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“Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
“Return to Me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
Return to the Lord your God,
for He is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
and He relents over disaster.
— Joel 2:12–13
Let us look at what the Word of God says.
The central theme of these lyrics is breakthrough in prayer through fasting and wholehearted seeking of God. It is not about techniques. It is about returning to the Lord with all our heart, aligning ourselves with His conditions, and then experiencing His power in deliverance, revelation, and spiritual authority.
The song weaves together five key passages:
Each of these passages presents a condition and a promise. God has not left us to guess how to seek Him or how to obtain spiritual breakthrough. He has laid down clear conditions in His Word. When we meet His conditions, He is faithful to fulfill His promises.
The lyrics repeatedly affirm:
> “Fasting brings the breakthrough,
> Prayer releases the fire.
> Chains are broken, darkness trembles,
> The Spirit moves in power.”
These are not empty religious phrases. They describe spiritual realities that operate on the basis of God’s unchanging Word.
---
### Joel 2:12–13 – A Nation Under Judgment
The book of Joel addresses Judah during a time of devastating locust plague and impending judgment. The land is stripped. The economy is ruined. The priests are mourning. God’s people are under divine discipline.
Into that situation God speaks:
> “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your heart and not your garments…” (Joel 2:12–13)
In Joel’s culture, people tore their garments to show grief and repentance. But God says: external signs are not enough. The issue is the heart. And yet, notice that God does not discard the outward disciplines. He specifies: “with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” He is not against outward expression, but it must flow from a reality in the heart.
The setting is corporate crisis. That is why Joel 2:15–16 says:
> “Blow the trumpet in Zion;
> consecrate a fast;
> call a solemn assembly;
> gather the people…”
This is exactly reflected in the lyric:
> “Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly,
> Return to the Lord with all your heart.
> With weeping, with mourning, with prayer and seeking,
> For He is gracious and full of mercy.”
The song simply echoes the prophetic call of Joel: a holy fast, a solemn assembly, a wholehearted return.
### Isaiah 58:6 – God’s Chosen Fast
Isaiah 58 confronts a religious people who were fasting, but without God’s approval. They complained that God did not notice their fasting (Isa 58:3). God answers by exposing their hypocrisy: they fast, but at the same time oppress workers, quarrel, and exploit others.
Then He describes the fast He has chosen:
> “Is not this the fast that I choose:
> to loose the bonds of wickedness,
> to undo the straps of the yoke,
> to let the oppressed go free,
> and to break every yoke?” (Isaiah 58:6)
Here fasting is not a religious performance. It is a spiritual instrument for deliverance, justice, and breaking demonic yokes. The lyric:
> “Is this not the fast He has chosen?
> To loose the bonds of wickedness,
> To let the oppressed go free,
> And to break every heavy yoke.”
is a direct restatement of this passage.
### Matthew 17:21 – “This Kind” and Spiritual Resistance
In Matthew 17 (and Mark 9), a father brings his demon-tormented son to Jesus’ disciples. They cannot cast the demon out. Later Jesus delivers the boy with a word of authority. The disciples ask why they could not do it.
Jesus answers in two parts:
> “This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
There are *kinds* of demons. There are *degrees* of spiritual resistance. And Jesus, the Son of God in human flesh, demonstrates that certain levels of demonic power are only broken through a lifestyle of prayer coupled with fasting.
The lyric captures this:
> “This kind does not go out,
> Except by prayer and fasting.”
This is not legalism. It is spiritual realism.
### Matthew 7:7 – Conditions for Receiving
Jesus says:
> “Ask, and it will be given to you;
> seek, and you will find;
> knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)
The Greek verbs are present continuous: keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking. The promises are definite, but they are attached to active, persistent pursuit. The lyric combines this with prayer and fasting to show that breakthrough requires perseverance:
> “Ask, and it shall be given,
> Seek, and you shall find.”
### Jeremiah 29:13 – Wholehearted Seeking in Exile
Jeremiah 29 is addressed to the exiles in Babylon. They are under God’s judgment, away from their land, yet not abandoned. God promises eventual restoration and then declares:
> “You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)
God does not reveal Himself to half-hearted seekers. He reserves Himself for those who search with all their heart. Hence the lyric:
> “When you seek Me with all your heart,
> You will find My glory revealed.”
