“Though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses (strongholds). We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

A stronghold is defined by Webster as a place having strong defenses; a fortress. As we progress, growing in our walk with God, the enemy will fight hard by every possible means to discourage and defeat us. To overcome these personal attacks we must understand his methods. He will most often try to defeat us through our minds (our thought lives). This battle is very strong because it goes on continually. In dreams, when we wake up in the morning, and throughout the day, fiery thought darts assail our minds. Our enemy knows that if he can rule in our thoughts, then he can defeat us in our actions, including our prayer lives. We don’t realize the number of negative thoughts that bombard us daily. And they are powerful. They can destroy relationships, affect ministries, drain us of health and energy, as they impact almost every area of our lives.

To avoid destruction, we must learn to take every thought captive to Christ and not listen to the lies of the enemy.

Learning to destroy strongholds of the mind will have a dramatic affect in the life of every person who wants to serve God wholeheartedly. As intercessors, we must take captive our thoughts and walk in truth. Doing this has greatly impacted both my husband’s and my life. Having gained understanding of how to walk free of strongholds, we have been able to teach people in several countries how they, too, can walk in a greater freedom.

A Powerful Enemy – Strongholds in our Mind

Some of Satan’s most powerful weapons against our effectiveness for the Kingdom are strongholds in our minds. A stronghold is a thought pattern, usually planted in our minds during our first five years of life. It grows and gains strength through the years, becoming a practiced way of thinking and an automatic way of living. We all have some strongholds, which have become powerful life messages. An enemy stronghold is based in a lying thought that we have embraced instead of God’s truth. These strongholds are powerful and can cause destructive habits that affect our relationship to God and to others.

Such patterns of thought can bring terrible misunderstandings into our lives. Let me give you some examples of strongholds: “I will never change,” “I’m bad,” “Nobody loves me,” “I’m stupid,” “I’m a failure,” “It’s all my fault,” “Life isn’t safe,” “My situation is hopeless,” etc. Realize that this idea or thought is the open door through which the enemy can defeat us again and again. We are then stuck in a rut. This is how the enemy works.

Our strongholds affect one another, and that is why there is so much warfare in marriages and relationships. They trigger another’s emotions or strongholds and work to bring destruction. They need to be brought to the cross in repentance.

“We do this by identifying strongholds and practices in our flesh, hating them, repenting of them, confessing them to the Father; and then believing they have died with Jesus.”

We read in 1 John 3:8, “The son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.” We need to believe that His death has set us free. If the body of Christ begins to walk out of these strongholds and begins to believe the truth instead of the lie, Satan knows that we will be unstoppable for the Kingdom of God. This is why he fights so hard to keep these lies hidden in our lives. But there is hope! God can identify and break these strongholds in our mind.


Weapons Against Strongholds

As we enter deeper into the end times, we are going to have to work to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. Some weapons to help us to deal with strongholds in our own lives and the lives of others are the following:

• The Word of God – Paul would speak the truth of God’s Word. The Word is our life and sets us free. We must hold onto it with all of our hearts. We must listen to what God says rather than the lies and fiery darts 
of the enemy.
• Repentance – Repentance removes the legal base of Satan’s attack. When we confess the false belief that we have carried most of our lives, God is able to remove the legal base and the open door of the enemy. He is able to break through the fear that has controlled us. He can speak to our hearts in a new way where we are able to experience His peace and love in a new dimension.
• Personal testimony – We overcome the enemy by the word of our testimony. Personal testimonies touch into the feeling part of our being. Personal testimony given in a spirit of humility helps us to identify with others. “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony” (Revelation 12:11a)
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• Forgiveness – We must forgive everyone who has hurt or offended us. Usually when strongholds are detected and acknowledged, there is someone who has been involved in the starting or reinforcing of that stronghold. Forgiveness will be a key to our deliverance. We must learn to set those people free.
• The blood of Jesus – There is power in the blood of Jesus. This is power to set the captives free and to live a new kind of life. The blood of Jesus overcomes all obstacles of sin. Jesus’ blood is a weapon of His kindness that disarms the weaponry of the sin of the stronghold. We need to learn to pray the blood of Jesus over our cities, our neighborhoods and our families.
• Prayer – Prayer applies the blood, cross and resurrection life of Jesus. It enables us to hear and receive the Word of God. “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:18).
• Dying to sin – We need to hate the strongholds in our lives and our sinful responses. We think we benefit in some way from the stronghold such as the satisfaction of vengeance, feeling powerful and various other ways. We need to be so grieved by our sinful strongholds that we are willing to pay the price of dying to sin. It is a process. “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9).

