Title: Fasting
Memorize: Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions. Ezra 8:21 (Nkjv)
Bible Reading: Exodus 34:38 (Nkjv)
[38] So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.
Message:
Fasting is one of the pillars of the Christian faith. It is more than mere abstinence from food and drink; it is abstinence from things (the pleasures of life) that would normally deprive you of your time with God. Fasting and prayer go together.
Joel 1:14 implores us to fast. Fasting has many benefits: it helps to put down the flesh and give your inner man strength, it helps to develop your faith, it makes your prayer life effective and efficient, it helps to open your heart to easily receive guidance from God, et cetera.
To get extraordinary help, you must do extraordinary things. Jehoshaphat proclaimed a fast in order to stand against the numerous armies that besieged him (2 Chronicles 20:3-17). David also fasted to seek God’s mercy (2 Samuel 12:16). Therefore, I implore you to set a day aside every week to fast and pray. Remember that fasting is sacred and must be done with a repentant heart. Also, do not fast with a sad countenance on your face to show that you are observing a fast.
Action Point:
Set a day aside every week for fasting henceforth and do it judiciously.
HYMN 58: My Hope Is Built On Nothing Else
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
Refrain:
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.
When darkness seems to veils His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil. [Refrain]
His oath, His covenant, and blood,
Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay. [Refrain]
When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found;
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne. [Refrain]
Bible Reading In One Year: Jeremiah 42:1-44:23, 2 Timothy 2:1-21
Authors: Pastor E.A. Adeboye and Pastor Folu Adeboye