PRAYER & FASTING

[New York Youth Leaders Association]

Praying is a lot like giving—done in secret without calling attention
to ourselves.
Our prayers must be personal, sincere, and be presented respectfully.
For more
instruction on prayer, look in the Elevator under “The Lord’s Prayer”
for details.
Once we set aside food and other influences in our life through
fasting and take
that time and begin to pour our hearts out to God, He begins to do His
work.
Prayer is what we sometimes leave out when we fast. Going without food
isn’t
good enough. We will just lose weight.
God wants to hear us speak from our heart more than anything else.
He’s not
looking for us to try and pray like someone else or be someone else.
He really just
wants us the way we are. Take time to really seek God and journal your
thoughts.
List your requests and share when your prayers are answered. Then your
testimonies will encourage others to dig deeper.
My Prayer Life Must Be. . .
Thankful
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is
right, whatever
is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable if anything is
excellent or
Praiseworthy think about such things (Phil. 4:8).
Tell God what you need, and thank Him for what He has done.
Active and Growing
We have got to have something going on now, and not be satisfied with
what we’ve
done in the past or what we=re going to do in the future.
And not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished
and knit together
by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.
(Col. 2:19 NKJV).
Consistent
To be consistent means to be reliable, steady, dependable, constant or
regular.
When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were
staying.
Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas,
Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot,
and
Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer,
along with the
women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers (Acts
1:13-14).
And this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not
depart from
the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day
(Luke 2:37
NKJV).
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This widow definitely demonstrated her consistency.
In Luke 18 another persistent widow wasn’t going to take “no” for an
answer. If
we could ever get a grip on this, we could see some great breakthrough
in our
prayers. We seem to settle in the area of prayer, yet if we were
asking for
permission to go over to our friend’s house we wouldn’t give up until
we got the
answer we were looking for.
Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not
lose
heart, saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear
God nor regard
man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying,
‘Get
justice for me from my adversary.’ And he would not for a while; but
afterward he
said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet
because this
widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she
weary me.’”
Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God
not avenge
His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long
with
them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when
the Son of
Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (vv. 15:1-9 NKJV).
Genuine
We are guilty of going through the motions, but our hearts need to be
close to
God and in right relationship with Him. Many people think that they=re
in a right
relationship, but are only deceiving themselves.
These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their
lips, but
their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as
doctrines the
commandments of men (Matthew 15:8-9 NKJV).
Fervent and Intense
Fervent means to be eager, enthusiastic, passionate, and zealous.
Intense means
to be strong, powerful, and deep.
Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you,
always laboring
fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete
in all the
will of God (Col. 4:12 NKJV).
Prayers throughout the Bible show emotion, deep passion. They were
serious
about what they were asking God for. It wasn’t “thank you for this day
and
opportunity and bless me and my family, O Lord. Amen.”
We have missed the point somewhere along the line. These people had it
hard
and needed God to intervene. I think nowadays we don’t really “need”
God. He’s
just a nice little thing we place on the shelf and pick up when we
break a nail or
something uncomfortable happens in our lives. If this is so, then we
can’t
understand it. We sometimes live in this rose-colored-glasses world,
blinded to
the true needs of others and the hurt they are experiencing.
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Here are some examples of fervently praying:
Now because of this King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah, the son of
Amoz,
prayed and cried out to heaven (2 Chron. 32: 20 NKJV).
Then God directed the leaders of the troops of the king of Assyria to
come after
Manasseh. They put a hook in his nose, shackles on his feet, and took
him off to
Babylon. Now that he was in trouble, he went to his knees in prayer
asking for
helpCtotal repentance before the God of his ancestors. As he prayed,
God was
touched; God listened and brought him back to Jerusalem as king. That
convinced Manasseh that GOD was in control (33:11-13 MSG).
When I heard this, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting
and praying
before the God-of-Heaven (Neh. 1:4 MSG).
Effective
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so
that you may
be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective
(James 5:16).
Notice the qualification for a powerful and effective prayer life is
not the words
we use, nor the posture we get in, nor the time we pray, but simply
righteousness.
