Prayer With Fasting.

This is the 17th post in a series on Praying Effectively. We have talked about what elements can be found in effective prayers and in the last related post we looked at what it means to pray in the Spirit.
If you are just joining me, please see the end for a special note before continuing!

Prayer with Fasting

Fasting appears in both the Old and New Testaments and always referred to abstaining from food and/or drink for a period of time. It was also accompanied by a general withdrawal from self-pampering or special adornment, and sexual relations with spouses. We have to be careful on this aspect though, because Jesus rebuked the Pharisees, who purposefully made their appearance haggard enough to practically proclaim, "Look at me! I'm fasting...I'm so holy!" The main point is to turn our focus to God - not to indulge self, and not for the praise of others.

I highlighted that biblical examples of fasting always involves denying food/drink substances because that is the reality. This is not to say that modern trends to include fasting from well-loved things and activities is not also beneficial. Any sincere turning to God, forsaking other things, will have benefits. He has promised that when we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us (James 4:8).  Furthermore, myriad health issues now prevent some people from fasting safely without medical opinion and guidance. However, for the purpose of this short lesson, I will be referring to fasting in accordance with the biblical examples we have been given.

Fasting goes hand in hand with prayer. If we are withdrawing from our regular way of living to seek God, then we must seek God!


Old Testament examples:
- Moses fasted during a time of intercession for Israel and deep communion with God.
- Nineveh's people (and animals!) fasted in repentance to turn away God's wrath and humble themselves before Him.
- David fasted in mourning and intercession for his sick baby.
- Ezra and Nehemiah fasted for God's direction, help, and guidance.
- Daniel fasted for wisdom and direction from God.
- Esther fasted for God's favor, intervention and deliverance to turn the heart of her husband, the king of Persia, towards her for good when she decided to break kingdom law.
- God's people and the nations' kings fasted for God to deliver them from their enemies in times of war.

New Testament examples:
- Anna the prophetess could be found ministering to the Lord by prayer and fasting night and day in the Temple when Jesus was just a baby.
- The disciples of John the Baptist fasted.
- The disciples of Jesus fasted in the book of Acts before making decisions. 

As we can see from the relatively few examples above, the needs often differed, but those who fasted all had a need to get near to God; for Him to act on their behalf, usual in times of urgency and great risk, or when direction regarding major concerns was needed.

An interesting statement by Jesus also reveals that fasting is important for specific demonic strongholds to be broken. The context of the statement indicates that fasting is important to bolster our faith to ask for and access the power of God.

And Jesus rebuked the demon, and he departed out of him. And the child was cured from that very hour.  Then the disciples came to Jesus apart, and said, Why could we not cast him out?  And Jesus said to them, Because of your unbelief. For truly I say to you, If you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, Move from here to there. And it shall move. And nothing shall be impossible to you. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting. Matthew 17:18-21 

Some problems that people have are not/not only medical or psychological by nature but have to do with the active operation of evil spiritual beings which can be resisted and overcome in the authority of Jesus' name. Prayer and fasting prepare us to be the vessels through which such deliverances can take place, or to be set free ourselves.

Fasting is a useful spiritual discipline if our motivation is pure and faith-filled. As a discipline, it may not at first be easy, but the effort which may be required is not to be confused with the weight and false foundations of a rigid, legalistic, self-imposed regimen of fasting. 

Many Christians who fast can attest to the benefits of seeking God with prayer and fasting. In my own life as a young believer, I fasted weekly for a period of time (my own decision that no one else was aware of). I did not see all that was being accomplished in the moment - indeed, I did not even expect the major changes that resulted - but in retrospect I looked back with amazement at how many invisible hindrances were conquered, how much refinement of my character occurred, and how much my thirst for the word of God and prayer increased. Fasting did not accomplish these things as a magical formula, but the God I was desperately seeking was working in me and on my behalf.

We are near the end of this series on Prayer. In our next and final installment we will take a look at Jesus' prayer life in the New Testament. 

[This is the 17th post in a series on the subject of prayer. In the previous installment we looked into what it means to pray 'in the Spirit'. 
These posts are interspersed among other blog topics so for the easy identification of related posts, look for the label 'praying effectively - series' in the sidebar. If you are just now joining in I recommend that you read the first post where I shared my reason for doing this series. I hope to share practical keys and insight into praying effectively, in bite-size blog posts which you can easily follow.]