being in God’s presence but dreads those who fast and pray. Secondly, fasting only feels painful when you don’t understand its purpose. Those who understand the reward of fasting endure its discomfort with delight. When value is known, discipline becomes a delight. Pain turns to pleasure when purpose is discovered (Heb 12:2).
Some people avoid fasting with the excuse that they can always have it at a later date, which most often, does not come. Tomorrow becomes next week; next week becomes next year. Procrastination is one of the enemy’s subtle traps. It’s not only a thief of time but a destiny destroyer! Every time a person delays, desire weakens, but every obedience strengthens it.
“Today, if you hear His voice, harden not your heart.” (Heb 3:15).
Some people avoid fasting because they believe that fasting is meant for pastors and spiritual leaders. This is another ignorance. Fasting is not a ministry title but a believer’s discipline. Every believer who desires to rule over the flesh and obtain spiritual authority must fast. It is a secret of growth.
Friends, fasting is not optional for destiny carriers, and it’s the requirement for walking in spiritual authority. Take responsibility today!

Prayer points
1. Father, as I submit to You, please, use fasting to train me in self-discipline; and let fasting become my pathway to destiny fulfillment and spiritual authority, in Jesus’ name.
2. I reject procrastination and every wrong idea about fasting. Help me to see fasting through the lens of value, not pain, in Jesus’ name.

Today’s declarations
1. Fasting is my pathway to destiny fulfillment. No deception of the enemy will convince me that fasting is unnecessary.
2. I am a destiny carrier, fasting is not optional for me. I focus on the value of fasting, and thus, I find joy in every spiritual discipline that draws me closer to God.