Far-Reaching
Our prayers need to be greater than just our circle of friends and
family. When all
we care about is our circle, we demonstrate our self-centeredness and
totally miss
the worldview and the power of God to change our world. This isn’t
saying that
we shouldn’t pray for our close circle; instead, in addition to our
circle we should
reach out with our prayers. In Ezra and Colossians we see the far-
reaching
capabilities of prayer as those praying are clearly effected by the
sins of the
people.
Then, at the evening sacrifice, I rose from my self-abasement, with my
tunic and
cloak torn, and fell on my knees with my hands spread out to the Lord
my God
(Ezra 9:5).
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped
praying
for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will
through all
spiritual wisdom and understanding (Col. 1:9).
Private
For us to grow and mature, we’ve got to find alone time with God. This
is when
we develop a relationship with Him and really become intimate. We
mature
during this time. It’s when we hear that soft voice speaking to our
heart about
someone He wants us to help, or direction, or some sin in our lives.
Our
concentration must be on Him and not other things.
Jesus demonstrated the private prayer life that we should follow.
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But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed (Luke 5:16).
About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James
with him
and went up onto a mountain to pray (9:28).
Points in Praying for others
• Make sure your life and heart are clean before God and you have
spent
time with Him before laying hands on someone else to pray for them.
• Ask his/her name.
• Look into their eyes to show genuineness and sincerity.
• Ask what he/she would like you to pray for.
• Hold hands or gently touch them on the shoulder or back.
• Pray specifically for the request and then for things like
protection,
wisdom, direction, insight, strength, and the power to overcome
temptations and not be deceived by the Enemy.
• Encourage him/her to share what has happened either privately or
publicly.
• Follow up with ministry cards and write down their number so that
you
can call them later to see how things are going.
Fasting
In Matthew, we are instructed to do three things specifically: give,
pray, and fast.
We have spent most of today talking about how to pray. Let’s take a
look at
fasting.
When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they
disfigure their
faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have
received their
reward in full (6:16).
We need not be afraid of fasting. Fasting is a physical sacrifice for
a spiritual gain.
Many of the world=s religion=s practice fasting.
In Esther chapter 4 we see how all of her people were instructed to
fast and pray
for the deliverance of her people from the curse of Haman. In Daniel,
we read
how he fasted certain foods and areas of his diet and God miraculously
blessed
him.
This is written to instruct young Christians. It is extremely
important that parents
be involved in what their children are being led to fast. I believe
that God is more
interested in our motives and the heart in which we do a fast than the
fast or
sacrifice in particular. With that said, it is important to realize
that there must be
a sacrifice to go deeper with God. In the day in which we live, we
will not conquer
the things of this world by simply living a token life. It is going to
take students
who are on fire for God and His anointing to get the breakthroughs and
reach the
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level of effectiveness to which God has summoned us. We must have all
three:
giving, praying, and fasting.
True fasting turns our attention off ourselves and onto God. Fasting
is one of the
most moving acts a Christian does. It let’s God know that we are
serious about the
matters we pray about. You see, going without food without praying is
called
starving, dieting, or flat-out crazy. I believe that God will honor a
student who
fasts TV, iPods, computers, video games, etc. as much as He would
honor
someone who fasts food. In many cases, doing without these things
would be a
greater sacrifice than going without food. There are girls who would
have no
problem eating only one meal a day, but if you ask them to go without
their
music, it would nearly kill them. For the older folks, we can do
without the stuff
more than we can the food.
In the text, we clearly see that Jesus is assuming that we all will
fast because He
says, “When you fast. . . . ” It is our duty. The hypocrites did it
all wrong. They
went around looking sad, drawing attention to themselves by making
sure
everyone saw they were fasting.
Fasting was a regular part of the Jewish customs. The Jews were
required by Mosaic
Law to join in on the Day of Atonement and also during at least the
dry seasons.
Many devout people fasted two particular days a week.
—Bible Commentary
Types of Fasts
A normal fast consists of a person abstaining from the eating of food,
solid or
liquid, but not from water—usually to prepare for a significant event.
