PRAYER ROOMS
PRAYER GUIDE
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written,
“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” – Matthew 4:1-4
Human beings are not merely physical beings, nor are we merely spiritual beings. We are what is known as a psychosomatic unity. We are body, soul, spirit all mingled together. So often in modern American protestant Christianity, we overemphasize the mind in our discipleship and underemphasize the role of our bodies. Fasting is a corrective for this. We tend to think our biggest issues and challenges can be solved by more information. I will read a book on that. I will listen to a podcast. I will hear a speaker. But less frequently do we say: “I will abstain from food to engage in this issue.” And yet there is great power in what we do with our stomachs. Often an untapped power.
What did Jesus do when he was baptized in the Jordan, and received the Father’s blessing, and knew that he was being called to step into a new and holy vocation – that of the Messiah, the Son of David, the world’s rightful King and the Lamb of God? Did he study or read about his calling to better understand how to engage in it? Did he seek out an expert to listen to about it? Did he look for more information? No. He fasted and prayed, seeking the LORD with his entire body (empty stomach included) by engaging in a forty day fast.
There are certain areas in our lives that we need to engage in the same way Jesus did – with our whole bodies. For thousands of years, this has been the pattern of spiritual engagement for the people of God. Before key moments in the story of redemption, God’s people fasted, emptying their stomachs in order to to engage their psychosomatic unities with God and his purposes.
Scientists, of course, study the effects of fasting on the body. In many cases, they are actually quite positive. It tends to reduce our insulin resistance. It can increase autophagy (the body’s cellular cleanup system). It increases the level of ketones in the blood and brain. It can contribute to a whole host of positive effects on the body. This is why many secular people have embraced fasting. But when we fast with spiritual purpose, contending for God’s Kingdom, the real power of fasting is what it can do in our spirits.
Put simply, fasting deepens our level of engagement, with ourselves, with God, and even with the Enemy. Jesus’ ability to discern the weakness of his own flesh, and the specific temptations of the enemy were heightened through fasting. Fasting also can activate our spiritual hunger, by tethering it to our physical hunger.
This January, we are entering a season of prayer and fasting. Our first key step, as it was for Jesus, is to identify what we are fasting FOR. What is the purpose of our fast? What aspect of God’s Kingdom are we desiring to see break into our reality in a new way? Jesus fasted into his calling to be Israel’s Messiah, the world’s true King and Savior. What is the purpose of your fasting? What are you contending for spiritually, as you engage your body and stomach through fasting?
For Prayer/Reflection:
Ask for God’s heart and vision for your year? Ask for God to awaken you from slumber, apathy, and numbness and into a state of holy hunger, longing, and desire for God and his Kingdom.
Ask God to highlight specific Kingdom breakthroughs you are longing for in 2024, in your life, family, neighborhood, home church, church, workplace, city.
Ask God to lead you into a state of holy resolve as you seek God in 2024.
In Our Time 