Far From Boring: Priority and Principles of Prayer and Fasting

Isaiah 58:1-14 "Cry loudly, do not hold back; Raise your voice like a trumpet, And declare to My people their transgression And to the house of Jacob their sins. 2 Yet they seek Me day by day and delight to know My ways, As a nation that has done righteousness And has not forsaken the ordinance of their

God. They ask Me for just decisions, They delight in the nearness of God. 3 'Why have we fasted and You do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?' Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, And drive hard all your workers. 4 Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to

strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high. 5 Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it for bowing one's head like a reed And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an

acceptable day to the LORD? 6 Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free And break every yoke? 7 Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked,

to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh? 8 Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will speedily spring forth; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. 9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; You will

cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness, 10 And if you give yourself to the hungry And satisfy the desire of the afflicted, Then your light will rise in darkness And your gloom will become like midday. 11 And the

LORD will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. 12 Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old

foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell. 13 If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot From doing your own pleasure on My holy day, And call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, And honor it,

desisting from your own ways, From seeking your own pleasure And speaking your own word, 14 Then you will take delight in the LORD, And I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

"Our character is sifted through prayer, revealing how it stands with respect to duty." –Clement of Alexandria

I. PRIORITY OF PRAYER Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, –Luke 18:1 [the widow and the judge]

I. PRIORITY OF PRAYER Therefore I desire that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting; –1 Timothy 2:8

I. PRIORITY OF PRAYER Prayer pulls the rope

I. PRIORITY OF PRAYER Prayer reminds us Who is in charge Be still, and know that I [am] God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! –Psalms 46:10

I. PRIORITY OF PRAYER Prayer changes us –“size seven”

I. PRIORITY OF PRAYER People who pray change the world We must stand in the gap

I. PRIORITY OF PRAYER "So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. –Ezekiel 22:30

I. PRIORITY OF PRAYER He saw that [there was] no man, and wondered that [there was] no intercessor; –Isaiah 59:16

I. PRIORITY OF PRAYER We must pray for harvesters

I. PRIORITY OF PRAYER But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples,

I. PRIORITY OF PRAYER "The harvest truly [is] plentiful, but the laborers [are] few."Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." –Matthew 9:36-38

II. PRINCIPLES OF PRAYER Lord, Teach us to Pray And it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, [that] one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples." –Luke 11:1

II. PRINCIPLES OF PRAYER Lord, Teach us to Pray Matthew 6:9-13 "Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread.

II. PRINCIPLES OF PRAYER Lord, Teach us to Pray 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

II. PRINCIPLES OF PRAYER Lord, Teach us to Pray The best time for prayer isn't found. It's made. –Catherine Marshall

II. PRINCIPLES OF PRAYER Pray in Jesus' name "And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do [it]. –John 14:13-14

II. PRINCIPLES OF PRAYER Pray in Jesus' name "Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. –John 16:24

II. PRINCIPLES OF PRAYER Pray with expectation. James 1:6-7 But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,

III. PRIORITY OF FASTING God's Kind of Fast is-– [Isa.58:6-7] 1.breaking oppression 2.Lifting burdens 3.feeding the hungry 4.housing the homeless 5.clothing the poor 6.facing our own mortality

IV. PRINCIPLES OF FASTING A.Three categories of fasting 1.Food 2.Finances 3.Fun and Intimacy

IV. PRINCIPLES OF FASTING A.Three categories of fasting 1.Food a. Limited Fast b. Daniel Fast c. Total Fast –short-term–Esther –long-term– Moses/Jesus

IV. PRINCIPLES OF FASTING A.Three categories of fasting 1.Food 2.Finances Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia:

IV. PRINCIPLES OF FASTING that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. For I bear witness that according to [their] ability, yes, and beyond [their] ability, [they

IV. PRINCIPLES OF FASTING were] freely willing, imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. –2 Corinthians 8:1-4

IV. PRINCIPLES OF FASTING A.Three categories of fasting 1.Food 2.Finances 3.Fun and Intimacy

IV. PRINCIPLES OF FASTING Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. –Corinthians 7:5

IV. PRINCIPLES OF FASTING B.Some results of fasting found in the Word of God, taken from Handle With Prayer by Charles Stanley 1. We learn obedience to God 2. We control our fleshly appetites

IV. PRINCIPLES OF FASTING 3. We submit to the control of Holy Spirit 4. It enhances worship 5. It disciplines our spirit 6. It helps us find and follow the will of God 7. It brings repentance

IV. PRINCIPLES OF FASTING 8. It provides protection for ourselves and our nation 9. It helps us accomplish God's work 10. It provides a spiritual awakening

The Lord’s Hand is With Us Also the hand of God was on Judah to give them singleness of heart to do the commandment of the king and the leaders, at the word of the LORD. –2 Chronicles 30:12

The Lord’s Hand is With Us For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like- minded toward one another,

The Lord’s Hand is With Us according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind [and] one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. –Romans 15:4-6

Far From Boring: Priority and Principles of Prayer and Fasting