Be renewed in prayer!
Prayer is the key to revival. All great revivals have come
about through sustained prayer. Read about this important
topic and start praying
Access to God through
Jesus
His name
His righteousness
God hears
What is prayer aimed
at?
Is one time enough?
Examples of
persistent prayer
The salvation of
others
You must make time
for prayer
Prayerlists
Jesus and the
disciples fasted
The importance of
fasting for health and when not to fast?
Ending
fasting
Prayer and the work
of God are connected. If you don't sow the seeds of prayer,
you can't expect to see results. Examples from history
Foreword
Do you know that there can be obstacles in the way of prayer
that prevent us from praying confidently and sustainably?
Even if we have received Christ into our lives and been
saved, the beginning of prayer, confidence and
sustainability in it are not always that simple, but there
can be many unnecessary obstacles in the way.
Sometimes the reason may simply be that we do not
understand our true position before God through Christ.
Although Christ is supposed to be our righteousness, and
through him we can approach God, we do not understand or
properly internalize this important basic matter. We may
stare all the time at our own self and our inadequacy, and
that's why we can't wait at all for God to answer our
prayer. We expect Him to answer the prayers of other "holy
people", but we ourselves may lack confidence in this area.
An obstacle to prayer can also be wrong teaching, i.e.
things like the direction of prayer and how many times to
pray. If we have been wrongly taught in these areas, it can
lead us down useless paths or paralyze the whole prayer. If
we forget that the God we pray to is in heaven, or if we
always think that only one prayer is enough, it is very
possible that our prayer becomes paralyzed. It then changes
its shape and remains just a word among others, which is by
no means the intention.
In the following lines, we are going to think about this
important issue and also how important it is to pray
sustainably. The purpose is that we would learn to pray
confidently and sustainably, and we could remove unnecessary
obstacles from the path of prayer. If this happens, prayer
becomes even easier.
1. Lacking understanding of righteousness
When people have obstacles on the way to prayer, one of the
most common obstacles is the thing mentioned in the preface,
that is, they don't understand how Christ is our
righteousness and how we can approach God through Him. When
this basic thing is lost and has not been internalized, it
is impossible to pray with confidence in that situation.
Instead, we may be constantly staring at ourselves and
our flaws, and we find it hard to believe that God answers
our prayers. We may feel unworthy and think that only those
who have progressed far in their sanctification can receive
answers to prayers from God. Due to a lack of understanding
of righteousness, we may have no trust at all before God.
In order to clarify the matter, let's examine it in the
light of the following examples. They show what is the
proper foundation for us to pray with confidence:
Access through Jesus.
First of all, anyone struggling with prayer should
understand that we can come to God at any moment, but only
through Jesus and His blood. Our access to Him is not based
on something in ourselves, the basis is in the fulfilled
work of Jesus and His blood. Jesus is our ticket to God and
our Mediator. Therefore, if we try to approach God in some
other way or through our own actions, it is not surprising
if we do not have trust in our prayer. Trust will be missing
from our prayer without Jesus:
- (Eph 2:13,18) But now in Christ Jesus you who sometimes
were far off are made near by the blood of Christ.
18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit
to the Father.
- (Eph 3:11-12) According to the eternal purpose which he
purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by
the faith of him.
- (Hebr 10:19,22) Having therefore, brothers, boldness to enter
into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of
faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience,
and our bodies washed with pure water.
Watchman Nee described the same thing. He pointed out the
usual issue of people basing their access to God on how well
they have succeeded, not on the atonement of Jesus. People
may think that if they have succeeded really well, then also
God will receive them. If they have failed, they may think
the opposite:
I am almost sure that our thoughts go like this, "Today I
have been very proper. The word of God felt so warm and
alive in the morning – surely I can now go before God in
prayer.” Or, "We had a quarrel at home yet again this
morning, and it hasn’t been sorted out yet. Going before God
is impossible now.”
On what basis do you come before God? On the basis of
your own uncertain feelings? Do you think that what you have
achieved today will decide whether God will receive you or
not? Or is your courage based on the blood of Christ having
been poured out for you and that God looks at that blood and
is satisfied? You might change, but the blood of Christ
never does. Therefore, you can come to God at any moment
without hesitation. Not even our good achievements today,
yesterday, or the day before can guarantee us access to the
Most Holy. It is guaranteed to us by the blood of Christ
alone. Under the shelter of blood you can go before the face
of God, regardless of whether your day has been good or bad,
or whether you sinned consciously or unconsciously. The
blood of Jesus is the only way to God, and it is always
open. (1)
His name. Secondly,
it is good to understand that when we pray and turn to God,
it only takes place in the name of Jesus, not in the name of
anybody else. In our lives this means that we do not need to
look at ourselves and our imperfect lives, but at Jesus –
this was already mentioned above.
