In the last of the last days, the chosen of GOD will humble themselves just as the early church did!
Before Jesus began His ministry, He fasted and prayed.
Luke recorded by The Holy Spirit in Luke chapter 4:
1 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
2 being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.
Even though Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit, He found it necessary to fast. He had the authority, but the power was yet to be displayed. He had to empty His body and bring it under full submission to His Spirit man. Then He was tested first with satisfying His physical body’s needs, lust of the flesh:
3 And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
4 But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God.'”
Secondly, His soulish man was tested, the lust of the eyes:
5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.
7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”
8 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ “
Thirdly, the pride of life:
9 Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.
10 For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you,’
11 and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.'”
12 And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’ “
13 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.
Jesus overcame the flesh and soul, He humbled Himself successfully so that He would be empowered to fulfill His ministry.
14 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.
It is one thing to have the authority of The Holy Spirit, but it is another to have the power of The Holy Spirit operating in our lives. Jesus found it necessary to fast and pray, shouldn’t we do the same? How do you humble your flesh? By fasting!
How do you humble your soul? By denying it! By spending forty days in the wilderness, Jesus denied both.
Fasting and prayer bridged the gap between authority and power.
Jesus spoke in Matthew chapter 17:
14 And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Jesus, kneeling down to Him and saying,
15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.
16 So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.”
The issue was not authority, it was power over the demon.
17 Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.”
18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.
It is vital that we understand the difference when we pray for those who are afflicted.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”
20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.
21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
Jesus provides us the key to walking in the power of The Holy Spirit. Additionally, He implies that unbelief will depart when we pray and fast. Are you willing to fast?