(By: Norm Rasmussen)

Major demonic strongholds can get broken when you fast. God tells us that clearly in Matthew 18:19-21 NKJV: 

Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, 'Why could we not cast him out?' 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.'

"However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.' 

Most of us won't be casting out demons from someone in our lifetime, but we WILL be dealing with demonic opposition against us until our heart quits beating and we are ushered into glory.

So - if trusting prayer alone isn't getting the desired result ' it's TIME to inquire of the Lord about using the INCREDIBLY EFFECTIVE spiritual weapon of FASTING.

[Sidebar:  And if you seem to be on the ZERO faith scale regarding a given matter, you may need to fast to get your faith (confidence - trust in God) in the PLUS scale].  

Here is a personal example of what fasting can accomplish: I recall the time when I was greatly handicapped with lower back problems. It had been robbing me of sleep running into years previous ' and was getting worse. It was like to trying to sleep with a knife stuck in my back that was permanently lodged there. On-going sleep deprivation opens one's mind up to demonic attacks like little else will (depression, anger, hopelessness, thoughts of suicide, etc). Overall quality of life becomes greatly diminished, as all of you who are currently suffering from chronic lower back pain realize. (My heart truly goes out to you).

After much seeking the Lord, I felt He was telling me to file for Social Security Disability, which I did. My wife and I were in great need of an increase in finances, as Satan had been allowed to take most of them away leading up to that time period. 

After filing for SSD, it took about five months for my case worker to make a determination: 'We are going to give you Social Security Disability. You should be getting your first check in a couple of months.' 

Of course my wife and I were elated. There was no doubt in our mind's that God had granted it to us! 

A couple of months passed and no check came in the mail. After much frustration yet persistence, I was able to connect with my case worker over the phone, asking him WHY I hadn't received my first monthly check. He called me back a few days later and told me that although he approved me to receive Social Security Disability, my case had to be approved at a higher level in Chicago. He told me he would make a call to them and get back with me ' letting me know what he found out.

He called back a few days later and said, 'I have some disturbing news. The Chicago office claims they never RECEIVED your file yet. I told them I had sent it a couple of months earlier, so what could be the reason for you not getting it? They had no answer.'

I envisioned my file being on the train called:  'The train going to nowhere and it's never coming back.'

My claims worker said he would look into the matter and would get back with me again. Weeks went by, no phone call came from him. Silence. I left several phone messages with him but received no call back(s). 

Upon intensely inquiring of the Lord as to what I should THEN do, I felt the Holy Spirit said, 'It's time to haul out THE spiritual nuclear weapon of fasting to break Satan's stronghold in the matter.'

Thus I started fasting. I fasted six days and then the Holy Spirit spoke to my spirit: 'It's enough. The stronghold is broken.' 

I LOVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE hearing those words from Him!

The next morning, after praying a great deal to make sure I was in God's TIMING, I felt I was to call the case worker AGAIN and ask to talk with his supervisor that very morning, if he had no encouraging answer for me. 

I dialed and the case worker picked up the phone. He had a hard time remembering who I WAS (That should tell you something!) Upon telling me he still had no answer for me, I asked to speak with his supervisor. He was reluctant to do so, but I got a little BOLD in the matter (As in: "Do I need to contact my Senator about this?"), so he agreed. 

There was about 10-15 minutes of silence on the phone while I waited. I prayed in the spirit during the phone silence. Finally, someone who spoke English clearly (my case worker was a foreigner, speaking broken English at BEST!).

'Yes, can I help you?' 

I updated him on my situation. He seemed somewhat caring, yet I still had my doubts. Then he asked me what kind of work I had done up until quitting work because of my back situation. I told him I marked buried phone wires for the telephone company so contractors would know where they were when digging with their heavy equipment so as not to damage them, (the same thing I had told my case worker at least three times weeks earlier and I knew he STILL wasn't understanding what I was talking about, though he told me he did). 

I told that to his supervisor, politely as I could. He replied, 'Heck ' I know what you are talking about! I worked as a contractor foreman for years until I got injured and had to get a sit-down office job with Social Security, so I know very well the kind of work you did.'

There was sort of an immediate bond talking about it. It was like I was sort of someone very special all of a sudden (Grungy dirt workers can have kindred spirits), from the tone of his voice. Immediately he said, 'This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. To my knowledge, we have NEVER lost someone's file like yours has been lost! I'm going to look deeply into this and if I have to drive from Kalamazoo (Michigan) to the Chicago office and rattle some cages, I'm going to get to the bottom of this, rest assured. I'll call you back just as soon as I get an answer, I promise.'

I got a call back from him the very next day. 'Your file was on someone's desk, covered up. They're making you top priority so you should have your first check in just a few weeks. I'm so sorry this has happened to you.'

I don't know what fasting did to move God to break the devil's stronghold, but He broke it. Honestly, I didn't have any more faith while fasting than what I had before I started fasting, but I CAN tell you that from times prior to that, when trusting prayer doesn't seem to be working, it's time to consider launching the spiritual weapon of fasting, as long as I don't get a check in my spirit hearing the Lord say He's not going to honor it. (God does not honor our assumption and/or presumption. Our selfish nature can easily blind us to BOTH).

Inquiring of the Lord before launching into fasting is only wisdom, I'm a firm believer. I don't believe fasting changes God's will in a matter, but if it IS God's will in the matter, then fasting can RELEASE God's will to manifest in our lives and situations. Jesus is so delighted with His warriors (YOU!) willing to battle for His Father's will to get implemented on this planet.

Meaning, just because God wills something to happen doesn't always ASSUME it's going to just happen on this planet. God has included His people to effect His will in situations we deal with in this life more than what many Christians realize.

God gives us a peek into the spirit realm in Daniel 10:12-13 when it comes to the battle of good and evil. Had Daniel not been willing to fast ... who but God KNOWS what may have been the outcome of the matter? Whether fasting moves God to dispatch more angels to battle against demons who are holding God's will back, or maybe somehow gives His angels more power than what they normally might have to win in our situation (or something else), we can only speculate. As long as GOD knows what fasting by His soldiers in Christ Jesus can do, that's all that matters, right?

Back to Social Security. As promised, we received my first Social Security check a few weeks later. Satan lost again! And, it taught me one more time that when trusting prayer ALONE isn't growing my assurance (faith) that God is going to move on my behalf in the situation, there is the weapon of FASTING waiting to be employed!  

A writing on Fasting and Prayer that is highly recommended reading:  

FASTING AND PRAYER: KEY TO BREAKTHROUGH!  

PLEASE HELP US HELP YOU SHARE THE BEST NEWS GOD HAS FOR EVERY PERSON BECAUSE...

JESUS DID IT! 

Remember:  All that we do in this life comes back to our God-given purpose which is to serve and glorify God. The money and assets we accumulate, the fame and power we've attained or seek to attain - all of the things of this nature will one day pass away, but those lives of others we impact for Jesus Christ will last for eternity, and we will be rewarded for the part we helped play by impacting those lives ... for eternity. (Matthew 6:19-20 is our assurance)