There are two categories of fasting: a proclaimed fast (Joel
1:14), and a personal fast as Jesus described in Matthew 6.
First, you do not fast to impress God. Some people think
that if they fast long enough, it will influence Him to do
something for them. Punishing yourself does not impress the
Lord. It will only make you very, very hungry! Fasting changes
you, not God.

Let’s look at a proclaimed fast. Sometimes situations arise
in which you need divine direction. A proclaimed fast brings
believers into a place of hearing from God. When you find out
how to pray about the situation, you can move in the same
area of faith in one accord.

Second Chronicles 20:1-6 says:

It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab,
and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside
the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.
Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying,
There cometh a great multitude against thee from
beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be
in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi. And Jehoshaphat
feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed
a fast throughout all Judah…. And Jehoshaphat stood in
the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house
of the Lord, before the new court, and said, O Lord God
of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven…. And in thine
hand is there not power and might, so that none is able
to withstand thee?

The main reason a proclaimed fast brings results is
because it directs people’s minds toward God. They drop all
other things and center their attention on Him. This brings
His manifest presence in their midst.

While the believers in 2 Chronicles were in one accord, it
says, “Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of
Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the
sons of Asaph, came the spirit of the Lord in the midst of the
congregation” (verse 14). Did you notice that the Spirit of God
did not come on Jehoshaphat? He was the leader. Thank God
someone in the congregation was sensitive to the Holy Spirit!

“And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of
Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto
you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude;
for the battle is not yours, but God’s” (verse 15). Imagine
how good that sounded to their ears! The Holy Ghost spoke.
That is what they were seeking.

This principle will also work in our day. A New Testament
example is found in Acts 13:1-2: “Now there were in the
church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers….
As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost
said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto
I have called them.” That assignment brought into being two thirds
of the New Testament. What an important day! Those
men did not realize the magnitude of God’s plan. They were
simply being obedient.

The Holy Ghost spoke in the midst of a group of ordinary
men who were fasting, praying and ministering to the Lord. This
set into motion something that absolutely changed the world!

In that kind of atmosphere, God is given the opportunity
to speak. A proclaimed fast is valuable and effective then,
because it causes unity and singleness of purpose. It operates
on the same principle as the prayer of agreement or united
prayer—it produces power.

These believers received their instructions from God. They
laid their hands on Saul and Barnabas and sent them forth.
The results of their ministry were astounding!

By contrast, in Matthew 6:16-18, Jesus spoke of the personal
fast. “Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites,
of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they
may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have
their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head,
and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast,
but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which
seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.” Jesus really put the
responsibility on you and me here. He did not say, if you fast,
He said when you fast.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries