Prayer and fasting is a time of expectation, where we expect to see miracles and hear from God. However, many other things come when we pray and fast. These include spiritual, emotional, and physical things or changes.
Knowing what these are and being aware to be on the lookout for them can help mitigate their effects. They can also help you more fully embrace things as they come along—heightening your experience and leading to you entirely giving things over to God while having faith that He will work for your good.
To help you prepare, we’ve listed some of the most common things you should expect during prayer and fasting. As we should, let’s start with the incredible spiritual things that you can expect to experience:
A Deeper Connection With God
An undeniable byproduct of a season of prayer and fasting is experiencing a deeper connection with God. This may be because you haven’t been dedicating enough time to spend in His presence before the season or because you’ve been caught up in the busyness of life and let your connection drift slightly.
Even if none of these are true and you have been growing steadily in your walk with the Lord, prayer and fasting will be like supercharging your connection. Spending extra time with God each day allows you to draw closer to Him, developing a deeper connection that can result in a tangible relationship.
A Change In Your Prayer Habits
As mentioned numerous times, a season of prayer and fasting must be accompanied by a change in your prayer habits. Any season spent fasting that doesn’t result in an increase in prayer is (essentially) a season wasted—or just a diet.
Therefore, during (and after) a time of prayer and fasting, prayer should be a more prominent part of not only your relationship with God but also your daily routine. This should continue and even increase day by day, resulting in a drastic change to your prayer habits beforehand.
Hearing From God For Direction/Purpose
The next thing you should be expectant about during prayer and fasting is hearing from God. During a season like this, more time is spent listening to the Lord and simply being in His presence than almost any other time.
As such, be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and really tune your ear (and heart!) to hear from God. Sometimes His guidance or direction may simply be a nudge in your mind and heart toward what He wants you to do or what ministry he'd like you to enter. Other times He may give somebody else a word to share with you to give you the answer you’ve been looking for.
Miraculous Breakthroughs
A time of prayer and fasting is a period where everything is amplified. As we weaken our flesh and strengthen our spirits, our faith increases, and we understand our authority in the name of Jesus.
As such, seasons like this are the perfect time to expect a miraculous breakthrough from the Lord. If you’ve been struggling with something or a circumstance, bring it before the Lord during this season and have faith that He will bring about a miracle. After all:
God’s miracles are bigger and more powerful than anything else in existence.
Deliverance From Strongholds
While miraculous breakthroughs could apply to any situation or circumstance, there can also be deliverance from strongholds that may have taken root in your life. These can be anything from certain thoughts you know you shouldn’t be having to habits such as swearing, drinking, or smoking.
Believing that God can deliver you from these things and break the stronghold that they may have in your life can lead to a season where you are set free. During this time, your brothers and sisters in Christ are also around to help you pray for deliverance from these things, encouraging your faith and claiming the power and authority given to us as children of God.
So Much More!
Putting pen to paper (or finger to keyboard) to try and explain every spiritual aspect of what you can expect during a season of prayer and fasting is not only unrealistic—it is limiting.
The truth is:
There is nothing that you shouldn’t expect God to do as you pray and fast!
Aside from the spiritual, there are (mostly, unfortunately) also physical effects you should expect from prayer and fasting. These aren’t as exciting or as enjoyable as the spiritual aspects, as your flesh often tries to fight back when you attempt to weaken it.
Therefore, on the physical side of things, expect to experience one (or more) of the following effects of fasting:
Diarrhoea in the beginning, followed by the lack of bowel movements as you progress into your fast
Weakness (which normally passes after around 10 days)
Headaches
Bad breath (as your body detoxes, your breath takes a knock, so keep mints/gum handy!)
Joint pains
Loss of weight
Remember, the purpose of fasting is to weaken your flesh so that your spirit can grow stronger. Therefore, although it may be tough at times to soldier on, push through! This will help you realise that it is worth the effort and help you be more expectant to experience the miraculous spiritual side of things without focusing on the negative physical aspects.
If you want more info, download our full Prayer and Fasting Manual here!
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