Worship and Prayer

Worship and Prayer
Fasting

by Northwestern University students

The Bible defines fasting as a Christian's voluntary abstinence from food for spiritual purposes. Jesus makes it clear that he expects us to fast. In Matthew 6:16 he begins by saying, "When you fast." Also, this teaching about fasting in the Sermon on the Mount directly follows his teaching on giving and praying. It is as if it were assumed that giving, praying and fasting are all part of the Christian devotion.

We cannot use fasting to impress God (or others) or to earn his acceptance. We are made acceptable to God through Jesus' work, not ours. Fasting pointedly reveals the things that control us, whether that be our stomachs, pride, anger, bitterness, jealousy, selfishness, fear--the list goes on. Fasting reminds us that, instead, we are sustained "by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4). Food does not sustain us; God sustains us. When the disciples, assuming that he was hungry, brought lunch to Jesus, he said, "I have food to each of which you do not know. . . . My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work" (John 4:32,34).

Richard Foster writes in Celebration of Discipline:

Therefore, in experiences of fasting we are not so much abstaining from food as we are feasting on the word of God. Fasting is feasting! . . . We are told not to act miserable when fasting because, in point of fact, we are not miserable. We are feeding on God, and just like the Israelites who were sustained in the wilderness by the miraculous manna from heaven, so we are sustained by the word of God.

Fasting does not change God's hearing so much as it changes our praying. There's something about it that sharpens and gives passion to our intercessions. Fasting also makes us more receptive to God's guidance and wisdom. The church in Antioch "fasted and prayed" before they laid their hands on Barnabas and Saul and sent them off on the first missionary journey (Acts 13:3).

There are also many other purposes of fasting such as expressing grief, seeking deliverance or protection, expressing repentance and a return to God, humbling oneself before God, overcoming temptation, expressing love and worship to God, and so on. In all of this, God will reward those who diligently pursue him.

A small group could decide to do a prayer fast together beginning after lunch on a given day. During the dinner hour, the following Bible study could be used.

* Read through Psalm 145 and jot down all the characteristics of God you see in the passage.
* Take some time to praise God for the characteristics in the passage.
* Then read Acts 4. Below are some prayer requests based on that passage.
o Personal: that knowledge of Scripture would grow for God's glory (vv. 8-11), that boldness and courage of Peter and John to speak to friends and neighbors about Christ (vv. 19-20)
o Christian community: that prayer would be the first thing on our minds (v. 24), that the Holy Spirit would shake us to speak the word of God boldly (v. 31), that we would exemplify the community of believers to our community (vv. 32-35)
o Community: that people in our neighborhoods and on our campuses would recognize their sinfulness (v. 10), that people would acknowledge that Jesus is salvation (v. 12), that Jesus would reside in our community (vv. 29-30)

That evening a small group could meet to process the day, discuss what God has taught them and pray together again.