Knowing God’s Will Through Prayer and Fasting
27th January 2008 am
Soon after Israel had invaded Palestine in the days of Joshua, they were fooled into signing an unscriptural peace treaty with a group of deceitful pagans. The cause for this tragic error is clearly stated in God’s Word – Joshua 9:6 And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD. The Gibeonites, brought only trouble to Israel. (Josh 10:4-15; 2 Sam 21:1-14)
It is that one of the most important factors in knowing God’s will for our lives is to pray. James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
Have you ever watched how a bird sleeps on its perch and never falls off? How does it manage to do this? The secret is the tendons of the bird’s legs. They are so constructed that when the leg is bent at the knee, the claws contract and grip like a steel trap. The claws refuse to let go until the knees are unbent again. The bended knee gives the bird the ability to hold on to his perch so tightly.
Is this not also the secret of the holding power of the Christian? Daniel found this to be true. Surrounded by a pagan environment, tempted to compromise with evil, urged to weaken his grip on God, he refused to let go. He held firm when others faltered because he was a man of prayer. He knew the power of the bended knee. Daniel 9:3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: [4] And I prayed unto the Lord my God…
In the light of these passages it is evident that the Christian must pray to know God’s will. In other Bible verses fasting is linked with prayer.
Matthew 6:5-18
A. Our Praying
I. We must Pray Sincerely – Verses 7-8
The fact that a prayer is repeated does not make it a “vain repetition.” Christ repeated His prayer in Matthew 26:39 And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. & 42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.
A request becomes a vain repetition if it is only a babbling of words without a sincere heart to seek and do God’s will. The reciting of memorised prayers can be a vain repetition. The Gentiles used such prayers in their pagan ceremonies 1 Kings 18:26 And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leapt upon the alter which was made.
(Ill - Hare Krishna – repeated over and over and over..)
God does not answer insincere prayers.
God is concerned about our needs and knows them before we even mention them (verse 8). If this is the case, then why pray? Because prayer is the God-appointed way to have these needs met James 4:2b-3 …ye have not, because ye ask not. [3] ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
Prayer prepares us for the proper use of the answer. If we know our need, and if we voice it to God, trusting Him for His provisions, then we will make better use of the answer than if God forced it on us without our asking.
II. We must Pray in God’s Will – Verses 9-13
We know this as “The Lord’s Prayer,” but a better title would be “The Disciples’ Prayer.” Jesus did not give this prayer to us to memorise and recite a number of times; He gave us this prayer to keep us from using vain repetitions.
Jesus never said, “Pray these words.” He said, “After this manner therefore pray ye:” in other words, use this prayer as a pattern and not as a substitute. The purpose of prayer is to glorify God’s name and to ask for help to accomplish His will on earth.
Someone once said, “Prayer is a mighty instrument, not for getting man’s will done in heaven, but for getting God’s will done in earth.” We have no right to ask God for anything that will dishonour His name or disturb His will on earth or in our lives.
It is right to pray for daily physical needs, for forgiveness, for guidance, and for protection against evil. We are asking God to guide us so that we will not get out of His will and get involved with something we shouldn’t.
III. We must Pray with a Forgiving Spirit – Verses 14-15
Verse 12 is not the prayer of a sinner, but of a saint. The prayer of a sinner begins and ends with God be merciful to me a sinner (Luke 18:13)
The plea here is from a child of God who has grieved his Heavenly Father by some wrong attitude, thought, word, or deed and needs parental forgiveness. The Lord taught the principle that mercy must beget mercy.
Mercy received must be mercy reproduced. How can we logically, consistently, or morally ask God to forgive us if we ourselves are unwilling to forgive others.
Here in Verses 14-15 , the Lord picks up on the request for forgiveness… Unless we are willing to forgive others, and unless we are glad we have the opportunity of extending some small degree the mercy and forgiveness of which we stand in great need of ourselves, we are not really penitent… In other words we are asking God to forgive us by His grace and we’re not willing to extend that grace to others.
