When you pray and fast... you should do so with expectancy that God will move in your life!
Author Dave Williams points out some of the purposes of fasting:
- Increased prayer power
- Divine protection
- Physical healing
- Emotional and relational healing
- Intercession for friends
- Repentance and sorrow
- Seeking God for guidance or direction
With this in mind, when we fast and pray - we need to be asking God to reveal Himself in these ways.
Matthew 6:16-18 says:
16"When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 17But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
The result of fasting will be a reward. This is why we fast and pray - for God to intervene. When you pray... expect answers.
Fasting and prayer is not like pulling the lever on a slot machine... where the money goes in, the lever is pulled, and we "hope" for 3 lemons. On the contrary! The prayer of faith is certain and full of great hope.
Remember... God does not answer complaint, or wishes. GOD ANSWERS PRAYER!
So, let's see our rewards:
1) to be close to God
I expect a great move of God in our congregation, in the families of Harvest Ridge Church, and in the lives of many people!
2) For guidance as Harvest Ridge Church takes our "Next Steps"
Thanks for fasting and praying for these rewards!
2 comments:
I will admit that I had a serious attitude about the whole fasting thing. I do NOT like to fast; my flesh rebelled a lot! But, I felt that I needed to be obedient, at least, and do a fast that God designed for me. All last week, I struggled from day to day, begging God to let me have chocolate or something not on the fast....I learned to really listen to HIM. But, I did not have any phenomenal "breakthroughs" or increased feeling of His presence, I mean, nothing seemed different. God and I are tight anyway, but I know there was room for more closeness. I figured I was doing something wrong. I shared this with Curt, with Pastor Mike and another pastor friend. They encouraged me to hang in there, be obedient, and know that God honors my fasting even if it's not perfect or like everyone else's. Okay...fast forward to Sunday evening prayer service (by the way, I seriously think we should have more evening services Pastor Mike). Curt felt moved to have me prayed for, for more power to carry out God's plans for Agape Partners. I also asked Pastor Mike to pray that perhaps
God would honor my fasting with healing. I had an abnormal lab test, and had to see a specialist to have it repeated last week. The issue was pre-cancerous cells that may or may not lead to actual cancer. SCARY!!!! So, many people had been praying for me and then Pastor Mike and others prayed with me on Sunday night for complete healing. Today, I decided to check and see if my results of the repeat test were done (though it was early) and they were. Guess what? NORMAL!!! Guess what else? The cells that were previously "tainted" and pre-cancerous are now NORMAL!!! NEGATIVE!!!! WOO HOO!!! Can I get an AMEN, Praise the Lord and Props for Jesus?!?!?!! So, I guess my obedience (even with my attitude problem) to fasting did pay off! How about that?
Michelle,
I am so excited that God answered these prayers for you!
Trusting the Lord is something we need to continually learn. Trust in God means not trusting our self, our circumstance, or our past experiences failures.
I am glad that you trusted God!
GOD TRULY IS AWESOME!
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