Strengthening our prayer life through fasting is one of the ways that helps us align our lives and our churches in what God is doing around us. There are several biblical reasons why one should engage in a personal fast. One of those is to strengthen our prayer life. Ezra says that the people of God, "...fasted and petitioned God…" (Ezra 8:23) to overcome the challenges that they were facing.
Nehemiah testifies to the fact that he "fasted and prayed before the God of heaven." (Nehemiah 1:4) as he responded to God’s call on his life.
Daniel also strengthened his prayer life as he devoted himself to God "...in prayer, petition, in fasting…" (Daniel 9:3).
Isaiah wrote that one of the results of true fasting would be God breaking through in our lives. “Then your light will break forth like the dawn…then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday” (Isaiah 58:8-10) By aligning our hearts with God through fasting we find ourselves consumed by His resplendent nature. This breakthrough comes when He strengthens our prayers and He burst through the darkness of our confusion with the light of His love, joy, and peace.
How does fasting strengthen our prayers?
Donald Whitney writes, "Fasting does not change God’s hearing so much as it changes our praying." I believe it changes our praying in several ways:
• It brings us to a stronger sense of humility & dependence on God and God alone to provide. (Psalm 69:10)
• It heightens the seriousness of our prayers. (I Samuel 7:6)
• It creates a new level of urgency for prayer and God’s answer. (Ezra 8:23)
• It brings a greater sense of focus & clarity to our prayers. (Psalm 35:13)
• It removes all the fluff in our prayers. (Psalm 35:13)
• It can lead to a deeper level of community with those who join us in our fasting & praying. (Nehemiah 9:1-3)
Arthur Walls writes, "Fasting is calculated to bring a note of urgency and importunity into our praying, and to give force to our pleading in the court of heaven. The man who prays with fasting is giving heaven notice that he is truly in earnest."
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