God, the Father, receives us in the name of Jesus, not in
our own name. It is good enough for Him, and in a way, it is
like a paid ticket of admission to Him. Other names or
tickets are no longer needed:
- (John 14:13-14) And whatever you shall ask in my name,
that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If you shall ask any thing in my name, I
will do it.
- (John 15:16) You have not chosen me, but I have chosen
you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth
fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatever you
shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it
you.
- (John 16:23-24, 26-27) And in that day you shall ask me
nothing. Truly, truly, I say to you, Whatever you shall
ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
24 Till now have you asked nothing in my name:
ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full.
26 At that day you shall ask in my name: and I
say not to you, that I will pray the Father for you:
27 For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved
me, and have believed that I came out from God.
His righteousness. The
third important issue is the righteousness of Jesus. For if
Jesus has entered our lives and has become our Savior, we
have also received His righteousness. This means that our
acceptance before God no longer depends on ourselves, but on
Jesus who has already fulfilled all the demands of God and
the Law. He is our righteousness, and then, we are in fact
as righteous and acceptable before the Father as He is.
Therefore, the best we can do is to stop looking at
ourselves and our faults and look at Him who is our
righteousness. If we do this, it is not difficult for us to
approach God trustfully in prayer:
- (1 Cor 1:30-31) But of him are you in Christ Jesus, who
of God is made to us wisdom, and righteousness,
and sanctification, and redemption:
31 That, according as it is written, He that glories, let
him glory in the Lord.
- (Rom 3:26) To declare, I say, at this time his
righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of
him which believes in Jesus.
- (Rom 5:1) Therefore being justified by faith, we
have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
- (Rom 5:19) For as by one man’s disobedience many were made
sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made
righteous.
In addition, as comes to the righteousness of Christ, there
is no difference between people. There is no difference, for
example, between Paul and the believers of these days; in
the same way also Elijah, the great hero of faith, was no
more righteous than any of us. God heard his prayer in spite
of his imperfection:
- (James 5:16-18) Confess your faults one to another, and
pray one for another, that you may be healed. The effectual
fervent prayer of a righteous man avails
much.
17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and
he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it
rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six
months.
18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the
earth brought forth her fruit.
God hears. It
is important to understand that God hears our prayers. It is
very common that we focus our attention on ourselves or our
faith when praying – do I have enough faith for God to
answer me – instead of simply expecting that God will hear
our prayers and answer them. We may be stuck in
self-observation and consider our own lives and the degree
of faith we have: all of this is of no use.
How can this problem be solved? The only way is to stop
concentrating on ourselves and our faith, and start focusing
on the promises of God. Since there are many verses in the
Bible saying that He hears and answers our prayers, it could
be wise to trust them. We have to pay attention to these
promises and not to ourselves or our faith:
- (Gen 17:20) And as for Ishmael, I have heard you:
Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and
will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he
beget, and I will make him a great nation.
- (1 Sam 1:27) For this child I prayed; and the LORD
has given me my petition which I asked of him
- (2 Sam 22:7) In my distress I called on the LORD, and
cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out
of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.
- (2 King 19:20) Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to
Hezekiah, saying, Thus said the LORD God of Israel, That which
you have prayed to me against Sennacherib king of
Assyria I have heard.
- (2 Chron 30:27) Then the priests the Levites arose and
blessed the people: and their voice was heard, and
their prayer came up to his holy dwelling place, even to
heaven.
- (Ezra 8:23) So we fasted and sought our God for
this: and he was entreated of us.
- (Ps 66:19-20) But truly God has heard me; he has
attended to the voice of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God, which has not turned away my prayer, nor
his mercy from me.
- (Ps 6:9) The LORD has heard my
supplication; the LORD will receive my prayer.
- (Ps 65:2) O you that hear prayer, to you
shall all flesh come.
- (Matt 7:7-8) Ask, and it shall be given you;
seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to
you:
8 For every one that asks receives; and he
that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened.
- (John 14:13-14) And whatever you shall ask in my
name, that will I do, that the Father may be
glorified in the Son.
14 If you shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
- (Matt 7:11) If you then, being evil, know how to give good
gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father
which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
- (1 Peter 3:12) For the eyes of the Lord are over the
righteous, and his ears are open to their prayers:
but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.