The context is people in discipline, yet given a door of hope—if they meet God’s condition: wholehearted seeking.
---
### 1. “Return” – שׁוּב (shuv) – Joel 2:12–13
The key word in Joel 2:12–13 is “return” – Hebrew שׁוּב (shuv).
Joel 2:12: “Return to Me with all your heart.”
The emphasis is on relationship. We are not told just to return to religious duties, but to God personally.
This deepens the lyric:
> “Return to the Lord with all your heart.
> With weeping, with mourning, with prayer and seeking…”
Fasting, weeping, and mourning are not isolated disciplines; they are the expression of returning. Without “shuv”—a real turn—they degenerate into empty ritual.
### 2. “Fast” – צוּם (tsum) / νηστεία (nēsteia)
In the Old Testament, the verb “to fast” is צוּם (tsum)—to abstain from food. In the New Testament, the noun νηστεία (nēsteia) is used—literally “not eating.”
Fasting is not dieting. It is an act of humbling the soul before God. In Psalm 35:13 David says:
> “I humbled my soul with fasting.”
The Hebrew word for “humbled” there is ‘ānāh – to afflict, to bow down, to submit. Fasting is the practical way we say to God: *“I am not living for my appetites. I bow my soul under Your authority.”*
Isaiah 58:6 shows the result: “to loose the bonds of wickedness… to break every yoke.” When the soul is humbled, the spirit is released into a new level of authority. That is why the lyric correctly states:
> “Fasting brings the breakthrough.”
Fasting does not bribe God. It changes *us*, bringing us into alignment with Him, so His power can flow unhindered.
### 3. “Seek” – ζητέω (zēteō) / דָּרַשׁ (darash)
In Matthew 7:7 and Jeremiah 29:13 we meet the word “seek.”
“Darash” pictures someone who repeatedly goes to the same place, wearing a path by constant coming. That is what seeking God looks like: consistent, persevering coming to Him.
Thus the line:
> “When you seek Me with all your heart,
> You will find My glory revealed.”
is backed fully by scripture. Heart-level seeking—persistent, focused pursuit—leads to manifestation of God’s glory.
---
Let us walk through the lyrics theme by theme and connect them with scriptural truth.
### Verse 1 – The Call to Holy Return
> “Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly,
> Return to the Lord with all your heart.
> With weeping, with mourning, with prayer and seeking,
> For He is gracious and full of mercy.”
#### “Sanctify a fast”
“Sanctify” means to set apart as holy. A biblical fast is not merely going without food. It is setting aside time, focus, and bodily appetite for God’s purposes. In Joel 2:15, God commands:
> “Consecrate (sanctify) a fast; call a solemn assembly…”
This is not a suggestion. In times of crisis, God’s prescription for His people is corporate, consecrated fasting.
#### “Call a solemn assembly”
The Hebrew idea is a sacred gathering, a community meeting before God. This confronts modern individualism. Breakthrough in prayer is often corporate. Yokes that oppress families, cities, and nations are frequently broken when believers unite in fasting and prayer.
#### “Return… with weeping, with mourning, with prayer and seeking”
Biblical repentance is not casual. James 4:8–9 says:
> “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you…
> Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.”
When the Holy Spirit convicts of sin, superficial lightness gives way to godly sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:10). Weeping and mourning in repentance are not emotionalism. They are the soul’s deep response to the revelation of sin in the light of God’s holiness.
Yet the motive is not despair, but confidence in God’s character:
> “For He is gracious and full of mercy.”
This echoes Joel 2:13: “For He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.” God’s call to fasting, weeping, and repentance is an expression of His mercy, not His harshness. He calls us to repent because He desires to relent from judgment.
### Chorus – The Dynamics of Breakthrough
> “Fasting brings the breakthrough,
> Prayer releases the fire.
> Chains are broken, darkness trembles,
> The Spirit moves in power.”
#### “Fasting brings the breakthrough”
As we have seen, Isaiah 58:6 presents fasting as God’s appointed means to loose bonds of wickedness, break yokes, and release the oppressed. Throughout scripture, fasting is associated with:
The “breakthrough” is not produced by human effort, but by the power of God released when we humble ourselves. Fasting is a God-ordained condition for certain kinds of breakthrough.
