Fasting For Break Through In Marriage
By Diane Kennedy
Fasting is something we don’t often discuss in the American church. It challenges our flesh, our desire for instant gratification, and we don’t really take the time to understand the spiritual power behind it.
Fasting is the practice of abstaining from food, drink, or pleasurable activity for the purpose of drawing closer to the Lord and breaking through spiritual strongholds.
Matthew 17
“And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, “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. So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.”
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.” And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the child was cured from that very hour.
Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it 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.”
Fasting can remove unbelief in our lives as well as breakthrough a stronghold that we do not understand. I know many strong Christians who attest to the benefits of weekly fasting, or at the least, in developing the habit of fasting as a spiritual discipline.
Galatians 5
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things, there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”
Fasting is a fantastic way to actively crucify our flesh and show our bodies that the Spirit of Christ is in control, not our body’s impulses. Fasting can defeat the strongholds of gluttony, sexual sins, or any other sin that remains a struggle in our lives as believers.
I love this passage in Romans, and I still remember where I was when I read this passage as a young Christian and placed my faith in Christ to help me overcome a struggle in my obedience to Christ.
Romans 6
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
As believers, we MUST surrender our bodies to Christ, and fasting can be a means of taking back the reins or letting Christ take back the reins of control over sin or disbelief in our lives.
Our marriage is often an area where Satan fights us the hardest through disbelief that the relationship can thrive, despair at the state of the marriage, or sins of indulgence within the marriage. This can be as serious as unfaithfulness through pornography, or as seemingly small as the indulgence of our tongue in criticism, nitpicking, and nagging.
Ladies, we MUST CRUCIFY OUR FLESH and live in the Spirit regarding our marriages. Our marriages are a huge battleground that Satan knows will turn the tide of culture toward brokenness or healing. Do not surrender your marriage and believe the lie that satisfaction can be found by choosing a different spouse.
The truth is that if you change your husband, your besetting sins will remain with you, and you will have added additional heartache to your life. Don’t buy the lie that getting out will solve your problems.
Do not give up on what Christ says is possible for the Christian marriage. Instead, set aside a time of fasting and prayer to see a breakthrough in your marriage. I have done this at different times in my marriage and seen God work! Sometimes he changed my heart, sometimes he granted me peace and faith to keep waiting, and sometimes he changed my husband’s heart toward me. God has been so so good to my husband and me, and our marriage is stronger than ever, because of the spiritual strongholds that have been broken as we fasted together for unity, love, and happiness with one another!
Set aside a small goal for fasting, perhaps one meal, as a first step toward developing this spiritual discipline. Over time you will develop the ability to hear the Holy Spirit lead you into fasts that he desires for you, and you will see the Lord sustain you with His Spirit very much like food sustains you. This is a beautiful supernatural occurrence that can be so encouraging in your spiritual journey.
Fast for your marriage before you try anything else. Fast for your marriage and believe for miracles through Christ’s power!
