How To Fast and Pray to Make 2026 Your Best Year Yet

There's an immense power that many Christians leave unused. I wanna talk to you about how to use prayer and fasting for a breakthrough in this new season coming upon us. Now notice that as you begin to study the concept of fasting in the Scripture, it's prayer and fasting, because fasting without prayer is just a diet. And so we must pick up this spiritual discipline, often neglected, and use it for the sake of growth in our spiritual lives. Now, perhaps you're coming to a place in your life where you're feeling stuck, frustrated, like you just can't quite get beyond that barrier. Maybe there's a bondage that you're praying that God would break. Maybe there's a healing that you're believing for. Maybe someone you know and love is resisting the truth of the Word of God. Maybe you need breakthrough in a relationship, in your finances, in your ministry that God has given you as a steward. Well, this is where we begin to apply prayer and fasting, because whenever you feel spiritually stuck or stagnant, you ought to carry out an act of faith. Whenever you feel spiritually stuck or stagnant, carry out an act of faith. The act of faith has the power to shake you from complacency. The act of faith has the power to remove stubborn barriers. Think of the walls of Jericho. They fell as a result of God's people stepping out in response to his word, acting out in faith. And so as we look at prayer and fasting, let's first take a look, 'cause I wanna show you how to do this. Let's first take a look at the types of fasts. There's a food fast. This one's obvious. This is where you give up food. This is the most common. This is the base level, if you will. And then there is the fast of food and water, as we see in Esther 4:16 and Ezra 10:6. Now, let me give you just this note here. I am not a medical professional. I'm not giving you medical advice. You should note that you can go longer without food than you can without water. And in fact, as you study the scripture, you'll find that most often those extended fasts were fasts of food, as opposed to fasts of food and water. And then there's the dietary fast, Daniel 10:3. There's the abstaining fast, 1 Corinthians 7:5. And then we look at the lengths of fasts. There's a partial day. There's a 1-day that we see as an example. There's a 3-day. There's a 1-week, a 21-day, a 40-day. And then there in Exodus 34:28, we see a supernaturally sustained fast. Now, this would be the exception to the caveat that I gave you a moment ago in regards to fasting food and water, because as we saw with Moses, he was so supernaturally sustained that he was able to go an extended period of time, not just without food, but also without water. And again, you wanna use wisdom and hear the voice of the Holy Spirit as you approach fasting. Matthew 6:16-18. And when you fast, don't make it obvious as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. When you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. Then no one will notice that you are fasting except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. Notice here that Jesus says, when you fast, this is implying that you should do it regularly. Notice also that Jesus says to not make it a show, so therefore you should fast privately. Also, this is something we do unto God, so it's something we should fast for with faith. And then you are obviously communing with the Lord, so you should do it prayerfully. So there in Matthew 6:16-18, we see you ought to fast regularly, privately, in faith, and prayerfully. Amen. So how do we now take this practice of fasting and apply it in a way that can bring forth breakthrough? Well, number one, you can fast for clarity. Now, I'm not entirely sure in terms of all the dynamics as to how fasting works exactly. I can't tell you exactly what is happening in the realm of the spirit when you fast and pray, but I do know that it works, though I don't understand all the mechanics as to why it works. So there's something about fasting that disconnects you from the earthly, begins to sever the tethers of your connections with the cares of this world. As you begin to fast, you become more heavenly minded and less earthly minded. You begin to think according to how God thinks and less according to the flesh. So it brings about a spiritual clarity. We see an example of this in Acts chapter 13, verse 2. One day, as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, appoint Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them. Notice here that it was as they were fasting that the Holy Spirit gave them this instruction. So there's something about fasting that brings forth clarity. Use this to your advantage. Are you having trouble discerning the voice of God? Are you looking at a situation where you're weighing one or two or maybe many different options before you, and you're asking yourself, I just don't know how, how do I find out which is God and which is me? Or maybe you're wondering which one leads to God's will and which one leads to distraction, and you just can't quite figure out which way is which. Well, begin to fast. Lock yourself away for a short season. Get ahold