God will enable us to break through the enemy strongholds in our lives and in our cities and nation. Let us not give up but diligently bring our thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ.

“Therefore, I urge you, brethren, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:1-2).

To find out more about destroying personal strongholds, get our book called Intercessors Arise: Personal Prayer that Changes the World by Debbie Przybylski.

“Gates are where we win or lose. That is why Scripture uses gates as the place to be broken through. We must break through intimidation, faithlessness, fear, hopelessness, despair, or whatever else looms like an unconquerable foe at the gates. The threshold is where we either leap forward or back out. Yet once we leap, it is where we meeting the incredible supernatural power of God to break through before us victorious over every obstacle. It is after we leap that we begin to possess our inheritance for the current season. It is where increase and abundance come in whatever dimension we are crossing over into. It is there we meet God in a way that is new.”

The death and resurrection of Jesus was the greatest breakthrough in all of history. Jesus broke the power of death and evil when He died on the cross for our sins. His resurrection is proof of the most wonderful and glorious accomplishment on earth. He provided a way of breakthrough for those who trust in Him. Most of us need breakthrough in some way. We need breakthrough in our families, nations, and everyday life situations. There are shut doors that need to be opened by the resurrection power of God. There are long-term barriers where we need the explosive power and might of God to break through. Our God has the breakthrough anointing for each one of us. He will use His authority and force to open the gates that have been shut.

Perhaps you need a personal breakthrough today. Persevering prayer and faith are keys to breakthrough. And Jesus has the breaker anointing to break through in any situation that we may face. We need breakthrough in order to see heaven come on earth and to see the Kingdom of God released among us. God is looking for people who believe Him for breakthrough. God wants us to rise up in faith in order to see the breakthrough. God is the one who will break through for you, but He needs your cooperation to open the gates, those closed places, before you. This is what faith will do:

“It opens the gate of heaven. When heaven’s gates open, what is in heaven comes down to earth. Health, wholeness, peace, love, grace, glory, revelation, strategy, and all the rest of the nature of God and His Kingdom come down when the gates open.”

As I have said in the past said, the enemy tries to restrict us. He coils around us and tightens His grip like the python snake. He wants to restrict the Church worldwide, but we know that the Gates of Hades will not prevail against the Church (Matthew 16:18). Gates are exit and entry points that must be opened. Especially when we are at the place of threshold, the enemy will try to terminate our forward movement. He will attack with fear and through squeezing the life out of us.

There is warfare at the gates and especially at the threshold of breakthrough. This is where we must overcome. The Hebrew root meaning for threshold, gate or door is “caphaph” and means “to snatch away or terminate”. The other word for threshold is “pethen” and means “to twist as a snake”. It even sounds like python and may be where the name of this snake originated.

When you are experiencing strong, enemy warfare at the gates, it may seem that there is no life or direction but only darkness, despair, and the feeling of being lost. This is not what God wants for any of us. This is an enemy attack at the point of threshold and breakthrough. The enemy tries to snatch away our destiny and seeks to terminate our work for God at this point. There is fear at the brink or threshold because we are moving into a new place or territory. It is as if we are at the precipice of a mountain and there is a fear of risk, because there is a need for more faith in order to leap over to the other side. God wants us to move forward in faith.

