The Beginning of Fasting

Aug 09, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Fasting as the Key to Breaking Yokes

The Israelites lost battles despite prayer and weeping until they added fasting. Fasting isn’t about earning God’s favor but wielding a spiritual tool to break stubborn cycles. Like warriors discovering a missing weapon, believers often overlook this discipline when facing addiction, division, or repeated failure. Fasting shifts reliance from human effort to divine partnership, creating space for God’s intervention. It’s not a hunger strike but a declaration: “I need Your strength more than bread.” [49:34]

Then all the people, the whole army, went up and came to Bethel and wept. They sat there before the Lord and fasted that day until evening, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.
(Judges 20:26, ESV)

Reflection: What recurring battle have you fought in your own strength? How might fasting shift your dependence from willpower to God’s power?

Day 2: The Anointing Oil of Unity

Unity isn’t forced agreement but the fragrant overflow of shared purpose. Like sacred oil dripping from Aaron’s beard to the hem of his robe, unity leaves a lingering mark on everyone it touches. Churches and families fracture when focused on faults, but fasting together recalibrates hearts toward Christ’s mission. The smell of unity—not perfection—draws prodigals home and silences critics. [56:05]

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes!
(Psalm 133:1-2, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you prioritize being “right” over being united? How could fasting soften your heart toward someone you’ve labeled “the problem”?

Day 3: The Rock of Remembrance for Prodigals

Benjamin’s survivors hid at the Rock of Rimmon—a name meaning “pomegranate,” the same fruit adorning the high priest’s robe. Even rebels carry echoes of their holy calling. Fasting stirs compassion for those who’ve abandoned their identity, reminding us they’re still threads in God’s tapestry. Our prayers become chisels, carving pathways back to grace. [01:13:22]

But 600 men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon and remained at the rock of Rimmon four months.
(Judges 21:4, ESV)

Reflection: Who in your life feels “too far gone”? How might fasting and intercession shift your view of their story?

Day 4: Fasting to Shatter Invisible Chains

Victory often comes delayed but undiminished. Like a farmer planting seeds in one season and harvesting in another, fasting releases breakthroughs we may not immediately see. The Israelites’ three-day fast in Judges unlocked a victory that preserved their nation. Some yokes—generational patterns, hidden strongholds—require sustained spiritual pressure to crack. [01:08:34]

Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?
(Isaiah 58:6, ESV)

Reflection: What long-standing struggle makes you question if prayer works? How might fasting anchor your hope in God’s timing?

Day 5: When Stomach Growls Become Prayer Groans

Fasting turns bodily hunger into spiritual alertness. Like a fire alarm jarring sleepers awake, an empty stomach reminds us to pray fiercely. The Israelites didn’t fast to manipulate God but to intensify their dependence. Whether skipping meals or social media, fasting creates space to hear God’s whispers over the world’s noise. [01:06:47]

And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret.
(Matthew 6:16-18, ESV)

Reflection: What practical step (skipping a meal, a screen, etc.) could turn your cravings into prayers this week? How might this discipline recalibrate your spiritual hunger?

Sermon Summary

Judges 20 brings out the beginning of corporate fasting in a hard story, one full of sin in the camp, injustice, and a holy war that had to be fought. Israel had a real wrong in front of them, but Israel also had to learn that being right about the battle does not mean the battle can be won in the flesh. The people prayed, then they wept and obeyed, but they still kept losing. The text shows that sometimes God lets His people fight a battle they are going to lose, because they were going to fight it in their own strength anyway.

Fasting comes in as a tool in the tool belt, not as some religious show, but as a weapon for battles that prayer and tears alone have not seemed to break. Judges says Israel came to Bethel, sat before the Lord, wept, fasted until evening, and offered sacrifices. After that, the Lord defeated Benjamin before Israel. The order matters: they prayed and lost 22,000, they prayed and wept and lost 18,000, then they prayed, wept, and fasted, and victory came.

