Prayer with Fasting
JCC 20.01.10 am
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, "When you give..., when you pray..., when you fast." He presumes that we will fast. He follows each command with a contrasting instruction: "Don’t do it this way; but do it this way" Matthew 6:1-18
Unfortunately, today most Christians not only don’t fast, but don’t know much about fasting at all: food is ‘fast food’ to them
The biblical significance of fasting, however, is so profound throughout the Old and New Testament
For us to be ignorant or indifferent toward it, is equal to spiritual starvation
"But I’ll starve to death!" is exactly the way many Christians respond
We need to know the "what, why, when, and how" of fasting
What is fasting?
Both in the secular sense and in the biblical sense, fasting means abstaining from food
A total fast is abstaining from all food and drink Exodus 34:28
A normal fast allows drink Luke 4:2
A limited fast indicates restriction of certain types of foods Daniel 10:2-3
But it doesn’t always have to be total food fast or even just food
Paul speaks about abstaining from marital duties, but coming together so Satan doesn’t tempt you
I fasted from chocolate for over 6 mths
It shows that you are willing to put your body into submission and allow your spiritual man to have control
Why should we fast?
Because Jesus told us to
Isaiah gives clear spiritual and physical purpose for fasting:
a) Spiritual: "To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke."
b) Physical: "To deal your bread to the hungry, to bring the poor that are afflicted to your home, to clothe the naked, and to be available to help your own relatives" Isaiah 58:6-7
We can fast favourite things we like to do
TV, games etc
Anything we replace with prayer is a type of fasting
The early Church Fathers (monks) used fasting as part of their lifestyle.
To them, fasting was a central part of piety; it reduced passions and imparted a godly presence.
One monk, Evagrius, said,’ …physical passions require physical methods for their suppression…..hunger, work and withdrawal put out the flames of bodily desire…
When should we fast?
Definitely not when Christ the Bridegroom is around. "But when He is taken up from among them, then they will fast" Matthew 9:14-15
Because we are still waiting the return of the Bridegroom, now is the time to fast
We should use fasting regular with our prayer times
We perhaps need to look at fasting at some point as a church
How should we fast?
“Not as the hypocrites who put on a gloomy face and neglects their appearance in order to be seen fasting by men. Rather, brush your hair and wash your face so that nobody knows that you are fasting. Let it be a secret between you and your Father. For He knows all secrets and will reward you" Matthew 6:17-18
One of the finest books on the subject of fasting is Arthur Walls’ God’s Chosen Fast
When prayer and fasting are practiced in concert, they present a unique and powerful duo. Incorporate the practice of fasting with your prayer support
What should we pray for?
Pray for More Field Workers
Jesus left Capernaum. "He went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and spreading the Gospel of the Kingdom, healing every sickness and disease among the people."
He had a heavy schedule
But on one occasion, "when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd
"Then He turned to His disciples, and said, The harvest truly is plentiful, but the labourers are few: therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth labourers into His harvest’" Matthew 9:35-38
He showed them a picture of a vast harvest field
Jesus shared how to reap the harvest
By praying for field workers
His harvesters are ordinary human beings who will be obedient to His Great Commission
People, like us who know Him, sharing with people who don’t
Jesus tells us to pray to the Father that He will send them out
There is a crying need for field workers today
This is a most needed area for prayer
But be careful when you pray this
Remember that several verses later He sent out the very men He had instructed to pray
Wesley and Whitefield stirred the dim embers of religion in this land
It was because godly people, perhaps poor obscure men and women as they read the Scriptures, saw the sad state of indifferences into which the nation had fallen
Is not this nation now worse than before?
