I called our church a few weeks ago to a month of prayer and fasting as we approach the upcoming election in November.
As it is the business
of tailors to make clothes and of cobblers to mend shoes, so it is the business
of Christians to pray. – Martin Luther
God shapes the world by prayer. Prayers are deathless. They outlive the lives of those who utter
them. – E. M. Bounds
Prayers move the heart
of God – not in violation of his sovereignty, but actually as an act of his
sovereignty. Think of the mom who prays
for her wayward child for a decade or two without seeing any evidence of change. That was my mom. Even when it seems as if nothing is
happening, God is at work. – Britt
Merrick
Prayer as encounter and communion . . .
Prayer is an exercise by which we verbally request that God manifest his
divine glory in our lives and in our work.
The prayer of encounter and
communion assumes that it is
possible to meet Christ, to listen through and speak through spheres of time
and to know the same risen Lord who met with and taught twelve disciples in
Palestine. Obviously such an encounter
is experienced by faith. Intercessory prayer is prayer that arises
out of our encounter and personal communion with Christ.
The place of silence in prayer . . .
Our Christian heritage would
remind us again and again that prayer and discernment require silence, that we
must slow down and find the space and time to set aside the noise of the world
and of our own hearts. This is not
something that comes easily for us. The
effort is imperative; we seek silence
because we long to hear God and God alone.
The discipline of silence is a learned art, one that requires
persistence and patience. The problem is
not that God cannot speak loudly; the issue at hand is our capacity to
hear. There is too much noise in our
lives, too much emotional clutter and intellectual busyness. All too frequently we are simply too busy to
slow down and listen – G. Smith
In doing God’s work there is no substitute for praying. The men of prayer cannot be displaced with
other kinds of men. Men of financial
skill, men of education, men of worldly influence -- none of these can possibly
be put in substitution for the men of prayer.
The life, the vigour, the motive power of Gods work is formed by praying
men. The men to whom Jesus Christ
committed the fortunes and destiny of His Church were men of prayer. To no other kind of men has God ever
committed Himself in this world. – E. M. Bounds
Are the apostles saying that out of all the ministries they
could do, what they cannot let go of is preaching/teaching the Word of God and
leading the prayer life of the church?
Is this really what the Bible pictures here – that leaders ought to
consider guiding the corporate prayer life of the church just as critical a
priority as preaching/teaching the Word of God?
- John Franklin
There is no use of our praying unless we trust. To pray is to ask, to make known our petition
to the Lord. Then our part is to trust
that He has heard our prayer and that He will answer in His own time and
way. We must pray and trust! - Joseph Evans
Is it astounding that the Spirit
of God would have to seek far afield to find some intercessor on behalf of the
King so that the many prayers offered by his mother should be answered? There are those who have been taught to pray
in the Spirit, as we read in Romans 8:26-27. – V. Raymond Edman, Out of My Life
What is fasting?
A
Christian’s voluntary abstinence from food for spiritual purposes. – Donald Whitney
The
voluntary denial of a normal function for the sake of intense spiritual
activity. – Richard Foster
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Areas of focused prayer and fasting:
1) Personal
areas, issues, needs.
2) The
state of our nation.
3) The
Spring church.
4) Concerns
for family and friends.
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Normal fasts (Mt. 4:2)
Partial fasts
(Dn. 1:12)
Absolute fast
(Est. 4:16)
Supernatural fast
(40 days; Dt. 9:9)
Private fast (Mt.
6:16-18)
Congregational
fasts (Joel 2:15-16)
National fasts (2
Chron. 20)
Regular fasts
(Old Covenant)
Occasional fasts
(Mt. 9:15; Esther, Jehoshaphat)
What does the Bible teach us
about fasting?
1) Fasting is expected (Mt. 6:16-17) and a
normal discipline in the life of a disciple of Jesus.
2) Fasting, like other spiritual habits,
should be done unto the Lord and not for show.
3) Fasting is done for specific purposes .
. .
a. To
know God better.
b. To
strengthen our prayers, particular in times of urgency.
Whenever men are to pray to God concerning
any great matter, it would be expedient to appoint fasting along with
prayer. – John Calvin
There’s something about fasting that
sharpens the edge of our intercessions and gives passion to our
supplications. – Donald Whitney
Fasting does not change God’s hearing as
much as it changes our praying. –
Whitney
The man who prays with fasting is giving
heaven notice that he is truly in earnest.
He is using a means that God has chosen to make his voice to be heard on
high. – Arthur Wallis
c.
To seek
God’s guidance.
d.
To express
grief or repentance.
e.
To seek
deliverance or protection.
f.
To humble
oneself before God.
g.
To express
concern and intercede for the work of God.
h.
To overcome
temptation and dedicate yourself to God.
i.
To better
minister to others.
j.
To ask God
to intervene in large, even national, concerns.
Resources: Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald Whitney