Keep in mind that we are overcomers through Christ. He is the one who will win the victory, but we have to exercise our faith. He is the one who will break through for us, but He wants our cooperation. This is what God has said about breaking through gates in Isaiah 45:2: “I will go before you and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze (brass) and cut the bars of iron.”

“The details written in Isaiah 45:2 are important to emphasize because it helps us understand that without God intervening, these gates would never break open. The structure of these gates was such that it would be impossible for a human being to break through them. Supernatural intervention from the Breaker was required. God, therefore, victoriously went before them and broke through. The same is true today. We need the supernatural intervention of God to break through impenetrable gates in order to enter into new territories and new places.”

I encourage you to persevere in faith, and do not give up. There are breakthroughs in prayer that are close at hand. The enemy is trying to terminate your forward movement. You may be battling in faith and feel hindered by the enemy. Press on and press through for the breaker, Jesus, will surely come, and He will come with His resurrection power.

Intercessors are key to the world harvest that we are beginning to see in the nations. The enemy knows this and is trying to hinder the prayer movement. He will do this by trying to hinder the faith of the intercessors. God has been preparing intercessors for the future. This is the time to crossover to a new place and to take new territory for the Kingdom of God. But this involves letting go and moving forward with God in a dimension we have never moved before.

This involves faith.

“Crossing over require us to give up something that is precious to us such as a prized possession. It may be a thing, an attitude, a person, security, or our desire for the future. It can be anything that we hold on to when the only way to get to the other side is to let go of it. There is an aspect of idolatry to that. It has become a god to us, something we worship and to which we are bowing our knee. To cross over will mean to let go of that which will not fit through the gate with us.”

How to Break Through in Faith

Many of you may be at the door, at the threshold point of breakthrough in faith. The enemy is taunting and trying to stop you from forward movement. What do you need to do in order to see the breakthrough? What keys do you need to open the gate? The keys are a breakthrough God, yielding control, waiting and listening, faith and obedience.

• Realize that God is going to break through for you – You can’t do it by yourself. He has the resurrection power to break through every obstacle in your life. Meditate on God and His Word until you know that He is the breakthrough God for you.
• Yield all control to God – Let go of the known and trust God to get you across to the other side. So often we try to control our own lives. We need to yield our will, and move to a new level of trust in God.
• Wait on God and find out what action He wants you to take – Be still and make sure you know God’s leading in your life. Some of you may be in a place of hiddenness with God, and it may take faith to wait. But others of you may know what God wants you to do, but you have been hesitant and fearful. Hesitate no longer.
• Move forward in faith and obedience – Bold action will open the gate and release God’s spiritual power. Do not waver because of fear. Take a leap of faith. God will catch you in His arms on the other side.

“To refuse to leap is to make a choice to stop. We become stuck at that point. Before we can begin to increase again, we must return to the place where we made a choice to stop. However, once we can let go and leap, we will meet God in a completely new way. The new revelation of God will cause us to wonder why we were so hesitant. Yet without faith it is impossible to please God. So we will come to this place again and again and again.” Unnamed quotes by Barbara Yoder 


Let us remember that Jesus’ death and resurrection was the greatest place of breakthrough. He broke through every power of darkness when He died on the cross. His resurrection is the key to all power, all victory against the enemy attacks we face today. We can walk in great faith because our King has already won the battle at the cross. We can pray great prayers without doubt or fear, because we pray them in His most powerful name.

“Today, as much as at any time, we need men of great faith and men who are great in prayer. These are the two chief virtues that make men great in the eyes of God. These two things create conditions of real spiritual success in the life and work of the church. It is our main concern to see that we keep this kind of quality faith before God. This kind of faith grasps and holds in its keeping the things for which it asks without doubt and fear.” E. M. Bounds

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

“Every time the Lord faced an important decision, He prayed. When He was being tempted to do things by the world’s methods instead of the Father’s, He prayed (Matthew 4). When it was time to choose His disciples, He prayed the entire night (Luke 6:12). If the Son of God required a night of prayer in order to determine the Father’s mind, how long might it take us in prayer to clearly determine our Father’s will?” Henry Blackaby

