21 Days of Prayer and Fasting

Prayer and Fasting

21 Days of Prayer and Fasting
1. Daniel 9:3 “So I turned my attention to God, to seek Him by prayer and petitions, with fasting, and sackcloth and ashes.”
  1. Turn our attention to God
  2. Seek Him by prayer and petitions
  3. Seek Him through fasting
  4. Sackcloth and Ashes- represent repentance
2. Daniel 10:3 “In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks. I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks.”
  1. ‭‭21 days- 21 is the number in the Bible that represents sinful nature, disobedience and rebellion
  2. “Nor did I anoint myself” - basically means he did not do things that gave his flesh pleasure
3. What did Daniel Accomplish?
  1. His prayers were heard (Daniel 10:11)
  2. God sends HELP for your prayers (Daniel 10:12)
  3. You overcome what the enemy has sent against you (Daniel 10:13)
  4. Your vision becomes clear (Daniel 10:14)
Turn your attention to God
1. The point is to FOCUS on what He is saying/doing
  1. Remove distractions from your life ESPECIALLY sinful ones (Hebrews 12:1)
  2. Take attention off fleshly things
Seek God through prayer
1. If you do not take time to pray, you will not accomplish anything!
2. Daniel 6:10 says Daniel had the habit of praying 3x a day
3. Jeremiah 29:13 - You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart

Petitions: John 15:7 “If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you”

Seek God through Fasting:
1. Fasting is sacrificing something in your flesh with the purpose of focusing on the spirit and causing change in the spiritual part of your life. Fasting helps you to:
2. Seek God’s face and have a closer relationship with him
  1. Matthew 4:4 “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
  2. Fasting teaches you to live of of more than the physical part of your world.
3. MOVE God’s Hand
  1. Matthew 6:6 ““And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
  2. Fasting is a way to move God’s heart
4. To SEE RESULTS!!
  1. Mark 9:29 - there are some spirits that can only be cast out through prayer and fasting
  2. Luke 11:9 - ask seek and knock
5. Grow Spiritually and repent (make changes)
  1. Repent from our sins John 3:30 “He must become greater; I must become less."
  2. Clear vision of what’s next
    1. Holy Spirit convicts us and gives us answers
    2. The more our spirit grows, the more our flesh decreases
  3. Read the word!
    1. Find a way to be disciplined in the word during your time of fasting and prayer so that God can speak to you
Types of Fasts: While you can fast anything that gives you pleasure, the bible only mentions 3 main types of fasts. These 3 fasts relate to the 3 strongest forces in our flesh:
Praying and Fasting in Community
1. Agreement brings results!
  1. Matthew 18:19 “Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.”
  2. There is power in numbers!

SYA in Action! These 21 days SYA will be fasting and praying in agreement for our:

GROUPS, GROUPS, GROUPS!
Stronger spiritual lives for our leaders
Successful services
Our next Exodus
This year’s SYA conference

Prayer and Fasting

1 Thes 5:17-18 “ pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit.”

QUENCH: to suppress, to cool, to stop using

The Power of Prayer
1. Prayer is RELATIONSHIP
  1. John 15:7 “If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you”
  2. Prayer opens the door to constant relationship with God
  3. Only through relationship, and knowing God’s heart can our prayers have power
2. Prayer is PEACE
  1. Phil. 4:6 “Worry about nothing, pray about everything, present your requests to God with thanksgiving”
  2. Christians who do not experience peace are often deeply lacking in their prayer lives.
3. Prayer is STRENGTH
  1. Romans 8:26 “The spirit helps us in our weakness when we do not know how to pray, he intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words”
  2. It is impossible to conquer temptation without the help of the Spirit, who acts on our behalf during prayer. (Matthew 26:41 - pray that you will not fall into temptation)
4. Prayer is POWER
  1. Mark 11:24 “Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours”
  2. When you pray, God gives you the victory over whatever you are facing in your life!
  3. Jeremiah 33:3 “Call to me and I will answer you, and I will show you things that you have not yet known”
5. The model of prayer
  1. Jesus models how to pray in healthy prayer life contains each of the following:
    1. Relationship - “My Father”
    2. Worship - “You are Holy”
    3. Submission - “Let your will be done”
    4. Requests - “Give us this day…”
    5. Intercession - “we forgive those who have wronged us”
    6. War - “lead us not into temptation” & “Deliver us from the evil one”
How to Pray with power
1. Luke 11:1-13“Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” 2 And he said to them, “When you pray, say:“Father, hallowed be your name.Your kingdom come.3 Give us each day our daily bread,[b]4 and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.And lead us not into temptation.”5 And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, 6 for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7 and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? 8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence[c] he will rise and give him whatever he needs. 9 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son asks for[d] a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
2. Be specific “Give us this day our daily bread”
  1. What is the daily bread you are needing? Have you asked God for it specifically?
  2. Phil. 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
3. Repent “Forgive us our sins”
  1. Repentance is what causes us to look inward for change, rather than only praying for our outward situations to change.
  2. Without repentance and introspection prayer is one sided and weak
  3. Romans 2:4 “God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance…”
4. Forgive Others “As we forgive those that sin against us”
  1. We often forget that our own forgiveness is not complete if we don’t forgive others
  2. Mark 11:25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
5. Recognize your humanity “Deliver us from temptation”
  1. Matthew 26:41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
  2. The longer we are christians the greater our tendency is to think we can not fall. Praying about your temptations forces you to be vigilant and can save you from falling into them.
6. Be persistent “Ask, seek, knock”
  1. There are some prayers that are answered because we’ve asked, but some require us to take action and seek, or go the extra mile and knock
  2. We need to be willing to be persistent in prayer! Praying one time doesn’t always do it!
7. Trust “What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?”
  1. Trust that God is a good father that wants to give us good things! He is always going to give us the best
8. Ask for the Holy Spirit
  1. Constantly ask for help from the Holy Spirit
  2. He is our counselor, comforter, the one who changes our soul and can give us anything we need!
The Power of FASTING
1. What is fasting? - Giving something up in order to:
2. Seek God’s face and have a closer relationship with him
  1. Matthew 4:4 “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
  2. Fasting teaches you to live of of more than the physical part of your world.
3. MOVE God’s Hand
  1. Mathew 6:6 ““And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
  2. Fasting is a way to move God’s heart
4. Grow Spiritually
  1. John 3:30 “He must become greater; I must become less."
  2. The more our spirit grows, the more our flesh decreases
5. Types of Fasts: While you can fast anything that gives you pleasure, the bible only mentions 3 main types of fasts. These 3 fasts relate to the 3 strongest forces in our flesh.
  1. Fasting food
    1. Partial (Daniel 10:3- Daniel’s fast)
    2. Hourly ( Luke 4:2 - Jesus’ fast)
    3. Liquid only (another partial fast)
  2. Fasting Sleep (Psalms 5:3)
  3. Fasting Sex (I Cor 7:5)
Praying and Fasting in Community
1. Agreement brings results!
  1. Matthew 18:19 “Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.”
  2. There is power in numbers!

SYA in Action! These 21 days SYA will be fasting and praying in agreement for our:

GROUPS, GROUPS, GROUPS!
Stronger spiritual lives for our leaders
Successful services
Our next Exodus
This year’s SYA conference

PreachingVanessa Gracia CruzJanuary 11, 2019Comment