Open Heavens- Prayer and Fasting 4

Topic: Open Heavens – Prayer and Fasting 4

Memory Verse: …  “However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” – Matthew 17:21 – (NKJV).

Text: Luke 4:1-4

Spiritual Emphasis:  Prayer is communion with the Lord, the coming before our heavenly Father to know Him and to share your heart with Him, and to listen to Him.  Fasting is another way to do this, the act of refraining from an action. Most fasting involves food, but it can be abstaining from electronics, media, an action, or something of your choice. The act of prayer and fasting together creates a space of your life away from an action or distraction and is spent in communion with the Lord God.

     Benefits of Fasting with Prayers

• Fasting Helps us subdue the Flesh – Sometimes our natural circumstances can dominate our thoughts. If we let it, our flesh will hijack our spiritual life, dominate our thinking and ultimately determine our outcome…unless we stop it. Increasing our prayer time, doubling up on the Word of God, and fasting will subdues our flesh and open our spiritual ears to receive from the Lord – Matthew 26:41; Gal. 5:16-17; Ephesians 6:12; Galatians 5:25.
• Fasting Brings Revelation – Fasting helps us to tune in to the spirit realm where healing and all of our inheritance already belong to us. Spiritual fasting will shut down the influences of the five physical senses, so you can walk in the spirit. Your healing, your victory, your strength, your faith and the power of God are all in the spirit. So, when we fast, we prepare our spirit to receive revelation. It may be to understand something from the Word which you know God has been trying to reveal to you, but you haven’t been able to grasp – Isaiah 58:8; Psalm 119:130.

Questions/Activities: Is there a special way to prepare for a true spiritual fast? If any please explain.

Conclusion.  As you embark on the quest for the benefits of fasting, be sure you have met the conditions required to see results. Before you begin a spiritual fast, get rid of all strife, gossip, or anything else that is out of the love walk. You must be operating in the love of God to see results from a fast. These conditions prevent Satan from coming in and destroying the effectiveness of the fast. If you are not operating in love, your fasting will not benefit you.

Shalom! Self-Study: Matthew 6:16-18; Jonah 3:5-9; Joel 2:12-13; Daniel 9:3-5; Exodus 34:28; Matthew 6:8; Ephesians 6:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18; Colossians 4:2; 1 John 5:14.