B. Our Fasting
I. What is the Meaning of Fasting?
To fast is to abstain for a period of time from some important and necessary activity in our lives
"Moreover, when you fast..." (vs. 16)
Fasting involves those times when we turn our back on legitimate things to seek the face of God. Fasting declares that I want God more than I want food, more than I want sleep, and more than I want intimacy with my companion.
The only fast imposed by law on the Jews was that of the day of atonement, Leviticus 16:31 It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever.
There are other Old Testament examples of fasting.
The whole nation fasted after the civil war with Benjamin (Judges 20:26).
Samuel made the people fast after they had gone after the false god Baal (1 Samuel 7:6)
In the time of Nehemiah the Jews fasted because of their sins (Neh 9:1)
Moses fasted for 40 days to prepare himself for a divine truth from God (Ex 34:28)
The Lord fasted before beginning His earthly ministry.
The Lord did not command us to fast, but neither did He discourage the practice. Fasting proclaims that I want a deeper experience of God’s presence and power in my life. Fasting declares how much I need and want God in my life.
God does not respect the arithmetic of our prayers; it’s not how much we say. God does not respect the rhetoric of our prayers; it’s not how eloquent we say it.
God does not respect the logic of our prayers; it’s not how methodical our prayer might be.
God respects the sincerity of our prayers; how heartfelt they are. Fasting demonstrates how sincere we are about the thing we need.
Let go of the physical, focus on the spiritual!
II. What is the Purpose of Fasting?
Fasting is done that we might spend that time in prayer before God.
God’s main purposes for fasting is seen in Isaiah 58:6-8
To get freedom from addictions “loose the bands” (things you’d like to lay down but have been unable to) “I’ve tried to quit smoking, but I can’t!” Try fasting! Porn/alcohol/cussing/thought life…try fasting!
God has ordained that when we get serious about walking in victory we demonstrate it thru fasting…& He knows we’re serious now!
To solve problems “undo heavy burdens” messed up finances/problems at home/job solution? God can deal with in an instant what you’ve stressed for weeks and months!
For revival and soulwinning “let oppressed go free” I challenge you to do this this week!
To conquer mental and emotional problems “break every yoke”
To seek God’s will in your life…you’re at the fork in the road and don’t know which way to go, v. 8 “light break forth”…it’s like God turns on the lights and now you know what to do!
III. What are the Rewards of Fasting?
Matthew 6:16-18 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward [17] But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; [18]That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
The wrong way to fast is to call attention to the fact that you are fasting. The Pharisees who fasted looked very sad and they put ashes on their faces as an indication of their pity. They wanted to let every one know that they were fasting. They didn’t do it out of true humility before God.
Make sure your motives are right, don’t go around parading the fact so that people can say, “Oh, look how super spiritual they are by fasting, they’re super Christians…” anoint thine head, and wash thy face. If your fasting is unto God, keep it for Him.
The Pharisees proclaimed their fasting so that all who saw them might take notice that it was a fasting-day with them. Even on these days they appeared in the streets, whereas they should have been in their closets; they had a downcast look, a melancholy countenance, a slow and solemn pace in order that men might see that they fasted and might praise them as devout men. If your fast is in any way designed to attract the praise of men, your fast is in vain.
When we fast, we are to make sure it is a secret between us and God. THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF A CHRISTIAN’S LIFE IS THE PART THAT ONLY GOD SEES. When your reputation becomes more important than your character, you have become a hypocrite.
You know why the secret place is so important to God? Because when you are in your closet and you’re in that secret place there is no applause or cheering for your performance. There is no acclaim, no people telling you what a great Christian you are. There are no awards, no plaques or trophies telling you about your skill in praying. When you’re in the secret place it’s just God, and that’s all God wants it to be -just you and Him.
Conclusion
Oh, the need for more fasting and prayer. Unusual situations require unusual steps. We are specialists in organizing, but strangers to agonizing. Fasting involves doing without the physical in order to obtain the spiritual. Prayer is the hand by which we grasp the invisible; fasting is the hand by which we relinquish the visible.
C. H. Spurgeon once said, “God reserves certain blessings, and determines to bestow them only upon those who offer importunate prayer and practice self-denial (fasting).”
How serious are you about knowing God’s will for your life? It will show in the amount of time you spend in prayer to Him.
