Miracle Story | Fasting Breaks Darkness Every Time - Episode 26
Key Takeaways
- Fasting is a powerful spiritual warfare tool that helps believers break through periods of intense spiritual darkness and depression.
- Attempting to use prayer and fasting to manipulate another person's free will misuses a sacred tool, but sincere hearts seeking God will still learn valuable lessons from the experience.
- During a move to Tucson, Arizona, and a sudden bout of unexplained heaviness, a three-day water fast successfully lifted the cloud of despair and restored joy.
- The self-denial exhibited during fasting fortifies believers and allows the angels of the Lord to battle on their behalf in a more profound way.
- Nancy Jackson compares the power of fasting to Moses holding up his arms to secure victory for the army, providing spiritual backing in unseen realms.
Earlier I told about fasting and prayer targeted at a very misguided outcome. I knew how powerful prayer and fasting were, but was very immature in applying them to my life at that time.
If we submit our lives with all sincerity to God and his plan for our lives, then to manipulate situations for our own personal desires, we are not truly in submission to God.
He honored my faith, though when I prayed in that misguided way. He showed me that my fasting had been heard and was powerful, but because I had submitted my life to him and that he has given us all free will, he wouldn’t force another person to bend to my will even through prayer and fasting.
I didn’t see that at the time I decided to fast. I thought it was the enemy keeping us apart, and I thought I was coming against him. But I wasn’t. The person I was praying to be with had his own free will, and it wasn’t to be with me. That is using a precious tool that God has given us to manipulate a person, and that is akin to witchcraft. My naivety, and God knowing my true heart, spared me.
He wanted me to see that my fasting and prayer were powerful without giving in to my desire. That was very important because after that I would remember the power of fasting and would incorporate it into my life in order to fight back against the enemy in appropriate ways. Had God not allowed me to see the power of it, then I might have been much less eager to continue using it as a warfare tool.
Sometime around the end of 2001, I met someone at our church’s singles group and we began dating. Also, in that same fall, less than 3 months after 9-11 I was laid off from my job. The economy took a giant hit and our company laid off most of its non-essential employees.
They were an excellent company and had given all of us very large severance packages. I began the job search, but as the economy was in a downturn, it was challenging. There were, however, openings in other areas of our company, and they offered me to pick from two different locations.
I lived in Oklahoma City and had lived my entire life there, even though I had traveled extensively with my job and for other reasons. These two different positions were pretty far away from Oklahoma City.
The man I had met was working, but was in the final interview stages for a couple of different Oklahoma State positions. We had toyed with the idea of getting married, so we discussed the positions I had been offered.
He had lived all over the US and wasn’t afraid to move. He felt that with his double degree and excellent work history, he could find work wherever we went. So we chose Tucson, Arizona. I had been there and loved it.
We made the leap and moved to Tucson. Prior to moving, he had enrolled in a several-week course here in Oklahoma City, and once we got moved, he came right back to attend the class. I had a training that I had to fly out for just a day after we arrived. So we unloaded the U-Haul and then, in a couple of days we went our separate ways.
He had given his car to his daughter. He had a motorcycle, and I was getting a company car. She needed a car, so in an effort to help her out, he gave her his car.
When I arrived back in Tucson, Maraña actually, a suburb on the north side of Tucson, I had not received my company car yet so I had no transportation. When I flew back in, I took a taxi to take me home.
I got home and realized I was stuck there. I couldn’t really go to the grocery store or anywhere else. We had bought a few groceries, so that was fine. But I didn’t like the idea of not having my own transportation.
Almost immediately, I felt a heaviness. It snuck up on me gradually. I found all I wanted to do was sleep and eat. It seemed I could do nothing else. I had tons of boxes to unpack but just didn’t have the wherewithal to do any of it. When I wasn’t eating compulsively, I was sleeping.
For several years I had been working on living a healthier lifestyle. I had cut out sugar and other unhealthy foods. I went to the gym every day and worked out. I felt very good about where I was with my body and health, but now could do nothing but eat, poorly too, and sleep.
We had found a nice rental home that was fairly new and it was in a beautiful and safe neighborhood. I could have easily spent hours out walking and enjoying my surroundings. But I just couldn’t.
