40 DAYS OF FASTING September 3rd to October 12th. September 3rd coincides with the beginning of the Hebrew month of Elul, which in Jewish tradition is dedicated to repentance and prayer in preparation for the autumn Holy Days.

WHAT IS FASTING? Fasting is a spiritual weapon, where we abstain from food for a period of time. Fasting is a heightened means of repentance. We will not repent rightly unless the hidden things are revealed through fasting. Fasting looses the bonds of wickedness [Is. 58]. Fasting confronts the three strongholds that open the doors to demons in our life – 1 John 2:16- Lust of the eyes and flesh, pride of life.

MATTHEW And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, 15 "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him." 17 Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me."

MATTHEW And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" 20 So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."

1.Evil Spirits can influence all people (including little children). 2.Many physical conditions (like epilepsy, suicide) are spiritual. 3.The disciples, who were given power over demons, could not cast it out [Matt. 9:1]. 4.Demons cannot be medicated. They need rebuked and cast out [vv.18]. 5.Unbelief and fear are the primary hindrance to deliverance [Acts 16:16-18]. 6.Certain evil spirits do not respond to prayer alone – but prayer w/ fasting.

ACTS Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. 17 This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, "These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation." 18 And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And he came out that very hour.

God’s breakthrough in our lives does not depend on our need, but our faith. Faith moves God (bringing salvation, healing, and provision) and it moves demons (bringing freedom and deliverance). Fasting drives out fear and increases our faith (our ability to trust and believe God for His supernatural intervention). There are levels of faith that are only attained through fasting.

2 CHRONICLES 20 1 “It happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites, came to battle against Jehoshaphat. 2 Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, "A great multitude is coming against you… 3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 So Judah gathered together to ask help from the LORD; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.

2 CHRONICLES 20 6 “Jehoshaphat prayed, saying “O LORD God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? 7 Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? 12 O God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You."

2 CHRONICLES “Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel [a prophet]… 15 And he said, "Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the LORD to you: 'Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's… 17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!' Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you."

2 CHRONICLES “And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the LORD, worshiping the LORD. 19 …[They] stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with voices loud and high… 22 Now when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated.

2 CHRONICLES “When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away their spoil, they found among them an abundance of valuables… and precious jewelry… more than they could carry away; and they were three days gathering the spoil because there was so much. 26 And on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berachah, for there they blessed the LORD; therefore the name of that place was called The Valley of Berachah [lit. Blessing] until this day. 27 Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat in front of them, to go back to Jerusalem with joy, for the LORD had made them rejoice over their enemies.

1.Judah cannot praise if the enemy is coming against them on every side. 2.Strong battles require strong weapons. 5 minute prayers and Bible studies won’t deliver. 3.Fasting is about seeking the Lord- not simply seeking God’s blessings. 4.The Battle is the Lord’s- Fasting brings His victory and finished work into manifestation. 5.When the fast is finished, real praise begins. As Judah praised, God set ambushes against the enemy and they were defeated. 6.Fasting defeats the enemy and plunders his goods. God turns the valley of death into the Valley of Blessing.

DANIEL 10 1 “In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar. The message was true, but the appointed time was long (in the future); and he understood the message, and had understanding of the vision. 2 In those days I, Daniel, was mourning [fasting] three full weeks. 3 I ate no pleasant food, no meat or wine came into my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.

DANIEL “He [the angel] said to me, "Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. 13 "But the prince of the kingdom of Persia [modern day Iran] withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me…

1.No one is too old to Fast. Daniel was 84 years old when he started his 21 day fast in Dan Fasting causes heavenly war. Daniel’s prayer and fasting brought about a divine confrontation in the spiritual realm between angels and demons. 3.Demonic principalities hinder the purpose of God from manifesting over churches, cities, and nations. 4.Pressing through is required. The angel that was released on Day 1 did not arrive till day 21. He fasted long enough not just to release the angel, but to receive the angel. 5.Angels are not loosed, nor are evil spirits dislodged apart from fasting and prayer. 6.Regional or Church-wide transformation and revival will not come without it.