- (1 John 5:14) And this is the confidence that we have in
him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he
hears us:
2. Wrong kind of teaching
The wrong kind of teaching can prevent us from praying in
the right way. At worst, it can lead us completely astray or
paralyze the whole prayer. In particular, the direction of
prayer matters and another thing worth noting is how many
times we need to pray the same thing.
WHERE SHOULD WE DIRECT OUR PRAYERS?
One important issue in praying is the direction. It is
important that our prayers are always directed to God, not
to anything else. Sometimes people concentrate more on the
devil and evil spirits than on God. These people may
perceive all problems as caused by the devil, thinking that
salvation of people also depends on him, and for this
reason, they have turned more to the devil than to God.
This may be due to teaching on spiritual warfare, in
which "prayer" has been used as a fighting tool and as an
authority against the devil while pleading to God has been
rejected. This is why many people may have spent hours
talking to the enemy and drifted into deep distress, because
they have gone into wrong areas.
We may wonder, however, whether these people have gone
deeply astray. If we look at the Bible, we cannot find any
teaching on concentrating on the devil for hours or thinking
about him. Instead, the Bible says that the direction of our
prayers must always be God who is in Heaven, and when
we turn to Him, we can also expect to get answers to our
prayers.
So did Paul, for example, when he wanted his compatriots
to be saved. He did not concentrate on the enemy, but
prayed for these people (Romans 10:1). Among others, his
example shows that if we pray to God who is in Heaven, we
will not go astray. Many great men of God have not
concentrated on the devil, but have prayed to God, spent
time with Him and then acted from the fullness of the Holy
Spirit – that has been the secret of their power.
- (Ezra 8:23) So we fasted and sought our God for this:
and he was entreated of us.
- (Rom 10:1) Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to
God for Israel is, that they might be saved.
- (Acts 12:5) Peter therefore was kept in prison: but
prayer was made without ceasing of the church to God for
him.
- (Matt 6:9) After this manner therefore pray you: Our
Father which are in heaven, Hallowed be your name.
- (Matt 9:38) Pray you therefore the Lord of
the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his
harvest.
- (Dan 9:3-4) And I set my face to the Lord God, to seek
by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and
sackcloth, and ashes:
4 And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made my
confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God,
keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to
them that keep his commandments
In addition, if we look at big revivals of the past, we can
clearly see that the most important factor in those revivals
was prayer. These revivals were not created by concentrating
on the enemy, but by searching for God in enduring prayer.
Charles G. Finney, whom God used in many revivals, told in
his biography how prayer was the most important means used
in revivals. When people first prayed to God, the forces of
the enemy collapsed. We can, therefore, expect that if the
same is done today, God will start to act and people will
change their attitude towards the Gospel:
I have said many times that in revivals the most distinctive
feature has been a prevailing spirit of prayer. (…) Answers
to the prayers were so many that everyone had to be
convinced that God answered prayers every day and moment.
The state of affairs was now such in Stephentown that I had
to move there to live. So I did. In the meantime, a strong
spirit of prayer had come over me, as had been the case with
that lady for some time. The power of prayer soon spread and
grew, and with it the work intensified, so that the word of
the Lord struck even the mightiest men, rendering them
utterly helpless. I could mention several such events.
I have not yet spoken about the spirit of prayer, which
prevailed in this revival, and I must not forget to mention
it. (…)
My aids in the revivals were simple sermons and prayer,
which were used abundantly both in private, small group
meetings and public prayer meetings. A lot of emphasis was
given to prayer as the main means in the progressing of the
revival.
As I have told you, prayer meetings, personal interviews and
visits, the distribution of leaflets, and the energetic
efforts of laypeople, both men and women, were instrumental
in the revival. As far as I know, the priests nowhere
opposed it. I think they generally sympathized with it. But
there was usually so much confidence in the power of prayer
that people seemed to put prayer meetings before preaching
services. The general impression seemed to be, "We have
received counsel and guidance until we are hardened, now is
the time for us to pray." The prayers were always heard and
in such an astonishing way that it attracted the attention
of people across the country in general. We saw clearly that
in answer to prayers, the windows of heaven were opened and
the outpouring of the Holy Ghost came like a stream over us.
(2)
IS ONE TIME ENOUGH?
Another wrong view people have of prayer is that we only
have to pray once, and we will immediately receive an
answer. This may be the case with, for example, teaching on
how to pray for other people to be saved.
But is this view correct: is one prayer always enough?
