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“The Power of Prayer & Fasting”

“The Power of Prayer & Fasting”. In The Celebration of Discipline , Richard Foster writes, “ In a culture where the landscape is dotted with shrines to the Golden Arches & an assortment of Pizza Temples, fasting seems out of place, out of step with the times.” .

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“The Power of Prayer & Fasting”

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  1. “The Power of Prayer & Fasting”

  2. InThe Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster writes,“In a culture where the landscape is dotted with shrines to the Golden Arches & an assortment of Pizza Temples, fasting seems out of place, out of step with the times.”

  3. John Wesleysaid, “Some have exalted religious fasting beyond all Scripture & reason; & others have utterly disregarded it.”

  4. In Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, Donald Whitney writes, “For some of us, fasting for spiritual purposes is as unthinkable as shaving their head or walking barefoot across a fire pit... To our surprise, the Bible mentions the concept of fasting some seventy-five times even more than the ordinance of baptism.”

  5. Whydo we Fast? • A. Fast for National Despair.

  6. The Bible says, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves & pray & seek my face & turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven & will forgive their sin & will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14-15).

  7. Queen Esther

  8. Esther said, “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, & fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I & my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law & if I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16).

  9. Whydo we Fast? • A. Fast for National Despair. • B. Fast for Individual Discipline.

  10. The Bible says, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out & trampled by men” (Matthew 5:13).

  11. Whydo we Fast? • A. Fast for National Despair. • B. Fast for Individual Discipline. • C. Fast for Deeper Hunger for God. • D. Fast during Periods of Distress. • E. Fast Facing Spiritual Decisions.

  12. The Bible says, “After fasting for forty days & forty nights, He (Jesus) was hungry” (Matthew 4:2). The Bible says, “While they were worshiping the Lord & fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas & Saul for the work to which I have called them” (Acts 13:2).

  13. Whydo we Fast? • A. Fast for National Despair. • B. Fast for Individual Discipline. • C. Fast for Deeper Hunger for God. • D. Fast during Periods of Distress. • E. Fast Facing Spiritual Decisions. • F. Fast the Bridegroom is Dawning.

  14. The Bible says, “The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast” (Luke 5:35).

  15. Whydo we Fast? • How do we Fast? • A. Kinds of Fast. • 1. Complete (Acts 9:9). • 2. Partial (Daniel 1).

  16. Whydo we Fast? • How do we Fast? • A. Kinds of Fast. • B. Length of Fast. • 1. 1 Day (Daniel 6:18). • 2. 3 Days (Esther 4:16). • 3. 40 Days (Moses, Elijah & Jesus).

  17. Whydo we Fast? • How do we Fast? A. Kinds of Fast. B. Length of Fast.C. Attitude of Fast.

  18. The Bible says, When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. (Matthew 6:16).

  19. The Bible says, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating & drinking, but of righteousness, peace & joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17).

  20. The Bible says, “Even now," declares the LORD, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting & weeping & mourning." Rend your heart & not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious & compassionate, slow to anger & abounding in love, & He relents from sending calamity” (Joel 2:12-13).

  21. Whydo we Fast? • How do we Fast? A. Kinds of Fast. B. Length of Fast.C. Attitude of Fast. • Actual Fast. • 1. Determine length. • 2. Refrain from food or Other. • 3. Spend extra time in prayer. • 4. Repenting of sin. • 5. Ask for forgiveness. • 6. Read Scripture. • 7. Worship God.

  22. " Fasting is, as much as lies in us, an imitation of the angles, a contemning of things present, a school of prayer, a nourishment of the soul, a bridle of the mouth, an abatement of concupiscence: it mollifies rage, it appeases anger, it calms the tempests of nature, it excites reason, it clears the mind, it disburdens the flesh, it chases away night-pollutions, it frees from head-ache. By fasting, a man gets composed behavior, free utterance of his tongue, right apprehensions of his mind.” John Chrysostom (4th Century)

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