FASTING

AT THY WORD MINNEAPOLIS MN 50-0714

E-2 And now tonight, just to put as much time... Just a little late. Just as much time as I can on--on praying for the sick. The ministers through the daytime here, they speak and teach concerning faith, and how to receive faith.

As myself, I'm not a preacher. I'm just... I was sent to pray for the sick. I spend my time in prayer all through the day. I must do it in order to meet the obligation of the night. And sickly takes the life from you, fasting and praying.

RESURRECTION OF LAZARUS CLEVELAND OH 50-0813A

E-4 If you're--if you keep stomach empty, the blood is at your brain, and you must be ready. And if you're all full when you're... That's the power of fasting. When you're--when you're full, the blood goes into your stomach to digest your food. You see? And then when you're empty, it's in your--in your brain.

ATTITUDE AND WHO IS GOD? CLEVELAND OH 50-0815

E-10 The nights grow on. Of course, I tire, and tire more. It is a truth that I believe, as a physical man tears down, the spiritual man has a chance. That's what fasting and things are for. He can have a chance to work upon these five senses of ours, to bring us to believe and have faith in Him.

TESTIMONY RAISING DEAD BOY W PALM BEACH FL 53-1203

E-39 And so I come down to the bottom of the tower, and I just started crying. I didn't know why. I'd been fasting for a few days. And I begin to feel like I was hungry. Usually in a fast I never feel hungry. If you feel hungry, it's time to eat. That's right. Jesus afterwards was hungry. You see? But if you're hungry, it's time to eat.

TESTIMONY RAISING DEAD BOY W PALM BEACH FL 53-1203

E-80 And You've got some faithful people in here, real people that's praying, and fasting, and holding on.

I believe it's the reason You're sparing it. God, they're faithful. But just think of the thousands tonight out here that's without God, without Christ. Have mercy. God, do something. Send the revival. Ministers faithfully working, people praying and fasting, little mothers doing without their food, and fathers, and little children even fasting and praying, O great God, I know that You... Men are free moral agents. You can only knock at their heart. They have to make the acceptance.

DO YOU NOW BELIEVE PHOENIX AZ 54-0307E

E-8 Now, to the laity, that... We can't have a church, 'less we got the laity. You know, the pastor can't do it all. It's got to take some members in the church.

Each one of you has helped support this meeting with your finance. You have support it with prayer. And tonight, if schedule worked out regularly... Two little women that's been hid away in these eight days in the meeting, has been fasting and praying for this meeting. That's one of the reasons that it was a success. That's right. And may... I trust that they're here tonight. That was told to me by pretty good authority, which I believe is authentic. So I appreciate you sisters, and I appreciate you, not only them, but others who've been fasting and praying too, and backing me up with your wonderful faith in Jesus Christ.

Oh, when I stand around a group like that and that wall of faith around, you don't get scared. I can tell you that. There's Something just stands right by you and makes you know that Something's with you.

REDEMPTION IN COMPLETENESS LVL KY 54-0330

26 And here's what I'm trying to do, if you want to know why I'm doing this here. Many of you say you never seen me preaching in a healing campaign, but it's for a purpose. I think, if I could get souls broke down and come to the altar, then I'd find favor with God for Louisville (That's right.) when the people really get down before God and pray.

And then, there's many of you, friends, that's praying, fasting, and afraid to take a hold of what you're praying for. That's right. See? Well, it won't do you no good to fast and pray, 'less you got some works to go with it. All your faith in the world, won't do you a bit of good, 'less you step right out there, and toe-to-toe with it, and take it. That's all. You've got to go forward. You just got to step right out and do it anyhow. When you ask for anything, go get it. God said it's yours, so don't take nothing less. Get what you asked for. You do that and find out how it comes out. Yeah. Don't--don't back up and say, "Well, I'll take second."

FUNDAMENTAL FOUNDATION FOR FAITH CHICAGO IL 55-0113

E-13 As I've said, faith doesn't come by fasting. Faith doesn't come by praying, reading a book. All of that's good: fasting, praying, and reading--reading a book. But faith comes by a--a settled something that's in the human heart, that tells you just as sure as you come to this church tonight..

ENTICING SPIRITS JEFF IN 55-0724

111 There's nothing in the Word tells you to have a forty day fast, not a thing. Nothing in the world telling you to fast 'less God would tell you. And if you fast, you ain't going to get hungry and go all these things. After your fasting, brother, you'll be joy and happy all the time.