Let’s look at this in the light of the next examples:
- Jesus as an example. An
example of a person who prayed several times for the same
issue is Jesus Himself. When He was on the Mount of Olives,
He prayed for the same thing not just once, but three times
– that is, when He was searching for the will of God in His
own life. In other words, as Jesus has given us this kind of
a model, we are certainly not in the wrong if we do the
same.
On the other hand, it has been told about Jesus that He
also spent a whole night praying to God. It is unlikely that
during this time He would have prayed for a million
different issues: he most likely concentrated on certain
issues He had in mind. He prayed, among other things, that
Peter would not lose his faith:
- (Matt 26:44) And he left them, and went away again, and
prayed the third time, saying the same words.
- (Luke 6:12) And it came to pass in those days, that he
went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night
in prayer to God.
- (Luke 22:31-32) And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold,
Satan has desired to have you, that he may sift you as
wheat:
32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith fail not:
and when you are converted, strengthen your brothers.
- Examples of enduring prayer. When
Jesus taught about prayer, He emphasized enduring prayer. A
good example of this is the allegory of the widow and the
wrong judge.
It is important to note from this allegory how the widow
again and again brought the same issue before the wrong
judge. She did not bring new issues to the judge, only the
one that pressed her mind. The consequence of the woman’s
perseverance (constantly bothering the judge with the same
issue) was that she finally got a favorable answer. In the
same way, when we again and again bring the same issue
before God in prayer, we can also expect that He will answer
our prayers:
- (Luke 18:1-7) And he spoke a parable to them to this
end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God,
neither regarded man:
3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came to
him, saying, Avenge me of my adversary.
4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within
himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
5 Yet because this widow troubles me, I will avenge her,
lest by her continual coming she weary me.
6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge said.
7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day
and night to him, though he bear long with them?
- The salvation of other people is
something that requires persistent prayer, bringing the same
issues before God again and again. Even though all of us can
immediately personally receive such gifts as salvation,
baptism of the Holy Spirit, or health on the basis of Jesus'
fulfilled work (we do not need millions of prayers of
“Save me!”, but can receive salvation as a gift from God;
Rev 22:17), it is still quite a different thing when we
are praying for the salvation of other people, or when we
pray, for example, for the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Issues
like revivals are usually the results of persistent prayer.
Sometimes we have to pray for months or years for the
saving of other people before we can witness it. For
example, George Müller - who received thousands of answers
to his prayers - had to wait for decades before a couple of
people were saved. He brought these people before God daily
for years, but they were not saved until just after he died.
Müller is a great example of persistent prayer:
The whole big secret is in not giving up before the answer
comes. Over the course of 52 years, I have prayed every day
for two men who are the sons of a childhood friend of mine.
They are not yet saved, but they will be saved! How could it
be otherwise? I rest on the unerring Promises of Jehovah.
One great fault of the children of God is that they are not
persistent in prayer. They do not stand firm. If they wanted
to receive something for the Glory of God, they would pray
until they received it. Oh, how good, kind, merciful, and
condescending towards us is He, whom we are dealing with! He
has given me, the unworthy, more than I imagined to pray, or
even think about! I am only a weak, sinful man. But He has
heard my prayers tens of thousands of times and used me to
lead tens of thousands of people to the truth. I say tens of
thousands in this and other countries. These unworthy lips
have preached the Gospel to multitudes, and many, many have
believed and received Eternal life." (3)
3. Start to pray!
Before you can start to pray, you must first concentrate on
it and -- most of all -- reserve time for it. David
Wilkerson said in 1974 in his book The Vision that
in the future the main sin among the Christians would be
misuse of their free time, meaning that they would not spend
time with God praying. Television and other unnecessary
leisure activities would steal this time from the most
important one.
In order to prevent this from happening to you, you must
reserve time for prayer. Give up unnecessary activities and
start to pray, for example, for your neighbors and their
salvation. It might seem difficult in the beginning if you
are not used to praying, but certainly their salvation is
more valuable than anything else here on Earth:
- (Rom 10:1) Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to
God for Israel is, that they might be
saved.
Oswald J. Smith wrote about the problems we will face when
we start to pray. He also spoke about the meaning of prayer,
and how we might replace it by our own gifts, abilities, and
acts. Permanent prayer alone can lead to what we cannot
achieve through our natural abilities:
A Christian who starts to pray for other people goes through
quite a different experience. Satan will do everything in
his power to prevent and block the way. His presence and
resistance will be noticeable.
We might also get depressed. We might repeatedly feel
ready to give up. No wonder that the Lord told the allegory
of a friend who came to the house of his friends in the
middle of the night. Persistence is one of the most
important preconditions. We will pray for a certain time and
not getting an answer straight away, be depressed and give
up. This is how Satan uses one of his most successful
weapons against us, and crushes our decision to start
praying for others.
