"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice and untie the
cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke? Is it not to share your
food with the hungry and to provide the poor
wanderer with shelter - when you see the naked,
to clothe him, and not to turn away from your
own flesh and blood." Isaiah 58:5-7
As
we move forward in the days ahead and focus our
attention on the nations, we cannot help but stress
the importance of fasting and prayer. Fasting
along with prayer will be a key used by God to
launch you into His work, whether in country or
overseas, and it will be vital to your success.
We want to encourage you to begin to make fasting
a part of your life. God will give you spiritual
discernment and an increased ability to hear His
voice when you fast. He will enlarge your faith
and help you to increase your focus on the eternal.
He also gives spiritual power to those who fast,
and we certainly need that in reaching the nations.
The urgency to reach the nations is increasing
at an incredible rate. We must be prepared and
ready to go. Fasting and prayer prepares us
in the quickest and most powerful way for our
future work for God.
The
Purifying Power of Fasting and Prayer
"If
my people… will humble themselves and pray
and seek My face" II Chronicles 7:14
"After
45 years of emphasizing evangelism, discipleship
and fulfillment of the Great Commission, some
may think I have gone off on a tangent with
my strong emphasis on fasting and prayer. The
fact is that the best way to help individuals
become evangelists for Christ is to bring them
into a relationship with God in which the Holy
Spirit renews them. Only fasting meets the criteria
of each aspect of II Chronicles 7:14: 'If My
people, who are called by My name, will humble
themselves and pray and seek My face and turn
from their wicked ways, then will I hear from
heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal
their land.' When you humble yourself and pray
and seek God's face and turn from your wicked
ways, something happens to you and you get excited
about the Lord in a way that you do not through
any other means." Bill Bright
After
returning from India last year, I am convinced
that God wants to bring His people into a deep
and holy life style. I was challenged deeply by
the pure, humble and simple lives of the Christians
I met in India. The harvest is ripe there, and
the Christians are positioned in a holy and pure
life style that is necessary for the ingathering
of souls. God is using them in bringing signs,
wonders and miracles. Fasting and prayer purifies
the believer and makes us ready for harvest in
the nations. Fasting does much in our lives internally.
God desires that we seek a love relationship with
Him. He longs for intimacy with us. Fasting and
prayer remove the distractions from our lives
so that we can focus on Him alone. Our relationship
becomes purer, and our devotion becomes more intense.
We get to the place where we seek Him only and
not other things. The benefits listed below
show us just how powerful this purifying is when
we take time to seek God in fasting.
- It
humbles the soul
- Jesus is our example. He humbled Himself unto
the death on the cross (Philippians
2). Through brokenness, the Holy Spirit
empowers us to live the resurrected life and
touch the nations with His glory. "I put
on sackcloth and humbled myself with fasting."
(Psalm 35:13)
-
It chastens the soul - The closer we
draw near God's heart, the more we will share
His sorrows. "When I wept, and chastened
my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach.
I made sackcloth also my garment." (Psalm 69:10,
11)
-
It brings the body into subjection
- We need to discipline ourselves physically
on a daily basis. "Therefore I do
not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not
fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat
my body and make it my slave so that after I
have preached to others, I myself will not be
disqualified for the prize." (I Corinthians
9:26-27)
-
It breaks down the barriers in man's carnal
nature - These soulish barriers hinder the
Holy Spirit's power. Fasting can enable the
Holy Spirit to work unhindered through your
prayers. "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably
more than all we ask or imagine, according to
his power that is at work within us." (Ephesians
3:20)
- It
sacrifices our personal will - It is the
discipline of the heart and mind and emotions.
"Do not conform any longer to the pattern
of this world, but be transformed by the renewing
of your mind. Then you will be able to test
and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing
and perfect will." (Romans 12:2)
- It
is a time of examination
- God examines our inner attitudes and motivation.
