Scripture Reading: Matthew 6:5-8 & 16-18
OPENING: Fasting and Prayer … Do the two go together? … Does God answer our prayers with favor when we fast? … Is fasting mandatory when praying? … The two defiantly go hand and hand … Tonight we are going to look and see what the scripture has to say about fasting …
What Does Scripture Say?:
Scripture does not command us to fast … God does not require or demand it … The Bible does however present fasting as something that is good, profitable, and beneficial … The book of Acts records believers fasting before they made important decisions:
Acts 13:2 While 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."
Acts 14:23 Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.
Fasting and prayer are often linked together:
Luke 2:37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.
Luke 5:33 They said to him, "John's disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking."
Too often, the focus of fasting is on the lack of food … The purpose of fasting should be to take your eyes off the things of this world to focus completely on God … Fasting is a way to demonstrate to God, and to ourselves, that we are serious about our relationship with Him … Fasting helps us gain a new perspective and a renewed reliance upon God …
A common thread connecting prayer and fasting seems to run through the Bible … In the Old Testament, it appears it had to do with a sense of need and dependence … Or in the face of actual or anticipated problems … Prayer and fasting are combined in the Old Testament in times of mourning, repentance, and/or deep spiritual need …
The first chapter of Nehemiah describes Nehemiah praying and fasting, because of his deep distress over the news that Jerusalem had been destroyed … His many days of prayer were with tears, fasting, confession on behalf of his people, and pleas to God for mercy … So intense was the outpouring of his concerns that it’s almost inconceivable he could “take a break” in the middle of such prayer to eat and drink …
The devastation that fell upon Jerusalem also prompted Daniel to pray and fast:
Daniel 9:3 “So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes”
Like Nehemiah, Daniel fasted and prayed that God would have mercy upon the people: Vs. 5 “We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws”
Fasting is linked with intercessory prayer … David prayed and fasted over his sick child:
2 Samuel 12:16 David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and went into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground.
Esther urged Mordecai and the Jews to fast for her as she planned to appear before her husband the king:
Esther 4:16 "Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish."
Clearly, fasting and petition are closely linked …
We see examples of prayer and fasting as a way of worshipping the Lord and seeking His favor … In Luke 2:37 Anna: “never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying” … Fasting along with prayer seems to indicate a sincerity of the person and the critical nature of the situation that they are in …
How Do We Fast?:
Fasting in Scripture is almost always abstaining from food but there are other ways to fast … Anything given up temporarily in order to focus all our attention on God can be considered a fast:
1 Corinthians 7:1-5 Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good for a man not to marry. But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
Fasting should be limited to a set time, especially when fasting from food … Fasting is not intended to punish the flesh, but to redirect attention to God … The purpose of a biblical fast is to gain a deeper fellowship with God … Anyone can fast, but some may not be able to fast from food … Everyone can temporarily give up something in order to draw closer to God …
CLOSING: By taking our eyes off the things of this world, we can better turn our attention to Christ … Fasting is not a way to get God to do what we want … Fasting changes us, not God … Fasting is not a way to appear more spiritual than others … Fasting is to be done in a spirit of humility and with a joyful attitude … Fasting is a way to express ourselves with an undivided devotion to God and our spiritual life … It is expressed by abstaining for a short time from normal and good things … It is done to enjoy a time of uninterrupted communion with our Father … Like our scripture reading say’s, it is between you and God … Don’t let others know that you are fasting, do it privately and without grumbling … The results of fasting will draw you closer to God …
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