Cutting Edge Prayer: The Power of Fasting

I haven't written about Lent this season, but it's on my mind. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter. The Upper Room describes Lent as "a season of the Christian Year where Christians focus on simple living, prayer, and fasting in order to grow closer to God."

Sweets, breads, and meats are foods that are often "given up" during the Lenten season, but this is not a holy weight loss plan. 

Lent is a dedicated time of repentance of sin and restoration of a right relationship with God. It's a time for examining priorities and rearranging our lives to bring honor to God.

It's easy to think of a Lenten fast as merely a time of discipline, but fasting is so much more. My friend, Aletha Hinthorn, wrote about the importance of fasting in her daily email today. It was so well said that I'm including a portion of it today. 

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"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds" (2 Cor. 10:4 NKJV). 

"One of those weapons God gives is fasting combined with fervent prayer. 

Prayer aligned with fasting puts a "cutting edge" to our prayer lives because it indicates an intense desire for God.

The moment we approach Jesus, the first thing he gauges is our desire. Denying ourselves food makes a powerful statement. He knows that if we omit food and pray, we are in earnest." 

"The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much" (James 5:16).

"While fasting, you will be treading on holy ground, accomplishing far more than you know. 

Satan is terrified and will object! He will seek to convince you that nothing is being done. Ignore his lies and continue as you planned. Despite hunger, headaches, the "blahs," more tension at home, extra busyness, difficulty in focusing on prayer, know that your self-denial will be rewarded."

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"When you fast...your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you" (Matt. 6:16, 18)."

Even if we don't participate in the entire forty days of the Lenten season, a period of prayer and fasting will not be in vain. As we pray, let's focus on more than ourselves and our families. Let's spend focused time praying for our nation and the body of Christ. 

Times are hard and likely to grow more difficult. The best preparation begins with prayer and fasting.

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In case you missed one of the past week's posts, here are the links: Nothing is Impossible: Ayman al-Zawahiri,  Morning Quiet Time: Who Speaks First, Changing the World: What One Man (Or Woman) Can do, When Hard Times Come: Pressing On, Friday Night with Friends: Sara Foust, Hand Washing and Heart Cleansing, and The Wonder Dogs Run In Circles.

#lent #prayerandfasting #fasting #disciple #repentance #JesusChrist

Teach Us to Pray, part 32: The Keys to the Kingdom of God

And He said to them, "When you pray, say: 'Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. 'Give us each day our daily bread. 'And forgive us our sins, For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.'" (Luke 11:2-4 NASB)

We are currently studying the Model Prayer of Jesus and parsing the phrase "Your Kingdom come". Yesterday, we looked at how we receive the Kingdom of God in the form of His word and the effect it has on our lives. Today, we are exploring the "keys of the Kingdom". There are two passages of particular note and I have included them here.

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:19 NASB)

And He said to them, "Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. [ But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting." ] (Matthew 17:20-21 NASB)

In the passage in Matthew 16, Jesus had just asked the disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" and Peter had responded with that declaration of faith and truth, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Jesus commended his faith and promised Peter the "keys of the kingdom". That promise has made its way into the vernacular with the image of the apostle Peter standing at the pearly gates with a huge set of keys, deciding who can enter and who cannot, but that was not what Jesus intended at all. 

Instead, the word used here is kleis and is used metaphorically to indicate power and authority, specifically the power and authority to help people gain knowledge. On the day of Pentecost, Peter stood and spoke in such a way that thousands came to faith in Christ. He metaphorically opened the door to faith for them. What we forget about that day is that, after the ascension of Christ, Peter and the other disciples, along with quite a few believers, had spent weeks together in continuous prayer and worship. His power and authority flowed out of the time he had spent in prayer and fasting. His spiritual knowledge was the expected outcome of his discipline.

The passage in Matthew 17 followed the transfiguration. Jesus and the disciples who had accompanied Him to the mount of transfiguration returned to find the other disciples unsuccessfully trying to heal/cast out a demon from a boy. After Jesus healed the child, He told them that they could not heal him because of the "littleness of your faith" and also said that some things could only come out by prayer and fasting. 

How does all this relate to the keys of heaven? Matthew Henry says that the keys of the kingdom of heaven are knowledge and discipline. He related this discipline to the admitting of people into the church and disciplining sinners, and he may be absolutely correct, but I am inclined to believe that, because of his faith, Peter received the keys of knowledge and discipline so that he was able to share the gospel in a clear and concise way (knowledge), with the result that many people came to Christ through his preaching. 

Peter also had knowledge from the Holy Spirit that allowed him to know what God would have him do in healing those who were sick and performing miracles. That knowledge came from the discipline of time spent in prayer and fasting. He "loosed" people from disease and the bondage of sin and did incredible miracles in the name of Christ. His preaching and teaching "bound" them to Christ. (Of course it was the Holy Spirit working through Peter and not Peter himself doing the loosing and binding.)

The amazing thing is that you and I have been granted this same Holy Spirit that Christ gave to Peter and the other disciples. We, too, can have the faith of a mustard seed. We, too, can have the keys of knowledge and discipline, if we will. 

This binding and loosing, then, comes about only because of the permission of Jesus and the knowledge that His Spirit gives. When we spend time in prayer and when we fast, we gain insight and power. We gain important keys that help us to "lock and unlock", to "loose and bind". What does that mean to the way that we pray? I generally think that those for whom I pray (and I myself) need to be loosed from the power of Satan and that they (and I) need to be bound to the mind, heart, and will of Christ. Jesus told Peter that he would give him that authority and implied that the church would be built on the same faith that Peter had. We, too, can have power and authority, if we will. 