When everything else has failed, Satan puts a workload on
our shoulders. He would rather like to see us working than
praying even for a moment. He knows perfectly well that
working without prayer is powerless and useless. Therefore,
if he can only make us so busy that we do not have the time
to pray, he has achieved his goal. (…)
Intercessory prayer is the most effective weapon the
Christians have. Nothing rivals its power. It will make
things happen when everything else has failed; and it seems
strange that we turn to other resources to try to make such
things happen that can only happen through prayer. God has
given this great weapon to us, and He expects us to use it.
How disappointed He must be when we put it aside and replace
it by natural tools in doing spiritual work. (4)
MEMORY LISTS.
If it is difficult for you to pray for a longer time, memory
lists can be useful. You can write down all your prayer
topics and people you want to pray for, and then pray for
each of them for 5–10 minutes, for example. When you have
reached the end of the list, you can start from the
beginning again and again or have a break in between.
(The same method of a memory list that can be distributed
to the participants can be a good tool also in larger prayer
meetings. For example, Yonggi Cho described in his book
Kokemuksiani rukouksesta (DR. CHO’S PATTERNS OF PRAYER), p.
34, how this method is used in their meetings.)
The prayer and memory list can be drawn up, for instance,
from the following issues:
- Salvation of one's relatives: spouse, children, sisters,
parents, grandparents, grandchildren, cousins, aunts, uncles
and their families.
- Salvation of neighbors and friends.
- Salvation of co-workers.
- Prayer for the leaders of your nation and city, so that
they would also be saved. Pray also for the representatives
of the media. Prayer for the authorities should be one of
the most important prayer subjects:
- (Jer 29:7) And seek the peace of the city where I
have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray to
the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall you have
peace.
- (1 Tim 2:1-4) I exhort therefore, that, first of all,
supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of
thanks, be made for all men;
2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that
we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and
honesty.
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our
Savior;
4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come to the
knowledge of the truth.
- Pray for your neighboring countries, and that their people
would be saved.
- Pray for missionary work.
- Pray for spiritual work, and the leaders of the
congregation. For example, Paul wrote:
- (Col 4:2-4) Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with
thanksgiving;
3 With praying also for us, that God would open to us a
door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for
which I am also in bonds:
4 That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.
- (Eph 6:18-20) Praying always with all prayer and
supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all
perseverance and supplication for all saints;
19 And for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I
may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the
gospel,
20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may
speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
- (2 Thess 3:1) Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the
word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified,
even as it is with you
- Pray for those believers who have just found salvation so
that they would grow in faith.
- Pray for your own personal needs and the needs of your
family, guidance in spiritual and everyday issues.
4. You can also fast!
In the previous chapters, we have been talking about prayer,
its purpose, and how it is important to reserve time for
praying. However, in addition to prayer you can also fast,
which is like continuous and speechless prayer. When
fasting, we are in a way praying and searching for the will
of God even when we are not saying it aloud. Therefore,
fasting should be a part of our spiritual life, but it is
unfortunate that this is not often the case. In modern
congregations, this issue has mostly been neglected.
However, if we look at the time of the early church, we
can see that fasting was used in those times. Jesus said
that after He had gone away the disciples would fast. He
warned us also about being hypocrites when fasting. He also
said that certain people cannot be released by any other
means than by prayer and fasting. These words of Jesus alone
prove that fasting was used in those times:
- (Matt 9:14-15) Then came to him the disciples of John,
saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but your
disciples fast not?
15 And Jesus said to them, Can the children of the bridal
chamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but
the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from
them, and then shall they fast.
- (Matt 6:16) Moreover when you fast, be not, as the
hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their
faces, that they may appear to men to fast. Truly I say to
you, They have their reward.
- (Mark 9:28-29) And when he was come into the house, his
disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him
out?
29 And he said to them, This kind can come forth by
nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
In addition, a good example is Apostle Paul who fasted
during his life. He did it privately but also together with
other people – obviously based on an agreement. The Acts
also includes references to the prayers and fasts of Paul
and Barnabas before they went on their first mission
journey:
- (2 Cor 11:27) In weariness and painfulness, in watchings
often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in
cold and nakedness.
- (Acts 13:1-4) Now there were in the church that was at
Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and
Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and
Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch,
and Saul.
2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted,
the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the
work whereunto I have called them.
3 And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their
hands on them, they sent them away.
4 So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed to
Seleucia; and from there they sailed to Cyprus.
