Chapter 1
Unlocking Divine Power Through Spiritual Discipline
When Mahesh Chavda began working at a hospital for mentally handicapped children in Texas, he had no idea it would become his "wilderness school of the Holy Spirit." Among the discarded and forgotten children, he encountered Stevie, a 16-year-old with Down syndrome who compulsively beat his own face until it felt like alligator skin. Despite his Bible university degree, Chavda was stunned when the Holy Spirit whispered to him: "This kind goes not out but by prayer and fasting." After a 14-day fast, Chavda commanded the spirit of mutilation to leave Stevie-the boy's body flew across the room, hit the wall, and slid down with a sigh as a sulfuric smell filled the air. When the splints were removed from Stevie's arms, he gently touched his face, realizing he was free. This dramatic transformation launched Chavda into a lifetime journey of discovering what he calls "the hidden power of prayer and fasting"-a spiritual discipline embraced by millions worldwide, including notable figures like Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, and even Jesus Himself.
Chapter 2
The Transformative Journey From Filled to Empowered
Jesus' statement "As the Father has sent Me, I also send you" establishes Him as our ultimate model for life and ministry. After His resurrection, His disciples were hiding in fear, having just enough of God's life to survive but not enough to boldly minister like their Master. They had underestimated God's power and misunderstood His plan.
The key to understanding our calling lies in examining Jesus' own ministry. Luke 4 reveals a critical progression: Jesus was first filled with the Holy Spirit, then led into the wilderness where He fasted forty days while being tempted. There, Satan challenged Him with three great temptations: using divine power for selfish purposes, taking a devilish shortcut to worldly authority, and throwing His life away to prove His identity. Jesus defeated each temptation with Scripture.
What happened next reveals the secret to Jesus' miraculous power. Before His wilderness experience, Jesus was "filled with the Spirit" (Luke 4:1), but afterward, He returned "in the power of the Spirit" (Luke 4:14). This crucial distinction shows the transformation that occurred through His fasting and victory over temptation. Jesus entered the wilderness filled with the Spirit but emerged operating in the Spirit's power.
This progression from being filled with the Spirit to walking in the power of the Spirit is the key that unlocks miraculous ministry. While being filled with the Spirit is wonderful, it's only the first stage beyond salvation. We must submit to the Holy Spirit's discipline through prayer, fasting, and skillful use of God's Word as weapons.
Fasting doesn't earn more grace but removes obstacles to the Holy Spirit's flow, creating greater power. You don't need dramatically long fasts-the critical element is yielding to God's leading. Jesus didn't say "if you pray" or "if you fast" but "when you pray" and "when you fast." These disciplines aren't optional but natural parts of Christian life.
Have you considered what might happen if you moved beyond merely being Spirit-filled to becoming truly Spirit-empowered? What spiritual obstacles might be removed through the discipline of fasting?
Chapter 3
The Biblical Blueprint for Spiritual Breakthrough
Fasting remains one of the most misunderstood subjects in the Bible, yet it offers incredible benefits according to God's Word. Isaiah 58:6-12 identifies twelve specific benefits of "the fast that God has chosen": revelation, healing, righteousness, God's presence, answered prayers, continual guidance, contentment, refreshing, strength, enduring work, raising up future generations, and restoration.
While acknowledging fasting as one of God's great mysteries, practical experience reveals that demons become uncomfortable around fasting Christians because fasting creates an atmosphere that welcomes the holy and repels the unholy. Those seeking healing should consider fasting before attending healing services, as this demonstrates determination to "touch the Lord." Ministers involved in healing and deliverance should make fasting part of their regular lifestyle-it's the spiritual equivalent of an athlete's workout, building authority born from intimacy with God.
The Bible presents nine compelling reasons for fasting. First, we fast in obedience to God's Word, as demonstrated throughout scripture. Second, fasting humbles us before God to obtain His grace and power-keeping our spiritual "plugs clean." Third, fasting helps overcome temptations blocking God's power, following Jesus' example. Fourth, fasting purifies us from sin and enables us to intercede for others like Daniel did. Fifth, fasting allows us to become weak so God's power can be strong, choosing divine solutions over human ones. Sixth, fasting releases anointing to accomplish God's will, as demonstrated by early church leaders. Seventh, fasting provides breakthrough during times of crisis, exemplified by Esther's three-day fast that saved the Jewish people. Eighth, we fast when seeking God's direction, as Ezra did before journeying to Jerusalem. Ninth, we fast for understanding and divine revelation.