Fasting and prayer quiet us so we can more clearly
hear His voice. "Search me, O God, and know
my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me, and
lead me in the way everlasting." (Psalm 139:23-24)
- It
brings us into a deeper level of brokenness
- "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will
not despise." (Psalm 51:17)
- It
enables God to focus on our heart
- He looks deeply in our hearts during times
of fasting, encouraging and revealing any need
for repentance. "Test me, O Lord, and try
me, examine my heart and my mind." (Psalm 26:2)
- It
causes us to face ourselves without escape routes
- This brings us into a deeper relationship
with God. "As the deer pants for streams
of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My
soul thirsts for God, for the living God." (Psalm
42:1-2a)
- Fasting
opens the way for God's grace - God gives
grace to the humble. We need lots of grace on
the mission field. "But he gives us more
grace. That is why Scripture says: 'God opposes
the proud but gives grace to the humble.'" (James
4:6)
Ask
God How to Personally Incorporate Fasting into
Your Life
When
we fast and pray, we are conscious of His presence,
and we yield to His Spirit in humility. God
will flow through those who intimately know Him.
When our carnal nature of selfishness is broken,
pride is replaced by submission, and we grow in
our obedience and love. He will always use the
broken and humble. We read in James 4:6, "But
he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture
says: 'God is opposed to the proud, but gives
grace to the humble.'" As we experience the grace
of God in a greater dimension in our lives, we
give Him all the praise and glory. We especially
encourage you to employ fasting in your life before
you go overseas. The following are some helpful
ways to incorporate fasting into your lifestyle.
- Seek
God regarding fasting in your own personal life
- Ask Him to increase your ability to fast and
pray. Start where you are. Skip meals and pray,
and then fast for a day or a few days. As He
leads, you will want to move into times of longer
fasts.
- Ask
God to give you some key things for which to
pray during times of fasting - Write them
down in a journal so that you can pray for them
regularly. As you ask God to speak to you, and
write down anything He says, ask Him for spiritual
discernment and guidance for the future.
- Pray
for God to increase prayer and fasting in your
city and the nation where you work or plan to
work
- Bathe that country in prayer during seasons
of fasting.
- Read
books on prayer and fasting
- We are including some recommended resources
on fasting at the back of this book.
Be
encouraged as you seek to develop your fasting
and prayer life. Fasting is an important part
of being an effective overseas worker. God will
empower you for service; He will give you grace,
and you shall not be disappointed. He will come
through for you in a powerful way. After years
on the mission field and years of involvement
in Christian work, we have found fasting to be
one of the most important disciplines in the Christian
life. There are not words to express the value
of fasting with prayer.
Fasting
is spreading throughout the world as a vital part
of the life of God's end-time workers. We
started fasting many years ago on the mission
field. We started small with 1-day fasts and moved
into 3-day fasts with small groups. We have often
fasted between Christmas and New Year's Day for
yearly guidance. In time, we moved into more lengthy
fasts of 21 days, 30 days, and a 40-day fast.
We also recommend fasting until dinner before
major ministry trips or for particular needs or
guidance. Some of us are called to a fasting life
style for reaching the nations. We recommend a
3-day Global Bridegroom Fast every first Monday-Wednesday
every month. The value of fasting cannot be fully
expressed. It has the power to break through any
obstacles. After every long fast, we have seen
God break through in a multitude of ways. Let
God challenge you to this most strategic discipline.
You will have God's grace and will never be disappointed
in the resulting victories!
"Prayer
intercession moves into the breach, the spiritual
gap, and begins to pray repentance, restoration,
revival and redirection for people - saved and
unsaved. This should be the intercessor's prayer
while fasting. This is the prayer God desires
from fasting intercessors. 'Is this not the
fast I have chosen?' Combine this spirit of
intercession with the fasting of an honest heart,
with Isaiah 58:6-12 to guide us, and the result
will be powerful prayers with Kingdom results."
Frank Damazio
For
additional training on mentoring in your call;
discovering your destiny and how to prepare for
your call, read the book called Go Forth in
Power by Norman and Debbie Przybylski.
Training
in World Missions
To
learn more about the Elijah Company please read:
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