Learn How to Pray and Fast for a Powerful Breakthrough

Summary

David Diga Hernandez presents prayer and fasting as Christian spiritual disciplines that, in his view, deepen focus on God, strengthen faith, and help believers resist the influence of the “flesh” (the sinful nature). He says fasting is an act of faith, even when its spiritual effects are not fully understood, and cautions against treating it as a way to punish oneself or earn forgiveness.

Key strategies and practices

• Combine abstinence with prayer and Scripture. Hernandez defines fasting as giving up food—or something desired—for a period of time to devote more attention to prayer and God’s word. Without that spiritual focus, he says, it is simply a diet.
• Choose a form of fasting suited to the person and situation. He describes:
  • Food fasts
  • Food-and-water fasts
  • Dietary or partial fasts, such as giving up certain foods
  • Abstaining from other things, such as hobbies or distractions; he also cites married couples mutually abstaining from sex for a limited time to focus on prayer
• Avoid rigid rules and self-condemnation. He gives biblical examples ranging from partial-day fasts to 40-day fasts, but emphasizes being led by the Holy Spirit rather than turning fasting into a legalistic system. His suggestion of fasting at least quarterly is explicitly presented as his personal opinion, not a biblical command.
• Use fasting to reinforce repentance, not as punishment. In his framework, fasting can help someone regain self-control and weaken unhelpful habits after turning away from sin. He rejects the idea that suffering through a fast pays for wrongdoing.
• Be persistent in prayer while leaving outcomes to God. When feeling spiritually stuck, he encourages an act of faith, including continued prayer, while trusting God with the results.
• Weigh spiritual impressions. He warns against treating every feeling, coincidence, or impulse as a message from God. He recommends weighing prophecies and testing impressions rather than following them blindly.
• Keep prayer both intentional and flexible. He says structure and planning can coexist with spiritual guidance, and encourages people not to get stuck worrying about exact prayer methods or durations.
• Use focused seasons of prayer and fasting around transitions. He suggests it as spiritual preparation for major changes such as marriage, a new job, expecting a child, moving, or taking on a ministry role.
• Treat fasting as practice in self-control. He describes it as a way to notice and work on impulses, impatience, exhaustion, distraction, and temptation—and to apply that awareness to prayer, Scripture reading, and everyday choices.

Benefits associated with fasting

Hernandez connects fasting with repentance and mourning, spiritual clarity, ministry decisions, favor, healing, preparation, dependence on God, protection, worship, and access to spiritual authority. These are presented as his Christian interpretations of biblical examples, not as guaranteed outcomes.

Safety note

Hernandez warns that going without water for more than a few days can cause serious health complications and says he is not a medical expert. Fasting—especially food-and-water fasting or prolonged fasting—can carry health risks. The talk should not be treated as medical guidance.

Presenter and sources

• Presenter: David Diga Hernandez
• Biblical passages cited: Exodus 14:21; Joshua 6:20; 1 Kings 18:30–38; Mark 16:18; James 5:14–15; Romans 10:9–15; Galatians 5; Matthew 7:7; Matthew 4:1–4; Esther 4:16; Ezra 10:6; Daniel 10:3; 1 Corinthians 7:5; Judges 20:26; 2 Samuel 1:12 and 2:16; 1 Samuel 31:13; Exodus 34:28; Luke 18:12 and 2:37; Joel 2:12; Nehemiah 1:4; Acts 14:23; Psalm 35:13–14; Mark 5:34 and 10:52; Matthew 17:19–21.