That was Fast

Nehemiah 1:4

Nehemiah’s Prayer

As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

Ezera 9:5

And at the evening sacrifice I rose from my fasting, with my garment and my cloak torn, and fell upon my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God,

Psalm 35:13
But I, when they were sick— I wore sackcloth; I afflicted myself with fasting; I prayed with head bowed on my chest.

Psalm 109:24

My knees are weak through fasting; my body has become gaunt, with no fat.

Daniel 6:18

Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him.

Matthew 4:2

And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.

I don’t know what you think about this, but…this is INTENSE STUFF! These men of God knew what was up when it came to hearing the voice of God. When they needed an answer to a decision, they humbled out…and came before HIM.

As I read through the scripture and all the particular scripture that mentions “fast”….a theme began to emerge. Whenever “fast,” was mentioned in the Bible, men were seeking God. Whenever they needed to GO to God and talk with Him…they knew that they would best hear His voice through prayer and fasting. The two were always together.

You see, when we fast…I am talking about from food…we deprive ourselves of the thing that we have so much of. This brings us outside of our comfort zone. Everywhere we now go, we are reminded of food. We see it, smell it, hear about it…crave it. It also weakens us. It forces us to rely on Christ for strength. Whenever I have fasted, I worked out a system. Everytime my stomach girggles, I pray. Easy as that. Everytime I think about food, I pray. Everytime I feel tempted to go back to food I pray. I AM NOT LEGALISTIC. If I need to eat, I do. The way I take pills is with food. During one fast, I had to take a few pills…with food. No Big Deal. THE POINT is hearing God more clearly…by humbling ourselves to LISTEN.

There is a story in the Bible about a king who was threatened with war upon his city. The troops were beginning to surround the walls. His advisors were going nuts. What did he do? He went off into a secluded room…he prayed and fasted. WOW. seriously. Wow. THIS MAN knew what the most important thing to do was. He KNEW that he had no chance on his own. So he consulted God. I want this faith!

Love you All. Prayer always.