Then, after several days of living like that, I was in the kitchen yet again getting something to eat, and I realized the cloud I was suffering under. I knew that was not like me, and I knew the enemy was the cause.
I decided to fast and pray for the spiritual heaviness and depression to break. I fasted for three days. I believe I fasted from food and did a water-only fast. I may have done a sunrise to sundown fast, but I'm not sure. I often opt to do that type of fast.
I wrote in my prayer journal what I was praying to be accomplished through the fast. I wrote about thankfulness and journaled godly declarations of faith from the Bible. And each day, several times a day, I would sit and read those declarations out loud.
Then the power of fasting and prayer broke that spirit of darkness, and joy flooded my soul. I felt it physically lift, and the scales of depression fell from my eyes. I was still stranded for several more days without transportation, but I could get out and walk and enjoy my beautiful surroundings. And I began unpacking boxes and getting our house in order.
The entire time we lived in Tucson, I could feel the spiritual darkness that was out there around me as I worked throughout the city, but it never again came close to me. It couldn’t. I was protected, and it knew that I knew the power of Christ that I carried.
There have been many, many times in my life where I fasted and prayed, and spiritual darkness was broken. In fact, I never remember it not working. It is a tool that God has given us and one we should use even more.
The self-denial we exhibit when fasting fortifies us and allows the angels of the Lord to rush in and battle on our behalf in a more profound way. I liken it to when Moses had to keep his arms up so their army would win.
Fasting is like that. Our self-denial when praying for a specific situation gives the angels power to win on our behalf, just like the army was winning while Moses held up his arms. I don’t pretend to know the spiritual mechanics of it all, but I know God has given us this tool. I’ve seen its power, and will be forever grateful for all that it has helped me do in my life.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How does fasting help break spiritual darkness?
Fasting involves self-denial that fortifies your spirit and allows the angels of the Lord to rush in and battle on your behalf, effectively breaking spirits of heaviness and depression.
What kind of fast did Nancy Jackson perform in Tucson?
When facing sudden spiritual heaviness after moving to Tucson, she committed to a three-day fast, which she believes was a water-only or sunrise-to-sundown fast.
Can fasting be used to change someone else's free will?
No, prayer and fasting should not be used to manipulate situations or force another person to bend to your will, as God respects everyone's free will.
Miracle Story | Fasting Breaks Darkness Every Time - Episode 26
Earlier I told about fasting and prayer targeted at a very misguided outcome. I knew how powerful prayer and fasting were, but was very immature in applying them to my life at that time.
If we submit our lives with all sincerity to God and his plan for our lives, then to manipulate situations for our own personal desires, we are not truly in submission to God.
He honored my faith, though when I prayed in that misguided way. He showed me that my fasting had been heard and was powerful, but because I had submitted my life to him and that he has given us all free will, he wouldn’t force another person to bend to my will even through prayer and fasting.
I didn’t see that at the time I decided to fast. I thought it was the enemy keeping us apart, and I thought I was coming against him. But I wasn’t. The person I was praying to be with had his own free will, and it wasn’t to be with me. That is using a precious tool that God has given us to manipulate a person, and that is akin to witchcraft. My naivety, and God knowing my true heart, spared me.
He wanted me to see that my fasting and prayer were powerful without giving in to my desire. That was very important because after that I would remember the power of fasting and would incorporate it into my life in order to fight back against the enemy in appropriate ways. Had God not allowed me to see the power of it, then I might have been much less eager to continue using it as a warfare tool.
Sometime around the end of 2001, I met someone at our church’s singles group and we began dating. Also, in that same fall, less than 3 months after 9-11 I was laid off from my job. The economy took a giant hit and our company laid off most of its non-essential employees.
They were an excellent company and had given all of us very large severance packages. I began the job search, but as the economy was in a downturn, it was challenging. There were, however, openings in other areas of our company, and they offered me to pick from two different locations.
I lived in Oklahoma City and had lived my entire life there, even though I had traveled extensively with my job and for other reasons. These two different positions were pretty far away from Oklahoma City.