Fasting first aims at unity. Psalm 133 says unity is like precious oil running down Aaron’s head, beard, and garments. That oil had a smell, and unity has a smell too. A church can have a service and still walk out with the same disunity, but when the presence of God and unity fill the room, something sticks. A home needs that. A family needs that. A church needs that. Unity is not just a good idea, it is part of the anointing that makes the people able to fight together.

Fasting also reaches for victory. Old sloth foot is sly, and the devil knows how to throw rocks from a hundred yards away. Some battles are tactical, whether addiction, unforgiveness, screen time, family trouble, or spiritual heaviness. Isaiah 58 says the fast God chooses loosens wicked bonds, undoes heavy burdens, lets the oppressed go free, and breaks every yoke. Victory may not always show up the same day, but God rewards hidden seeking, and some seeds come up years later.

Fasting finally breaks hearts for lost brothers. After Benjamin was nearly wiped out, Israel wept and asked why one tribe should be missing. Benjamin had been the bottom stone, the pomegranate place where the oil still ran down. The call lands there: some people are hiding in caves, remembering what it felt like to be in the family, and God can bring them home into grace.

Key Takeaways

1. Fasting is a battle weapon Fasting is not presented as a way to impress God, but as a way to stop fighting holy battles with fleshly strength. Israel had the right cause, yet the wrong dependence, and that difference cost them dearly. The believer learns that some yokes do not fall because the battle is understood, but because the body, appetite, and will are brought low before God. [49:34]
2. Unity has a holy smell Unity is pictured like oil running down Aaron’s head, beard, and garments, filling the room with something that could not be missed. Real unity does not stay abstract, because it clings to a family, a church, and a worshiping people like fragrance on the skin. Disunity can survive religious activity, but it cannot survive the kind of anointing that makes brothers dwell together before God. [56:05]
3. Victory may arrive later Fasting can feel empty in the moment, especially when no quick breakthrough shows up. Yet God remembers weak, messy, hungry seeking, even when the person fasting barely knows what to do. Some victories come years later as mercy harvested from old seeds of dependence. [70:01]
4. Yokes break through chosen weakness Isaiah 58 makes fasting about freedom, not performance. The fast God chooses loosens bonds, undoes burdens, and breaks yokes that ordinary effort cannot touch. Chosen weakness becomes the place where God’s strength reaches addictions, families, and hidden chains that human hands cannot fix. [71:39]
5. Lost brothers still matter Israel’s grief over Benjamin shows that fighting sin must never become delight in losing people. The tribe that had to be confronted was still part of the family, and its absence became a wound before God. Prayer and fasting grow a heart that can call sin what it is while still begging God to bring hiding sons and daughters home.

## [74:33]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[44:37] - The Beginning of Fasting
[46:09] - Judges 20 and Holy War
[48:58] - Praying, Weeping, Still Losing
[50:41] - Israel Fasts at Bethel
[53:37] - Tactical Battles Today
[54:40] - Fasting for Unity
[56:05] - Unity Like Precious Oil
[62:25] - Fasting for Victory
[66:47] - Learning How to Fast
[68:34] - God Rewards Hidden Fasting
[71:39] - Breaking Yokes Through Fasting
[72:49] - Fasting for Lost Brothers
[77:07] - Coming Back Into Grace
[78:49] - Prayer and Altar Response

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Judges 20:26-28
“Then all the people of Israel, the whole army, went up and came to Bethel and wept. They sat there before the Lord and fasted that day until evening, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.” [50:41]

Isaiah 58:6
“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?” [01:11:39]

Psalm 133:1-2
“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes!” [56:05]

Observation questions

In Judges 20:26-28, what did Israel do at Bethel before the Lord, and what offerings did they bring? [50:41]
What order shows up in the story of Israel’s battle with Benjamin: first prayer, then prayer with weeping, then prayer with weeping and fasting? What changed after that? [54:40]
In Psalm 133:1-2, what picture is used to describe unity, and how far does the oil run? [56:05]
In Isaiah 58:6, what specific things does the fast God chooses do to bonds, burdens, oppression, and yokes? [01:11:39]

