The Transforming Power of Collective Fasting

Base Reading: Joel 2:12-17

“Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with FASTING and weeping and mourning.” Blow the trumpet in Zion; declare a holy FAST, call a sacred assembly. Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber. Let the priests, who minister before the Lord, weep between the portico and the altar. Let them say, “Spare your people, Lord. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should people say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’” Joel 2:12, 15-17 NIV

Introduction: The Call to Unity in Seeking God

We are living in a special time during our annual fast, which began on 5th January and will end on 25th January. How many of you are fasting? On the 25th, the last day of this fast, I’m going to bring a scale in to weigh each one of you and see if you’ve been truly fasting! (Just kidding, of course!)

Fasting is a powerful biblical doctrine. Those who practise it experience the fullness of the Christian life. 

If we cannot control our stomachs, how can we control the flesh, sexual desires, and demons? Fasting helps to break addictions and bad habits, and it grants us authority in the spiritual world.

Fasting is a personal matter; each person will do it by themselves. However, we are a church, and these 21 days are a call from God for all of us to fast together. 

Fasting is a powerful tool for your personal growth, but there is an even greater strength when we unite in fasting as the body of Christ.

That is why I want to speak to you about “The Transforming Power of Collective Fasting.” It is not just the sum of individual fasts, but the multiplication of faith, humility, and the cry of a united body seeking the Lord with a single purpose. 

The Bible repeatedly shows us that when God’s people unite in fasting and prayer, the heavens open up, and God moves His hand powerfully.

Collective fasting is an act of corporate humility, a confession of our total dependence on God, and a unified cry for His intervention. 

We have many examples in the Bible when leaders anointed by God called the people to fast, and as a result of obedience to the fast: an entire nation was saved, divine protection and intervention, healing and miracles, deliverance from demons, the planting of new churches, the sending of missionaries, etc.

Let’s look at some powerful examples of collective fasting in the Scriptures. 

1. Nineveh: The City Saved by Repentance and Collective Fasting (Jonah 3:5-10)

• The Scenario: Nineveh, one of the largest and most wicked cities in the ancient world, was under God’s sentence of destruction. The prophet Jonah reluctantly delivered the message: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.”

• The Response: The reaction was surprising! “The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.” (Jonah 3:5 NIV).        The king, upon hearing the news, rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, put on sackcloth, and issued a decree: “Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink.” (Jonah 3:7 NIV).

• The Result: “When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, He relented and did not bring on them the destruction He had threatened.” (Jonah 3:10 NIV).

• The Lesson: Collective fasting, accompanied by genuine repentance, has the power to avert divine judgment, even over an entire nation steeped in sin.

2. Esther: The Deliverance of a People Through Strategic Fasting (Esther 4:15-17)

• The Scenario: The Jewish people in exile faced a threat of being completely wiped out, planned by Haman, a cruel enemy.

• The Response: Esther, the Jewish queen, received the challenge to intercede with the king, risking her own life. Before acting, she sent a message to Mordecai: “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and FAST for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.” (Esther 4:16 NIV).

• The Result: God worked an extraordinary miracle! Haman’s plot was exposed; he was hanged on the very gallows he had prepared for Mordecai, and the Jewish people were saved and honoured.

• The Lesson: Collective fasting, in moments of extreme crisis and imminent danger, releases divine providence and God’s supernatural intervention to change the course of history.

3. Ezra: Fasting for Divine Protection on a Perilous Journey (Ezra 8:21-23)

• The Scenario: Ezra had to led a group of exiles returning to Jerusalem, carrying precious treasures for the temple, but without the protection of an army. The journey was long and full of dangers.

• The Response: Ezra “proclaimed a fast by the Ahava Canal, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions.” (Ezra 8:21 NIV). He refused to ask the king for a military escort, preferring to rely entirely on God’s protection.

• The Result: “So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and He answered our prayer.” (Ezra 8:23 NIV). God protected them from enemies and ambushes, and they arrived safely in Jerusalem.

• The Lesson: Important undertakings or perilous journeys are strengthened and protected by God’s hand when the entire community unites in fasting and prayer, seeking His direction and favour.