This pattern appears consistently throughout scripture. When a blind woman in Haiti remained unhealed after six prayer attempts, God revealed during a fast that each prayer had removed one spiritual "tentacle" from her eyes until complete healing came on the seventh attempt. Such revelation often comes during or after times of fasting, providing supernatural insight unavailable through normal means.
What spiritual breakthrough might be waiting for you on the other side of a fast? What temptation or obstacle could be overcome through this biblical discipline?
Chapter 4
Your Divine Assignment in a Broken World
In northwest Zambia, a poor mother with leprosy begged for prayer for her boil-covered daughter. God spoke clearly: "This is how I feel toward all the people in the nations. They are hurting and broken without the message of My Son." This encounter revealed a divine job description: to feel God's compassion and act upon it.
Like the Texas Ranger who confidently declared "One riot, one Ranger" when asked where his backup was, believers are called to confront spiritual riots with divine authority. Our job description is to feel what God feels for the world and act on it, as His deputies with divine authority and weapons to confront the enemy's works.
The Gospels record Jesus giving His disciples authority to cast out demons and heal sickness-a foretaste of what would come after the Cross and Pentecost. The disciples later discovered the "hidden power" of fasting and prayer when they couldn't cast out a particular demon at the Mount of Transfiguration.
Many Christians avoid responsibility for others, following Cain's pattern of asking "Am I my brother's keeper?" The Great Commission remains in effect, yet modern believers have largely stopped operating in the authority given by Christ. The early disciples immediately obeyed Jesus' command to preach everywhere with signs following. Jesus' words never pass away, and we are still expected to preach the Gospel, defeat demons, heal diseases, and even raise the dead.
The decline of supernatural ministry can be attributed to apathy, heresy, and man-made religious forms replacing intimate relationship with God. Through prayer and fasting, all biblical miracles can return to the Church's everyday experience.
This calling parallels Oskar Schindler's transformation during the Holocaust. Initially motivated by profit, Schindler underwent a change that led him to save 1,200 Jewish lives. His anguished cry that he "could have done more" echoes a prophetic message that every believer's ultimate purpose is rescuing souls from eternal death. The only eternal aspect of our lives on earth is our investment in the eternal life of others.
What would happen if you began to feel God's compassion for the broken people around you? How might prayer and fasting equip you to fulfill your divine assignment to set captives free?
Chapter 5
Humility: The Gateway to Supernatural Power
During a 40-day fast, the Lord revealed to Chavda that a worldwide revival was coming with unprecedented soul harvests. He connects this to the "post-Charismatic era" and the beginning of this movement during the Azusa Street Centennial Celebration. Drawing a parallel to the "hundred-year bloom" in Death Valley where dormant seeds suddenly sprang to life after unusual rains, he declares that "the rains of the Holy Spirit are coming upon His last day church as never before."
Accessing this spiritual power requires humility, which opens the door to God's grace. God's promise to exalt the humble contrasts with Western culture's demand for instant gratification. Chavda shares how God transformed "this fatherless Hindu boy" from a poor family in Africa through years of prayer and fasting, eventually using him to conduct miracle services for people from 86 nations and reach over 800 million households weekly with the Gospel.
As ambassadors of the Gospel, believers have authority to cast out evil spirits from individuals and communities. While many demonic influences yield to commands from Spirit-filled believers, certain strongholds-including alcoholism, drug addiction, homosexuality, witchcraft, suicide, depression, and poverty curses-require the combined power of prayer and fasting.
Chavda recounts a dark period when his wife Bonnie developed pregnancy complications and their son Aaron was born four months premature, weighing just over one pound with multiple severe health issues. During this crisis, he had to leave for ministry in Africa with Derek Prince. In Zaire, he witnessed God's power as crowds of up to 360,000 gathered. In one service, God gave him a word of knowledge about a man whose son had died that morning, promising resurrection. The boy, Katshinyi, who had died of cerebral malaria, was indeed raised from the dead. Meanwhile, his own son Aaron was miraculously healed and grew up healthy and brilliant.