Let prayer set the agenda of your life. Many of us often worry about our lives. What should we do next year? Where should we live? What school should we go to? These are all good questions that need careful thought. But if most of us were honest, we would admit that we worry needlessly about the choices we should make in everyday life. It is right to get wise counsel and to weigh out the options. However, when concern turns into unnecessary anxiety, we are not trusting God who knows exactly how to handle every situation we face. Life becomes simpler when we learn to seek God for every aspect of our plans. Our times spent in prayer will bring revelation of His agenda for us. We can be confident that in the final analysis, it is God who knows what is best for us and what will give Him the greatest glory.

We must learn to pray about everything and trust in God’s wisdom that far surpasses ours. At times we may sense His direction and feel the peace that comes from the Holy Spirit even though nothing in the natural may look logical. Recently we had this type of experience. We began to pray about lengthening our ministry time overseas because we felt God might want us to extend our visit to certain countries. We sensed God’s peace in a particular direction even though the decision to go home would have been easier and seemed more logical. We had already been traveling for two months, we were tired, had much to do in the U.S., and my father was ill, so an extension of another two months needed prayerful consideration. There were other reasons why going home would have been the right choice from a human standpoint. The problem is that very often God’s viewpoint is different from ours. He sees things far in advance and from His perspective, which is far beyond ours. In this case, we felt we must go with the leading and peace of the Holy Spirit. The real key for us was prayer and waiting upon God, listening and hearing His voice.

Through prayer, we discovered God’s agenda. 

We may not know the full picture of why we were to extend our time overseas. But we do know that we had to take that step of faith that was guided and empowered through prayer in order to do God’s very best. We knew that we were in the right place and that when we did return home, we knew we had completed what God had for us overseas. God loves to hear us pray with fervency, having done so, listen and step out in faith according to His leading. Perhaps there is something that you need to pray over regarding God’s plan and purpose in your present circumstances. Praying through every decision, listening to His voice, and leaning upon His understanding and wisdom will enable you to determine His agenda.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
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Guidelines to Hearing God’s Voice Through Prayer

“But as for me, I will look to the Lord and confident in Him I will keep watch; I will wait with hope and expectancy for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me” (Micah 7:7, Amplified).

• Bathe your life in prayer – Pray about all the decisions in your life daily. Ask Him for direction so that you may fulfill His will for your life for that day. Continually bring major decisions to Him in prayer. Pray, listen, and wait with expectancy.
• Believe that God does speak to you – “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). Accept this promise.
• Find time to be alone with God – Take time to pray and listen. Most of life is very busy, but time with Him is of utmost importance so we can hear from God. Often the Lord responds with a thought planted by His Spirit into the mind or heart.
• Keep a journal of what God says – We can better evaluate guidance and see what God is saying when we journal on a regular basis. Journaling helps us to ponder our thoughts and impressions so we can clearly discern the path God wants us to take.
• Test what you hear – What we think is God’s voice may come from the Holy Spirit, from the enemy or from our own souls. Ask the Lord to confirm what you think He may be saying. Through practice, we learn to hear God’s voice and the Holy Spirit’s leading. 1 John 4:1 exhorts us to test the spirits.
• Carefully check all guidance with Scripture – God’s Word is truth. What we think God is speaking should line up with Scripture. This is why we should examine everything carefully with the Bible. It is good to seek confirmation from at least two other Christians before taking action, especially on big decisions.
• Obey God – We must be willing to act on what God has told us. When we obey God, there is blessing. If we still doubt what we think God is saying, it is good to continue to ask Him for confirmation until we sense His peace.

