Starting this coming Sunday we will preach a four-week series on Prayer and Fasting. Prayer and Fasting is not a subject many Christians are very fluent in these days, yet it is a spiritual discipline Jesus speaks about a great deal.
Do you remember the story about the Disciples trying to heal someone and Jesus reminded them they needed to pray and fast to do this? Here it is.
Matthew 17:14-21 – 14 When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. 15 "Lord, have mercy on my son," he said. "He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him." 17 "O unbelieving and perverse generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me." 18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, "Why couldn't we drive it out?" 20 He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." 21 But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.
There is spiritual strength gained from prayer and fasting. Prayer is communication with God. Fasting is about showing spiritual control over the physical world around us.
When we pray, we should not come with a laundry list, but rather an open heart. We should give God time to speak with us – that’s right – speak to us. If prayer were only one way communication – that wouldn’t be very good communication – would it? Prayer is about speaking with God and allowing God to speak with us as well. It may be a still quiet voice or it may be a voice that pierces our very heart.
When we fast from food or certain foods, we are showing that our physical hunger does not control us. When we fast from certain activities, we are showing that we are not under the control of the activities of life. We are not addicted to certain foods or habits.
Fasting is a spiritual discipline that allows us to grow the spiritual nature in us, over and above the human nature that has always resided in us. It is spiritual exercise. If you have never fasted, is it any wonder that you feel spiritually weak? Just a thought. During the series we will be teaching through the E-News about Prayer and Fasting. We will also call the church to a week of prayer and fasting and to come together to pray.
Stay tuned – the adventure begins this weekend!
Do you remember the story about the Disciples trying to heal someone and Jesus reminded them they needed to pray and fast to do this? Here it is.
Matthew 17:14-21 – 14 When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. 15 "Lord, have mercy on my son," he said. "He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him." 17 "O unbelieving and perverse generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me." 18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, "Why couldn't we drive it out?" 20 He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." 21 But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.
There is spiritual strength gained from prayer and fasting. Prayer is communication with God. Fasting is about showing spiritual control over the physical world around us.
When we pray, we should not come with a laundry list, but rather an open heart. We should give God time to speak with us – that’s right – speak to us. If prayer were only one way communication – that wouldn’t be very good communication – would it? Prayer is about speaking with God and allowing God to speak with us as well. It may be a still quiet voice or it may be a voice that pierces our very heart.
When we fast from food or certain foods, we are showing that our physical hunger does not control us. When we fast from certain activities, we are showing that we are not under the control of the activities of life. We are not addicted to certain foods or habits.
Fasting is a spiritual discipline that allows us to grow the spiritual nature in us, over and above the human nature that has always resided in us. It is spiritual exercise. If you have never fasted, is it any wonder that you feel spiritually weak? Just a thought. During the series we will be teaching through the E-News about Prayer and Fasting. We will also call the church to a week of prayer and fasting and to come together to pray.
Stay tuned – the adventure begins this weekend!
Posts
1 comments:
I am ready to join the adventure that you and the Mount Oak Staff will be leading us on--thanks for this great lesson that we ALL are sorely in need and I pray that I can be a good listener and disciple and learn how to pray during the fasting time. Thanks again Rev Ray--Lorie Lowery
Post a Comment