Fasting and Praying

On the eve of the crucifixion, Jesus was in Gethsemane praying hard.  His disciples were supposed to also be praying but they were sleeping instead.  You can hear the disappointment in Jesus voice when he asked them, “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” - Matthew 26:40.

The disciples let Jesus down when He needed them most. Their failure didn’t just hurt Jesus; Jesus knew that it would hurt them.  

Later, after Jesus was arrested, “Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. ‘You also were with Jesus of Galilee,’ she said. But he denied it before them all. 'I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ he said. Then he went out to the gateway, where another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, 'This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.’ He denied it again, with an oath: 'I don’t know the man!’” - Matthew 26:69-72.

Author and Pastor, Mark Batterson, asks in his book The Circle Maker:  "Would Peter have disowned Jesus if he had been praying instead of sleeping?“  I’d like to think that if Peter had stayed up to pray like Jesus had asked him, then Peter would have been strong and "prayed up” rather than letting his weak flesh get the best of him…

After being let down by those he kept close and asked to pray for him, Jesus said: “the Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak”. - Matthew 26:41.  This statement gives us insight into not only why we pray, but why we fast.  Fasting gives us more power to pray because it’s an exercise in willpower. Physical discipline gives us the spiritual discipline to pray through.

It’s a struggle to fast…we love food!  We need food to sustain us.  And we can’t go cold turkey food for forever like we can with alcohol or say, diet coke.  At some point, we will need to eat again, and our bodies (and minds) make sure we know that fact!  But, fasting is the way I say to God, “I crave you more than I crave food”.  

I’ve found that saying 'no’ to food helps me say 'no’ to whatever my flesh craves.  The weaker I am in a moment of wanting to give up while fasting…the quicker I turn to God in prayer for strength to get through.  It’s like a spiritual workout that strengthens my willpower.  If I can say 'no’ to food, I can say 'no’ to other forms of temptation.

Fasting quiets the flesh and brings clarity.  It cuts out normal distractions so we can run to God quicker.  It helps us focus and become more aware of the voice and peace of God.  Fasting is the way we break down our spiritual calluses.  It helps us regain sensitivity to the Holy Spirit and what He has been trying to tell us.

Fasting shows God that I mean business.

Sonny Hennessy