Reading the Bible through with me? Then read Esther 4-6. In 4:16, Queen Esther calls the people of Israel to a three day fast. Fasting is usually paired with prayer. God Himself will often call His children to fast and pray. It is an often-neglected spiritual discipline. Fasting along with prayer has several spiritual benefits. Let me give you four.
Fasting and prayer helps us see our own sins more clearly so that they might be confessed and forsaken. When we confess our sins and turn from them, God purifies us for His use.
Fasting helps us clearly discern God’s will. Fasting and prayer will clear our spiritual eyes and ears while intensifying our heart’s focus on God and His desires for us.
Fasting and prayer, when practiced with humility and focus, can unleash the Holy Spirit in our lives to influence situations locally, regionally, nationally, and even globally.
Fasting and prayer can lead to a fresh outpouring of spiritual power as we go deeper in our faith. This is so important in our current cultural rebellion against God because Jesus said that some situations can only be resolved through prayer and fasting. (Matthew 17:21).
Are you making yourself available to fast and pray? Jesus did. (Matthew 4:2) So, did Nehemiah, David, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezra, and Paul, just to mention a few. Our nation desperately needs men, women, and young people who will humble themselves, pray, seek God first, and ruthlessly confess and forsake every sin. When God’s people discipline themselves to do that faithfully, perhaps then He will hear from heaven, forgive our sins, and heal out nation.