Fasting not only appears in the New Testament, but was also
used during the Old Covenant in many special situations. For
example, Joel urges people to declare a holy fast and cry
out to the Lord. We can also find other references to
fasting.
One of the most interesting cases is the situation
in Nineveh; when this city declared fasting and turned to
God, it avoided its judgment and received extra time.
Perhaps this also applies to many towns in the world today:
- (Joel 1:14) Sanctify you a fast, call a solemn
assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the
land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry to the
LORD,
- (Jonah 3:5,10) So the people of Nineveh believed God,
and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the
greatest of them even to the least of them.
10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil
way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that
he would do to them; and he did it not.
- (Ezra 8:21-23) Then I proclaimed a fast there, at
the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before
our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our
little ones, and for all our substance.
22 For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of
soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the
way: because we had spoken to the king, saying, The hand of
our God is on all them for good that seek him; but his power
and his wrath is against all them that forsake him.
23 So we fasted and sought our God for
this: and he was entreated of us.
- (Neh 1:4) And it came to pass, when I heard these words,
that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and
fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,
- (Dan 9:3,21-23) And I set my face to the Lord God, to
seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting,
and sackcloth, and ashes
21 Yes, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man
Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning,
being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of
the evening oblation.
22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O
Daniel, I am now come forth to give you skill and
understanding.
23 At the beginning of your supplications the commandment
came forth, and I am come to show you; for you are
greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and
consider the vision.
The importance of fasting for health and when not to fast.
Fasting may well promote health. Especially in western
countries, where people cram themselves full of food,
fasting is certainly beneficial. It has been established
that a large number of diseases in western countries
originate from eating too much, but as soon as people
restrict their eating, their health begins to improve. E.g.
diseases such as cardiovascular disease, adult-onset
diabetes and cancer can be caused by overeating. Fasting, or
at least reducing the amount of food, makes sense in such a
situation.
However, there are some situations and illnesses when
fasting is not generally recommended because it can do more
harm than good. These include diabetes that requires insulin
treatment, pregnancy and breastfeeding, serious coronary and
vascular diseases, liver or kidney deficiency,
hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism, serious mental disorders
or psychosis, and long-term fasting of teenagers. If you do
not have prior experience of fasting, it is good to start
with a fast of one to three days. If you are suffering from
one of the above-mentioned conditions, it may be wise to
avoid fasting, or try a half fast. If you are not sure about
your own situation, talk to your doctor.
Ending fasting.
There are some guidelines to ending a fast. The longer the
fast is, the more important it is to end it correctly. End
fasts by drinking natural juices first, then add extremely
light foods such as fruits and vegetables, mild gruel and
berry soups. Stay with these foods longer if your fast was a
long one. (When shifting to solid foods, allow yourself a
transition time of at least one week.) If you start
eating solid foods too soon, you can suffer pain or become
ill. In some cases, you might place yourself in danger.
Fasts that last for 1–2 days, for example, that are carried
out at regular intervals, are easier because ending them is
simpler.
5. Prayer and revival
Do you want to see people around you being saved and a
change take place in your society? Many do want this, and it
truly is the best of all wishes we can have. If we want to
see these wishes come true, we should also pray enough and
often enough for them. If our prayers are just sighs of a
few minutes, instead of praying sustainably, the answer may
linger.
Our prayers can be compared to sowing a seed. If we sow a
small number of seeds, we will receive a small harvest, but
if we sow a lot of seeds, we will receive a larger harvest,
just like in farming. The hearing of our prayers has a
correlation with the amount of seeds sown, "the seeds of
prayer". We must ask in order to receive:
- (Jam 4:2) You lust, and have not: you kill, and desire to
have, and cannot obtain: you fight and war, yet you
have not, because you ask not.
- (Matt 7:7 8) Ask, and it shall be given you;
seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to
you:
8 For every one that asks receives; and he
that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened.
If our prayers are persistent, we can also expect them to be
answered. Several examples can be found in the past, when
people prayed persistently, even for years, and finally saw
their prayers answered.
D.L. Moody wrote about his times in England: The revival
did not start by coincidence, it started through the prayers
of a sick woman who had 55 names on her list. Because this
woman was not able to do much else, she started to pray for
these people. As a result, people were soon saved, and
churches filled up with people looking for salvation. The
souls of those 55 persons for whom she prayed were among
saved; her prayers were heard.