of God. Disconnect from the cares of this world. Become less focused on the earthly and more focused on the heavenly. Amen. and spiritual clarity will begin to develop in your heart and mind. Number 2, you can fast for favor. Maybe there's a situation where people are telling you that's just not going to work out, or your situation is impossible, or nobody is going to help you. Nobody is going to respond the way you want them to respond, or what you're asking is just too big. What you're asking is just too preposterous. What you're asking is just way out there, and it's just too far beyond reasonable. Reach. Well, this now is where you begin to call upon the name of Jesus, because faith will always require that you reach for that which is just a little bit out of your reach. Because if it was within your reach, that would mean that it was within your power to do it. And because it is outside of your reach, then that invites the power of God, because it is outside of your ability, outside of your power, outside of your strength. And now only God can do it. Others say it's impossible. Others say, well, that's not going to happen. Others look at the situation and they tell you, this just looks like a closed book. This is a final chapter. There's no way around it. There's no way through it. That's when God shows up. In Esther chapter 4, verse 16, we read, go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for 3 days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die. Here, Esther is calling upon people to fast before she approaches the king. And as we know with this familiar story, her request is granted and an entire generation of people is saved. And so when you fast, you're inviting the favor of God. When you fast, you're exchanging your ability for God's ability. When you fast, you're saying to the Lord, Lord, I can't do this in my own strength. Others are telling me that this is absolutely impossible. Others are saying I'm ridiculous for even trying. Others are saying I'm being unrealistic or unwise. But Lord, I know you can do this. I know you spoke to me. I know you showed me the vision. I know you gave me the promise. I know what your word says. And so, Lord, for the sake of your glory, I'm going to step out in faith and pursue that which you promised. And though others oppose me, though others refuse to help me, though others withhold their support, it doesn't matter. I'm going to move forward. And as I fast, I invite the favor of God. I begin to lean on his power and I begin to dismiss or, or become less reliant upon my own abilities. So that's number 2. And this is one of the ways you can use fasting. You can use it for favor. Call upon the Lord, ask him for favor as you fast. Number 3, you can fast for mourning or repentance. Now, in the Old Testament, you'll find that very often when someone was repenting or when they were mourning, they would fast. And in looking at this Old Testament practice, I began to ask myself, how does this apply to the New Testament believer? Because of course, We have to filter all things through the cross. Well, let's take a look at some examples here from the Old Testament first. Joel 2:12 says this, that is why the Lord says, turn to me now while there is time. Give me your hearts, come with fasting, weeping, and mourning. So there's something to be said of a connection between repentance and fasting. Again, at least in the Old Testament, Nehemiah 1:4 says, when I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven. Now, as I said, biblical characters would often fast while they grieved. They would also fast when they realized that there was something that they were doing that was violating the commands of God. And in response to discovering that they were violating the commands of God, they would mourn with fasting. They would express their brokenness. They would express their repentance through the act of fasting. Now, though this sort of fasting is still practiced by some today, nowhere in the New Testament do we see that believers are obligated to make fasting a part of their grieving process or repentance process. So yes, you ought to grieve over sin. Yes, you ought to be bothered when you do wrong, but how then are we supposed to see this tie in? Well, what I believe is this. When you find yourself compromising in wrongdoing, you find yourself giving way to old habits, maybe that's where you are right now, where you're starting to notice that old thought patterns are creeping to the forefront, old ways of doing things and are beginning to affect your life. And you're beginning to see that these old habits that you thought you were done with are now beginning to dominate your life again. And it's beginning to concern you and you're beginning to become worried. Well, God is not looking for you to torture yourself. This is not about self-torture. This is not about punishing yourself because we know that Christ took upon that punishment on the cross. We know that Christ himself already absorbed the wrath of God. So then when we fast, it's basically a spiritual reset. Let me explain this to you. Temptation is not an event, it's a process. So if you give in to sin on a