“Jesus knew that His mission was not to attract a crowd, but to remain obedient to His Father. It was prayer that set the agenda for Jesus’ ministry (Luke 6:12). Prayer preceded the miracles (John 11:42-43); prayer brought Him encouragement at critical moments (Luke 9:28-31); prayer enabled Him to go to the cross (Luke 22:41-42); and prayer kept Him there despite excruciating pain (Luke 23:46). Follow the Savior’s example, and let your time alone with God, in prayer, set the agenda for your life.” Henry Blackaby

 “Whatever the issue in your life is, the key is to worship a holy God who created you and knows everything about you – your failures, shortcomings, insecurities, besetting sins and fears. He sits on His throne, omniscient, and says something like this: ‘I know your final destination, and I know how to get you from where you are now to where I want you to be. I know why I created you. If you’ll worship Me, I will visit with you. I can tell you how to get untangled from the snares in your path and how to move forward. I can even reveal to you things to come that are pertinent to your life and world.’” Chuck Pierce and John Dickson

This is the time to enter into deeper levels of worship both personally and corporately. It is only as we ascend to the throne room in worship, that we can descend back into the harvest field here on earth, praying and warring for victory in every area. When you and I come boldly to God’s throne in worship, He gives us His plans and strategies for our lives here on earth. There is no way that we can walk in His peace, power and perfect plan without a lifestyle of worship. To ascend is to arise, come up, increase, recover and restore. God wants us to rise up. He knows what He is doing here on earth. He can make sense of things that are happening and can show us the way through challenges. He can strengthen us as intercessors, and He can give us keys during our seasons of worship that unlock the path before us and bring glory into our situations here on earth. It’s time to devote ourself to greater worship of the Lord.



Worship changes our lives and how we see our circumstances. It is truly amazing to see life from God’s point of view instead of our own. I remember living as a missionary on a mission’s ship. At sea I would feel seasick, and some voyages from country to country could be quite long or very stormy. My solution was to walk out on deck and begin to worship God as I gazed at the ocean. After an hour on deck worshipping God, my situation would seem very different, and I would even feel better physically. Worship is the key to life. We are entering turbulent waters, and we must lay hold of this reality so that each one of us may stand firm, hold steady and pray fervently as the days unfold before us. There is no storm that Jesus will not be able to conquer. Truly, in the midst of resistance, if we worship Him, we shall see His victory. He can break through any obstacle when we make worship our life style.

“Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.” (Psalm 96:1-3)


God Loves Persevering Worship

“The heart of God loves a persevering worshipper, who though overwhelmed by many troubles, is overwhelmed even more by the beauty of God.” Matt Redman

A testimony by John Dickson who operated a Christian bookstore that went through a financial crisis: “Sometimes we just have to tell our soul what to do. Our soul does not always feel like praising God. As I praised Him as an act of my will, my spirit began to awaken inside me. As my soul began to line up with my proclamations, a flow of anointing began to be released. The oppressive cloud would lift, and the presence of God would come into my store. Over time my business turned around, and I knew it was not because of my keen business… It was the Lord. He turned my business around because I praised Him in the hard place.”

Are you overwhelmed by the troubles of life? Are you overwhelmed by your circumstances? Then praise and worship God with all your heart. Be radical and see the enemy flee. As you press through the heaviness, a transformation will take place. You will begin to see the beauty and greatness of God. Your faith will rise up. Your spirit will begin to sing. But you must take the first step. Open your mouth and begin. He can turn any darkness into light. Notice the transformation that took place as John Dickson began to praise God right in the midst of a crisis. God brought victory.

“When things are wonderful, we praise Him. When things are horrible, we praise Him. Whether we are happy or sad or terrified or bored, we are determined to offer to God our sacrifice of praise. Everything in us should give praise to the Lord.” Chuck Pierce and John Dickson

“Forgiveness is not a spiritual gift, a skill, or an inherited trait. Forgiveness is a choice. Jesus looked down on those who had ruthlessly and mockingly nailed Him to a cross, yet He cried out: ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do’ (Luke 23:34). How, then, can we refuse to forgive those who have committed offenses against us?” Henry Blackaby

Some time ago, while in Germany, I had the privilege of teaching a session on forgiveness as a part of a training course for individuals who are serving God in many nations. The course was called “Face to Face.” It was about coming face to face with God in intimacy and face to face with one another. Forgiving others who have hurt us is a personal choice. Truly forgiving can be very difficult for our flesh; however, it is one of the greatest ways we can ever show the reality of our walk with God to others. 



