Prayer and Fasting
On Monday we discussed about whether we should fast or not. The general consensus is yes - Jesus expected us to fast. This is also mentioned in Matthew 9:15.
So today I wanted to touch a bit more on fasting. In a lot of the verses where fasting is mentioned, it is also accompanied by prayer. We see this in Nehemiah 1:4, Daniel 9:3, Luke 2:37, Acts 13:3 and Acts 14:23 to name a few.
Nehemiah's story is a great one. He was cupbearer to the King Artaxerxes. This was no menial job, but one that was very highly esteemed. When Nehemiah learned that Jerusalem was in trouble, he 'sat down and wept'. The city had no wall for protection, and this saddened Nehemiah. Nehemiah 1:4 says:
"When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven."
The end result is that the King not only let Nehemiah go to Jerusalem, but bankrolled the rebuilding process.
So fasting and prayer, it would seem, go hand in hand. It seems like a huge mountain to climb to actually get started, but I'm convinced that if we take a step of faith, we'll be suprised at the results!
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