#### “Prayer releases the fire”
In Scripture, fire is a symbol of:
Elijah’s prayer on Mount Carmel resulted in literal fire from heaven (1 Kings 18:36–38). The early church prayed in Acts 4, and the place was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit with boldness. Prayer is the appointed means by which God’s power is released into human situations.
James 5:16–18 connects prayer to Elijah’s miracles:
> “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much… Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly…”
Prayer does not persuade a reluctant God. It cooperates with His will and activates His already-purposed power.
#### “Chains are broken, darkness trembles”
Chains symbolize bondage—sin, addictions, demonic oppression. Jesus came to “proclaim liberty to the captives” (Luke 4:18). When prayer and fasting align us with the authority of Christ, the enemy’s chains must be broken.
“Darkness trembles” is no exaggeration. James 2:19 says demons “believe—and tremble.” When believers pray in faith, standing on Christ’s finished work, the kingdom of darkness is shaken.
#### “The Spirit moves in power”
The Holy Spirit is the One who executes God’s purposes in the earth. The early church, in Acts, did not move in power without persistent prayer and frequent fasting (Acts 1:14; Acts 13:2–3; Acts 14:23). The more the church prayed and fasted, the more the Spirit moved.
### Verse 2 – God’s Chosen Fast: Power to Set the Captives Free
> “Is this not the fast He has chosen?
> To loose the bonds of wickedness,
> To let the oppressed go free,
> And to break every heavy yoke.”
This is a near direct quotation of Isaiah 58:6.
#### “Loose the bonds of wickedness”
“Bonds” speak of ties, cords, constraints. They may be:
Fasting is God’s strategy to loose these bonds. Where mere counseling and willpower fail, prayer with fasting often brings decisive liberty.
#### “Let the oppressed go free”
“Oppressed” points strongly to demonic influence. In Acts 10:38, Peter describes Jesus:
> “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”
The same Jesus now works through His body, the church. But His power is often released in proportion to our willingness to pay the price in prayer and fasting.
#### “Break every heavy yoke”
A “yoke” is something that binds two together for labor or control. Spiritually, a yoke is any enslaving force that drives a person—fear, lust, addiction, occult control, ungodly soul ties.
Isaiah 10:27 says:
> “The yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil.” (NKJV margin)
The anointing of the Holy Spirit destroys yokes. Fasting is one of the key pathways into a greater measure of that anointing.
The lyric “every heavy yoke” underlines the scope: no bondage is beyond God’s power, if we meet His conditions.
### Bridge – “This Kind” and Persistent Asking
> “This kind does not go out,
> Except by prayer and fasting.
> Ask, and it shall be given,
> Seek, and you shall find.”
Here two dimensions join:
1. Spiritual warfare level – “This kind does not go out…”
Jesus acknowledges gradations in demonic resistance. Some entities, some patterns of oppression, some strongholds will not yield to casual prayer. They require prayer accompanied by fasting—a deeper level of consecration, humility, and persistence.
2. Faith persistence – “Ask… seek…”
Matthew 7:7 emphasizes ongoing, fervent prayer. Combining Matthew 17:21 with Matthew 7:7 paints a very practical picture:
And the promise is sure: it will be given; you will find; it will be opened.
### Verse 3 – The Promise of Answer and Revelation
> “Call upon Me, and I will answer,
> I will show you things unknown.
> When you seek Me with all your heart,
> You will find My glory revealed.”
This echoes Jeremiah 29:12–13 and Jeremiah 33:3.
Jeremiah 33:3:
> “Call to Me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.”
#### “Call upon Me, and I will answer”
This is God’s initiative. He invites us to call. Answered prayer is not our idea. It is His design. 1 John 5:14–15 says that if we ask according to His will, He hears us, and we have the requests we asked of Him.
#### “I will show you things unknown”
Prayer and fasting are not just for deliverance. They are also for revelation—hidden things, mysteries of God’s purposes. Daniel received profound visions while fasting (Daniel 9–10). The early church received direction to send out Paul and Barnabas in a season of worship, fasting, and prayer (Acts 13:2–3).
#### “When you seek Me with all your heart, you will find My glory revealed”
“Glory” in Hebrew is kavod – weight, substance, manifested presence. God’s glory is His presence made visible, tangible, experiential. Wholehearted seeking brings us not just information about God, but encounters with His glory.
