January 10-12 is a Weekend of Fasting and Prayer at GCC, and there are many opportunities for you to participate! We will meet for prayer at 7:00pm Friday night and 10:00am Saturday morning. A 12-hour prayer chain will start at noon on Saturday. Adult Foundations on Sunday at 9:15am will include a lesson on prayer and a time of prayer together. A suggested fasting schedule is to refrain from eating from after dinner on Friday to breakfast on Sunday, but feel free to adapt that as needed.
Why are we fasting and praying now? It hopefully seems obvious that one reason is the important process of master planning our facilities. On January 12th at 5:00pm, we will gather for a church-wide dinner, and afterwards the proposal will be unveiled to the congregation. That will give us data on facility expansion. It will not tell us the will of God for our congregation. We will seek God’s will over this weekend, not only about our physical facilities, but for our ministry in our community. We hunger for God’s guidance and direction.
The Lord’s Prayer can guide us as we seek the Lord in prayer and fasting. The prayer is about God (His honor and his kingdom), our needs (give us today our daily bread), and our renewal (forgive us our debts as we forgive, deliver us from the evil one). Spend some time praying about the honor of God: worshipping Him and thanking Him for who He is and what He does. Pray for the spread of God’s rule through the advance of the gospel of Jesus Christ (Thy kingdom come). This petition sends our thoughts outward to those without Christ and the worldwide mission of the church to reach them and make disciples of them. Also, pray about your needs and the needs of others (give us this day) in our church family, including our need for wisdom regarding the master plan. Then apply the Lord’s Prayer’s request for your renewal and that of others: forgiveness and deliverance from the evil one.
The most common question about a fasting and prayer weekend is, “What is fasting and why do it?” Here are my thoughts, adapted from an article I wrote a few years ago:
Developing a local church is a work of God. Jesus says, "On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not overcome it" (Matthew 16:16-20). Jesus is the one building His Church, and we are all simply laborers in His great work. One of the ways that we labor is in prayer, coveting His power and presence in the work we are doing in His name.
Grace Community Church is a church driven by an outward focus to communicate the gospel to those who haven't received its promises yet. This is not primarily then a function of human effort. Invitations to visitors, advertising, and publicity are all helpful ways to let people know about our church and bring them in contact with the gospel, but only God can truly draw them to Himself. Only He can keep them with us that they might move on to wholeness in Christ. So we are fasting and praying in dependence on Him to build His Church.
Why Fasting?
Fasting is the practice of refraining from food for a period of time and devoting time to prayer and focusing on God during the fast. For health reasons, some cannot fast. Others may not be able to fast on the day we’ve chosen because of other commitments. The length of the fast could vary from missing breakfast and lunch to fasting for several days.
For all the books recently written on fasting, the Bible itself doesn't give us much detailed information about it. (Please consider reading John Piper’s book A Hunger for God – you can watch a brief video on Piper’s concept.) Perhaps Matthew 6:16-18 gives us the most information about fasting; however we are not told why fasting is important, how often to fast, how long to fast, or why fasting "works". The experience of many believers from many cultures is that fasting, accompanied with believing prayer, is often accompanied by great breakthroughs in answers to prayer. When strong opposition is encountered, whether from spiritual forces or human ones, fasting and prayer have often brought down the opposition and cleared the way for the gospel to advance.
It seems that in fasting we are expressing the concept that "man does not live by bread alone". As we experience hunger pains, we remember in prayer that we absolutely depend on God for life and every good gift. We admit during a fast our powerlessness to change our circumstances, and by faith we grasp God's promise to come to our aid.
(Neh 1:3-4 NIV) They said to me, "Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire." When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.
In the instances in the Bible where fasting is mentioned, it is often in times of great national emergency or personal catastrophe. The urgent need we are considering is the need for Jesus to really take over our lives, and likewise to reach people in our community with the news of the cross and resurrection of Christ.
Jesus Himself fasted and encouraged fasting
(Mat 6:16-18 NIV) "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. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
In the passage above Jesus warns against self-righteous and prideful fasting. He warns against the attitude that says, “Look at me, I’m a wonderfully faithful and obedient Christian who fasts and is holy.” But also notice that Jesus says, “When you fast…”. Isn’t he assuming that there are times that we will want and desire to fast?
Fasting by grace, not by works
(Mat 6:1 NIV) "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
A danger of any spiritual practice is pride. Jesus warns us against this spiritual pride in Matthew 6 (on prayer, fasting, and giving). The greatest antidote to spiritual pride is God's grace. Ephesians 2:8-9 and Romans 3:21-31 make it clear that if we understand grace, it rules out all pride and boasting. Thus we are fasting not to impress God or other people with our discipline or commitment, but to express our entire and complete emptiness of any merit apart from Christ. We are fasting to more thoroughly grasp the promises which our Lord makes us through His grace! We are going hungry to say to God and ourselves that we have a soul that is hungry for Jesus even as we have a body that hungers for food.
Promises on Prayer
Please consider these promises of God about prayer while you pray, during this weekend, or anytime:
(Mark 11:20-25) As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. And Peter remembered and said to him, "Master, look! The fig tree which you cursed has withered. " And Jesus answered them, "Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain,` Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against any one; so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. "
(John 15:5-8) I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples.
(James 1:5 -8) If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives to all men generously and without reproaching, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways, will receive anything from the Lord.
I pray we’ll see God’s hand at work in us as individuals and together as a church family as we set apart this Weekend of Fasting and Prayer to seek Him.
In Him,
Don