Said, "Don't appear before men like hypocrites do with a long sad face. I'm on a forty day fast; my plates won't fit me anymore. I've lost thirty pounds, and they told me I looked better after this is over." Oh, nonsense. It's enticing spirits of the devil.

INTER VEIL STURGIS MI 56-0121

E-26 Christianity is not something, God's not One you have to beg, and cry, and plead, and fast, and starve, and everything like that to get to. Certainly not. I'm not degrading a fast.

But here not long ago, a man wrote a book on fasting. My, women come into the meeting, and men, who'd went on those fasts that were insane. They went just because the book said to fast forty days. Some of them with false plates, and their teeth would drop out. And their eyes would sink back. And mothers-to-be to... women to be mothers, their little ones as you understand, they would completely go mentally out, and be taken to the institutions. Many, many of them, come in that condition. I believe in fasting. Certainly. But when you fast, you don't hunger. Jesus after He had got through fasting, the Bible said, He was hungry. God puts a fast on you. You don't put it on yourself. He certainly captured the women, the man did that wrote the book, when he said, put a picture of a woman there, she looked twenty years younger, said, after the fast. You ought to seen her then, just about a year later what she looked like, after that. See? Certainly.

You don't do that. You don't do things by works. It's by grace. God in sovereign grace...

HEAR YE HIM OAKLAND CA 57-0322

E-14 And if the day that we're living in, when we see every sign moving, pointing towards the coming of the Lord, it ought to make every minister start fasting and praying and saying, "God what must I do next? For we are near the end time." It's time that we got down and realized we mustn't just lust along and loaf along as if we were the carefree, come-easy, go-easy. We should be a wide awake.

EXPECTATION THE BURLINGTON VT 58-0508

E-42 And now, there was one in the temple by the name of Anna. She was a prophetess. She had been blind for many years, the Bible tells us. She'd lived with a husband seven years from her virgincy, but she was about eighty-four years old, the Scripture says, about fourscore and four, I believe, which would be eighty-four. And she's setting over in a corner. She did not leave the temple day or night, but she stayed in the temple, serving God with fasting and praying.

LIFE EVERETTMA 58-0512

E-5 And we come down when he... Usually before we come for that anointing to--for the prayer line, I have to stay shut up, fasting and praying. But when you don't have to do that, in coming down to just speak, you just feel different. You know, it's the same Spirit, but a different operation.

CONFERENCE WITH GOD JEFF IN 59-1220M

E-49 When we have world conferences, they usually have their selected place. And what do they do at this conference? They drink drinks, cocktails. They smoke cigars and cigarettes. They lie to one another, and deceive one another at peace talks of the world.

But when God calls a conference, it's fasting, cleaning up, prayer, receiving orders, and going forward. That's God's conference, not feasting, but fasting, not indulging in filth, but separating, cleansing yourself from all unrighteousness when you go before God. Cleaning yourself by faith, through applying the hyssop to the Blood, and cleansing your heart and walking before God for a conference, that's the kind of conferences when you meet with God. Then God gives you orders; then you go forward; He goes with you.

BE NOT AFRAID CHATAUQUA OH 60-0609

E-14 Someone said to me (I believe it was last evening) said, "Brother Branham, where does this come from? How are you able to go meeting after meeting, staying under the anointing, and... Even one sign made Jesus weak when the woman touched His garment." Said, "I see you stand for a hour under that."

I said, "I'd like to tell you. Here's where it lays: he don't want me to say this, but my brother setting here, Gene Goad, that boy don't touch bread or water for days, fasting and praying. Here sets Pat Tyler, this other brother setting here by him. Them men lay on their faces without food and water when I'm in a meeting, praying for me. That's where it comes from. If there wasn't something like that, I'd go down."

That's the men behind the curtain. The man who prays for strength for a message, that they lay down everything. Maybe they haven't got the gifts to do those things, but they're putting every effort they can to support it. And the only way they can do it they know, is prayer before God and fasting. There's where power lays: let someone pray for you.

