Why Fast and Pray
I'm going to do a 21-day fast starting this Sunday. It's 21 days before the first service at my new church, and so that's going to be my focus. A few people are joining, and if you feel so led, I'd be so humbled if you would join too. Or perhaps there are situations in your life that would benefit from your prayer and fasting. And so I'm going to share some thoughts on prayer and fasting this week, mostly from a book called The Power of Prayer and Fasting by Marilyn Hickey, which I'd recommend.
Why Fast?
Some people think fasting is an old-fashioned medieval type of thing, but really it's an important habit for us even today.
And there are a few reasons to fast. The first one is because the scriptures teach us to. Jesus himself did it. Jesus' disciples fasted and prayed after the resurrection. And it seems by the words of Jesus that he expects us to pray.
Often in the Bible, when enemies were coming towards the Jews, they would pray and fast to seek God's will and to get closer to God in that time. Maybe for you, you'd want to fast if you're looking ahead and seeing hard times on the horizon.
Maybe you're stuck in a habit of sin, which you know grieves God and pulls you away from him. That should bring sorrow to your heart, and maybe a time of fasting will just bring you back to God and draw you nearer to him, where your sin has taken you away from him.
Or maybe you have some decisions to make, you're confused, and you're not sure what to do. Well, fasting can certainly help with that. Maybe there's somebody or something in your life that needs prayer—somebody who's sick, somebody who's in a bad place—and you're going to fast and particularly pray around that situation.
Fasting is Powerful
Over the years, so many people have discovered that there is a great power and renewal that comes in our lives when we fast and spend more time praying because we're spending less time eating.
And so would you consider fasting? Maybe you'd like to join me for the 21-day fast I'm about to do. Maybe you want to fast about something in your own life. Maybe you want to just keep this in your mind so that if one of these situations comes up, you know about fasting and you have a plan.
Either way, friends, the Holy Spirit will lead you to fast and pray at times, and I hope that you'll listen. It has a wonderful way of moving us away from ourselves and closer to God. So consider a lifestyle of fasting. I know you'll be blessed by it.