Prayer and revival always go hand in hand. Below, there
are a few examples and some Bible verses connected with
revival. Perhaps they will encourage you and others to pray
more than before:
Charles G. Finney had a burden of prayer. Time after time,
he went to a forest or some other lonely place and was in
front of God in agony. Sometimes he could not even express
himself in words. He told us that he could only moan and
cry; so enormous was the burden that lay on him. No wonder
that God used him. It is not surprising that he became one
of the greatest revival preachers in time. No wonder God
glorified Himself through his sermons. Finney knew what it
meant to experience pain over prayer.
Every man God has used has been a man of prayer. If you have
never learnt how to pray, if you have never learnt what it
means to wrestle with God, if you have never learnt how to
experience pain, if you do not know anything about birthing
pains, then you do not know what it means to get spiritual
results. If you want to see God glorified through your
ministry, you must first become a man of prayer. (5)
In
the meantime, I was praying diligently and I noticed that
the spirit of prayer prevailed especially on the female
members of the congregation. (…)
I believe it was the following week that I dropped by her
house and met her husband pale and anxious. He told me,
"Finney, I think that my wife will die. She doesn’t get any
rest at night or day, she has totally devoted herself to
prayer. She has been praying in her room all day long,
groaning and fighting, and I'm afraid this will go
completely beyond his powers." When she heard my voice in
the living room, she came from the bedroom with a heavenly
glow on her face and said, “Mr. Finney, the Lord has come!
This work will spread throughout the region, a cloud of
mercy is above us and we will see such work of mercy we have
never seen before.” Her husband looked surprised and did not
know what to say. This was new to him, but not to me. I had
seen it before and I believe that the prayers had been
heard, I was quite sure about that. (6)
I
know what I speak about, for I have seen this happen in most
difficult conditions. For example, the great revival in
Rochester started under extremely disadvantageous settings.
However, there were a few believers who had a strong spirit
of prayer, and this strengthened us preachers to believe
that God was involved after all. As we continued our work,
we could see that as Satan's opposition grew, the spirit of
God also grew stronger and sharpened its grip until a wave
of revival crushing all obstacles finally rolled over this
community. (7)
Many of us may remember those miraculous things God did in
Korea a few years ago simply because of prayer. A few
missionaries decided to get together and pray every day at
noon. After a month, a brother proposed that the prayer
meetings should be discontinued "because nothing has
happened". ”Let’s all pray at home according to what suits
us," he said. Others, however, resisted the proposal and
said that they should rather spend more time in prayer. So
they continued their daily prayer meetings for four months.
Then, suddenly, the blessings started to flow. The meetings
were interrupted here and there by people crying or
confessing sins. Finally a large revival broke out. (…)
One of the missionaries said, "It was worth spending several
months in prayer, for when God gave His Holy Spirit, He made
happen more in half a day than all of the missionaries could
have done in half a year.” (8)
Pastor Ding Li from China had the names of 1,100 students on
his prayer list. Through his prayers, hundreds of people had
been won to Christ. Their conversion was so deep that dozens
of them went into doing spiritual work.
It would be easy to tell more of these surprising and
inspiring stories about blessings received through prayers.
But there is no need to do so. I know that God wants me to
pray. I know that God wants you to pray. (9)
E.M. Bounds: Prayer must always be continued with tireless
energy, perseverance, and unfailing courage. (10)
George Whitefield: Days, even weeks have I spent lying on
the ground on my mouth in silent and loud prayer. (11)
A.T. Pierson: Since the day of the Pentecost, there has
never been a revival in any country which did not start
through united prayer, even if just among two or three
people; neither has any outwards and upwards movement
continued if the prayer meetings have been neglected. (12)
Yonggi Cho: Pastors and evangelists have asked me how their
congregations could grow like in Korea. Yet, after meetings
they go out to eat and spend hours together. In the morning,
they are so tired that they cannot pray. Over the years, I
have seen this everywhere in the world. (…)
The
revival in Korea must not be taken for granted. Years ago, I
studied church history and understood that one not only has
to pray for the revival to come, but also pray for the
revival to continue. Revival in the Western countries has
always been seen as self-evident after a few years. At that
time, people forget the most important thing that brought on
the revival: they forget prayer. When continuous and
persistent prayer is forgotten, the driving force of the
revival ends. Continuity will maintain the revival for some
time, and then it will vanish. (…)
When the Holy Spirit gives a revival as an answer to
prayers, the driving force of the revival must be maintained
so that the revival will not be extinguished. If prayer is
forgotten, we replace the driving force with continuity and
finally the special help of God will end. (13)
Yonggi Cho: For the revival to come and continue, we have to
pray and fast. I cannot emphasize enough how important this
is. (14)
Yonggi Cho: When I was young and inexperienced, I once again
turned to prayer. I prayed much, very much, and God started
to act. My mother-in-law was a special source of inspiration
for my prayer life at that time. She made sure that I always
woke up at the latest at 4.30 a.m., for in Korea we pray in
the mornings.