The distinction between victory (defeating enemies) and triumph (emerging from battle with more than before) becomes clear in King Jehoshaphat's story from 2 Chronicles 20. When facing overwhelming enemies, Jehoshaphat proclaimed a fast and the people sought God, receiving prophetic guidance that "the battle is not yours, but God's." By positioning themselves in worship rather than combat, they witnessed their enemies destroy each other and collected abundant spoils for three days.
Humility positions us for triumph. When we take a low position, we allow God to take the high position. The purpose of fasting shouldn't be merely to "get something" from God, but primarily to seek His face and presence.
Have you experienced the difference between victory and triumph in your spiritual life? How might humbling yourself through prayer and fasting position you for greater spiritual authority?
Chapter 6
Overcoming Ministry Casualties Through Spiritual Discipline
Bonnie Chavda observed two kinds of people: those absorbed in worldly stress and those who distance themselves from it, desperately seeking God. She urges believers to "get desperate and stay desperate" for God, warning against cultural laziness regarding church attendance. Though God's grace is free, it isn't inexpensive-it costs us to embrace it fully. Many ministry casualties occur when people filled with the Spirit enter public ministry without being properly seasoned by the power of the Spirit.
Unbelief remains a major sin blocking supernatural revival in the Church. Despite the faith movement bringing needed correction to skepticism, it produced excesses requiring repentance. Christianity's slow progress over 2,000 years compared to communism's rapid expansion is concerning, with most Gospel progress coming from the first-century Church or individuals who experienced God through prayer and fasting.
Jesus Christ is our primary model for proclaiming the Gospel, which should always be accompanied by signs and wonders. Chavda's own ministry transformed after God directed him to follow Jesus's pattern of combining prayer with fasting, enabling him to break through the "humanist clouds of doubt and unbelief" covering Western nations.
Before conducting mass evangelistic outreaches in Taiwan that produced unprecedented miracles despite intense spiritual opposition from ancient demon gods, God told Chavda "I am preparing you for China." He describes these meetings as "hand-to-hand combat" that nonetheless yielded hundreds of conversions nightly. Looking to mainland China's 1.4 billion people, he explains how communism created a spiritual vacuum that the Church must fill with Gospel proclamation confirmed by signs and wonders.
Prayer and fasting are essential for participating in end-time revival. Chavda shares a powerful testimony of a church visitation where the Holy Spirit descended as "the Spirit of repentance." Though the presence was extraordinary, church leaders grew uncomfortable with the ongoing repentance and tried to "move on" to joy, effectively leaving God's presence behind. They knew how to "bring down the glory" but not how to "steward the glory" with honor and obedience.
What might be blocking the flow of God's power in your life or ministry? Could unbelief or lack of spiritual discipline be preventing you from experiencing the supernatural dimensions of faith?
Chapter 7
The Cost and Reward of Divine Calling
The author explores the cost that comes with God's call and anointing, sharing his personal experience of having to choose between attending his beloved brother's funeral in London or continuing evangelistic meetings in Taiwan where hundreds were being saved nightly. Despite his mother's plea, he chose to stay and fulfill God's call-a painful decision that was later healed when the Lord told him, "Because you couldn't go, I went," assuring him that Jesus personally escorted his saved brother to heaven.
As the oldest son in his cultural tradition, he was expected to attend his brother's funeral, and his mother specifically asked him to come. Yet leaving would have meant canceling five nights of meetings where souls were being saved. He made the painful decision to continue his ministry, calling his mother to explain he had to answer the Lord's call, though it deeply hurt him to miss honoring the brother who had sacrificed everything for him.
After struggling with this pain, he received healing through a single divine word: "Mahesh, you were doing My work. Because you couldn't go, I went." This revelation comforted him with the knowledge that Jesus personally escorted his saved brother into the Father's presence. As soldiers under God's command, when we surrender personal matters to obey His call, God personally attends to what we've sacrificed.
Encountering God's glory creates "a glorious addiction" that transforms one's values and life focus. Drawing from Isaiah 61:1-6, he explains that this divine call demands supernatural change. He contrasts his experience as a former Hindu who saw Jesus in a vision with Christians who merely "know about" rather than truly know Christ. Experiencing God's glory requires sacrifice-laying down knowledge to become childlike, surrendering one's agenda through prayer and fasting, and exchanging man-made righteousness for God's presence.
