Teaching on Fasting and Prayer

What Is A Fast?

A fast is a voluntary abstinence from food in order to accomplish a specific, God-directed purpose. It is not the same as suffering hunger or thirst.

In the Old Testament, fasting was the way people individually and collectively humbled themselves before God. God's people have always fasted to humble themselves, to receive cleansing of their sins by effective repentance, for spiritual renewal, and for special help. Fasting is often associated with weeping and other acts of humility before God.

What is the purpose of fasting

Fasting is a means of humbling ourselves before God, letting Him know that we are willing to exchange physical comforts to seek Him for a spiritual feast! As a spiritual discipline, fasting is the act of abstaining from feeding the body in order to focus more fully on seeking God's face and feeding the spirit. This is a powerful discipline where God's Spirit is poured out upon us as we earnestly seek Him.
Note: It is to humble ourselves before God. To put our body under submission. It is not to twist the hand of God or make Him respond to our situation.

Examples of Fasting and Prayer in the Old Testament:

In Joel 2:12,13 the Lord commanded:
"Return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning. Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God..."

In Ezra 8:21 Ezra calls a fast to seek God's protection for the Jews returning from Babylon to Jerusalem:
"There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions."

Moses twice fasted forty days
Deut. 9:9
"When I went up to the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant which the Lord had made with you, then I remained on the mountain forty days and nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water.

Deut. 9:18
"And I fell down before the Lord, as at the first, forty days and nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all your sin which you had committed in doing what was evil in the sight of the Lord to provoke Him to anger.

Nation of Israel before going to war
Judges 20:26
Then all the sons of Israel and all the people went up and came to Bethel and wept; thus they remained there before the Lord and fasted that day until evening. And they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.

King David fasted on many occasions, including before he was crowned, when his child was ill, when his enemies were ill
Psalm 35:13
But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth;
I humbled my soul with fasting;
And my prayer kept returning to my bosom.

Examples of Fasting and Prayer in the New Testament:

Prophets and teachers fasted at Antioch
Acts 13:2
And while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."

Paul-  on the road to Damascas and "in fastings often"
Acts 9:9
And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

2 Cor. 11:27
I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.

Jesus implied that all of His followers should fast. For Him it was a matter of when believers would fast, not if they would do it.
Matthew 6:16-17
16"And whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance in order to be seen fasting by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 17"But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face 18so that you may not be seen fasting by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

Matthew 9:14-15
Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?" 15And Jesus said to them, "The attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.

For believers, the question is not Should I fast, but Will I fast?

Why do we need to fast today?

The Church in America has disregarded God's Lordship for our own selfish desires and self-serving practices, and have not honored His holiness by becoming holy as He is Holy. His standards and commandments in His Word are not being used to determine right and wrong , and we have become disoriented to Him and apathetic to His voice and activities. His house is not known as a "house of prayer for all nations,"
The good news is that God is a God of mercy - always preferring mercy to judgment if His people meet His conditions. So the problem is not what the world is doing, but what God's people are doing, or not doing, that will determine God's blessing or judgment on our nation. God promises us,
"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:14, NIV).

Two Types of Fasts:

Absolute Fasts: fasts during which a person abstains from all food and drink, including water.
Moses did it twice.
 
Partial Fasts: fasts during which a person eliminates some or all foods from their diet. The juice fast is particularly popular.

The Bible itself includes examples of these different types of fasts. A type of partial fast is described in the book of Daniel. Although the water fast seemed to be the custom of the prophet, there was a three-week period in which he only abstained from "delicacies," meat, and wine

Daniel 10:3
I did not eat any tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all, until the entire three weeks were completed.

Only fasting that is done with the right motive, that of glorifying God, can be pleasing in His sight.

It is to be done in a manner of humility and intercession

Isaiah chapter 58
"Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? ... Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure ... ye fast for strife and debate ... ye shall not fast as ye do this day ... Is it such a fast that I have chosen? To loose the bands ... to undo the heavy burdens ... to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? When thou seest the naked, that thou cover him ..."
 
Fasting is closely related to prayer and reading of the Word.
Nehemiah 9: 1-3
". . . the children of Israel were assembled with fasting . . . and stood and confessed their sins . . . and read in the book of the law of
the Lord their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped the Lord their God."

Examples of corporate fasts
I Samuel 7:5-6
"And Samuel said, Gather all Israel ... and they gathered ... and fasted ... "
 
Nehemiah 9:1-3
" ... the children of Israel were assembled with fasting ..."

Joel 2:15-16
"... sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly; gather the people ..."

Jonah 3:5-10
"the people ... proclaimed a fast ... from the greatest of them even to the least"

Examples of the individual fast:
II Samuel 12:15-16, 22-23
"... and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth."

Daniel 9:3
"And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer ... with fasting ..."

Luke 2:36-37
"And there was one Anna, a prophetess ... a widow of about 44 years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day."
 
Fasting in itself is of no spiritual value
"that which is of the flesh is flesh,"

Can be attacked more by the enemy
To deny the flesh of its natural desires may cause us to be more "in tune" to hear the voice of the Lord but it also places us in a realm more easily prone to the attack of the enemy. It was when Jesus had been fasting for 40 days that He was faced with the greatest Satanic attack.

How long should I fast?
Bible personalities fasted and sought God diligently until they obtained from God what they desired – or until the Lord made it evident that what they requested simply
would not be obtained

The length of a fast may vary
One night.
One day.
Three days and three nights.
Seven days.
Fourteen days.
Twenty-one days.
Forty days.

When should I fast?

• The ordination of elders and commissioning of apostles to ministry.
• Intercession for the people of God.
• Humbling and chastening of oneself.
• Seeking the Lord and His way
• Repentance and confession of sin.
• Petitioning God to withhold His hand in judgment.
• Preparation to receive word from God.
• Spiritual deliverance.
• Seeking assistance in time of fear.
• Mourning another's death
• Out of concern for another's safety
• When faced with threats on one's own life
• Seeking protection.
• Lacking material provision; in need.
  
  
  

What Are The Rewards Of Fasting?

As a result of fasting and truly seeking God's face, you can expect:
a new, refreshing intimacy with God. a renewed sense of His presence and love for you. a sense of humility and awe before God. a recaptured first love and personal joy in the Lord. a rejuvenated desire to reach those around you.

Millions around the world who practice fasting and prayer tell of how it changes their life: how their personal witness to others is impacted, how those around them are drawn to the Lord, how dramatic reconciliations occur, even how people are miraculously healed!

A renewed closeness with God and a greater sensitivity to spiritual things are usually the results of a fast. But, do not be disappointed if you do not have a "mountaintop experience," as some do. Many people who have successfully completed fasts tell of feeling a nearness to God that they have never before known, but others who have honestly sought His face report no particular outward results at all. To others, their fast was physically, emotionally, and spiritually grueling, but they knew they had been called by God to fast, and they completed the fast unto Him as an act of worship and God honored that commitment.

Your motive in fasting must be to glorify God, not to have an emotional experience, not to attain personal happiness. When your motives are right, God will honor your seeking heart and bless your time with Him in a very special way. Fasting is not about what you get out of it; fasting with the right motives is a selfless act of worship and an expression of obedience and love for God.
Establishing a closer communion with God is the very reason for fasting, so constantly seeking Him in prayer is absolutely vital.

The Spiritual Rewards Of Fasting
Discernment
Direction
Power

The Psychological Rewards Of Fasting
Concentration
Confidence

The Physiological Rewards Of Fasting
Strengthened Immune System
Decreased inflammation.
Elimination of Toxins.
Breakdown of Atherosclerotic Plaque