A partial fast consists of a partial diet without total abstention for
a three-week
period of mourning. Daniel ate no meat and drank no wine, and he
applied no
lotion on his body (Dan. 10:3).
An absolute fast is observed for a relatively short period of time.
People abstain
from all food and water to discern God’s leading. Notice that this
kind of fast was
only for a short period of time because it is dangerous to go for an
extended
period of time without water. It is not recommended except for extreme
circumstances.
A private fast is usually a personal affair, but at times the people
of God came
together for a corporate or public fast, such as on the Day of
Atonement (Lev. 23:37),
in times of national emergency (2 Chron. 20:1-4), or seeking God’s
guidance in
prayer (Ezra 8:21-23).
—Wilkins, Matthew: From Biblical Text to Contemporary Life,
NIV Application Commentary Series, 28
The Right Way to Fast
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Jesus’ disciples are to have a different approach, because fasting is
to be a heart issue
between God and the individual (Wilkins, 282).
Jesus fasted, the apostles fasted, Paul fasted, church leaders fasted,
and we are
expected to fast.
Jesus said, “Anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not
appear to
men to be fasting” (Matt. 6:17-18 NKJV).
Jesus wasn’t telling them to lie but to do everything they could to
look as happy
as possible. He wanted them to be as normal as possible, not drawing
attention to
themselves.
When we fast, the object of our fasting is God. This shows our
dependence on
God and His provision. Jesus wanted the people to develop the
spiritual
disciplines for the right reasons, not for selfish desires or for
personal praise. As
with other disciplines, the reward would come from God and not from
people.
Fasting the right way has its reward: God shall reward us openly. How
much
greater His reward will be than the recognition of men! God’s
acceptance and
eternal reward is enough for genuine believers.
There is tremendous power in prayer and fasting, but only if we do it
God’s way.
We cannot do it man’s way, the world’s way, or the hypocrite’s way. We
have to
do it the way Jesus instructed us. We have to humble ourselves, submit
ourselves,
and resist ourselves. (Mark Schaeufelel material is used throughout
this section.)
Three Areas to Address
A breakthrough spiritually or a dry time spiritually is always a
reason to fast.
When you feel burdened down and led to fast, seek the Lord as to what
to fast,
how long to fast, and what you are expecting to come from the fast.
What’s the Need?
There are many ways that we are burdened with a need to fast. For some
of us, it
could be the situation we deal with at home. Maybe the relationship
with our
parents has broken down or school hasn’t been going well, and there’s
a need to
refocus our attention. Maybe we’ve seen another person struggling and
we are
crying out to help them. In some cases, we need to be clear in our
thinking so that
we can make wise decisions and be sure of God’s will.
How Long?
This is a tough question and probably the hardest to answer. I know
that if you
feel led to fast food for longer than one day, you should check with
your parents
and/or doctor to make sure that you have their support and are
medically cleared
and instructed of the needs physically. Fluids are very important in a
fast.
Without fluids you will dehydrate, which will cause many issues to
develop.
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Fluids we do without during a fast are sodas or caffeine drinks of any
kind. Water
is vital, and natural juices are good depending on the type of fast
you are doing.
What Do I fast?
This really comes from your burden or call to fast. Many times it will
come from
the problems that bring us to the reason to fast. For example, if I’m
dealing with a
lot of pressures from music, shows on TV, or the negative influences
from
MySpace that have caused me to fall spiritually, then it would be easy
to conclude
that I should fast all forms of media. If this is not my weakness,
then maybe food
is the best choice for a fast.
Preparing for Your Fast.
It is important if you are going to fast food to prepare your body by
starting to
taper off your consumption of food and caffeine at least a week in
advance. Also,
you don’t want to bring attention to yourself, so make arrangements if
you share
lunch with others. Maybe there is an alternative, like going to the
school library
where it is quiet and you can pray and meditate on the Lord.
Fasting is rewarding and effective. If you have any questions, talk
with your youth
pastor, senior pastor, or someone spiritually mature to get answers.
Conclusion
Jesus expects us to fast and pray, but He also expects us to do it His
way and not
our way.
If we fast and pray God’s way, we can expect a blessing. Let us humble
ourselves
before God in fasting and prayer.