In order to come close to God in intimacy, we must learn to walk in forgiveness.

Unforgiveness keeps us from God and hinders our prayer life. Living in forgiveness is key for each of us who want to grow in prayer and intercession. We want intimacy with God, so, let us break every barrier. We naturally want to blame others and to take revenge. I am sure you will agree that choosing to forgive is an act of the will against human nature.

We see forgiveness demonstrated in the life of Joseph. He is a tremendous example of choosing to forgive family members who had deeply hurt him. Through Joseph’s act of forgiveness, God used him to bring about a great deliverance in the lives of his family. He had every reason to be bitter. He lived in prison for years because his brothers had sold him into slavery, however, he chose to forgive and to be reconciled to his brothers. He was so full of forgiveness that he begged his brothers to forgive themselves. He said the following, “Do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life… and to keep you alive by a great deliverance.” (Genesis 45:5,7)

“There was no bitterness, no revenge, and no angry last word preceding his forgiveness. There was only the foretaste of Christ’s own unconditional forgiveness to every self-condemned sinner. Indeed, like Joseph, every time we forgive, we too ‘preserve life.’ We restore our brethren to wholeness ‘by a great deliverance.'” Francis Frangipane

Hindrances to Forgiveness

“There is nothing so deeply imbedded in your heart that God’s grace cannot reach down and remove it. No area in your life is so painful thatGod’s grace cannot bring total healing. No offense committed against you is so heinous that God’s love cannot enable you to forgive.” Henry Blackaby

• Lack of understanding of God’s judgment and righteousness – We think we must take the matter into our own hands. If we don’t think that others are being punished properly, we try to help God. We must leave the dealing with God, trusting Him as judge.
• Pride in our life – We want to be right. We don’t think others deserve forgiveness. We may think that there is no need to forgive. We forget that we, ourselves, have already experienced the rich, undeserved forgiveness of God through Jesus’ sacrifice. Now we are called to walk in that grace towards others.
• An unwillingness to face the pain of the offense – We must know that we can bring the pain of offense to Jesus. “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)

• Bitterness in our heart – We may hold revenge and want to punish. Do not forget that bitterness and unforgiveness bind us to the offender. We must cut the rope, and be set free.
• Not regarding sin seriously enough – Sin is serious business. We must come to grips with our hurt and forgive the offender. We cannot rationalize nor try to explain away a sinful response on our part. Unforgiveness puts a barrier between us and the Lord.

We need God’s help to forgive. Jesus knows the pain of betrayal. He understands humiliation, misunderstanding, shame and hurt. Jesus is the greatest example of one who forgave others freely and fully. Our Father God develops and shows His character in and through us by allowing us to experience difficult situations, His grace enabling us to walk out responses that give Him honor. As a result, we can walk in righteousness, peace and joy, demonstrating the life of Jesus here on earth.

“The choice to forgive opens my own prison doors. When I choose to hold someone in my debtor’s prison, I am the captive. My mind is occupied with justifying why they are there. I become obsessed with their punishment being carried out. In choosing to become their judge, I become their jailer and ironically enough, their captive. We all know that whatever we focus upon becomes the center of our lives.” Dudley Hall

To learn more about the freedom of forgiveness and the power of forgiveness, purchase our book called Intercessors Arise!

“Prayer intercession is empowered not only by the Holy Spirit, but also by true biblical fasting. With revival sweeping the nations, we are hearing of more prayer with fasting than prayer without fasting. We must return to the early church discipline of fasting. This discipline will be part of our training for the Church, especially in the coming generations.”

