Day Twenty-One
“Prayer and Fasting”
But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.
Matthew 17:21
Many New Testament manuscripts do not contain verse 21 in chapter 17 of the book of Matthew, but the truth still remains. To get the context of this verse you need to read the whole story within the chapter. A man brought his demoniac son to the disciples but they were powerless in their attempts to help. When Jesus comes on the scene, He rebukes the disciples for their little faith and then heals the boy. Confused, the disciples wanted to know why they could not cast the demons out of the boy, and Jesus’ response was to tell them that their faith was too small. And then He revealed to them that some situations require more than prayer, and must be accompanied by fasting.
In all my years of serving Christ I have heard very few people talk about fasting and have known even fewer who really practiced it on any regular basis. This kind of praying calls us to deny ourselves food, drink, television, sex, or camaraderie, all for the sake of seeking God out of desperation. As you have been praying for the goals you established at the beginning of this forty-day journey, you might find yourself more and more desperate in your passionate pleadings for God’s help.
I want to encourage you that your fasting is not a vain exercise. As you fast, or remove things from your life in order to devote more time to prayer, you are gaining clarity in your thoughts and power in your praying. By fasting, you are telling God that you would rather have Him than food and drink or whatever you have denied yourself. They true key to fasting is not so much what you are fasting from but that you are devoting yourself to prayer in the times that you would have spent eating, texting, watching television, or surfing the internet. You are denying yourself something for the purpose of a spiritual goal.
As you keep praying and seeking the Lord for help, be reminded that fasting adds a new dimension to your praying. The Lord will give you strength to do whatever He has called you to in the area of fasting.
From this passage, I gather that Jesus is telling us that there are some things we pray for that are going to require more than prayer alone. There are some mountains that can only be moved when we both pray and fast. Maybe you are up against one such mountain today. I urge you to take fasting seriously as you continue make your petitions. Let God see in you the heart of one desperate for His touch and intervention. May the Lord see the clarity of your focus and the intensity of your desire to be heard and gain your desired answer.
This past October when our church set a Sunday School high attendance goal of 292 I fasted and prayed for God to meet that goal. I was determined that God would help us have victory on that day. On the morning we set aside to meet our goal, I went to the church early to continue praying. As people began to arrive it was impossible to ignore the excitement in the air, and when the final tally was taken we had a grand total of 297 in attendance and many others in our worship service who had not made it to Sunday School. It was the highest attendance in the more than 100-year history of our church. I know God did it and I know that fasting played a role in those prayers as well.
When I first came to FBC Paradise I was the only staff member. The church did not have a music minister, youth minister, or even a secretary. As we began seeking God to fill those roles, the Lord spoke to me one day on a prayer retreat that a man named Darrell Fishbeck was the one whom God wanted to join us on staff. I knew Darrell from way back in my ministry years in East Texas. Darrell had moved away before I did, going to his home church in Blanco, TX where he was enjoying a successful six-year ministry. When I contacted Darrell he was not even interested in moving. God’s words to me on that prayer retreat were very specific - He called me to lead our search committee to fast and pray. The end result after a few months of these endeavors was that Darrell and his family came to Paradise and have now been serving here for three years.
What are you facing that you cannot seem to gain victory over as you have been praying? Are you desperate enough to fast and pray? Let all of us cry out to God with avid and ardent faith accompanied with fasting. Be encouraged that if God is leading you to a specific fast with a specific goal in mind, He is calling you to take your prayer life to a whole new level. Obey Him and trust Him to bring you the victory.
Steps to Trust and Obey:
Is the Lord calling you to a specific fast? If so, what type of fast is He calling you to undertake? What is the goal of this fast?
Are your prayers being delayed? Do they seem more improbable and impossible now than ever before? Ask God to renew your faith and help you to overcome unbelief.
Is the Lord speaking to you today? What is He leading you to do in obedience to Him?
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