Day of Fasting and Prayer
Why Fast and Pray?
by Bill Latham
What is Christian fasting and what does it have to do with prayer? Biblically, fasting is withholding satisfaction of physical needs or appetites. Among other things, fasting enhances and deepens our prayer life.
Christ didn't command us to fast; neither does the Scripture require it. However, Christian fasting can contribute significantly to your prayer life as well as to every aspect of your spiritual growth. The Book of Acts records believers fasting before they made important decisions (Acts 13:4, 14:23). Fasting and prayer are often linked together (Luke 2:37, 5:33).
Too often, the focus of fasting is on the lack of food. However Christian fasting extends far beyond the matter of eating or not eating. The purpose of Christian fasting is to intensify our focus on God. Christian fasting is a temporary intense denial and avoidance of specific things that draw away or lessen our focus on God and our sensitivity to His Holy Spirit. Fasting is a way to demonstrate to God and to ourselves that we are serious about our relationship with Him. While fasting in Scripture is almost always a fasting from food, the concept must not be limited to food alone. Anything a Christian can temporarily give up in order to better focus on God can be considered a fast (1 Corinthians 7:1-5).
- reference source: allaboutgod.com