May God give us a heart revelation of the power and necessity of fasting combined with prayer. As we enter into fasting – whether it is a meal, a day or a season of fasting – let us make sure that we are fasting the right way. Let us ask God for the right heart motives and enter into our fast with a humble and obedient heart. May we be encouraged by the powerful life and testimony of Charles Finney and the fact that he was a man who fasted and prayed. He said the following:

“I used to spend a great deal of time in prayer; sometimes, I thought, literally praying ‘without ceasing’. I also found it very profitable, and felt very much inclined to hold frequent days of private fasting. On those days I would seek to be entirely alone with God, and would generally wander off into the woods, or get into the meeting house, or somewhere away entirely by myself. But whenever I fasted, and let the Spirit take his own course with me, and gave myself up to let him lead and instruct me, I universally found it in the highest degree useful. I found I could not live without enjoying the presence of God.”

Emptiness of Wrong Fasting: Isaiah 58:1-5

“. . . ‘Why have we fasted’, they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’ Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humbled himself? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?”

This fast was an outward act of religious obedience but it had no heart. It was a ritualistic act and religious duty that caused pride and self-importance. The people continued to live disobedient and rebellious lives against God’s moral laws.

“God desires that they would draw near with humility of heart, honest prayer, and submission to His ways. A formal, ritualistic fasting without spiritual content cannot satisfy the heart of God. It accomplishes nothing. It is injurious to the one who fasts and to those around him. It warps judgments, deadens conscience, hardens the heart and awakens false hopes. Fasting must be joined with intercessory prayer out of a clean heart, an honest and humble heart, a heart that is first loving and submissive to a sovereign God.”

Benefits of Right Fasting: Isaiah 58:5-12

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter – when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood…”

God rewards fasting that is done the right way. He looks at our hearts. He wants us to fast with the right motive and the right heart attitude. If we fast the way God desires and in an attitude of humility, He will bring rich blessings from these times. Isaiah 58 speaks at great length about the numerous benefits of fasting with the right heart. This chapter alone should motivate us to seek God more diligently in prayer and fasting.

The benefits of right fasting found in Isaiah 58

• Your light will break forth like the dawn.
• Your healing will quickly appear.
• Your righteousness will go before you.
• The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
• You will call and the Lord will answer.
• You will cry for help, and He will say, “Here am I.”
• Your light will arise in the darkness.
• Your night will become like the noonday.
• The Lord will guide you always.
• He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land.
• The Lord will strengthen your frame.
• You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
• Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise the age-old foundations.
• You will be called repairer of broken walls.
• You will be a restorer of streets with dwellings.
• You will find your joy in the Lord.
• You will rise on the heights of the land.
• You will feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.

“Prayer intercession moves into the breach, the spiritual gap, and begins to pray repentance, restoration, revival and redirection for people – saved and unsaved. This should be the intercessor’s prayer while fasting. This is the prayer God desires from fasting intercessors. ‘Is this not the fast that I have chosen?’ Combine this spirit of intercession with the fasting of an honest heart, with Isaiah 58:6-12 to guide us, and the result will be powerful prayers with Kingdom results.” Quotes by Frank Damazio

“As a child of God, you ought to expect God to answer your prayers. Do you ask God to do something without adjusting your life to what you are praying? If you are praying for revival, how are you preparing for its coming? If you are praying for forgiveness, are you still living with guilt? If you have asked God to provide for your needs, do you remain worried and anxious? Ask God to increase your faith, and then begin living a life that reflects absolute trust in Him.” Henry Blackaby

We all want God to answer our prayers. We believe in the power of prayer. But when it comes down to our own individual lives and our own problems, we often don’t have the faith to believe God will answer. We are often trapped by our unbelief and independence. But God is preparing us for the end-time harvest. He wants to enlarge our territory. He wants to bless us with increase, because His nature is to bless. We are the ones who limit God because of our lack of faith and our fear of stepping out in dependence on Him. The truth is that the things we do for God should be outside of our own ability and trusting in His supernatural ability. When we back away from dependence, we are not living by faith. We need to be willing to attempt things big enough that unless God’s steps in, we are sure to fail. This is the kind of faith and dependence He is looking for in our life. Remember the Jabez prayer in I Chronicles 4:10 that many of us were praying a couple of years ago:

“Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, ‘Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.’ And God granted his request.”

