Pocket Full of Excuses
Is our schedule too full to include prayer in our day? Between work, school, kids, errands, dinner, and social media time we just don’t have time to pray. We’ll just do it tomorrow. Tomorrow comes and we’ll just do it the next day. The next day comes and we have church the day after so we’ll just wait until then to really pray. We may say little “Thank you, Jesus. I love you, Jesus.,” prayers randomly, but surely that’s enough to last us until the next service. Surely.
Don’t even get me started on fasting. We are going out to eat with So-and-so tonight, we’ll just fast tomorrow. Then we get an hour into our morning tomorrow and we’re secretly munching on a bag of chips. No one knows we were fasting anyways.
We can get by only praying at weekly service or a couple of times a week. We can get by without fasting. That sounds strange, doesn’t? So why is that how we live our lives? Are we not stirred for our own soul’s sake, for others, for this world?
Having the Right Spirit
Remember Stephen? The Bible says he was a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost. Acts 7:59-60 tells us, “And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.”
As the council stoned Stephen he didn’t cry out, “Why is this happening to me? You’re going to pay for this!” Instead, he prayed that they would be forgiven. What a humble approach to ask God to forgive those literally killing you.
Are we willing to pray for those who hurt us?
Open Line of Communication
Prayer opens up the throne room where we can know God. It gives us a relationship with him by offering ‘prayer without ceasing’ as our communication line.
By keeping this line open, we are able to stop and intercede at the precise moment needed. No warming up required. No “Sorry, God. I know it’s been awhile but I really need You to do this thing for me. God? Are You listening?” No having to ‘pray through’ first before you pray with someone. Always in a ready state for instantaneous prayer.
A Two Tool Project
There are some things prayer alone cannot move. The disciples were unable to cast the spirit out of the child in Mark 9, but Jesus was able to. Besides being God, why else was He able to while the disciples couldn’t? The 29th verse says, “And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.” If prayer alone isn’t working, we are probably missing the second part of the equation. Fasting.
Fast prepares us for the supernatural.
Blessings to Follow
A little bit of a lengthy text from Joel 2:12-21 says, “Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: 13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. 14 Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God? 15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:
16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. 17 Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? 18 Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people.
19 Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen: 20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things. 21 Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things.”
We say we want to see our churches filled. We say we want our loved ones to be saved. What are we doing to see that happen though? We have to have a future in mind, but we have to put action to see it happen!
Reading through Joel 2, we can see that when we fast and pray that it gets God’s attention. Things happen. Strongholds are broken. What would happen if every Christian, every Apostolic, in this world all began praying and fasting the way God is saying in this chapter? Mighty things would take place.
The type of prayer and fasting we need is the kind that comes from our innermost part of our hearts. Full of sincerity and passion, intercessory.
If we want to see the Holy Ghost poured out, then we have to pray and fast.
Fill Us, Oh God!
Christians, Apostolics especially, know of what happened at Azusa Street in the early 1900s. The Holy Ghost was poured out and swept across this world, just as it did in Acts, as a rushing mighty wind. That didn’t just happen by chance. William Seymour and the people he was with decided to receive the precious gift of the Holy Ghost that they would do a 10 day fast to get God’s attention. 3 days in and the Holy Ghost began pouring out. Seymour prayed all night when he was filled.
Why Does Prayer and Fasting Feel Like Steeping on a Lego?
Fasting and prayer enters you into the spiritual battlefield, so get ready. Life can seem all easy when you only do your couple times a week praying. That is because the enemy is like, “Why would I fight when I’ve already won.” When we start going to war for ourselves and this world, the enemy starts fighting. If the enemy has rose up in your life, you are probably headed in the right direction. You’ve got to keep fighting!
That’s a Wrap
Prayer and fasting are both vital to the Christian walk. I encourage you to go deeper in God this year. Now is the time to make a difference.
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