Interpretation questions

Israel had a just cause, but they still lost at first. What does that suggest about the difference between being right about a battle and being dependent on God in the battle? [54:07]
Psalm 133 connects unity with oil running down Aaron. Why might unity be compared to something that spreads, rests on people, and leaves a noticeable fragrance behind? [59:45]
Isaiah 58:6 presents fasting as something that loosens bonds and breaks yokes. How does that push fasting away from religious performance and toward spiritual freedom? [01:11:39]
After Benjamin was nearly wiped out, Israel wept over the loss of one tribe. What does that reveal about how God’s people should hold together both holiness and grief for wandering brothers? [01:14:37]

Application questions

Some battles are fought so long that prayer and tears are there, but dependence is still missing. Where does life feel like that right now—an addiction, bitterness, family strain, discouragement, or something else—and what might it look like to seek God with fasting instead of just trying harder? [49:08]
Unity has to reach the home before it can be strong anywhere else. Where is unity most needed right now—in marriage, with children, with parents, in friendships, or in the church—and what is one honest step that could help move toward peace? [01:00:32]
The enemy fights tactically, and some of the most ordinary habits can become battlefields. Has screen time, distraction, entertainment, or exhaustion been weakening spiritual strength? What would be a realistic fast or limit to try this week? [53:37]
Hidden fasting is remembered by God, even when it feels weak or clumsy. Has there been a time when seeking God seemed to do nothing in the moment, but later fruit showed up? How could that encourage fresh obedience now? [01:10:01]
The fast God chooses breaks yokes. What yoke is most in need of being broken right now—not in theory, but specifically? Is it fear, lust, anger, shame, addiction, or hopelessness? Who could pray with that burden instead of carrying it alone? [01:11:39]
Fighting sin must never become enjoying people’s downfall. Is there a person who has wandered, gone cold, or is hiding from God and His people? What would it look like to carry a broken heart for that person instead of just frustration? [01:12:49]
Some people remember what it felt like to be in the family, but they are still hiding in caves. Who comes to mind when thinking about someone who needs to come back into grace, and how could the group pray and reach toward that person in a real way this week? [01:17:07]

Sermon Clips

51s

#UnityLikeOil

“But what I'm saying is is they said that is like that oil. So when the priest would have that oil down them and they would go into that sanctuary, there would be a smell that would fill the room. And as it would fill the room, they would go home afterward and remember that they had been in church. You're gonna go home today and you're gonna smell. I've been in church and I got some oil on my hand. And it's like so it sticks with you. Unity sticks with you. If you walk into a worship experience or a church service and you just have church and you don't have unity, you'll walk out the door and be the same disunity you ever had. But if you walk and encounter the presence of God and you feel the unity in the church, you'll say there's something about that church that's different. There's something about that team that's different. And I'm telling you, it is like that precious oil. That's what unity is like. So when you fast, fast for unity.”

42s

#ReturnToGrace

“They thought, could I ever be in the family of God again? Here's my question to you today. Maybe you walked in this church and you would be that one, but walked away from God. Or you'd be that one in youth group you told God you would do something big. Maybe you said, you know what? God called me. God did this. God did that. Maybe today, God's brought you here to this time that he would call you out and say, you know what? Come back into this covenant relationship that we call grace. In this covenant relationship, that's why we took communion. But you're gonna have to decide, yes, I'll do it. So there's two people in the sound of my voice. One that needs to be fasting and praying, and there's one child of God you need to come home. Every head bowed, every eye closed.”