Using the Gulf War as an analogy, Chavda warns against withdrawing from spiritual battles prematurely. He describes how coalition forces pulled back from Iraq before defeating Saddam Hussein completely, resulting in renewed conflict years later. Christians must persevere in spiritual warfare until total victory is achieved, not retreating when opposition intensifies or immediate crises pass.
What personal sacrifices might God be asking of you to fulfill your divine calling? Are you willing to pay the price of obedience, even when it conflicts with cultural expectations or personal desires?
Chapter 8
The Historical Foundation of Prayer and Fasting
Prayer and fasting appear throughout Scripture and Church history, consistently bringing victory, miracles, and divine intervention. God's power manifests "whenever and wherever His people set themselves to pray and fast before Him."
Biblical examples abound: Esther called Jews to fast three days to save her people; Anna devoted her life to prayer and fasting and recognized the infant Jesus; Cornelius' fasting led to an angelic visitation and becoming the first Gentile convert; Paul's fasting saved 276 passengers in a shipwreck; Daniel's fasting overcame demonic principalities; Ezra fasted when facing impossible situations; Jesus fasted 40 days before beginning His ministry; and David fasted throughout his journey from shepherd to king. Fasting consistently appears when "ordinary people need extraordinary power" to overcome impossible obstacles.
Throughout church history, the pattern continues. The first missionary movement began with prayer and fasting in Acts 13. Early church figures like Polycarp and Tertullian advocated fasting, and Reformation leaders like Martin Luther and John Calvin fasted regularly. Evangelists Charles Finney, Jonathan Edwards, and John Wesley incorporated fasting into their ministries with remarkable results. Wesley fasted twice weekly (Wednesdays and Fridays) and required the same of his ministerial candidates, becoming "the primary voice in the Great Awakening" that many historians believe prevented England from experiencing the bloodshed of the French Revolution.
Fasting isn't about earning God's favor but making a connection with our supernatural God by cleaning out the "pipe" that connects us to His anointing. Like a powerful medical treatment combining two antibiotics, prayer and fasting work together to combat spiritual infection. When we fast, we humble ourselves, see life's priorities more clearly, restore balance, wash away selfish ambition, increase sensitivity to God's Spirit, expose hidden weaknesses for healing, and develop greater self-control.
The Bible outlines four fasting approaches: 1) The complete fast (no food or water, maximum three days); 2) The normal fast (water only); 3) The Daniel fast (vegetables and water, avoiding pleasant foods); and 4) The group or corporate fast, which functions as a "spiritual nuclear bomb" against enemy strongholds.
For practical application, start with one day per week, acknowledging that initial physical discomfort is normal as the body purges accumulated toxins. For multiple prayer needs, write them down and present them to God. Respect your body during fasting-rest when needed, adjust physical activities, and don't abuse yourself. Start with short fasts before attempting longer ones, and break fasts gradually with small portions of fruit, salad, or yogurt rather than heavy meals.
What might happen if you began implementing this historical spiritual discipline in your own life? Could the same power that transformed history through Wesley, Finney, and others be available to you through prayer and fasting?
Chapter 9
Corporate Prayer and the Coming Global Revival
The author connects severe weather patterns to spiritual changes, suggesting they may be the earth's "labor pains" before Christ's return. He calls believers to corporate prayer as the genetic code of the Church, emphasizing that nothing God will do happens without prayer. All ministry should flow from communion with God, not just specialized "intercessors."
The author describes starting "The Watch of the Lord" in Charlotte in 1995, noting that "watching" (all-night prayer) has been part of every great revival throughout history. He quotes from John Wesley's 1739 journal about a powerful prayer meeting and mentions how Joel, the Moravians, and others pioneered all-night prayer. Corporate prayer is particularly effective because Satan's strategy is to "divide and conquer," while Jesus taught that unified prayer has tremendous power.
The author envisions a "great wall of prayer" stretching around the world, visible to God as the Great Wall of China is visible from space. He emphasizes that every historical revival was ushered in by intercessors gathering in prayer, and points to biblical examples where corporate prayer brought divine intervention.
True unity cannot be achieved through programs or teachings but only through the supernatural work of the Spirit as hearts focus on Jesus. Spirit-led corporate prayer involves coming together to harmonize in worship, standing in the gap for others, and waiting for God's presence. Jesus called His house "a house of prayer" and was primarily a man of prayer who did nothing except what He received from the Father.
