Here is the introduction to Prayer and Fasting. 21 Days Prayer and Fasting Guide. (The Solemn Assembly) Introduction: Let us begin a new year with a heart prepared and consecrated to have a daily encounter with God. As we prepare for the three week of prayer and fasting, we want to set aside our time and meals for a season of Solemn Assembly with this kingdom family. How deep we go in prayer and fasting is entirely up to us. It depends on how seriously we want to take this privilege of praying for others and ourselves. Many prefer to stay in the comfort zones of shallow waters; others choose to launch into the deep. Deep sea fishing is costly in money, time, energy and equipment, but it is much more exhilarating and rewarding. There is a lot of dynamic action. Only the really big fish are caught in deeper waters. Prophetic Impressions I believe we, as a church we are moving from immaturity to maturity, from wandering in the desert to occupying the promise land, from instability to strength and stability, from financial lack to divine surplus. I believe we are entering into a season of expansion, increase, abundance and tremendous breakthroughs. We are entering into the divine rest and operating from the third heaven and glory. The keys will be obedience to the word and voice of God and wisdom from the above. FASTING: The Solemn Assembly The word “solemn” come from the word once a year. It is a season of restraint from ordinary business and bodily refreshment. It is a season for us to seek the lord. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me, and ye shall go and pray to me, and I will listen unto you. And you will seek me, and find me, when you search for me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:11-13) The Purpose 1. A time to seek God’s face both individually and corporately Consecrate a fast, call a sacred (solemn) assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD, (Joe 1:14-15). Blow the trumpet in Zion, consecrate a fast, call a (sacred) solemn assembly, (Joe 2:15). 2. A time of humbling ourselves: acknowledging him in our lives as the one who blesses us. We also acknowledge his ownership over every area of our lives. 3. A time of repentance. We repent of personal sins, disobedience, idolatries, pride and wrong priorities. We repent from turning God’s presence, power and program to our private progress (Haggai 1:4-11), and from losing sight of our calling and destiny. 4. A time of consecration, to separate ourselves from the world and purify ourselves for the Lord. We recommit ourselves to the Lord- to his plans, his purposes and his service- recommitting our time, talents, families, finances and our future. We consecrate ourselves to arise to his calling over us. 5. A time of preparation. We prepare of God’s restoration, reformation, outpouring, promise and prophecies to be fulfilled. We prepare our lives, our ministries, our gifting and our church for the greatest move of God in Botswana, Africa and the world will ever experience, bring in the harvest and finish the call to reach nations. 6. A time of intercession for relationships, for reconciliation and to have a readiness to “receive back” those who have left. It is a time to nullify the “elder brother” syndrome and develop a willingness to accept and submit to new leaders. The Procedure We are to consecrate a fast and to do it with sincere devotion. Fasting is self-humbling. It is an outward sign of an inward posture of the heart. We fast our food, time, priorities and even our pleasures. God is calling this fast. Over the next three weeks we should all fast at least from 6 am to 6pm and assemble in the evening for prayers. What will it cost us 1. Time. Giving up doing other good, legitimate things. We have to decide to make intercession a priority. 2. Energy. Greater intensity of desire. It can involve weeping, travail of spirit, fasting and focus prayer. Isaiah 64:7a 3. Sleep. Just like with Jesus and his Disciples in the garden of Gethsemane, It may demand sleepless nights with Him.. Matthew 26:40b 4. Purity of motive. Remember, “It is not what you are doing but why you are doing it.” Let us delight and deepen our love for God in this season of prayer and fasting. 5. It involves child-like faith. Abraham believed God without wavering in his faith. Romans 4:20 What will it lead us to? 1. A greater brokenness. To know that we humbly need His grace to be poured into our lives. A greater revelation and exchange of God’s character. 2. A greater enablement. To know that it is the Lord who works through us and our prayers. 3. A greater enlargement of your spiritual being. To know He desires His fullness to dwell in us that no man should glory in the flesh. 4. A greater fruitfulness. The promise that when we remain in Him , we will bear much fruit. 5. A greater fulfilment. Knowing we were made to worship and commune with the Great “I AM”, the never changing One. Jesus Our Example in Prayer and Fasting 1. Our great example, Jesus the Son of God, was pre-eminently a man of prayer. He prayed often. He prayed early in the morning, and there is at least one recorded occasion when He prayed all night. 2. He prayed when His life was in danger. He prayed before making important decisions, such as deciding who His twelve apostles would be. And Jesus taught His disciples to pray. Since then, all of God’s greatest men and women have been people of prayer. 3. Marks records one of Jesus’ morning prayers, “Now in the morning having risen a long time before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place, and there He prayed.” (Mark 1:35) 4. After that time of prayer Jesus commenced an extended ministry in Galilee. (Mark 1:39). 5. It is apparent that Jesus depended upon the Father to give Him strength and direction for His ministry through prayer. 6. Luke’s Gospel, tells us about Jesus spending all night in prayer. (Luke 6:12). That is serious praying. But for Jesus, the decision He had to make warranted serious praying. He was about to choose His twelve disciples. 7. On the night of His betrayal in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus spend time in agonising prayer, “And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly” (Luke 22:44) 8. In that time of prayer, He yielded Himself to the Father, saying, “Nevertheless not my will, but Yours, be done” (v. 42) 9. It was in prayer that He found the grace and strength to make the ultimate sacrifice, the giving of His life so that others might have eternal life. 10. Prayer did not cease in the life of our Lord after His agony in Gethsemane. Later, He prayed for those who nailed Him to the cross saying, “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:24) 11. Crucifixion was an extremely painful way to be put to death. Yet, in His infinite love, Jesus prayed for forgiveness for those who put Him on the cross. 