The Power of Prayer and Fasting

The Power of Prayer and Fasting

Imagine that you are at a pool and you see a boy fall in the pool.

Shortly after, the boy swims back out of the pool successfully. Wouldn’t you be relieved? I think so.

But what if the boy does not come back to the surface within a reasonable time? Wouldn’t you become concerned and try to get help? I think so.

Why would you try to help or be concerned? That’s because you know the boy needs to breathe within a certain timeframe.

Like air is needed for breathing, PRAYER is the breath of the soul!

That’s why we are encouraged in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to “Pray without ceasing.”

The disciples spent time with Jesus, and they noticed that prayer played a significant role in his life. 

They asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. And he responded in Matthew 6:5-13

If I should see the disciples now, I would thank them for asking that particular question.

I would also thank them for asking another question (see Matthew 17), because the answer to their question (see below) has made a big difference in my life.

Let’s look at the context in which the question was asked.

“And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.”

Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.

Question

Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”

So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

Have you ever seen someone do something, then you tried to do it but it didn’t work? Perhaps you wondered, how did they do that?

The disciples were in a similar position when they asked why they couldn't cast out the demon. Jesus answered: “…this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

What is Fasting?

Fasting may take different forms.

1. Jesus fasted for 40 days (Matthew 4:2 KJV)
2. Moses fasted for 40 days
3. Daniel fasted for 21 days
4. Esther fasted for three days without food or drink 
5. And so on..

Seven Days of Fasting and Prayer

Several years ago, I went to a little country church. There were a few people gathered. They announced that they were planning a season of fasting for seven days and they invited me to join.

Seven days? I felt a bit better after they explained how to do it.

We would fast for 24 hours on a different day of each week. For example, the first week we would fast from 6:00 pm on Sunday to 6:00 pm on Monday. The second week, we would fast from Monday to Tuesday, and so on.

By the grace of God, I joined.

I noticed that the season of fasting made a big difference in my life.

Subsequently, if I had any major need, or if I needed a significant breakthrough, I would fast and pray to my Heavenly Father for 7 days based on the method previously described.

In those days, big needs included asking for wisdom to receive first class honors for my undergraduate degree, finding a decent and reasonable place to rent in a city where good deals were extremely scarce, and many more needs. 

I reached a point where I would tell my friends that the only request that I have fasted and prayed for that had not yet come through was my request to leave Jamaica to complete my graduate studies in the United States. That request took a couple years to come through, but by the grace of God, it did come through. I plan to share the details in another post, so stay tuned.

After I came to the US, I quickly realized that there were other things to fast for: My husband (to be blessed with one of God's sons), an SUV with a third row so that I could help transport others, a house for my family, and more. God came through marvelously for all (in His perfect timing), and throughout the years, I realized that He is truly my Father.

You see, both of my parents had massive strokes, and I could not ask them for material things. I had to ask God for everything, including the means to help my parents.

Examples of what I consider to be major needs, might not be major for you. My point is, our Heavenly Father is able to meet us where we are and do far above what we ask or think!  

I also appreciate the examples in the bible of how the church supported each other through fasting. 

Do you remember when Peter was put in prison? 

Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. (Acts 12:5)

Many of us love that story. Peter did get out of prison.

If you were a member of Peter’s church, would you be willing to dedicate a night of prayer for him? 

Does God always answer in the way we expect? Certainly not!

I shared a number of examples of how God blessed me and others through fasting and prayer. However, God does not always answer in the way we want Him to. But we can be assured that He is working all things for our good.

Ellen G. White noted that if we should see everything as how God sees it we would make the same choices that He did for us.

Why did I decide to fast and pray to God for what I needed?

1. I saw that prayer and fasting worked for others - Esther, Jesus, Daniel, etc,
2. When I saw that both of my parents had a stroke, I quickly realized that I had to ask God for everything. He is my true source of help.
   
   
3. In Mathew 17 Jesus told his disciples that “this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting”. For various needs in my life, I wasn’t sure which ones did not go out except by prayer and fasting, so if I had anything that I was struggling with I asked myself, “I wonder if this kind comes through fasting and prayer?”

Because God has been so gracious to me, I like to share my testimonies, and I hope that you are encouraged. 

While completing my undergraduate degree, the program was very rigorous. One day, I had a discussion with my peers during a study session. They reasoned that, because of the rigors of the program, they would not be able to achieve first class honors. 

I could certainly see why my peers came to that conclusion. Our undergraduate program was truly rigorous. However, I heard myself tell them that I would achieve first class honors. I told them that not because I was more brilliant or even more special than they were. My dependence was on God. I clung to the belief that, with God all things are possible. I also wondered if such academic success could come through fasting and prayer.

I fasted and asked God to help me.

I still remember the day of the final results. One of my peers rushed to my office to tell me the news. She informed me that I was the only one in the program to receive first class honors! I was elated! I knew it had to be God. In those days, they posted the results on a public notice board, so I rushed with her to confirm. I was extremely grateful to my Heavenly Father!

Sometimes I  wonder what would have happened if I had shared my testimony about fasting and prayer with my friends during that season of my life. What would have happened if some of my friends had joined me in fasting while studying as well? 

I don’t remember inviting them. I guess I kept it to myself. 

I do not wish to keep the reality of the power of fasting and prayer to myself anymore, so I am sharing it with you.

My request for God to help me to come to the US came through. So when I came to the United States, I decided to invite others to join me in various seasons of fasting and prayer.

One day, as I shared about fasting and praying with one of my friends, she asked me if I knew about the true fast, and she pointed me to Isaiah 58.

Up until that time, I didn’t even realize that there was a chapter in the bible that gave such important details about the fast that God accepts.

I notice that in the chapter people were asking questions about fasting:

‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen?

Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?

Recall that the disciples had asked Jesus why they could not heal the demon-possessed boy, and Jesus told them that certain things came through fasting and prayer.

Well, the people being referred to in Isaiah 58 already knew that fasting was important, so they were asking a different set of questions. 

After I read the answer that God provided to the people in Isaiah 58, I started to think about fasting at a deeper level.

I started to look out for opportunities to help others during my fast more than I even thought to do in the past.

As I write this encouragement for you, I am also reminded to keep asking our Heavenly Father to help me see opportunities to minister to others during my fast. 

Fasting is more than abstaining from food and praying for our needs. 

It’s about having a relationship with our Heavenly Father and listening to Him so that we can know what to fast and pray for and how to do so.  It’s also an opportunity to serve others.

If prayer is the breath of the soul, what is fasting?

Well we know that certain things come only by prayer AND fasting, so we know that fasting is essential. 

When you hear the term life support, what comes to mind?

Here is a definition: “The use of specialized equipment to maintain a person's essential physical functions when they are very ill or in an environment such as space or under water. "his wife decided to remove him from life support and take him home to die with hospice care" Reference

Do you think the term life support would exist if breathing was not essential to life?

Similarly, there are certain things, such as fasting and prayer that are necessary for us to thrive as Christians.

A Prayer for Today

Heavenly Father, please teach us how to pray and fast in ways that please You and give You the most glory! 

If certain breakthroughs come only by fasting and prayer, please give us the desire to seek you through fasting and prayer that we will be in the center of Your will for us.

Show us how to encourage others to seek you through fasting and prayer that they too will be blessed.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.