I don't have the power and authority of Peter, though, and you probably don't either. It grieves me to say that, but grieves me even more to realize that the reason I don't have it is not that Christ is not willing to grant me power and authority, but that I am not willing to sacrifice as Peter sacrificed to have it. Peter walked away from his business and spent his life preaching and teaching for Christ. He endured physical hardship, beatings, imprisonment, the scorn of his fellow man, and persecution that ended in a martyr's death. He did it all willingly and counted it as joy to suffer for his Lord. Peter held tight to Jesus and kept a very light hold on the things of this world.

If I lack the power of Peter, it is because I want the things of this world more than the power and authority, the knowledge and discipline that Jesus promised. I read those words, shudder at the truth of them, and recognize that it is truly pathetic. Why would I prefer comfort over the incredible delight of following Christ, even when it is hard, knowing that my eternal reward in heaven will be more than adequate recompense? This should not be.

I know that my Redeemer lives and reigns and is returning. I know that there will be a day of accountability for all the choices I have made, including my choices for or against faithfulness, boldness, and obedience. I know, yet my life often says different. My choices suggest that I doubt that I will answer for doing nothing while my brothers and sisters in Christ suffer severe persecution and death. My life implies that I do not expect to answer for doing nothing when the people Christ loves are hungry, cold, and losing their homes, their children, their way of life, all because of their faith. 

While I sit idly by and do so little, people suffer, die, enter eternity without Christ. One day, I will answer for it. One day, we will all answer for it. Time is short, and we must decide. Will we live for Christ or not? If, then, we choose to live for Christ, let us really do it. Let us embrace the Cross, embrace the discipline so that we might receive the power, the authority, the knowledge that brings transformation - first to us, and then to those whom Christ would call to Himself. 

We have a choice to make, so let's make it. Let us live like we believe. 

Start now, and keep on until Jesus calls us home. 

The persistent father, part 4

I begged Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not." (Luke 9:40 NASB)

Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not drive it out?" And He said to them, "Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. [ But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."] (Matthew 17:19-21 NASB)

This is a heartbreaking passage. A boy had a demon that caused him to have convulsions. Sometimes it caused him to fall into the fire, sometimes into the water. His life was in jeopardy and he would almost certainly die without help. His father knew that Jesus was the only help for his son, but Jesus was on the mount of transfiguration. The father took the only option that appeared to be available to him. He took his much loved son to the disciples. 

The disciples had been given both power and authority over demons. They should have been able to heal the boy, but they could not. After Jesus did what they were powerless to do, casting the demon out and healing the boy, they went to Him and asked why they could not drive out the demon. "What happened to our power?" they were saying. Jesus was very clear. First, their faith was too little. 

The second reason they couldn't heal the boy was something they had failed to do, and it would likely have made the difference. Unfortunately, it is a failure that we often share, and is one of the reasons we see so little of the miraculous in the churches of this country. Prayer and fasting.  Jesus was clear about this. Some things will not be healed, some victories will not be achieved, except through prayer and fasting. 

In our affluent society, denying ourselves is not a popular concept, but it is not optional if we expect to have the power Christ  intended. Is there something about which you are desperate for the intervention of God? Pray and fast until you answer comes. 

Sometimes the fast that is required is a complete abstinence from all food for days at a time. Sometimes, the fast that is needed is an abstinence from a pleasure, an activity, or a food group (sweets, meat, etc). Some fasts last for a period of days or weeks, some fasts are prolonged for years. An example might be a weekly fast (of one meal or an entire day's meals) that lasts until the answer to you prayer, the intervention of God that is needed, finally arrives. 

Is there a situation about which you are powerless? Is there a need that is unmet? Perhaps what is needed is prayer and fasting. Someone has said fasting lets God know you are serious about your prayers. In fact, He knows your heart before you fast. He knows how serious you are. Perhaps what fasting does is not so much letting God know we are serious as it is letting us know we are serious. Regardless, Jesus was clear. Fasting makes a difference that nothing else can do. 

Do you lack power? Pray and fast. Do you lack victory? Pray and fast. Do you need an answer to your prayers? Pray and fast, but don't stop until God's answer comes. 

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Link to last night's post: http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-first-night-at-cri.html

Time for Fasting (Luke 5:35)

But the days will come; and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days." (Luke 5:35 NASB)

In response to the question about why His disciples didn't fast, Jesus gave a wonderful answer. He presented the metaphor of a bridegroom coming for his bride. During this time of coming for His bride, the church, His disciples could not be expected to fast. There would come a time, however, when they would fast. "When the bridegroom is taken away," he said. This "taken away" word is actually prophetic. The Greek word here is "apairō" and does mean to take away, but it also can mean "to lift off and take away". The ascension back to heaven was certainly a type of "divine lift off" that took the bridegroom away! There would be no fasting until then. 

The time in which we live is "post-ascension", and we are, by Christ's own words, destined to fast. A voluntary abstaining, fasting has been practiced throughout Scripture, and giving up almost anything can constitute a fast. My own experience has ranged from food to activities. Isaiah 58 tells us of the fast God desires us to make. This fast is one of abstaining from a judgmental, critical spirit and replacing it with a spirit of generosity and giving. (this chapter is worth reading again) 

My son once said that fasting is what we do to let God know we are serious about that for which we pray. Perhaps. I think it also lets US know we are serious. Are we serious enough about the spiritual welfare of our children to fast for them? Today, make a plan for a limited fast to accompany your prayers, and pray that our Lord would use that time of prayer and fasting to draw us, as well as our loved ones, closer to Him.