Prayer for an Entrance of the Gospel
Paul asked for specific words from the prayers of the Christians in Colossae: "Include us in your prayer, please, that God may open for us a door for the entrance of the Gospel. Pray that we may talk freely of the mystery of Christ" Colossians 4:3
Our prayers should be that the Gospel, the mystery of Christ, no longer remains a mystery to them, but enters through the door of their hearts
Often a "door" that will open into someones life or community that once seemed closed
So pray for opening doors
Prayer to Bind the Strong Man
As Paul told the Christians in Corinth that he would stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, he said, "For a great and effectual door has opened unto me, and there are many adversaries" 1 Corinthians 16:9
Behind every open door of opportunity, there are enemies of the cross
There’s always one enemy with a foot out to trip us up
Sometimes the enemy is even able to use the actions of other believers to disrupt God’s plans
There is a time to resist the devil James 4:7
There is a time to cast out devils Mark 16:17
There is a time to bind the works of the enemy, to bind the "strong man" himself Matthew 18:18 & Mark 3:27
And there is a time to restrain his activity and authority in the affairs of men 1 John 3:8
It takes bold men and women praying bold prayers to hold him back
The enemy does not like being exposed as the fraud he is
Prayer for His Kingdom to Come
Jesus said it so simply: "When you pray, say... Thy Kingdom come" Luke 11:2
Pray for the people into whose lives the Kingdom has not yet come
More than two billion people in nearly 12,000 distinct people groups are still without a solid Gospel witness today
Many with still no knowledge of even the name of Jesus Christ as we allow our children to grow up not knowing about who Jesus is
And that figure is rising instead of declining
More than 55,000 die every day without a chance to respond to the message of salvation in Christ
And we are not talking only about those who live in deep, dark jungle
Illustration: An evangelist was sitting with his team at the breakfast table of a hotel restaurant in Singapore, a city/nation that enjoys a higher standard of living than many countries and is home to thousands of believers. The group had their Bibles out, and the waitress asked them what that Book was. "The Bible," they told her. Her response: "What is a Bible?" She had never heard of such a Book
Pray for fallow ground to be broken up Jeremiah 4:3
Pray for the seed to fall on fertile soil Matthew 13:3-9
Pray that those who water will neither drench nor parch the seedling
Pray that those who cultivate will not spoil the plant by misusing their tools
Pray that the Lord of the Harvest will give the increase 1 Corinthians 3:6
What a privilege to participate in His Plan by coming boldly before His throne in prayer
Interceding on behalf of the lost of the world as well as for the workers who have gone out into the fields of the world
If God be for us, who can be against us?
What an unequal contest
It is prayer that links the outreach work to the irresistible power of God
Prayer is the crucial point on which the battle is won or lost
The mightiest weapon we can use is the weapon of prayer— strong, powerful, prevailing prayer, the prayer of faith against which the adversary has no effective counter weapon
Pray without ceasing
Conclusion:
Prayer support can be difficult
We can say we’ve tried to encourage people to pray, but are they following through with their commitment?
One element of prayer support is an awareness of needs
But that in itself can be sometimes met by those praying
Why pray for someone to have food, if you have plenty and just pray about it
Jesus said that if you can meet the need, then you should
Sometimes a prayer chain can be formed
A prayer chain is simply a list of names and phone numbers. As a prayer request is made known via letter, phone call or fax, the person at the top of the list is notified. He phones the next person on the list who then relays the message to the next person and so on until all are made aware of the need
Perhaps two prayer chains could be developed for times when a need arises that is such a personal nature that It might be best if only a Core Group knew about it
The second prayer chain would receive that prayer request in more general terms
Other requests may be given to both groups
Prayer support is being able to intercede led by the Holy Spirit without even knowing the needs of others
Or the information we receive indicating their needs aren’t really their needs at all
It is necessary for us then, by the Spirit, to discern the real needs as we get together in prayer
We need volunteers to make a weekly commitment to fast and pray for a set time, but it’s between them and the Lord
The results in of such a commitment will ultimately be seen in a new release of the Lord’s power here
May the Lord grant us ever willing hearts to grow in prayer and may we be ever submissive to get down on our knees and be about our Father’s business with intercession and fasting
Prayer is truly a powerful weapon to be used in the spiritual conflicts
Seek to study the prayers of several Bible characters. (Be sure to include the publican
Or read through all the prayers of one person
Identify if each is a prayer of thanksgiving, praise, personal petition or
Locate, read and study the nineteen recorded prayers of Jesus
These will deepen your prayer life
Learn to participate m the power of combined prayer
Be on guard against the ever-popular "gimmie" prayers
Decide if prayer support or the prayer chain is a commitment you can make to the church
Practice the Christian discipline of fasting
Pray without ceasing
Perhaps someone could offer to sort out a prayer chain
