We all, at one time or another, need a breakthrough. But how do we press through to it?
Years ago, I began to fast. I started to fast when I finally heard the church talk about it.
I believe fasting is an unpopular topic because it is not preached from the pulpits. I know I didn’t personally know anything about fasting or the change it could produce in my life. However, once I started to fast, I saw dramatic change and blessings not only in my life, but also in the lives of my family.
The first year I fasted I could document a blessing almost every day of the year. The blessings could range from someone surprising me with a coffee, to increased intimacy with the Lord, to ministry breakthrough and changes in my financial situation. I did not take one little blessing for granted and I even journaled them on my calendar. I documented a blessing through Dec. 26 of that year.
Fasting increases our faith and positions us to be in the presence of the Lord. One of the most common frustrations I hear among people is that they feel they don’t hear from God and want to increase in their discernment. One of the many blessings of fasting and pressing through for our breakthrough is that we spend more time in the presence of the Lord (or we should make sure that we do). As we spend more time with the Lord, we begin to recognize His voice more clearly. Our discernment increases because we know the things of God and learn more about God.
We should not just press through for our breakthrough while we are fasting. We should live a close, daily walk with the Lord, consistently pressing through for our breakthrough. In fact, the Lord instructed me over 10 years ago to live a fasted lifestyle.
How do you live a fasted lifestyle without abstaining from food daily? You listen to what the Holy Spirit instructs you to remove from your diet. There are foods I am not allowed to consume for the rest of my earthly life, such as soda, alcohol, pork and shellfish.
By living a fasted lifestyle, you are living in obedience to the Father, your faith increases and, for me being a deliverance minister, I am ready to cast out demons at a moment’s notice.
Pressing through for our breakthrough requires sacrifice. It is crucifying our flesh and what we think is best. It is giving up something we want for something He wants to give us.
Being a deliverance minister, I have witnessed many people not pressing through to their breakthrough. People want to be free from demonic oppression but often don’t want to put in the time. There was a saying in the 60s-70s, “Don’t do the crime, if you don’t want to put in the time.” It meant, “Don’t do something risky, if you don’t want to pay the weight of the consequences.”
I think we can also apply this to our spiritual walk. Our crime can be our sins of unforgiveness, control, anger, offense and rejection. We take them into our souls and they consume us, but then we don’t want to put in the time to get free from them. We want our deliverance to take five minutes after we have spent five years taking in the emotional ailments.
Realistically, our God is supernatural enough to make that happen, but often it doesn’t happen that way. When we have been one way for five years, it can take five weeks or five months to receive deliverance. Thus, we must press through to our breakthrough.
I believe beginning the year with a time and season of prayer and fasting is a great way to consecrate and set ourselves aside for the Lord and to press through for our breakthrough. I’ve been fasting at the beginning of the year for 10 years and have seen transformation in the lives of my family, ministry, income and health. I encourage you to begin a fast and press through for your breakthrough. Join me for a season of fasting through my mini ecourse or through my Facebook Kingdom Fit – Healthy Eating Tips and Fasting Support Facebook page.
Look for my new book from shop.charismamag.com titled The Deliverance Guide. {eoa}
Kathy DeGraw is a prophetic deliverance minister releasing the love and power of God to ignite and activate people, release prophetic destinies and deliver people from the bondage of the enemy. She is the founder of Kathy DeGraw Ministries and Be Love Outreach. She is the host of the Prophetic Spiritual Warfare podcast. She is the author of several books, including Speak Out, Discerning and Destroying the Works of Satan, Unshackled and Warfare Declarations. You can connect with Kathy on Facebook at facebook.com/kathydegraw/ or visit kathydegrawministries.org.
