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Prayer and Fasting

by Jerry Ousley  
1/29/2016 / Christian Living

I felt a need to spend some time in prayer and fasting. But let me back up a moment and tell the whole story. Several months before this I had quit my job to enter the tent ministry. When we are young we have a lot of ambition. We are ready to take the world by force if necessary and I was no different except I had a desire to take the world for Christ. Then I hadn't even heard of the Internet and never dreamed that I'd own a computer or even like using one. Besides, it was 1978 and had I been able to afford a computer it would have occupied a whole room of our quaint little mobile home. It was near the end of the era of big tent meetings and revivals. Technology was changing rapidly and using new tools for Christ were coming into play. But in my simple mind getting a big tent and packing it out with crowds of people seemed like the best way to do it. So I did. Only, I didn't pack it out with crowds of people and in a few short months I went "belly-up."

In my heart I just knew that God had directed me to go in this direction but why had I failed? To most people the simple solution would be to just quit, find a job and go back to work. And folks, in the long run that's what I did; but I felt a need to seek the Lord about it first.

We knew an older couple who lived in the country by a small lake. They had a little storage house close to the lake and it seemed to be the perfect place for me to get alone with God, and do some serious praying and fasting. Remember, I've confessed before that fasting is a weakness of mine. I settled in and began reading the Bible, talking it over with God and spending time away from food.

But then the lady of the house, Mable, who was a fantastic cook by the way, began tempting me with some of her delicious delicacies. I should explain that she wasn't trying to tempt me away from fasting but was just being a good hostess. At first I politely refused but then the aromas began drifting from the house my way. Why did the wind have to be blowing in my direction that day? To make a long story short, I caved. I did eat some of her great food but I continued to pray and read. In only two days God told me the obvious, "Son, this is not your time right now. I appreciate your zeal for Me but you need more training and more seasoning, so just get a job and go back to work." Even though jobs weren't easy to find then (just like now) within a week the Lord opened a door and I was back to work.

I want to spend some time today on the subject of fasting. We've been reading about the incident as found in Mark 9:14-29 regarding the man who had brought his demon-possessed son to Jesus for deliverance. In short, our Lord did deliver the man's son.

The final part of this story involves the disciples. They had come to Jesus afterward and asked why they couldn't cast the demon from the boy. His answer was simple: "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting." There it is; the dreaded subject of fasting.

In Old Testament times entire cities were called to fasts. I most readily think of the story of Nineveh and the prophet Jonah. God had sent him to tell the inhabitants of the city that He was going to destroy them because of their wickedness. The ruler of the city called all the people to fast and because they humbled themselves God did not destroy them.

But in the New Testament Jesus told His followers that fasting was to be a very personal matter kept between God and the individual. He told us that when we fast to enter our closets and not to let others know what we are doing. That was because fasting had become a show a demonstration to the world of how humble they were before God. The thing we need to know about fasting is that it isn't in the length of the fast, whether it is for days upon days or a single meal. It isn't in the length of the fast or the degree of the fast but in the quality of the fast.

The purpose of fasting is to make us more aware of God and of our dependence upon Him. Jesus was telling His disciples that to cast out demons like this required time spent with God, and an awareness of our total dependence upon the LORD. I'm in no way trying to tell you that fasting is not necessary. But we humans often concentrate more on the action than on the purpose. Fast when God directs you to do so. Do it in the way God has spoken to your heart. But never forget that its purpose is to bring you into a place where we know who's in charge and who really has the power. When we do it in the right way we will indeed become a powerhouse for God because actually we have put ourselves aside and let God come to the forefront in His proper place.

Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ?Soul Challenge?, ?Soul Journey?, ?Ordeal?, ?The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ?The Shoe Tree.? Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge.

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