Pastor Poju spoke on the subject of prayer and fasting. According to him, God laid it in his heart strongly to include this session in the conference.
He built up the background of how Jesus introduced prayer and fasting into the word of faith. He used Mark 11:23 and 24, and the story in Matthew of how the disciples wanted to cast out Demons but couldn’t.
He also taught using the book of Ezra 8:22-23 and 1 Kings 18:41-45 as examples in the Bible where fasting was used as a spiritual tool to solve a problem.
While teaching, he spoke (in passing) that this is the year of quantum of leaps.
He mentioned Lev. 16:29, and attempted to link up fasting to an individual humbling himself in God. According to him, God spoke about the belly of some persons being their god. He taught this using Isaac’s venison and Esau’s morsel of bread as concrete examples.
He also stated that fasting helps a Christian to receive the finished work of Christ into his or her life. He said that it enables the believer to receive the benefits of the substitutionary work of Christ.
He went ahead to explain other benefits. One important benefit he shared is that fasting gives the ability to hear God clearly about one’s purpose for life.
“Fasting and prayer produces a condition of a more perfect faith.” he emphasized. Still speaking he made a point that Daniel received the revelation from the Angel because he was in a state of fasting. He couldn’t have gotten it just by the understanding by books.
Fasting brings you into an encounter with God. It takes you from hearing to seeing something. He related this to a story Bishop Wale Oke told yesterday when he saw the future of Nigeria.
He read Job 42:5 and Ezek. 13:3 to emphasize the function of seeing things in the realm of the spirit. He closed by tieing fasting and vision together.
He then asked the congregation to stand up (for 2 mins) and pray to God (for the spirit of vision) to open the eyes of their understanding.