Besides the matter of attempting to manipulate God into doing what you want, charismatic fasting can become a means of entering into a more spiritually suggestable frame of mind. The simple fact is that depriving oneself of food, drink, etc., tends to weaken one's normal defense mechanisms, making you more "open" to unusual spiritual suggestions. Of course, charismatics have no exclusive on this kind of fasting: all sorts of religions and cults practice fasting and other forms of self-denial as a means to entering into an altered state of consciousness. Although there are legitimate scriptural reasons for going on a fast--dedicating your time to prayer, humbling yourself before God, repenting of sin, etc.--none of them have to do with entering into an altered state, having a heightened sense of spirituality, or engaging in what's often misunderstood to be "spiritual warfare." Sadly, the practice of charismatic fasting often has more to do with paganism than Christianity.

Dave U.