Psalms 34:4 (NKJV)
I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears.
Why should I pray during a Fast?
You should pray during a fast because, fasting and not praying, depending upon what type fast you choose, is simply starving or dieting. You fast to become closer to God, what better way to get closer to God than to talk to Him.
Let’s put this in a secular scenario. You go out to lunch with a friend, you may or may not eat, that’s really not important. But instead of talking with your friend, asking questions, and listening for the answers, you play games on your phone, read a mystery novel, or watch a video on your table. Your friend may be wondering why you accepted their invitation to lunch if you weren't going to spend time with them. Perhaps God may be thinking why you chose to fast if you weren't going to spend time with Him while you were on your fast.
The same is true when we fast. We need to seek God through prayer. Without seeking him, how can we:
Let’s take a look at some familiar scripture that mention both praying and fasting.
Mark 9:29 (NKJV)
So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”
Psalm 35:13 (NKJV)
But as for me, when they were sick, My clothing was sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting; And my prayer would return to my own heart.
Daniel 9:3 (NKJV)
Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
Matthew 17:21 (NKJV)
However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.
Mark 9:29 (NKJV)
So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”
Luke 2:37 (NKJV)
and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.
Luke 5:33 (NKJV)
Then they said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?
1 Corinthians 7:5 (NKJV)
Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
Praying is simply a part of our daily life, and we should seek more of God when we fast.
Prayer connects us to God. The more time you spend with God the more He’ll build your confidence. The less time you spend with God, the less confidence you will have with Him.
Fasting disconnects us from the world. It helps remove the worldly things from our life and helps us to focus on God and Godly things.
Prayer before, during, and after a fast
Prayer is very powerful. As discussed earlier, it is our conversation with God. It is one of the ways that we communicate with Him. Specific prayers need to be strategic before, during, and after a fast.
Before
Praying before a fast will allow God to help you with the following:
During
Praying during a fast will allow God to help you with the following:
After
Prayer is especially important after a fast for the following reasons:
Resources:
Franklin, Jentezen (2008) fasting. Jentezen Franklin Ministries.
http://danielsfast.weebly.com/
http://churchofthehighlands.com/media/message/prayer-and-fasting1
http://www.biblegateway.com
I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears.
Why should I pray during a Fast?
You should pray during a fast because, fasting and not praying, depending upon what type fast you choose, is simply starving or dieting. You fast to become closer to God, what better way to get closer to God than to talk to Him.
Let’s put this in a secular scenario. You go out to lunch with a friend, you may or may not eat, that’s really not important. But instead of talking with your friend, asking questions, and listening for the answers, you play games on your phone, read a mystery novel, or watch a video on your table. Your friend may be wondering why you accepted their invitation to lunch if you weren't going to spend time with them. Perhaps God may be thinking why you chose to fast if you weren't going to spend time with Him while you were on your fast.
The same is true when we fast. We need to seek God through prayer. Without seeking him, how can we:
- Get closer to Him
- Know what he wants for us
- Know what we should be doing for His Kingdom
Let’s take a look at some familiar scripture that mention both praying and fasting.
Mark 9:29 (NKJV)
So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”
Psalm 35:13 (NKJV)
But as for me, when they were sick, My clothing was sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting; And my prayer would return to my own heart.
Daniel 9:3 (NKJV)
Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
Matthew 17:21 (NKJV)
However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.
Mark 9:29 (NKJV)
So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”
Luke 2:37 (NKJV)
and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.
Luke 5:33 (NKJV)
Then they said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?
1 Corinthians 7:5 (NKJV)
Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
Praying is simply a part of our daily life, and we should seek more of God when we fast.
Prayer connects us to God. The more time you spend with God the more He’ll build your confidence. The less time you spend with God, the less confidence you will have with Him.
Fasting disconnects us from the world. It helps remove the worldly things from our life and helps us to focus on God and Godly things.
Prayer before, during, and after a fast
Prayer is very powerful. As discussed earlier, it is our conversation with God. It is one of the ways that we communicate with Him. Specific prayers need to be strategic before, during, and after a fast.
Before
Praying before a fast will allow God to help you with the following:
- Prepare your mind for fasting – fasting can be quite difficult, you shouldn't wait until you are in the middle of fasting to ask God for His help. Praying can help prepare your mind, body, and spirit prior to the fast.
- Seek the reason for fasting – many churches, including GLC, fast corporately for a specific reason, however, many of you will also have a personal reason for fasting. Praying prior to a fast will open your eyes and heart to all the areas in your life and the lives of your loved ones that will be blessed because you fasted.
- Strength during fasting – praying to God before will help you seek strength from Him for the duration of your fast. GLC generally fasts the first 21 days of the year. On day one most people are ready to fast because we’ve over eaten more than we should during the holiday season, but on day 7 it becomes a little more difficult. The same thing can be said for a normal fast, on day two you may be fighting harder to abstain from food. Why not go to His throne prior to fasting so He can go ahead of your fast and help you through those difficult times when you feel like giving into the worldly temptations of leftover fudge, baked chicken, or movie theater popcorn.
During
Praying during a fast will allow God to help you with the following:
- Sustains you throughout the entire fast – as mentioned earlier, the world including home and work can be a challenge to your typical day. These challenges seem to intensify when you fast, perhaps it’s because you reach for food as a way to comfort yourself? Praying allows the True Comforter, the Holy Spirit, to comfort and sustain you throughout your fast.
- Encourages you – Prayer for encouragement during a fast. You know that you shouldn't wear your fast on the outside for people to see, but on the inside so that God can see. A funny thing happens when you fast for God, the outside world can see the Holy Spirit inside of you. Someone may walk up to you and tell you that your discipline encourages them, or they've seen how you react to stress and want to know how you keep it together and if you can help them with their stress levels. These things will encourage you throughout your fast and help you spread the love of God.
- Gives you strength – You need God’s strength for your everyday life when you eat, drink, and fellowship. Sometimes you need His strength a little more when you fast. When you fast it takes you to a new elevation of worship and you’ll need God’s strength to maintain that elevation. You’ll also need His strength if you find you are on a spiritual plateau, He can help you leave your spiritual desert and help you successfully get to your spiritual promised land. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)
After
Prayer is especially important after a fast for the following reasons:
- Keeps you connected – most have such a great connection with God during a fast, they need to stay focused on that same connection after the fast. Most of the folks I know go immediately to their favorite restaurant and order the items that they’ve abstained from during their fast. This is all well and good, but it can throw you into the world mighty fast. If you’ve done this same thing in the past, you’ve probably noticed that you’ve become bloated and uncomfortable very fast. However, the second or third day of eating normal meals, your diet has pretty much gone back to the way it was prior to your fast. Unfortunately, you can get too involved with the world and less connected with God after a fast just like you went back to your normal eating, you can go back into watching television, grocery shopping, parties, etc. instead of spending that extra time with God. Praying after a fast can help you stay focused on God and His plans.
- Ask the Holy Spirit to show you when you need to fast again – fasting once a year isn’t nearly enough. That would be like only praying on the first day of the week. Your pray may be fabulous on that day, but look at all the blessings from God you would lose out on during the other 29 days of the month. Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to lead and direct you for your next fast and your next purpose.
- Keeps you focused on God’s mission – many of us hear a special message or purpose during a fast. God will reveal a blessing regarding us, our loved ones, or a friend. Praying for that one mission or purpose after fasting helps you focus on that blessing or mission.
Resources:
Franklin, Jentezen (2008) fasting. Jentezen Franklin Ministries.
http://danielsfast.weebly.com/
http://churchofthehighlands.com/media/message/prayer-and-fasting1
http://www.biblegateway.com