one is calamities of life where fasting can change the calamities of life calamities of life are the
things that come unexpected its the challenges that we can experience in our life it's the
problems that we are facing when you start to fast something begins to happen these challenges invite
a presence and the power of the Holy Spirit to see change in that area of your life Ezra was one day
a cup bearer and he was as reverse a scheme the king for the money and the Jewish people gave him
some money also wealthy Jewish people to rebuild Jerusalem and somebody recorded that Ezra at the
time when he was going back to Jerusalem was carrying 25 tons of silver to 7,500 pounds of
gold loaded with wealth loaded with blessings from the Jewish people to take to Jerusalem to
begin to help Jerusalem and he doesn't have an army he wants to go to to Jerusalem he doesn't
have any protection and Ezra does this instead of asking the King for the hookups he goes in
and tells the people he's going with he says guys we will declare that three-day fast and
during these three days we're going to implore God of heaven so he will give us protection against
the bandits and against the gangs and against the people who are want to attack us and take
away our wealth and the Bible says when they fasted God prevented the calamity God did God
protected them and everything went smoothly when you fast the challenges that you may experience
maybe you have something coming against you that you cannot change on your own maybe something is
risen against your family or against your health maybe something is risen against your marriage or
against your finances when you say you know what I pray I've done everything but Lord what I do now
is I humble myself before you you will see God's intervention you may say why is this so important
because the Bible says biblical definition of humility is fasting in scriptures it says David
says I humbled myself with fasting this is what happens when you humble yourself before God Bible
says God gives you grace grace is unmerited favor grace is this force that helps you to get ahead
to get out and to get through that grace is not given to people listen up who needed that grace
is given to people who are humble and the best way to humble yourself is by fasting when you fast you
open the door for God's supernatural intervention in the area of your life in your situation I've
seen this the firsthand with our pastor when many years ago when our church can have hit a very
rough patch and it around the same time things were very challenging in his family and things
were very challenging and his market the crashed at the time it was kind of like hell broke loose
and everybody and things were very difficult in his business things were very difficult with
his real estate and things were very difficult with his job and things were very difficult with
some of the children in his family and our pastor instead of panicking instead of you know throwing
a fit what he did is he started to fast and he went for forty day fast just on water and during
that fast you know Thanksgiving a thing passed and then he went again for another 40 days of fasting
now nothing changed immediately but then he goes to the ministry of TB Joshua and out of nowhere
out of the ten thousand people God prophesized to him to TB Joshua within a short period of time out
of nowhere I get a phone call upstairs where Gary and Fiona the ministers of TB Joshua reach us and
they happen to call exactly at the time then we pick up the phone cuz as you know we don't pick
up the phone at the church we pick up the phone they come with the anointing water next thing
that happens is that there is that connection that happens with this ministry which begins to
blend deep cleansing spiritual cleansing in our church see people look at that and they say oh
that's a coincidence you know how come a small church like yours at the time connected with TB
Joshua see nothing happens on accident fasting and prayer on many years is never lost and it might
be that we may be benefiting today you know you are here but you don't understand you think you
came here because somebody invited you but there was a shift that happened in a spiritual world
because when you are in the calamity and you are down to nothing begin to humble yourself before
God and God brought a change and next thing that happened is that when Martin went to be there and
then pastor son the one that he was interceding for God got delivered and then the finances begin
to change and then the children's finances where you see them now opening businesses and you see
God's blessing and you may stand on the side and you say well you know they're just a so not cool
but you don't know where when man humbles himself God releases grace God doesn't release grace when
you need it God releases grace when you humble yourself for it I want to tell you something
that thinks the fastings and the prayers of our church from the 15 years ago not one of them have
went in vain all the time of standing with the posters all of these prayers that we pray here
and Glenn we are not praying them just for now we are not praying for people today we are praying
for people 20 30 50 60 70 years after this we are not just praying for now we are believing that we
have the Holy Spirit Holy Spirit heals through us monstrous now but the prayers that are being
prayed for their still being deposited for the generations yet unborn can somebody say Amen