Fasting

Dear friends,

I apologize for not getting this out to you last night.  Hopefully it will provide some food for thought when you read it.  Last week I wrote about prayer, so I thought it would be important to think about fasting as well.  I am still learning more about why God calls us to fast and how important it can be in our faith walks.  I have found the following information helpful to my understanding and hope that it will help you as well.

From The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson:

“When you fast and pray in tandem, it’s almost like a moving sidewalk that gets you to your desired destination in half the time.  Fasting has a way of fast-tracking our prayers.  Because fasting is harder than praying, fasting is a form of praying hard...

There is more than one way to draw a prayer circle.  In fact, sometimes it involves more than prayer.  I believe that fasting is a form of circling.  In fact, an empty stomach may be the most powerful prayer posture in Scripture.

Even Jesus said that some miracles are not possible via prayer (Matthew 17:21).  Some miracles are only accessible via prayer and fasting.  It takes the combination of prayer and fasting to unlock some double dead bolts.”  

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I recently listened to a pastor preach on fasting and he stated that “it causes our prayers to intensify and we make headway where we didn’t make headway before...  There has not been any significant breakthrough that I have needed from the Lord that I have not fasted for.  I have not fasted without seeing God work in amazing ways.”  

He went on to provide a list of seven things that fasting does.  In summary, fasting:

• helps us secure favor in situations 
• helps us discern God’s will 
• humbles our souls
• provides protection
• gives us power in spiritual battles
• brings healing

When I extended the invitation to join David and me in praying and fasting for Barrett, I encouraged all of you to pray about the level of commitment you felt God laying on your hearts.  I encourage you again to ask, “God, do you want me to do this?  Where are the areas in my life that you want to give me a breakthrough?”

Although we are fasting on Wednesdays on behalf of Barrett, God may be calling you to fast for a different or an additional breakthrough -- discernment, our families, our church, against the enemy.  The Lord wants to meet us in the place where we need him to show himself powerful.  I am personally praying that He would show himself powerful in a dimension that we have never seen before by healing Barrett.  I open up to you in saying that our journey of prayer and fasting has been extremely difficult at times, but this is something that I believe is from God; in the words of our friend John, “you hang on and you keep on fasting and praying until you receive that from the Lord and you don’t stop!”  If we want God to do what he’s never done before, we have to move in close to him.

I’ll leave you with this passage, Isaiah 58:8-9,

“Then your light shall break forth like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and He will say, 'Here I am'.”

Prayer

Dear friends,

As we prepare for another Wednesday, I want to thank you once again for your commitment in prayer for Barrett and the Delmez family.  For those who will be fasting, we are praying for strength and protection as you go through the day.  David and I continue to be challenged by The Circle Maker and I wanted to share several thoughts from what we have most recently read.  I hope this provides you with something to reflect on throughout the day.  It emphasizes prayer and the importance of what we are doing in coming together before God and asking him to heal this child.  (I’ve created 4 alliterated points for Matt’s enjoyment!)

1.  Purpose of Prayer:

“In the circle of successful living, prayer is the hub that holds the wheel together.  Without our contact with God we are nothing.  With it, we are ‘a little lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor.’”

How humbled we should be that we are unworthy but can talk to the Lord God Almighty at any moment of any day, with any need, any praise, any fears!

2.  Posture of Prayer:

“Physical posture is an important part of prayer.  It’s like a prayer within a prayer.  Posture is to prayer as tone is to communication.  If words are what you say, then posture is how you say it.  There is a reason that Scripture prescribes a wide variety of postures such as kneeling, falling prostrate on one’s face, the laying on of hands, and anointing someone’s head with oil.  Physical postures help posture our hearts and minds...The physical posture of kneeling, coupled with a humble heart, is the most powerful position on earth.  I’m not sure that the kneeling position betters my batting average in prayer, but it gets me in the right stance.  All I know is this: Humility honors God, and God honors humility.  Why not kneel?”

I challenge you to reflect on when and how you pray - are you giving God the focus he deserves?  We have recently begun to kneel together when we pray and I can promise you that it has helped to ‘posture our hearts and minds’ before God and humble ourselves before him as we pray!

3.  Proximity of Prayer:

There is something powerful about being in proximity to the person, place, or thing you are praying for.  Proximity creates intimacy.  Proximity proclaims authority...

Like the promise given to Joshua, “I will give you every place where you set your foot,” it’s a way of exercising the authority God has given us as His children.  (Joshua 1:3)

If you have not yet had the opportunity to pray with Brett and Jessica, I challenge you to find some time before Barrett is born that you can join in fellowship and prayer with them.  If you cannot meet with them on Sundays or Wednesdays, let me know and I will help facilitate a time!

4.  Primed by Prayer:

Our minds are primed by everything that is happening all the time.  It’s a testament to the fact that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.”  It also testifies to the fact that we had better be good stewards of the things we allow to be seen and heard.  Everything we see and hear is priming us in a positive or negative way.  That’s one reason I believe in starting the day in God’s Word.  It doesn’t just prime our minds; it also primes our hearts...

Prayer is priming.  Prayer puts us in a spiritual frame of mind.  Prayer helps us see and seize the God-ordained opportunities that are all around us all the time.  As David writes in Psalm 5:3, “In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.” 

This thought is especially challenging for me as I’m not a morning person; maybe you face a similar situation.  Irregardless, I challenge you to reflect on how you are using prayer to ‘prime’ your day and maintain a spiritual frame of mind throughout the day, taking advantage of the opportunities that are around us!