12. Those in the church must prayerfully forgive those who offend them. Offences comes, they are inescapable. Some offences hurt a lot. But Believers must pray with forgiveness from the heart for those who spitefully use them and say all manner of evil against them. God will hear and answer that prayer. 13. While suspended on the cross, Jesus prayed other prayers. One was of inquiry. (Matt 27:46) Another was one of commitment. (Luke 23:46) That was not the last of Jesus prayer. Right now He is in the presence of the Father praying for us. (Hebrew 7:25). Developing an Effective Prayer Life 1. Maintain a right relationship with God. A right relationship with God has been made possible through Christ’s work of redemption for us. (Romans 5:1) 2. Maintain right relationship with others. (Matthew 5:23,24) 3. Repentance from sin. (Psalms 66:18) 4. Exercise faith in prayer. (Matthew 7:8) 5. Seek God’s will when you pray. (Luke 22:42) Spiritual Warfare 1. Frequent mention is made of Satan, cosmic powers, and principalities in the Pauline epistles. It is clear from Paul’s writings that Satan and his evil host are in open rebellion against God and seek to attack and defeat God’s people. 2. Spiritual leaders are to be knowledgeable of the ways in which these adversaries of God work and how to engage in warfare against them. 3. These powers penetrate all cultures and social structures, seeking to enslave people in legalism, mysticism, and superstition. They blind people from the truth. They are the rulers of this present darkness. (Ephesians 6:12). They crucified the Lord of glory (1 Corinthians 2:8). They keep people from the love of God. Spiritual leaders must contend with them. 4. Cosmic war rages between God and Satan and it is impossible for mankind to escape it. However, we can choose which side we want to be on, God’s or Satan’s. 5. Choosing Christ as Saviour and Lord puts us on God’s side, the winning side. Jesus purpose for coming into the world was to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). And He accomplished what He came to do. 6. Though the conflict continues, we have the armour of God with which to do battle against the enemy. (Ephesians 6:10-17) The armour is totally adequate, but for it to be effective we must put it on. The Place of Prayer in Spiritual Warfare 1. After describing the armour of God, Paul speaks of prayer, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:18) 2. Prayer is the battle itself, with God’s Word being our chief weapon employed against Satan during our struggle. 3. Paul, a great spiritual leader that he was, did not hesitate to request prayer of the Christians at Ephesus. (Ephesians 6:19) If the apostle Paul needed prayer for the ministry, then surely all who are in places of leadership today need prayer no less than he. 4. Spiritual leaders, because of their position on the front line of battles, need the support of men and women who know how to pray. Principles Of The Fast, Isaiah 58 Hindrances to Effective Fasting Issue of Deception: v.1-2 The internal principles by which we fast determine its effectiveness. God, based on the heart position of the person(s) doing the fasting, assesses the quality of the fast. The people here ritually performed a perfect fast but still did not reach or touch God. It was unacceptable in His sight. Jeremiah 17:9-10 – The condition of the heart is what God is most concerned with because it represents the most deceitful aspect of our nature. It also is the genesis of our intentions, motives and actions. It needs to be clean before God in order to make our activities acceptable to Him. Proverbs 26:23 – Right action that is inconsistent with the heart represents the Pharisee spirit which prevents God from responding to our petitions. Psalm 10:17 – There needs to be a preparation of the heart for fasting through a personal confrontation with God. • “Prepare” kuwn: to arrange; to set in order; to be directed aright. The Dynamic of a Godly Fast Moves Inward and Outward: v.3-4 While there is the need for internal regulation, a true fast also focuses on the external aspects. A true fast will order even the “secular” realms of our lives. Lifestyle Christianity must complement a purified heart position before God e.g. relationships must be in order, forgiveness granted and sought, bitterness released etc. God points out that their corrupt and skewed lifestyle principles prevented them from being heard and having their prayers answered. The fruits of the fast are determined by our lifestyle. Corporate Order: v.4 The people here had no corporate order in their approach to God through fasting. There must be corporate order during the fast. Strife and division hinder the effectiveness of fasting. Corporate order must be established. It must exist in peace and unity. External Attitudes of Piety & Humility are Unacceptable: v.5 Any Pharisee element in the process of the fast makes it unacceptable before God. The positions of humility associated with the fast were only practiced on the day and with this God was displeased. In their hearts the people were not truly humble. Humility must be an internal reality. THE APPROVED FAST 1. God as Initiator and Focus of the Fast: v.6 The fast must be one that the God has chosen. God must be the initiator and focus of the fast. Zechariah 7: 5 - God rejects the fast of the people because He was not the focus of it. Luke 18:12 shows that the Pharisee was performing a religious ritual void of instruction from God. He was fasting and praying with himself. 2. The Power of Deliverance: v.6 The approved fast always brings deliverance and release to the believer. It breaks the strongholds of the enemy and brings liberty and relief for the weary soul. 3. Breakthrough Prayer Power: v.9 The approved fast also gives power to prayer to prevail against that which it confronts. Daniel 9:1-3, 20 - Daniel demonstrated this technology in Babylon when he brought a divine response to his petition through acceptable prayer and fasting. 4. Corporate Health and Order: v.9 It restores and refreshes the corporate life of the community and brings the blessing and favour of God to the corporate experience. 5. Apostolic Strength: v.12 It releases apostolic grace for constructing God’s purpose for the community and individual. 6. Spiritual Fertility and Prosperity: v. 8,11 It releases great productivity and blessing. It unlocks hidden wells of resource for greater penetration into the things of God. Conclusion Let us begin the New Year as we consecrate our heart. Let us pray wholeheartedly and unitedly for God’s breakthrough.
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 10:28:15 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015