Prayer and Fasting: Power Up Your Prayers

Prayer and Fasting: Power Up Your Prayers

Imagine you want to give your phone the best possible signal to download a huge file. You might turn off Wi-Fi and use cellular data for a stronger connection. Prayer and fasting work in a similar way! Prayer is talking to God, and fasting is giving up something physical (usually food) to focus more on your spiritual connection. This combination can be a powerful tool.

Combining Fasting with Prayer

1. What is Fasting? Fasting is when we stop eating or give up something important to us for a while. We do this to spend more time with God in prayer and to show Him that we are serious about our prayers. Example: Imagine you give up watching your favorite TV show for a week so you can spend that time talking to God and reading the Bible. That’s fasting.
2. Why Combine Fasting with Prayer? Fasting helps us focus more on God. When we feel hungry or miss what we’ve given up, it reminds us to pray and rely on God. Scriptural Reference: “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.” – Matthew 6:16 Story: Jesus taught that when we fast, we should not show off or make it obvious. Instead, we should do it quietly, focusing on God.

Biblical Examples and Purposes of Fasting

1. Jesus Fasts in the Wilderness Story: Before Jesus started His ministry, He went into the wilderness and fasted for 40 days and nights. During this time, He prayed and prepared Himself for the work God had for Him. Scriptural Reference: “After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.” – Matthew 4:2 Example: Imagine you’re going to run a big race. You practice and prepare yourself. Jesus fasted and prayed to prepare Himself for His important work.
2. Esther Fasts for Her People Story: Queen Esther asked her people to fast and pray for three days so she could have the courage and wisdom to speak to the king and save her people from danger. Scriptural Reference: “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do.” – Esther 4:16 Example: Think about needing to ask your teacher something very important and scary. You might ask your friends to think of you and wish you good luck. Esther asked her people to fast and pray for her.
3. Daniel’s Fast for Understanding Story: Daniel wanted to understand a vision from God, so he fasted and prayed for 21 days, eating only simple food. God heard his prayers and sent an angel to give him understanding. Scriptural Reference: “At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over.” – Daniel 10:2-3 Example: Imagine you’re studying for a big test and you give up playing video games so you can focus better. Daniel gave up special food to focus on understanding God’s message.

Purposes of Fasting

1. Seeking God’s Guidance Fasting helps us focus on hearing God’s voice and understanding His will. Scriptural Reference: “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.'” – Acts 13:2 Example: Like closing your eyes to listen carefully to your teacher’s instructions, fasting helps us listen to God.
2. Showing Repentance Fasting can be a way to show we are sorry for our sins and want to change. Scriptural Reference: “When they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. On that day they fasted and there they confessed, ‘We have sinned against the Lord.'” – 1 Samuel 7:6 Example: If you did something wrong and you stop playing with your favorite toy to show you’re really sorry, fasting is like that for God.
3. Strengthening Prayer Fasting makes our prayers stronger by helping us focus more on God and less on ourselves. Scriptural Reference: “So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.” – Ezra 8:23 Example: If you’re really serious about wanting something, you might put in extra effort. Fasting is putting extra effort into our prayers.

Summary

Prayer and fasting go hand in hand. Fasting is when we give up something important, like food, to focus more on praying to God. It helps us seek God’s guidance, show we are sorry for our sins, and strengthen our prayers. We saw how Jesus, Esther, and Daniel fasted and prayed for different reasons. Remember, fasting helps us get closer to God and show Him we are serious about our prayers.