74s

#SeedsOfFasting

“and so I was talking to God and I was like, God, there's so many times I fasted and and I I was looking for the victory. And I'm telling you, as soon as I'm standing here, I couldn't remember the victory. Then I got to thinking about my wife and how many times the sweet holy spirit has swept in our relationship and healed things that man couldn't fix. And then I got to thinking about things like Zach and Kayla Those at the church service and heard me talk about being free from drugs. They went on and cleaned out all their cabinets. See, that was fifteen years before that. You say, what did you do? I didn't do anything. That's the point. I was relying on the holy Spirit and nothing happened. But I wonder how many years later now I'm beginning to reap some of those seeds that I was just a dumb boy trying to run that didn't run, messing up on my fast, going, Lord, I'm sorry. I messed this up again. I remember trying to do the three day the first time. It didn't work out as well. What I'm telling you is that God will reward you and sometimes we want the victory now. But sometimes when you fast, the victory comes later.”

49s

#GodRemembers

“And I'm telling you, I need it this week. You say, holy, you're in bad. No. There's just times we need a little extra of victory. So God put that tag in front of someone at our church to know to pray for this preacher. That's what happens when you begin to seek God and talk to God. And that might not have been what I prayed this week, but maybe eighteen years ago when that young boy that didn't know nothing was running around. I remember I was passing the the I was passing the practice field in Wellington. I'll never forget where I was and I didn't really know what I needed. But God knew then, he said, you know, I remember that day that you sought me with all your heart. I'm just gonna dump a little extra out on you this week. And I promise you something magical began to happen in my life yesterday. Guys, my dependency upon God, you say, is it every week that way? Mhmm.”

46s

#PrayForUnity

“But I had to fast for unity. I have to fast that God does a work in them. See what I'm saying, boy? I'm trying to get there. But I'm saying we gotta pray for unity amongst the brethren because when they got that right, the children of Israel were able to go up and destroy those guys that were like snipers. They could pick out with a stone a 100 yards away and kill someone dead. They were tactical, and they were on the high place. But when they figured it out, they figured out this ambush and what to do. If we don't have unity first, if you want your dream team to be better, pray for unity. If you want your home to be better, pray for unity. If you want our church to be better, pray for unity. It is like that precious oil that runs down and on all them stones down on the garment. You're listening quick, so I'm a be quick. They fasted for victory.”

38s

#PrayForHiddenHearts

“I didn't say they got saved. I said they had a taste of it. And I said they were decisions. They said I said, savor decisions. And by the way, there's people that walked into a church thirty years ago before we were ever here. We've only been here five and a half years and they've been in church. But there's some people now and they're hidden up in a cave. And there's only one that I know to get them out. And that's beg God to impact their heart. Beg God to save their soul. Beg God to do something in them that this preacher can't do. Beg some beg God to do something in them that a YouTube video can't do. Beg God with all my heart to be able to do that.”

53s

#RepentanceMatters

“You know what they begin to realize? That tribe is part of us. Why am I telling you that? Rimmon, the very name means pomegranates. When that oil was poured down the head, And Benjamin run to a place that they only could think about. There was once a time when we were in the family and now look what we've allowed. I believe this is repentance with all my heart. They didn't run to what they knew. They run to another place. They ran to the top of the valley. There's 600 men. And see, there's some people that used to be in church that aren't anymore. There's some people that need Jesus and they're gonna split hell wide open. I say that and people kinda cringe. It's true. Hell's real and heaven's real.”

32s

#SecretFasting

“When you fast in secret, you say you're not supposed to tell anybody, I don't make that. Don't don't go on there. You need to disciple people and tell people if you're fat. You can't go to everywhere, put ashes on your head, go on fast and that that's what he's talking about. But you can tell people, yes, I'm fasting. Pray for me. Need my stomach's growling. Hey, you'll pray more if if you quit eating food for a day, your stomach will remind you to pray. Like, you'll be praying all day. Lord, just let me my stomach not chew through my backbone. You know what I'm saying? Like, it's serious. And and so and so”

Ask a question about this sermon

Evidence Church This sermon · AI assistant

What are primary reasons Christians should fast?

How does fasting foster unity in the church?

Why might fasting break spiritual yokes and addictions?