WHY BLOOMINGTON IL 61-0413

E-16 This week I have eat nothing but crackers and milk. That's true. Fasting, waiting, seeing which way the Spirit will lead me... The boys at the door said, "There's a big smorgasbord down here, Brother Branham. How you love to--to go to a smor E-17 I said, "I do, but not in healing services." And wait on the Lord. This comes out only by fasting and praying. Here comes tomorrow night and cripples, and hospital cases, and dying people will be setting here. Be ready for it. You love people. And if you don't love people, you might as well get out of the ministry; that's all.

TRUE SIGN THAT'S OVERLOOKED JEFF IN 61-1112

12 Right now, I'm... 'Course I'm not eating pleasant foods in these days, haven't since the going away of my mother. I'm seeking the Lord for a--a new vision, just eating soft things and such as I--little as I can get by with. Lost twenty pounds of weight, which is... Now, I'm not fasting. I don't... No, that... Just to do that, that ain't giving that to the Lord. You want to give the Lord the best you got, not the...

PRESUMING PHOENIX AZ 62-0117

E-45 You see... Now, it's almost a impossible thing to get people praying, fasting, calling on the Lord. Seems like the church has got so drowsy, lazy in these last days:

FORSAKING ALL TEMPE AZ 62-0123

E-66 He came to the earth, Creator of heavens and earth, and He had nothing to eat. Satan tempted Him. Fasting, for us, but He received food that the others knew nothing about. One day He said so. "I have food."

Said, "Why don't You come eat?

He said, "I have food that you know not of." That's right. He had food that they didn't know nothing of.

WAY OF A TRUE PROPHET JEFF IN 62-0513M

22-5 I do believe in a purgatory, but I believe it's right now. You purge your own soul. "Purgatory" means "to purge." When you see you've doing something wrong, get out there and clean it out of you by confession, and crying, and fasting, and praying. Someone even laughed at me when the Lord came here not long ago, give me a vision that I always wanted to see about binding that serpent. I always wondered how to--how if I should step out like that, when I--that's what I've wanted all my life. Then I begin to fast and pray. Said, "What'd you do that for?" I said, "In there He said that I was not sincere enough." Actually to come down want to purge myself, not wait till you die and let some priest try to purge you. Purge your souls.

PERSEVERANCE S PINES NC 62-0608

E-9 Today I was setting in the room. We had a... Usually Friday's a fast day for me. I don't eat on sometimes Tuesdays and Fridays, till sometime in the afternoon, just a little... That's not a regular fast. That's just a couple of days a week to fast. So a long fast comes in more days, when the Lord puts it upon you. But that's just in respects and honor of God's great memorial to us, the fasting, a command. And so, after three o'clock, usually I have a little something light.

Somebody told me where you could buy a little steak down the road here for about ninety cents, just about right for you to eat. In preaching and these things you have to keep kind of emptied-up.

DESPERATION JEFF IN 63-0901E

98 Hannah, a barren woman in the Bible, she wanted a son, and she got to fasting for him. And she fasted and prayed until even the priest at the temple thought she was drunk. She was in such desperation... With the rest of the women watching what kind of a bonnet the other one had wore (You know how it goes.), and the other one seeing what kind of clothes they had on, and talking about the things going on on the farm... But not Hannah, she stepped right through the whole crowd and went to the altar. She had been fasting. She wanted her reproach taken away.

IDENTIFICATION TULARE CA 64-0216

108 A lady asked me, coming down the road the other day from up here, she said... It's Florence Shakarian, Brother Demos's sister, Sister Williams and them, setting in the car. She said, "Brother Branham, I fast, and fast, and fast, and still I can't cast out devils."

I said, "You wasn't born to do such. Your duty is fast. The Holy Spirit's working on somebody else out there for that." You don't know the place.

If we had time we'd teach those things in long meetings, how if one person's burdened like this for something over here. You don't know... You don't... It's not for you to know. It's Him doing it. You're just submissive to your call. Always line it up with the Scriptures, see if it's right or not.

VOICE OF THE SIGN BEAUMONT TX 64-0313

E-9 You're each one set in God's economy just for its place. One fasts all the time and communes with God, while another casts out devils because this one's fasting. But it's the whole body of Christ working together, the unity.

THIRST TUCSON AZ 65-0919

20 I think David, in the writing of this Psalm, must've been in distress. And it usually takes distress to bring the best out of a man. It, really, that's when God... Gets down to when we fast, many times, to get ourself in position to get ourself out of the way.