Fasting is practised even today by people of all religions. From the time the world began, be they Hindus, Buddhists, Moslem or Christians – everyone fasted for a reason – to bring the body under the control of their minds. It is the intentional abstaining or denying from food for a period of a day or a week and for some, even weeks.
But for a born again Christian (one who has made Jesus the Lord and Saviour of his life), this act of fasting has an added significance. For his mind is renewed or recreated by the coming to dwell inside of him the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of God when he confessed with his mouth that he was cleansed of his sin by the blood of Jesus.
Fasting positions the believer to hear from God for the answers he is believing for and seeking in his prayers by…
It makes the believer more receptive to the Holy Spirit’s prompting
It cleanses his mind and spirit to become more focussed on God and His things
It heals the body of toxins to make it function better to hear from God
It compels the believer to serve God better.
(Picture above shows a prayer corner in an Orthodox Church temple, utilized by parishioners during services for veneration and specific petitions)
So every believer should fast and pray for better results. Let’s take a look at a few scriptures from the Bible to prove this.
In 2 Chronicles 20: 1 – 25, Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, was being attacked by the armies of the Moabites, Ammonites and others. King Jehoshaphat knew he and his people were just about to be massacred. He was alarmed and he sought the Lord for guidance. He gave orders that everyone in Judah should go on a fast. He then prayed “Lord, are you not our God who drove out the inhabitants of this land and gave it to the descendants of Abraham? We cry out to Thee in our affliction and we know you will hear us and save.”
We read further that the spirit of God spoke to one of Jehoshaphat’s men that they need not fear and that they should do nothing. God produced a miracle in that the opposing armies fought amongst themselves and were killed! The King and his people were saved. They fasted and prayed – and they heard from God. Fasting and prayer got them out of their trouble.
In the Chapter from Daniel 9: 1 – 24, we see again Daniel in verse 3 say “Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.” When Daniel prayed after he had fasted, the Lord sent the angel Gabriel to tell Daniel in a vision to give him understanding of the vision that Daniel had earlier about Israel’s desolation.
We see fasting and prayer again from the New Testament in the gospel of Matthew 4: 1 – 11. Jesus himself went on a fast for forty days and forty nights when He was tempted by the devil. There was a running battle going on between God and Satan to stop Satan from tempting Jesus. We read that angels were sent to look after Jesus while He was on fast.
Likewise when we pray after we have fasted, we immediately enter into the supernatural world where Satan is the master. It will not surprise us when we are discouraged and make us want to give up soon after we begin a fast. But the power of God begins to flow at the same time to ask the angels to work for us. Both God’s power and Satan’s evil operate at the same time.
(Picture above shows an angel comforting Jesus when He was in the wilderness, fasting for forty days and forty nights)
People who came in the Old Testament (people who came before Jesus) did fasting as a command; whereas, after the New Testament, we do it because we love Jesus. Jesus has given us a New Testament instruction as to how we should conduct ourselves during the time of a fast. In Matthew 6: 16, Jesus says “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces, that they may appear to men to be fasting.” What He is saying here is that we should not fast and pray in public to bring attention to ourselves.
We are not denying ourselves because others can see us do it. Because when we do, then the attention that we get is our only reward. We will not get the answer to what we are praying about. We should focus instead on God and not make loud and unusual noises as most of us do in the Sunday services in our churches. Only then can God give us what we are praying about. We could do well to go into our private closet to pray after fasting. When we get the answers to our prayers, then the reward that we get is our attention. The power that we get is our attention.
Remember this – the quickest way to arrest God’s attention towards you is by fasting and prayer. It is the single most powerful weapon for a born again Christian. It is a secret weapon that the ordinary people in the world cannot understand as to why and how things change in his favour when a believer fasts and prays. The devil will not be able to handle it at all. Because when he prays through fasting, he is committing himself fully to Him to seek the results for what he is praying.
God will deliver those who fast and pray just as he delivered all those people we have seen above. Fasting and prayer definitely produces results!
Bible Commentator: Sunder Venkataram, Thane
