The Why? Behind Prayer and Fasting
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Every year starting the 2nd, NEC goes into a prayer and fast. It is a corporate fast as we give God our first fruits.
Today, we will be exploring the Why? behind prayer and fasting.
Let me preface this with a warning, fasting is not about earning favor with God.
There are some people who fast because they expect direct and immediate results from it. In other words they have a kind of mechanical view of fasting; they have what I have sometimes called, for lack of a better illustration, the ‘penny in the slot’ view of it. You put your penny in the slot, then you pull out the drawer, and there you have your result. That is their view of fasting. If you want certain benefits, they say, fast; if you fast you will get the results.
Studies in the Sermon on the Mount (2), 39
David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (Welsh Preacher and Writer)
Prayer and fasting is a spiritual discipline for deepening our intimacy with God, to see powerful breakthroughs, and most importantly spiritual transformations.
When we pray and fast we align our hearts with His will, we humble ourselves and we sharpen our view away from the world and put it on Him.
Most of us understand the reasoning behind prayer, but do you truly understand the power of prayer.
In 1988, a cardiologist by the name Dr. Randolph Byrd conducted a study at San Francisco General Hospital that would quietly shake the medical and spiritual worlds.
Byrd set out to test something most scientist wouldn’t even touch: Does prayer actually make a difference in medical outcomes?
The study involved 393 patients admitted to the coronary care unit. The twist? The patients were randomly divided into two groups. One group was prayed for daily by born again Christians who were given the patients’ names and conditions- but no personal contact. The other group received no prayer. Everything else- the doctors, treatments, medications- were identical. Only prayer was different.
The results? The prayed-for group had significantly fewer complications. They were less likely to need antibiotics. They had fewer cases of pneumonia. Fewer instances of congestive heart failure. Even fewer cardiac arrests. Critics tried to explain it away. Some chalked it up to coincidence. But others couldn’t help but notice: the prayed-for patients just...got better more often. Dr Byrd later remarked, “Intercessory prayer to the Judeo-Christian God has beneficial therapeutic effect in patients admitted to a coronary care unit.”
Prayer is not a magic trick. It doesn’t eliminate suffering, but this study did something remarkable: it gave statistical, measurable weight to what many us us already believe deep in our bones- prayer changes things. Even in a hospital room. Even when the patient doesn’t know they are being prayed for. Even when the doctors don’t expect it. God still moves.
I say all of this because we need to understand that we must pray as we fast.
As we go into this new season for North Eunice, we must understand, we need prayer warriors. People who know and understand the importance of the order when it comes to prayer and fasting.
Fasting without prayer is starvation.
Unknown
Let’s pray!
Today we are going to look at three points of prayer and fasting
The Why (Purpose)
The Results (Power)
The How (Practice)
The verse we will pull from today is Daniel 9:3
So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek him by prayer and petitions, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
The Why: Deepening Our Intimacy with God
Let me very clear here, fasting is not just about abstaining; it is making room in your life to draw closer to God.
Fasting to draw nearer to God involves temporarily abstaining from food or distractions to focus on spiritual disciplines like prayer, bible study, and repentance.
Going into a fast helps to quiet the noise of your life and places your dependance directly on Christ.
What this does is deepens your relationship with God over your relationship with physical comforts!
It is replacing your worldly hunger for spiritual hunger.
A person who is full tramples on a honeycomb,
but to a hungry person, any bitter thing is sweet.
The Why: Humility and Surrender
Fasting is the biblical way to humble yourself to acknowledge that it is not about you but all about Him.
It is about surrendering your pride while surrendering worldly attachments.
David shows us this in:
Yet when they were sick,
my clothing was sackcloth;
I humbled myself with fasting,
and my prayer was genuine.
Fasting is a way to humbly surrender by denying what you want and aligning your will with His. It opens you up to His presence and guidance, by shifting your view from me to He!
Humbly denying self desires heightens your spiritual sensitivity and make room for God’s transformative power.
This is the why or the purpose behind prayer and fasting, but let’s now talk about the
The Results: Spiritual Breakthrough
Spiritual breakthrough comes only through prayer and fasting.
This is why I said that you must pray as you fast. It is about developing strong spiritual strength. This helps you over come the evils by moving away from mere will power to connect to the divine guidance.
Do not limit the benefit of fasting merely to abstinence from food, for a true fast means refraining from evil. Do not let your fasting lead to wrangling and strife. You do not eat meat, but you devour your brother; you abstain from wine, but not from insults. So all the labor of your fast is useless.
Ambrose of Milan
t's about prioritizing spiritual hunger, humbling oneself, repenting, and silencing the flesh to hear God's voice and unlock supernatural power, making the spirit more sensitive to His leading.
The Results: Sharpened Spiritual Focus
When you remove the distractions of the world, it resets your focus on God’s voice and not social media.
This prepares you for spiritual battles.
As your pastor, I must apologize here. I have not shown you or discussed what it takes to prepare for spiritual battle by sharpening your focus on God.
Today I change this.
The early church understood the need for prayer and fasting for the battles ahead.
As they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after they had fasted, prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them off.
We must reach out in prayer and with fasting with a purpose. That purpose is to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ and to shine a light in this world.
Without a purpose, fasting can be a miserable, self-centred experience.
Donald S. Whitney
I want to give you purpose and focus today. NEC is focusing on Christ ad the purpose is to be the beacon in this community.
“It is not the length of our prayers, but the strength of our prayers, that makes the difference.
Warren W. Wiersbe
So church let me ask you, how strong are your prayers?
Does the devil say, oh its just him, or does he say Oh crap he is praying again!
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens.
We are in a spiritual battle and the church has become weak because we do not face prayer like it is a battle.
Let’s stop this today.
We have the why or the purpose, we have the results or the power behind prayer and fasting now...
Wood for the Fire
The How/The Practice
Some of you have never done a fast.
Now most of you here have come from the Catholic church. I say this not out of disrespect but out of concern.
Fasting is not giving up meat on Fridays during lent. Gorging on 10lbs of crawfish is not a fast!
Prayer and fasting has so much more meaning. It is giving up self pleasure to gain stronger spiritual disciplines.
This could mean food, this could mean social media, this could mean not watching the news.
A pastor once asked, What is the first thing you go for in the morning? Is it your phone, is it a cup of coffee, is it to turn on the TV...that is what you should fast!
Let me give you some practical aspects of prayer and fasting
Consult a doctor if you have health issues. Especially if you are giving up food and you are diabetic or have conditions that will affect you in a fast. Remember it is not only about food, it is about anything that takes your attention away from God.
Focus on Prayer. What you are doing is replacing food and distractions with prayer, bible reading and worship.
3. Prepare now. Start now by simplifying your diet or your habits. It will help you as you go through the 21 days if you start to scale back now.
4. Stay Hydrated. Drink lots of water and electrolytes. Your body is made up of 70% water...not 70% Dr Pepper. This is a good time to add in the healthy habit of drinking enough water.
5. Keep it private. Now we are in a corporate fast. This means that as a church, we have decided as a whole to pray and fast together. This does not mean that you announce every time you are with someone outside the church to let them know ...Oh I can’t I am fasting. Then you hang your lip and seem so down.
“Whenever you fast, don’t be gloomy like the hypocrites. For they make their faces unattractive so that their fasting is obvious to people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting isn’t obvious to others but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Fasting isn't just about not eating; it's about you're turning —seeking God more intensely by letting go of worldly distractions and comforts.
