Prayer and Fasting

Prayer and Fasting. (Some material in this lesson was from Jentezen Franklin’s Book “Fasting”)

Biblical Fasting is refraining from food (or something else) for a spiritual purpose.

Whenever you begin a fast, remember, if it doesn’t mean anything to you, it won’t mean anything to God.

Without being combined with prayer and the Word of God, fasting is little more than dieting.

Matthew 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

A. Hunger and thirst are the most demanding of appetites.

1. These are only appeased for a little while.

2. They are never totally satisfied.

B. For a citizen of the Kingdom, our appetite for righteousness should grow.

1. The self-righteous man has no such desire.

2. The ungodly man has no such desire.

3. But the child of the King keeps on hungering and thirsting for God’s righteousness.

C. Jesus says they are blessed - happy - and that they shall be filled.

1. Their hunger will be satisfied by the "Bread of Life".

2. Their thirst will be quenched by the "Water of Life".

3. THIS VERSE IS THE SECRET TO SPIRITUAL SATISFACTION!

D. We have seen many Christians hungering for many things: Power, authority, success, comfort, happiness, but how many truly hunger and thirst for righteousness?

Matthew 6:16-18 16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

Matthew 17:14-21 14 And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, 15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. 16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. 17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. 18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. 19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? 20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. 21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

A. The Reason for fasting.

a. The three duties of every Christian are giving, praying, and fasting.

b. What should our motive be when we fast?

i. TO PLEASE GOD!

B. II. The Results of fasting.

a. Fasting Refocus’ Us:

i. Prayer and fasting fixes your faith.

b. Fasting Refuels Us:

i. Fasting keeps you sensitive to His Spirit, enabling You to live holy.

c. Fasting Rewards Us:

i. When you faithfully follow the three duties of a Christian, God rewards you openly!

ii. Fasting is a private discipline that brings public reward.

Psalms 42:1-3 1 To the chief Musician, Maschil, for the sons of Korah. As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. 2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? 3 My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?

Psalm 42:7 “Deep calls unto deep…”

David was fasting. His hunger and thirst for God were greater than his natural desire for food. As a result, he reached a place where he could cry out from the depths of his spirit to the depths of God, even in the midst of his trial.

Once you’ve experienced even a glimpse of that kind of intimacy with our God – our Father, the holy Creator of the universe – and the countless rewards and blessings that follow, your whole perspective will change. You will soon realize that fasting is a secret source of power that is overlooked by many.

Ezekiel 16:49-50 49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. 50 And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.

“The first thing you may notice is that there was no giving (poor and needy) and no praying (pride and idleness). But it is interesting to note that the inhabitants of those cities were not only guilty of homosexuality, according to the account in Genesis, but as we see here, they were also guilty of gluttony (fullness of food).”

Esau is a type of the flesh in the Old Testament. He was the eldest therefore he would receive the birthright that was only given to the eldest living child. It was a blessing from God and was very important in that day and time. He comes home from an unsuccessful hunting trip one afternoon and is hungry. He traded his birthright and the privileges that would come with it, because of his hunger. (Genesis 25:34)

Romans 12:1-2 1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

“I beseech you…” This is an appeal to the will. You will is to be master over the body.

The thinking of our age says that our body must tell the will what to do; but the Bible says that our will must bring the body as a living sacrifice to God. The body is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. Keeping it at God’s altar as a living sacrifice keeps the body where it should be.

“Present your bodies a living sacrifice…”

To beg that they make themselves a living sacrifice was a striking image.

The people He was writing to knew what a sacrifice was!

• The sacrifice is living because it is brought alive to the altar.

• The sacrifice is living because it stays alive at the altar; it is ongoing.

1 Corinthians 6:20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

The holiness we bring to the altar is a decision for holiness, and yielding to the work of holiness in our life. As we present our bodies a living sacrifice, God makes our life holy by burning away impurities.

Paul was fasting when God called him and shared the assignment for his life.

Acts 9:7-9 7 And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. 8 And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.

Paul maybe unknowingly was getting Himself ready to hear from God!

Luke 4:1-13 1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. 3And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. 4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. 5And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. 7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. 8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 9 And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: 10 For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: 11 And in theirhands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 12 And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 13 And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.

Three types of fasts found in Scripture:

1. The Absolute Fast.

a. Definition: No food, No water. You take in nothing.

b. Scriptures:

2. The Normal Fast.

a. Definition: Typically, you go without food of any kind for a certain number of days.

i. You do drink water and plenty of it.

b. Scriptures: Moses fasted often, including two forty-day fasts.

i. Luke 4:1-13

3. The Partial Fast.

a. Definition: A partial fast usually involves giving up particular foods and drinks for an extended period of time.

b. Scriptures:

i. Daniel 1:8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.

ii. Daniel 10:2-3 2 In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. 3 I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.

1. Daniel 10. – Daniel took no sweets, no meat, and no wine for three weeks.

The Duration of fasts:

There are significant numbers we find in the Bible:

· Half-day fasts.

· 24 hour fasts.

· Three days.

· Seven days.

· Twenty-one days.

· Forty days.

Practical Reasons to Fast:

It Dethrones King Stomach.

It Creates discipline in your life.

It Detoxes your body.

Practical Ideas for Fasting:

1. A good idea to start the year:

a. You set the course for the rest of the year.

i. We believe in giving God our first-fruits.

b. You seek first the kingdom of God.

i. Matthew 6:33 Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.”

2. One friend of mine that is very disciplined fast from church time Sunday night, till dinner Monday night.

a. 24 hours. It starts the week off right.

3. While you are fasting food, make sure to fast other fleshly things as well.

a. It’s not time to sit and veg out on YouTube videos.

b. Or to play video games and numb your mind.

4. Before you begin a longer fast, prepare your body.

a. Begin tapering your food in take the weeks leading up to this prolonged fast.

5.