The author warns against spiritual independence which makes believers vulnerable to deception, especially when moving in supernatural gifts. He points to King Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20, who proclaimed nationwide fasting and prayer rather than praying alone.
Extended time in corporate prayer changes perspectives and builds spiritual endurance while breaking down denominational walls. The power of united prayer is like multiple laser beams concentrated into one force capable of cutting through spiritual strongholds. In 1995, watchmen in prayer received warnings about a planned terrorist attack on a Jewish school in France, and their prayers resulted in a miraculous intervention that saved 700 children when the school clock mysteriously stopped.
During a 40-day fast, the author received an open vision of a thirsty American Indian man seeking water. While describing this vision to his congregation, an actual Native American man matching the exact description walked into the church seeking spiritual help. This stranger had been drawn to the building after seeing a golden light around it while driving by. After receiving Christ, the man's estranged wife joined him, and the author baptized them both and witnessed the healing of their marriage.
Just as Jesus intercedes for believers continuously, Christians must pray unceasingly for the lost and for harvest laborers. The coming global harvest of "monumental, global proportions" requires the worldwide Church to unite in corporate prayer and fasting "as one people, united around our one Savior, one faith, and one Lord."
What role might you play in building this "wall of prayer" around the world? How could your participation in corporate prayer and fasting contribute to the coming global revival?
Chapter 10
Releasing Apostolic Power for the End-Time Harvest
For centuries, the Church has operated with only three of the five equipping gifts-rejecting apostles and prophets while retaining evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Similarly, most supernatural gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12 were dismissed as "no longer necessary." This is like unplugging spark plugs from an engine. All great revivals throughout history have been led by leaders operating in supernatural gifts, and today's global harvest urgently requires the full restoration of apostolic power, authority, and all spiritual gifts through persistent corporate prayer and fasting.
In Kananga, Zaire, powerful witch doctors opposed Chavda's evangelistic campaign. During the final night, while sorcerers gathered under their sacred tree to conduct rituals and eat human flesh, he broke the spirit of witchcraft over the region through prayer. Witnesses reported that flames of fire streaked across the sky and consumed the sorcerers' tree from top down. The tree burned for three days, leaving only a charred trunk. Some witch doctors were blinded or burned, while others repented and sought salvation.
Believers must move beyond merely gazing heavenward and instead take up the "mantle of anointing and power" Jesus gave the Church. Prayer is the capsule containing our requests to God, while fasting is the "booster rocket" that propels prayers beyond earthly boundaries. When corporate prayers are combined with corporate fasting, they take on supernatural power that terrifies Satan's kingdom.
Fasting moves believers from the natural realm into the supernatural realm where divine revelation, authorization, and power can be received. The Church's current position is like Elijah on Mount Carmel, praying persistently for rain after a long drought. Like Elijah who bowed with his face between his knees while awaiting the promised rain, the Church must maintain a posture of humble, expectant prayer as the spiritual downpour approaches.
The first raindrops of God's glory are already falling in strategic places worldwide as millions pray and fast, with an acceleration of soul harvests globally. A river of God is rising that will surpass all previous spiritual outpourings, including Azusa Street, the Latter Rain movement, the Jesus Movement, and the Charismatic renewal.
Through corporate fasting and prayer, believers can overcome every hindrance blocking their apostolic destiny. Victory exists only in the spiritual realm, which is why the enemy tries to divert Christians from prayer and fasting. This coming move of God will follow biblical patterns rather than human traditions, demonstrating the Spirit's power rather than persuasive human wisdom.
God will use young people and children prominently in the coming harvest, fulfilling the prophecy that "your sons and daughters will prophesy." An army of young warriors is awakening across nations, and older believers must be ready to accept, encourage and direct them without hindering their divine calling.
The coming revival will recognize no boundaries or barriers, with God especially touching the poor, outcast, forgotten and lowly. This unprecedented hour of power in the Church depends on believers' willingness to be Spirit-led and pay the price through prayer and fasting. The global harvest requires total Church mobilization, with God prepared to release powerful signs and wonders to break strongholds over cities and nations-but first, God's people must fast and pray to release the apostolic anointing.
Are you prepared to participate in this end-time move of God? What steps will you take to position yourself for the coming apostolic outpouring through prayer and fasting?
