Fasting and Prayer
DANIEL 10:2-3 NIV
At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. I ate no choice food;
no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the
three weeks were over.
LUKE 4:1-13 NKJ
Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan
and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty
days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward,
when they had ended, He was hungry. And the devil said to Him, “If
You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” But
Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by
bread alone, but by every word of God.’” Then the devil, taking Him
up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a
moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give
You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to
whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be
Yours.” And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan!
For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only
shall you serve.’” Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the
pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God,
throw Yourself down from here. For it is written: ‘He shall give His
angels charge over you, to keep you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall
bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” And Jesus
answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the
Lord your God.’” Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he
departed from Him until an opportune time.
3 Primary Challenges We Face in Life:
- Lust of the Flesh
- Lust of the Eyes
- Pride of Life
1 JOHN 2:15-17 NKJ
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the
world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—
the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not
of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and
the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
Our primary battle is between our flesh and our spirit.
Primary Benefits of Fasting and Prayer:
- Creates a new hunger for the things of God over the things of the
world
LUKE 4:3-4 NKJ
And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this
stone to become bread.” But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is
written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE, BUT BY
EVERY WORD OF GOD.’”
GALATIANS 5:16-17 NKJ
I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the
flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the
flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do
the things that you wish.
GALATIANS 5:19-25 NKJ
Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery,
fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred,
contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions,
dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and
the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time
past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom
of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against
such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the
flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also
walk in the Spirit. - Rewires the condition of your mind
ROMANS 8:5-8 NKJ
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things
of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of
the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually
minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against
God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So
then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. - Breaks controlling spirits off of your life
MATTHEW 17:14-21 NKJ
And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him,
kneeling down to Him and saying, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for
he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire
and often into the water. So I brought him to Your disciples, but they
could not cure him.” Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and
perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I
bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” And Jesus rebuked the demon,
and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.
Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we
not cast it out?” So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for
assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will
say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and
nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out
except by prayer and fasting.”
• Faithless: being too disconnected from God
• Perverse: being too connected to the world - Sensitizes you to the voice of God
ROMANS 8:12-14 NKJ
Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live
according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will
die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will
live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of
God.