4. Joel: A Nation’s Cry for Restoration (Joel 2:12-17)

• The Scenario: A severe locust plague and a devastating drought had struck Israel, causing widespread destruction. It was a time of great affliction and lament.

• The Response: God, through the prophet Joel, calls the entire nation to repentance and collective fasting. “Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to Me with all your heart, with FASTING and weeping and mourning.”” (Joel 2:12 NIV). The call was to gather the entire congregation, from the elders to nursing infants, and even newly married couples.

• The Result: God promises to pour out His Spirit, restore the harvests, and bless His people in a glorious way.

• The Lesson: Collective fasting, which unites the entire community in a cry of repentance and seeking, is the key to divine restoration, the outpouring of the Spirit, and God’s blessing upon an entire nation.

Other Biblical Examples of Collective Fasting

5. Jehoshaphat and Judah’s Fast: Amidst Crisis and Invasion (2 Chronicles 20:1-4, 22-26)

• The Scenario: King Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah faced an imminent and powerful invasion from large armies of Moab, Ammon, and the Meunites. The news was terrifying, and the nation was in great danger.

• The Response: “And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.” II Chronicles 20:3 . Instead of relying on his own military strength, Jehoshaphat resolved to seek the Lord and proclaimed a Fast. People from all the towns of Judah came to Jerusalem to seek help from the Lord. Jehoshaphat prayed publicly, acknowledging God’s sovereignty and Judah’s helplessness before such an army. He declared: “For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”” (2 Chronicles 20:12 NIV).

• The Result: God answered the prayer and the fast, sending the prophet Jahaziel, who prophesied: “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.” (2 Chronicles 20:15 NIV). The next day, when the armies of Judah went to the battlefield, they found their enemies already destroyed, for God had caused them to kill one another. Judah collected spoils for three days, and on the fourth day, they assembled in the Valley of Berakah (“Blessing”) to praise the Lord.

• The Lesson: Collective fasting is a powerful refuge in times of national or personal crisis. It leads us to a total dependence on God, and He responds with supernatural deliverance and victory where humanly there would be no hope.

6. The Church in Antioch: Seeking Direction and Missionary Sending (Acts 13:1-3)

• The Scenario: The church in Antioch was growing, having multiplied from Jerusalem, and had among its vibrant members apostles, prophets, and pastors, demonstrating its great missionary potential.

• The Response: While they were worshipping the Lord and Fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”” (Acts 13:2 NIV). Notice that divine direction did not come during a time of laziness, but while the community was actively engaged in worship and fasting. After receiving this clear direction, they did not act quickly. “So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.” (Acts 13:3 NIV). There was a second collective fast to seal the commission and sending of the first missionaries.

• The Result: This decision, made through collective fasting and prayer, marked the beginning of Paul and Barnabas’s first great missionary journey, which resulted in the expansion of the Gospel across vast regions of the Gentile world.

• The Lesson: Collective fasting is essential for the church to seek divine direction in crucial decisions, such as sending out workers, planning missionary projects, or defining new strategies. It attunes us to the voice of the Holy Spirit and enables the church to fulfil its mission with power and clarity.

Conclusion

These examples, from both the Old and New Testaments, reinforce the truth that collective fasting is not an empty ritual, but an act of obedience, faith, and humility that invites the intervention of a God who hears the unified cry of His people.

I want more of God, and what about you? Our fasting demonstrates our dependence, that we trust in God and not in ourselves.

God’s word to us is: “Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Blow the trumpet in Zion; declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly.” Joel 2:12, 15 NIV

I am fasting and will continue doing it; I am calling the whole church to join in this fast! I want to know who will do it!

If you are not yet fasting, accept this challenge from God; start tomorrow! Write down your prayer targets, determine how you want to do it, and write down your personal goals for this fasting. Fast for the salvation of your family, for the salvation of your children, for the healing of your relatives, for deliverance from the addictions that hold your life captive, for your marriage, your spiritual life, for your church, your Life Group, for the ministries of the church, for a spiritual renewal!

If you were already fasting, let’s increase it a little more this week. When you fast, you are offering your body as a pleasing sacrifice to God!

Your physical obedience will release God’s power in your life! Physical obedience will bring healing, salvation, miracles, blessings, the protection of Angels, etc.

God bless you and see you next week!