Friday, that's because Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, you were looking at things you shouldn't have looked at. You were entertaining thoughts you shouldn't have been entertaining. So then it was a process that took you to that place now where you were compromising. I'm revealing something here in the Spirit that I know is gonna help many of you. If you could just ask the Holy Spirit to help you receive this. So you begin to go back into those old ways, and what's happening is your flesh is becoming stronger and the influence of the Spirit in your life is beginning to weaken. Not the Spirit himself, the influence of the Spirit. Why? Because those actions you took took you back to this place of compromise. So now you realize you're in compromise. You realize you're making mistakes. You realize you're living in a way that you ought not to live. You turn back to God in repentance. You say, Lord, forgive me. You're broken over that sin. You acknowledge the sin. You turn from that sin. And now here's where fasting comes in. Fasting is that spiritual reset that weakens the influence of the flesh. I'm not saying that you need to fast in order to be forgiven. I'm not saying that you need to fast in order for repentance to be complete. I'm not saying that you need to fast in order to be accepted by God or that God requires that of you as a part of the repentance process. What I am saying is that when you've come to that place of compromise, where you've allowed those little compromises to amount to big falls, now you can use prayer and fasting to your advantage. Amen. to recalibrate your spiritual life to where you had been doing all of these things that strengthen the flesh. Now when you fast, you're removing the strength of the flesh and you're resetting the landscape. You're resetting that foundation. Again, not self-torture. So because we now live with the wonderful consequences of Calvary, there is never any reason for a believer to punish himself or herself for sin. Self-inflicted pain, torture, or torment is a very religious way to find forgiveness. Fasting is not a means to punish oneself for wrongdoing. There is no need for that, as Christ has already absorbed all the punishment for your sins. Some believers do this too. They fast because they think that the torture of fasting is what pleases God. But no, it's all about just resetting the playing field, resetting the foundation because now I'm weakening that flesh again. Now, the application of this next use I wanna give you, I think it really has to do with these next seasons that we're entering in. Because for many of you, there's gonna be promotion. For many of you, there's gonna be greater measures of responsibility. And prayer and fasting can help you to prepare for that. I wanna show you how in just a moment. First, if you're receiving this and you believe others can be blessed by it, then make sure that you leave a like on the stream, live or replay, right now so that you can help us spread this content to more people. Also, if you're enjoying this teaching, make sure you subscribe to my channel so that you don't miss any of the content on prayer. Okay, so number 4, I told you this can help you prepare for those new seasons. Number 4, fast. for spiritual preparation. So we've gone over how fasting can bring clarity, how fasting can bring favor, how fasting can help to reset the playing field in terms of your battle with the flesh. So it's good to have a season of fasting after you repent of some failure. But now I wanna show you that it's also used for spiritual preparation. As you begin to step out into that new business venture, As you begin to step out and start that ministry that God has told you to start, when you begin to start that channel that God told you to start, when you begin to write that blog that God told you to write, when you start to write that book that God told you to write, when you're becoming a parent, when you're getting married, maybe a loved one just passed away, you're entering a new season. There's this shift that's taken place in your life. Fasting can help to prepare you for the change in season. In Matthew 4:1-4, we read, then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For 40 days and 40 nights, he fasted and became very hungry. During that time, the devil came and said to him, if you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread. But Jesus told him, no, the scriptures say people do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Here we see that Jesus was preparing for this new season of ministry, and he does so by entering into the desert for temptation. Obviously, the Holy Spirit led him there to be tempted, but he's fasting and he's praying as a means of preparation. Now, if Jesus fasted before a major season shift, How much more should you and I? So you're taking on new responsibilities. You're stepping into a new role. You're getting ready to handle new blessings, and you need the strength to serve. You need the strength to keep the proper mindset. Well, that's a big one too. You know, when you're entering into ministry, most people begin right. But as you begin to experience the struggles and