MEMORY VERSRE: Mark 9:29 – And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
REASONS FOR FASTING & PRAYER : Nehemiah 1:4
And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven.
Fasting and prayer are often linked together. Too often, the focus of fasting is on the lack of food. Instead, the purpose of fasting should be to take your eyes off the things of this world to focus completely on God. Fasting is a way to demonstrate to God, and to ourselves, that we are serious about our relationship with Him. Fasting helps us gain a new perspective and a renewed reliance upon God.
REQUIREMENT FOR FASTING & PRAYER: Matthew 6:16-18
Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance:for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret:and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
Psalms 24:3-6 Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord?
or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity,nor sworn deceitfully.
He shall receive the blessing from the Lord,and righteousness from the God of his salvation.This is the generation of them that seek him,that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.
Prayer and fasting is like entering into the presence of the Lord
DANIEL
ESTHER
KING JEHOSAPHAT
AN ANSWERED PRAYER
John Maxwell writes in his book, Partners in Prayer;
“In the summer of 1876, grasshoppers nearly destroyed the crops in Minnesota. SO in the spring of 1877, farmers were worried. They believed that the dreadful plague would once again visit them and again destroy the rich wheat crop, bringing ruin to thousands of people.
The situation was so serious that Governor John S. Pillsbury proclaimed April 26 as a day of prayer and fasting He urged every man, woman and child to ask God to prevent the terrible scourge. On that April day all schools, shops, stores and offices were closed. There was a reverent, quite hush over all the state.
The next day dawned bright and clear. Temperature soared to what they ordinary were in midsummer, which was very unusual for April. Minnesotans were devastated as they discovered billions of grasshopper larvae wiggling to life. For 3 days the unusual heat persisted, and the larvae hatched. It appeared that it wouldn’t be long before they started feeding and destroying the wheat crop.
On the fourth day, however the temperature suddenly dropped, and that night frost, covered the entire state. Result – it killed every one of thos…