Does Fasting Empower Spiritual Gifts?

How Fasting Positions Us for Growth in Spiritual Gifts: A Reflection for Lent
As the season of Lent approaches, many believers are preparing for a time of reflection, prayer, and fasting. Lent invites us to align our hearts with the rhythm of God’s grace. One powerful, biblical way to deepen this alignment is through fasting—a spiritual discipline that not only humbles us but also fuels our participation with the Spirit.

Fasting, as Scripture demonstrates, is not about earning favor with God or twisting His arm. Instead, it is a posture of surrender that opens our hearts to His purposes. Let’s explore three ways fasting can empower spiritual gifts and why it remains a vital practice for believers.

1. Fasting Positions Us to Hear From God

Throughout Scripture, fasting is often the context for receiving direction and communication from God. Some of the most popular stories of fasting include Daniel, Moses, and my personal favorite, the story of Jehoshaphat. In each account, fasting is used as a spiritual discipline to “hear God.” Daniel, confused about God’s revelation, sought clarity and understanding through fasting (Daniel 9:3, 20-22). Moses, who was receiving direct communication from YHWH, fasted for 40 days as God revealed the Law to him (Exodus 34:28; Deuteronomy 9:9-10).

And if anyone needed to fast, it was a guy named Jehosha-fat. Jehoshaphat was not a prophet or a priest who normally received direct communication from God. He was a king who was hopelessly outmatched by an enemy army. Unlike the other kings of his day, Jehoshaphat did not look to alliances with other nations. Jehoshaphat did not trust in horses or chariots; he entrusted himself to the Lord of Hosts. Jehoshaphat issued a nationwide observance of prayer and fasting the moment he heard that his enemies had rallied against Judah (2 Chronicles 20:1-4). What did God do? Just like He had done with Daniel and Moses, God SPOKE to Jehoshaphat through the mouth of a prophet named Jahaziel, comforting the people and delivering them from the hands of the Moabites, Ammonites, and Mosquito-bites.

This same pattern repeats in the New Testament. In Acts 13:2-3, the church at Antioch fasted and prayed, leading to the commissioning of Paul and Barnabas. This dynamic duo wreaked havoc on the gates of hell! Together they went toe-to-toe with the sorcerer in Cyprus, saw a revival in Lystra after healing a crippled man, were persecuted and stoned in Lystra, and participated in the Jerusalem council in Acts 15. In many ways, these two men are responsible for the church’s unity between Jews and Greeks. Together, they established the Gentile church throughout the world—all because someone prayed and fasted. This pattern from the Old Testament to the New Testament reminds us that fasting positions us to hear God’s voice and respond to His leading.

2. Fasting Cultivates and Strengthens Our Dependency on God’s Power

In 2 Corinthians 12:9, God tells the Apostle Paul that Paul’s weakness is an invitation for the power of God to be magnified. God says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” In this specific situation, Paul was praying for some kind of infirmity to be removed from him. However, it seemed as if this weakness that Paul carried in his flesh was just what God needed to move powerfully through him.

If we recognize that fasting is entering into voluntary weakness, we should see a direct connection to the power of God manifesting in our lives. In fact, that is exactly what we see in the Scriptures. Joel’s call to fasting (Joel 2:12-17) is the prerequisite for God pouring out His Spirit on all flesh (Joel 2:28). Similarly, we see Jesus entering into the wilderness for 40 days of fasting. Subsequently, we see Jesus return to ministry in the “power of the Spirit” (Luke 4:14-15).

Consider this: You start a fast. On day two, your stomach is still releasing acid during your normal feeding hours. Your stomach growls, instilling the occasional hunger pains, and as your stomach growls, you remind your soul, “I do not live on bread alone; I am sustained by the words proceeding from the mouth of God.” Day three comes along, and you start to get headaches, and your body is tired after walking up the stairs. You remind your inner man, “His power is made perfect in my weakness.” When we fast, the pains of fasting serve our soul as a reminder of our spiritual dependency on the power of God’s Spirit.

3. Fasting Prepares Us to Steward Spiritual Gifts with Humility

Isaiah 58 underscores the relational dimension of fasting. True fasting, according to the prophet, aligns us with God’s heart for justice and compassion—caring for the hurting and the needy, the poor, the homeless, the widow, and the orphan. In the same way our stomach pain and our headaches remind us that we need God’s help, they also serve to remind us that there are those among us, in our very own city, who live in weakness. The momentary and voluntary “suffering” you and I enter into when we fast is the same kind of suffering they endure involuntarily.

In the 21st century, you and I are uniquely positioned to live with unprecedented comfort. We can have our groceries delivered to our home. We can entertain ourselves with a literally limitless supply of online entertainment and education. I would wager that every family in our church makes over $30,000 a year. By that standard alone, we live as the top 1% of the wealthy in the world. Most of us have two cars, a home, and we don’t live in fear of when we will get our next meal. Fasting places us in a unique position to be reminded of the suffering of others.

This kind of selfless consideration of others is exactly the kind of character that God commands His church to carry in 1 Corinthians 12-14. The church of Corinth was so divided. Some followed Paul, others chose to follow Apollos. Some were rich and getting drunk during communion; some were poor and leaving church hungry. Some Christians believed themselves to be more significant than others because they could prophesy or speak in tongues. But this kind of self-importance—this ego-driven pursuit of the gifts—was contrary to God’s design.

God’s purpose for giving gifts to individuals was for the benefit of “others” (1 Corinthians 14:26). The heart God asks us to cultivate is one of compassion, where we feel others’ pain and are moved to compassion like Jesus was (Matthew 9:36-38). One of the aspects of fasting is to address our own self-centeredness. In this way, it prepares us to use spiritual gifts for their intended purpose: building up the body of Christ in love, focusing on others.

Why Fast During Lent?

As we prepare for Lent, consider how fasting can deepen your relationship with God and position you for spiritual growth. It’s not about achieving perfection but about creating space for the Holy Spirit to move. Whether you’re seeking clarity, deeper awareness of God’s presence and voice, or your own personal sanctification, fasting can align you with His purposes and prepare you to walk in the gifts He has given.

This Lent, may your fasting draw you closer to Christ and equip you to serve others with renewed passion and humility.

Visit our home page: KingsFellowshipChurch.com

1001 Tipton Terrace, Ada, OK, United States, Oklahoma