In Korea, everyone is expected to wake up at 4.30 a.m. and
pray. Especially the pastors should do this. (15)
John Wesley: Hold up feeble arms by believing and praying;
support the knees that are weak. Do you have prayer and fast
days? Make haste to the throne of grace and continue there
in perseverance, and the blessings will come down. (16)
The
spirit of God can bless two, when cannot bless one. Abraham
was not able to help the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah alone,
even though his prayer pressed like a thousand kilograms in
the scales of God. But there was his nephew Loot, who was
one of the biggest cowards you can imagine. He did not have
more than 15 grams of prayer in himself, but that
insignificant amount was enough to press down the scale
enough so that Sooar was spared. Therefore, add your 15
grams to the prayers of the great saints, for they might
need it. (17)
-
(Luke 18:1-7) And he spoke a
parable to them to this end, that men ought always to
pray, and not to faint;
2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God,
neither regarded man:
3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came to
him, saying, Avenge me of my adversary.
4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within
himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
5 Yet because this widow troubles me, I will avenge
her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge said.
7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and
night to him, though he bear long with them?
-
(Luke 11:5-8) And he said to
them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go to him
at midnight, and say to him, Friend, lend me three loaves;
6 For a friend of my in his journey is come to me, and I
have nothing to set before him?
7 And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not:
the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I
cannot rise and give you.
8 I say to you, Though he will not rise and give him,
because he is his friend, yet because of his
importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needs.
-
(Luke 2:36,37) And there was one
Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of
Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband
seven years from her virginity;
37 And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years,
which departed not from the temple, but served God with
fastings and prayers night and day.
-
(Ps 119:147) I prevented the
dawning of the morning,
and cried: I hoped in your word.
-
(Matt 18:19,20) Again I say to
you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any
thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my
Father which is in heaven.
20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name,
there am I in the middle of them.
-
(John 14:13,14) And whatever you
shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be
glorified in the Son.
14 If you shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
-
(Mark 11:24) Therefore I say to
you, What things soever you desire, when you pray, believe
that you receive them, and you shall have them.
-
(Phil 4:6) Be careful for
nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
REFERENCES:
1. Watchman
Nee: Elämän rikkaus Kristuksessa (THE NORMAL CHRISTIAN
LIFE), p.11.
2. Charles
G.Finney: Ihmeellisiä herätyksiä
3. Charles
Price: Ihmeitätekevä usko, p. 37.
4. Oswald
J.Smith: Ketä Jumala käyttää? p.126-128.
5. same.
6. Charles
G.Finney: Ihmeellisiä herätyksiä
7. Charles
G.Finney: Kun herätys tulee
8. Tuntematon
kristitty / Unknown
Christian, Rukoileva kristitty (The
kneeling Christian), p. 33,34.
9.
Same , p. 36.
10.
Leonard Ravenhill: (WHY REVIVAL TARRIES) Miksi
herätys viipyy?, p.13.
11.
Same, p.13.
12.
Same, p.121.
13.
Yonggi Cho: (PRAYER: KEY TO REVIVAL) Opeta minua
rukoilemaan, p.14 15.
14.
Yonggi Cho: (PRAYER: KEY TO REVIVAL) Opeta minua
rukoilemaan, p.101.
15.
David Yonggi Cho: (CHO’S PATTERNS OF PRAYER)
Kokemuksiani rukouksesta, p.36.
16.
Leonard Ravenhill: (WHY REVIVAL TARRIES) Miksi
herätys viipyy?, p.8.
17.
C.H.Spurgeon: (THE SOUL-WINNER) Sielujenvoittaja
More on this topic:
Could you pray?
Prayer as an intermediary for God's action. Learn how through prayer God can
be expected to influence society and people’s lives
Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
The baptism and fullness of the Holy Spirit is necessary for spiritual work.
What does the Bible say about it, and how is this important gift received?
Weaknesses of the church.
The church has many weaknesses, such as a small prayer, a small commitment
to human relationships, or a lack of desire to advance the gospel
ABC of missionary work.
Eternity, hell, and heaven still exist. The goal of missionary work should
be for people to be saved and to come in contact with God
Gifts studied.
Spiritual gifts, or gifts of grace should be sought so that people get help. If a person does not feel his own weakness,
he can be proud of the
use of gifts
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