Let’s be honest, when was the last time you went without food for an entire day just to get closer to God? Not for a diet, not for detoxing, but purely for spiritual breakthrough? If you’re like most Christians today, the answer is probably… never.
Pastor Mike Signorelli of V1 Church is calling that out. And he’s not holding back.
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“You claim to be a Christian for years, you’ve probably never only drank water for three full days,” he said in a recent sermon. “You can’t watch teachings on fasting and experience the benefits of fasting—you have to actually do it.”
That’s a challenge few believers take seriously today. But according to Signorelli, fasting isn’t optional. It’s a spiritual weapon, a forgotten discipline that the early church understood was “absolutely necessary for spiritual warfare.”
Fasting: Weakening the Flesh to Strengthen the Spirit
Signorelli is currently in the middle of an extended water-only fast, and what he’s experiencing is raw, intense, and deeply revealing.
“The deeper you go into the fast, the more you feel like you want to die,” he admitted. “Your spirit is saying, ‘Yes, die! Yes, shut up finally! Quit all that stupidity!’”
That might sound extreme, but he’s making a crucial point—our flesh constantly fights against our spirit. It craves comfort, distractions, and self-indulgence. But fasting forces the flesh to shut up and step aside so the spirit can rise.
“The weaker my flesh gets each day, the more my spirit starts to come forward,” Signorelli explained. “It’s my flesh that’s always scared. It’s my spirit that’s bold.”
The Forgotten Power of Biblical Fasting
The idea that fasting is necessary for spiritual power isn’t new. In fact, Signorelli points out that the early church considered fasting essential.
“In the Book of Mark, they say that in early manuscripts it didn’t say ‘some come out by prayer and fasting,’ but in later transcripts, they do,” he noted. “The early church understood fasting is absolutely necessary for spiritual warfare.”
So why don’t more Christians fast? According to Signorelli, it’s because many have never truly experienced what fasting can do.
“There are certain anointings that can only be cultivated in prayer,” he said. “Then there are other anointings that can only be cultivated in prayer and fasting.”
In other words, some spiritual breakthroughs simply won’t happen unless you fast.
How to Start Fasting (No More Excuses!)
If you’ve never fasted before, diving straight into an extended water-only fast might sound intimidating. But Signorelli lays out a simple strategy to build up your endurance:
- Start with a 24-hour water-only fast. Do this once a week for a month.
- Next month, try 48 hours. Again, do this once a week.
- Gradually increase your fasting time over the following months.
The key is consistency. “There are levels to fasting,” he said. “Three days is a spiritual threshold because, at three days, you’re dead enough for your spirit to come forward.”
Fasting and the Supernatural
If you’re still skeptical about the power of fasting, consider this: Signorelli just finished a Zoom call where the host—an experienced prophet—was overwhelmed with the presence of God during their conversation.
“He just starts laughing hysterically,” Signorelli recalled. “Then I can’t stop laughing, and we just started going into revival mode. But the thing is, I believe it was directly connected to the fasting.”
Fasting shifts atmospheres. It breaks barriers. It unlocks spiritual power in ways nothing else can.
The Hard Question: When Was the Last Time You Made Yourself Weak?
The modern church teaches a lot about comfort. But fasting forces us into discomfort—it makes us weak so that God can be strong.
“When I am weak, then I am strong,” Signorelli reminded his listeners. “So the question I’m going to end with is—when is the last time you made yourself weak?”
That’s the challenge. And if you’re serious about growing spiritually, maybe it’s time to stop making excuses and start fasting.
Because according to Pastor Mike, “If you start feeling like you’re going to die—you’re probably doing it right.”
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James Lasher is staff writer for Charisma Media.
