Fasting and Praying

 
Revival is scheduled for Sunday, October 19, through Wednesday, October 22. But as we all know, revival doesn’t happen by attending a set of services. It does aid you in seeking for revival. It is when we humble ourselves and yield our will to the Lord and invite the Holy Spirit to reveal areas we need to submit to Him. In preparation for revival, we will gather in the sanctuary for 7 days (October 12-18), and pray for God to prepare the soil for revival in our church and in our lives. We will meet from 6-7 a.m. and 6-7 p.m.each day. You can choose to attend one or both. This will be a time of directed prayer, personal prayer, and 20 minutes of teaching from our evangelist as he focuses on the book of Ephesians. It will be an enriching experience. I want to encourage everyone to consider blocking this time out.

I am also asking that you consider fasting. I grew up with it being taught not to talk about it or let others know you are doing it. I think that has made it a practice that is not exercised. In Matthew 6:16-18, it says to not look somber as the hypocrites do. They do it to be seen as spiritual. They want the applause of men. Fasting is a private discipline between you and the Lord but it is alright to talk about it and look at how you go about it. There are times in the Bible where it is a public fast. Isaiah 58 is a public fast we are going to look at later. The early church often committed to corporate prayer and fasting. Many have said that our generation prefers pot-luck dinners instead. I want to prove them wrong when it comes to our church. So let’s learn what it is to fast together.

Fasting is an act of sacrifice, humbling yourself before God. It opens your mind up to hear the voice of the Lord. A lot of times eating food can make your mind foggy, preventing you from hearing clearly. It is taking control of your physical appetite and developing strength to take control of your emotional appetite.

Fasting can be done in many different ways. Some say that they fast from television or particular activities. While I think that is a good thing to do from time to time, especially if you feel it has a hold on your life or is causing you to neglect much needed disciplines or activities. The fasting I want to talk about is a Biblical fast. There are four kinds of fasting:
 

1. The normal fast – going without food for a definite period during which you only drink liquids (water and/or juice). The duration can be 1 day, 3 days, 1 week, 1 month, or 40 days. Extreme care should be taken with longer fasts, which should only be attempted after medical advice from your physician.
2. The absolute fast – this allows no food or water at all and should be short. Moses fasted for 40 days like this but it is not recommended today.
3. The partial fast – it omits certain foods or is on a schedule that includes limited eating. It may consist of omitting on meal a day. You could also choose to eat vegetables only for several days. People who have hypoglycemia or other diseases might consider this kind of fast.
4. A rotational fast – this consists of eating or omitting certain families of foods for a designated period of time. Some choose to eat grains only every fourth day. Various food families are rotated so that some food is available each day. This would have to be an outside directed fast in order to properly eat the right food groups.
    

The important thing to remember when you fast is to prayerfully consider when and how. This has to be of God. Being a corporate fast, the when is set. Now how will you go about it? I would not recommend fasting for the purpose of losing weight only. It needs to be a spiritually driven purpose. When you begin fasting, it is good to start in the morning and break your fast at breakfast. The word in itself is break-fast.

The Bible has plenty to say about fasting and how it can help us to go deeper in our relationship with the Lord. The Bible records many different ways of fasting. God honors any sincere committed effort in the area of fasting. When we fast Biblically, Isaiah 58 says that we can expect many results. It is not just to humble ourselves before the Lord, it is to loosen the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke. It also says that when we call upon the Lord that He will answer. Read Isaiah 58 in its entirety and consider participating in a fast with your church family. This is truly a counter-culture event we will be doing together. It might even be referred to as radical. Don’t wait for others to commit, commit today.

Joy in Jesus!

Pastor Mike

www.findlayfirstnaz.org