The man I had met was working, but was in the final interview stages for a couple of different Oklahoma State positions. We had toyed with the idea of getting married, so we discussed the positions I had been offered.
He had lived all over the US and wasn’t afraid to move. He felt that with his double degree and excellent work history, he could find work wherever we went. So we chose Tucson, Arizona. I had been there and loved it.
We made the leap and moved to Tucson. Prior to moving, he had enrolled in a several-week course here in Oklahoma City, and once we got moved, he came right back to attend the class. I had a training that I had to fly out for just a day after we arrived. So we unloaded the U-Haul and then, in a couple of days we went our separate ways.
He had given his car to his daughter. He had a motorcycle, and I was getting a company car. She needed a car, so in an effort to help her out, he gave her his car.
When I arrived back in Tucson, Maraña actually, a suburb on the north side of Tucson, I had not received my company car yet so I had no transportation. When I flew back in, I took a taxi to take me home.
I got home and realized I was stuck there. I couldn’t really go to the grocery store or anywhere else. We had bought a few groceries, so that was fine. But I didn’t like the idea of not having my own transportation.
Almost immediately, I felt a heaviness. It snuck up on me gradually. I found all I wanted to do was sleep and eat. It seemed I could do nothing else. I had tons of boxes to unpack but just didn’t have the wherewithal to do any of it. When I wasn’t eating compulsively, I was sleeping.
For several years I had been working on living a healthier lifestyle. I had cut out sugar and other unhealthy foods. I went to the gym every day and worked out. I felt very good about where I was with my body and health, but now could do nothing but eat, poorly too, and sleep.
We had found a nice rental home that was fairly new and it was in a beautiful and safe neighborhood. I could have easily spent hours out walking and enjoying my surroundings. But I just couldn’t.
Then, after several days of living like that, I was in the kitchen yet again getting something to eat, and I realized the cloud I was suffering under. I knew that was not like me, and I knew the enemy was the cause.
I decided to fast and pray for the spiritual heaviness and depression to break. I fasted for three days. I believe I fasted from food and did a water-only fast. I may have done a sunrise to sundown fast, but I'm not sure. I often opt to do that type of fast.
I wrote in my prayer journal what I was praying to be accomplished through the fast. I wrote about thankfulness and journaled godly declarations of faith from the Bible. And each day, several times a day, I would sit and read those declarations out loud.
Then the power of fasting and prayer broke that spirit of darkness, and joy flooded my soul. I felt it physically lift, and the scales of depression fell from my eyes. I was still stranded for several more days without transportation, but I could get out and walk and enjoy my beautiful surroundings. And I began unpacking boxes and getting our house in order.
The entire time we lived in Tucson, I could feel the spiritual darkness that was out there around me as I worked throughout the city, but it never again came close to me. It couldn’t. I was protected, and it knew that I knew the power of Christ that I carried.
There have been many, many times in my life where I fasted and prayed, and spiritual darkness was broken. In fact, I never remember it not working. It is a tool that God has given us and one we should use even more.
The self-denial we exhibit when fasting fortifies us and allows the angels of the Lord to rush in and battle on our behalf in a more profound way. I liken it to when Moses had to keep his arms up so their army would win.
Fasting is like that. Our self-denial when praying for a specific situation gives the angels power to win on our behalf, just like the army was winning while Moses held up his arms. I don’t pretend to know the spiritual mechanics of it all, but I know God has given us this tool. I’ve seen its power, and will be forever grateful for all that it has helped me do in my life.
This study is a culmination of this week’s Monday Meditation and the Wednesday Word Study. By drilling down on specific scriptures and then specific words, we can begin to gain a better understanding of the Word of God and therefore apply it to our lives more accurately. The Friday Finally episodes take both the Monday Meditation and Wednesday Word Study and pull them together for an overall teaching to equip and train us for a more Godly and beneficial life.
Shop all versions of my novels here: Shop Here
My Media Website: NancyJacksonPodcast.com
Check out my website: NancyJacksonAuthor.com
Follow me here:
Substack: https://nancyjackson.substack.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NancyJacksonAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NAJackson
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/najackson/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/nancyannjackson
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/NancyJackson
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nancyajackson?lang=en
