Fasting for the filling of the Spirit

The prophet Joel is the prophet of renewal in the Holy Spirit. This is why the apostle Peter quotes from the end of Joel 2 when he preaches the gospel at Pentecost, and why the apostle Paul also quotes from the same passage in his leading articulation of the gospel in Romans 10.

Let us pray to be filled again and again by the Holy Spirit; as Ephesians 5:18 exhorts us: ‘But be filled with the Holy Spirit’, (the verse is in the present, continuous tense).

Let us hear for ourselves what Jesus said to the woman at the well: ‘If you knew the gift of God and who it is asking you for a drink you would have asked him and he would have given you living water’ John 4:10, (referring to the living water of the Spirit; John 7:38-39).

And let us follow Joel’s exhortation to fast and pray.

A Story for reflection

At the turn of the New Year in 2004, after around nine months of discussions with the Diocese of Bristol, it was becoming clear that the opportunity to pioneer a new form of church might actually be offered to me. I was deeply aware of the seriousness of what I was about to do. This move would directly affect my family along with all who were committed to working with me. So, without telling anyone apart from my wife Lucy, I fasted from all food for three days and prayed only two prayers. The first was: ‘Lord, if this plan is from you, then please intervene to make it happen, and if it is not your will, then please intervene to stop it from happening.’ The second prayer was Peter’s prayer, ‘Lord if it’s you, call me to walk on the water’. I ended the fast at 5.30pm on Tuesday 6th January 2004. At 6.00pm my phone rang. It was Mike Hill, the Bishop of Bristol. We had made no plan to speak, I don’t think we had ever spoken on the phone before, and Mike did not know I had been specifically seeking the Lord with fasting and prayer. He got straight to the point: ‘Nick, I want you to know that I want this to happen, and I will do what I can to make it happen’. After three days of specific prayer and fasting the Lord intervened directly through the one person who had the power and authority to make it happen, and from that point on, I have never doubted that I was doing what the Lord wanted.

I received the license on Holy Saturday that year. We moved to Bristol and launched Crossnet that autumn, and now, through the grace of God, (and despite my many mistakes), Crossnet is a small network of little church communities meeting in secular spaces, such as cafés, scout huts and homes.

Tips on fasting

• When you fast, dip into an excellent book on prayer and intercession.
• Be alert to unexpected visitors and phone calls, spiritual attacks, and God doing something different and unusual.