### Final Chorus & Outro – The Kingdom Manifested
> “Rise up in faith, step into glory,
> For the kingdom of God is at hand.
> Signs and wonders follow the seekers,
> The power of heaven is here!”
#### “Rise up in faith, step into glory”
Faith is the hand that receives what God has promised through prayer and fasting. Without faith, fasting becomes a dead work. With faith, it becomes a channel of glory.
#### “For the kingdom of God is at hand”
Jesus began His ministry with these words (Mark 1:15). The kingdom is God’s rule actively manifested. When God’s people meet His conditions in repentance, fasting, and prayer, the kingdom breaks in—into families, churches, and communities.
#### “Signs and wonders follow the seekers”
Mark 16:20:
> “And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.”
The pattern is:
Seekers of God—those who search with all their heart—become instruments of His supernatural power.
#### “The power of heaven is here”
This is not exaggeration. Jesus taught us to pray:
> “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10)
Through Christ’s finished work, the power of heaven is accessible. Fasting and prayer are God’s appointed means to bring that power from promise into experience.
---
We must not treat these truths as information only. Scripture always calls for response. Here are clear, practical steps.
### 1. Return to the Lord with All Your Heart
You cannot expect breakthrough while clinging to known disobedience. Joel 2:12–13 shows that returning is the first condition.
Proclamation 1:
“Lord, I return to You with all my heart—no area withheld.”
### 2. Embrace Biblical Fasting
Proclamation 2:
“Lord, I choose to humble my soul with fasting, that Your power may be released in my life.”
### 3. Engage in Persistent, Focused Prayer
Proclamation 3:
“I ask, I seek, I knock, and I will not let go until Your will is done and Your kingdom comes in this situation.”
### 4. Expect and Act on Revelation and Direction
Proclamation 4:
“Lord, as I call to You, I expect You to answer and to show me great and hidden things. I commit myself to obey what You reveal.”
---
### Proclamation
Speak this aloud, with faith:
> I return to the Lord my God with all my heart—
> with fasting, with weeping, and with earnest prayer.
> I reject all mere outward religion,
> and I rend my heart, not my garments.
>
> I declare that God is gracious and full of mercy,
> slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
>
> I choose the fast that God has chosen:
> to loose the bonds of wickedness,
> to let the oppressed go free,
> and to break every heavy yoke.
>
> I acknowledge that some kinds of evil do not go out
> except by prayer and fasting.
> Therefore, I humble my soul with fasting,
> and I persevere in prayer.
>
> I ask, and it is given to me.
> I seek, and I find.
> I knock, and it is opened.
> I call upon the Lord, and He answers me.
> He shows me great and hidden things I have not known.
>
> I seek Him with all my heart,
> and I find Him.
> His glory is revealed in my life, my family, and my ministry.
>
> Through the blood of Jesus,
> every chain must be broken,
> every yoke destroyed,
> every work of darkness exposed and expelled.
>
> The Spirit of God moves in power through me.
> The kingdom of God is at hand.
> Signs and wonders follow as I believe.
> The power of heaven is here,
> and I yield myself as an instrument of that power,
> for the glory of Jesus’ Name.
> Amen.
### Prayer
Lord God Almighty,
we come to You in the name of Jesus, acknowledging our need of breakthrough. We confess that our own strength and methods cannot break the chains that bind us or the yokes that oppress.
We ask You, by Your Holy Spirit, to work in us true repentance—heart-level turning from every sin and every idol. Teach us to humble our souls with fasting, not as a ritual, but as a response to Your call.
Where there are “bonds of wickedness” in our lives, our families, or those You have entrusted to us, stretch out Your hand to loose them. Where there are heavy yokes and satanic oppression, let the anointing of Your Spirit destroy them.
Lead us into disciplined, persevering prayer. Make us men and women who ask until the answer comes, who seek until we find, who knock until the door is opened. Open to us the great and hidden things of Your purpose. Reveal Your glory as we seek You with all our heart.
Let the fire of Your Spirit fall upon our lives, our homes, and our assemblies. Let chains be broken, let darkness tremble, and let the kingdom of God advance with signs and wonders that confirm Your Word.
We declare that all of this is not by might, nor by power, but by Your Spirit, on the foundation of the finished work of Jesus on the cross.
We give You all the glory, in Jesus’ mighty name.
Amen.
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