even the blessings of some of these things, it can be difficult to keep the proper focus and stay on track. You wanna stay pure, you wanna stay humble, you wanna stay grounded in the word, you wanna make sure that you stay focused on God in this next season of blessing. Begin that season with prayer and fasting so that you can experience spiritual preparation as you step into that spiritual promotion. Number 5, you fast as a practice for temptation. In Matthew chapter 4, verse 1, we read, then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And so the enemy was tempting him to break his fast. Let these stones become bread, have a little something to eat. You know, I talked to many Christians who become so worried when they break their fast. And I understand it's good to fast. I understand it's good to keep those disciplines. I understand it's good to keep those commitments. But many believers approach fasting from an Old Testament lens, and they condemn themselves if they don't keep up with it. Or others who do fast and keep their fast kind of look down on other Christians who aren't able to quite implement those disciplines yet. They're working on them, but they're not quite there. yet. Well, you know, fasting is basically a temptation simulator. What do I mean by that? I mean that it's good practice for temptation against actual sin. Now, if you go to fast and you say, I'm going to do a 3-day fast, and then 2 and a half days later you just give in, well, that doesn't mean that God's condemned you. Try again. You'll get better and better at it. It's a discipline that you develop. You're not condemned for not having completed that. God's strengthening you and saying, okay, you missed it this time, but next time you're going to get it. I know of a pastor's wife who was telling me about how she was fasting for 3 days. On the 3rd day, she saw a muffin on the kitchen countertop, and she said it was just like an impulse. She didn't think, oh, I'm fasting, I shouldn't have that. She didn't think, oh, I'm not supposed to be eating right now. She says it was just impulse. She reached out for the muffin, ate the muffin, And halfway through eating the muffin, she realized, oh my goodness, I'm fasting. I'm not supposed to be eating this. Well, there you go. That's a great— that's a great trial run for sin. Temptation is something that takes advantage of our impulses, and fasting teaches you to put those impulses in subjection. So think about it. When you're fasting, you're tired, you're hungry, often you're moody. And if you can be patient, loving, if you can resist the urges of the flesh for gratification under those circumstances, then you're training yourself now for the temptation ahead. So thank God for the fasting that acts as a temptation simulator. It teaches you dependence upon God. It teaches you to say no to impulses of the flesh. And so we can use that for our advantage to help us become people who know how to say no to sin, even under those moods of hunger and anger and impatience and being very tired. Well, I can still do it then. And if you can train yourself to do it then, then you'll be ready when temptation comes. And so I pray that you begin to use fasting to your advantage. You can fast for clarity. You can fast for favor. You can fast during seasons of repentance. You can fast for spiritual preparation, and you can fast for practice against temptation. So, Father, I pray you help them to do it. Teach them to pick up this mantle of prayer and fasting, that they might tap into that immense power that's available for all believers. Lord, teach us to put into practice fasting that we might learn what it is to rely upon you. Jesus, I give you praise and glory and honor, and I thank you that you are calling your people into deeper places in this next season. Thank you, Father. You are bringing breakthrough. You are working miracles. We honor and we bless you. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray. I want you to say it because you believe it. Say amen. One more thing before you turn this video off. Look, I know usually after the lesson, people start turning the video off because they're looking for other content that they can receive, good teachings to help them grow spiritually. But let me stop you just for a moment. Let me ask you to help me out. Help me, help the team, help us on our mission. To win the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This ministry is spreading the Gospel all around the world through events and media, and we need your help to do it. So if you'd like to partner with us monthly, go to davidhernandezministries.com/partner, become a monthly financial supporter. If you'd like to give a single gift, you can go to davidhernandezministries.com/donate. Everything you give, large or small, single or monthly, Everything helps us on our mission to win the soul of a generation. Let me tell you something, we are winning. The light is advancing. So if you've been blessed by this ministry, hear me now, please. If you've been blessed by this ministry, it's time to do your part. Partner today or give a single donation. And until next time, remember, nothing is impossible with God.