He cried out to God to enlarge his territory and bless him. He cried out for God’s hand to be with him. We, too, are made for destiny. We have a God-inspired desire to impact our world. Created for something bigger than ourselves, we are designed to touch a lost world. As intercessors, we long to make an impact on our land for eternity – whether it is where we work, live, or minister. But in reality, most of us are afraid to step out by faith. We are afraid of failing. Why are we afraid to become dependent on a God who has unlimited resources? But if we pray for God to enlarge our borders, we must be dependent on Him and prepared to believe for miracles that only God can bring about.

“God’s bounty is limited only by us, not by His resources, power, or willingness to give. Jabez was blessed simply because he refused to let any obstacle, person, or opinion loom larger than God’s nature. And God’s nature is to bless.”

When reading the book, The Prayer of Jabez, many of us were praying that God would enlarge our territory. God gives us the desires of our hearts and He wants to answer extraordinary prayers combined with extraordinary faith in the impossible. He wants us to live beyond our self-imposed limits. He wants to give us favor, but many of us don’t believe it. I encourage you to begin to pray big prayers, because God is able to bless. I am right now praying for big things for Intercessors Arise; things that are absolutely impossible unless God comes through. I want to believe God for the supernatural in intercession, for the impossible to become possible, for His extraordinary hand of power in situations in nations. I want to believe God for a mighty prayer movement that covers the earth. To do so, I need to be ready to take action according to God’s direction. I know that I must demonstrate my dependence on Him by stepping out by faith in whatever way He leads. Bruce Wilkinson, author of The Prayer of Jabez, says the following:

“The most exhilarating miracles in my life have always started with a bold request to expand God’s kingdom a lot. When you take little steps, you don’t need God. It’s when you thrust yourself in the mainstream of God’s plan for this world – which are beyond our ability to accomplish – and plead with Him, Lord, use me – give me more ministry for You – that you release miracles.”

My willingness and weakness + God’s will and supernatural power 
= God’s unlimited opportunity to bless

What God is trying to teach each one of us is dependence on His strong hand and supernatural power. When we surrender our weakness into the mighty hand of God, then our needs and problems turn into His unlimited opportunity. Then God becomes great through us. Then he can entrust us with an enlarged territory and the fulfillment of our destiny. But we have to take steps of faith even if they are small. God honors these steps and turns them into His unlimited opportunity because at that very point, we become dependent on Him. This is His plan for each one of our lives as intercessors. I encourage you to take time, and meditate on this. If we are willing to give God our weakness and obey His Word by faith, then it opens the door for supernatural power and God’s opportunity to bless. What step of faith is God asking you to take today? What impossibility will you put into His hands and by faith obey what He tells you to do? Will you invite Him today to take over? Will you trust Him? Will you put everything into His almighty hands, adjust your life to what you are praying for, and step out by faith in whatever way He leads. When you do this, you become dependent in His dependable hands. He is waiting for your invitation to enlarge you in faith.

Notice that Jabez did not begin his prayer by asking for God’s hand to be with him. At that point, he didn’t sense the need. Things were still manageable. His risks, and the fears that go with them, were minimal. But when his boundaries got moved out, and the kingdom-sized tasks of God’s agenda started coming at him, Jabez knew he needed a divine hand – and fast. He could have turned back, or he could have tried to keep going in his own strength. Instead he prayed. If seeking God’s blessing is our ultimate act of worship, and asking to do more for Him is our utmost ambition, then asking for God’s hand upon us is our strategic choice to sustain and continue the great things that God has begun in our lives. That’s why you could call God’s hand on you ‘the touch of greatness.’ You do not become great; you become dependent on the strong hand of God. Your surrendered need turns into His unlimited opportunity. And He becomes great through you.” Unnamed quotes by Bruce Wilkinson