Prayer and Fasting

Prayer & Fasting

“Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, “Here I am…. The Lord will guide you continually” (Isaiah 58:9, 11 NRSV)

Tools are pathways to infinite creativity. They have the potential when used to build, influence, and bring about something with lasting benefit. Jesus has passed on two spiritual power tools to those who choose to follow his example - fasting and praying.

Jesus taught, “When you fast…;” implying his disciples would indeed fast and pray (Matthew 6:16). By putting these tools to use, we are led deeper into friendship with God who strengthens us and brings us into alignment with Him in order to continue the ministry of Christ and experience abundant life.

A fast is a voluntary practice of setting aside food, a source of nourishment and pleasure, for the Source who loves you.

It is guided by the genuine intention of drawing nearer to God with increased sensitivity. You are invited by the Lord to fast and pray for any reason within His will. A few common themes found in scripture are:

• Repentance: Bringing your body into submission through self-denial is a picture of your whole being turning away from disordered desires and toward your heavenly Father. In doing so you are fasting and praying to be released from spiritual bondage into His freedom. Seek God’s will and strength in order to align yourself with Him.
• Renewal: You may feel far from God, or you may encounter a wilderness season when God feels absent. Life may feel fruitless. Enter into a fast seeking God’s thoughts and feelings by desiring communion with Him. Pray for your heart to be softened, to experience His love, and to love Him in return.
• Reengagement: Consider Jesus’ compassion for the lost, prodigal, sick, lonely, and marginalized. When lacking empathy for the things that break God’s heart, fast and pray to experience the Lord’s sorrow and become an active participant in His plan of redemption. Ask for a heart like His and seek His direction.
• Relief: Fasting can be a way to move through tidal waves of grief. Time set aside to feel your pain with God with fasting and prayer is a form of lament. Ask God to comfort and minister His compassion to you by sharing His thoughts, shifting you into greater intimacy with Him. To experience Jesus with you in your pain through fasting and prayer can be a catalyst for healing.

Our reasons to fast are personal and numerous, but perhaps this brief list will help you identify the fast to which the Lord is calling you.

Whatever your reason may be, we are blessed to remember that by fasting and praying we are declaring mastery over our nature so that we will live directed by the “power of the Spirit” (Luke 10:21). What a thrill that we’ve been given spiritual power tools by the Master Creator, taught by Him, and invited into this powerful work with our Savior.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, you are so generous! Thank you for hearing from me and receiving me. I chose to follow in your footsteps by fasting and praying that “Your kingdom come. You will be done on earth [and in me] as it is in heaven.” (Matt. 6:10) Amen.