"Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail." Isaiah 58:6-11 ESV
If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail." Isaiah 58:6-11 ESV
If you haven't noticed already, our country is in trouble. We have neglected our responsibilities as a church to actively take a stand for righteousness for the past several years. As a result, we have lost many freedoms in our country that our forefathers fought for.
Why are these freedoms so important? I believe God gave them to this country in order for us to have the opportunity to do the work of evangelism and help build a strong, unified body of Christ that will represent the true and living God to a dark and dying world. But when the Liberals came in and changed the rules, we sat back and waited for the rapture to occur. We abdicated the authority God originally gave to the people in this country.
The question is, can we take back the land? Is it too late for our country to return to God?
We could take a defeatist attitude and say that this is God's will for our nation because we are so sinful. Or, we could be in faith for revival to break out in this country and bring back the light to the church where it should be shining bright. Perhaps many will be brought into the kingdom of Light and will be pulled out of darkness.
God's word is clear that we should be praying continually. God also teaches us that we need to be fasting. Do we take this seriously, or do we think this is something optional? Do we truly understand that we are in a spiritual battle, and that we need to fight using spiritual weapons?
Here is an account of a woman named Anna, who was a prophetess. She was continually in prayer and fasting. She was used by God when Jesus was born and brought to the Temple.
"And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem." Luke 2:36-38 ESV
People who knew God fasted and prayed in the Bible days. It seemed to be common for people to be doing those things. Perhaps today we think of prayer and fasting as something we have to do, much like a list? When we finish, we just check it off.
What would happen if we pray and fast for every abortion clinic to close down? What if we pray and fast for drug pushers and pedophiles to be caught? I wonder what God would do in response to our prayers and fastings if we pray and fast for schemes such as bombing a building, or gunmen planning to go into a school building and shoot students and teachers? What if potential gunmen or bomb planters came to Christ and had a radical conversion? Nothing is too hard for God!
People get themselves entangled in sin. It is usually unaware to the person who is being tempted. He or she doesn't see the trap and falls into it. The person needs to get out of the trap. He or she needs to repent, but there is more to it. Even when a person repents, if they have given Satan a foothold into their lives, they will be trapped. They will want to be free, but they are ensnared. Sometimes, we look at them and get angry because we think they are unrepentant, but in reality, many are just ensnared. That is where prayer and fasting can come in. We want people to be free, so they can respond to God. We want people to be set free so they don't have to live in fear and guilt. If a person is trapped in sin, no amount of wanting to repent is going to set him or her free. This is where we need to carry the other person and take his burden, so he can become free. We can do this through prayer and fasting.
"And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? And he said to them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting. And they departed from there, and passed through Galilee; and he would not that any man should know it." Mark 9:28-30
All of us are going to be tempted by the devil. Satan knows where are weaknesses are. We can't just ignore him and say that everything will be ok since God is in control. God is definitely in control, but He gives us the power and the tools to fight against the Enemy of our souls. One of those weapons is prayer and fasting.
"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14
Maybe the problem is as simple as thinking that we are already praying and fasting. Maybe we need to wake up and look a little harder to see if we really are in praying mode.
I am only one person, and really, I am a nobody and am content to be so. But I have prayed for things to happen, and have found out that the things I prayed for were answered. If I can do that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, anyone can do that, if the person is in Christ. Do we really believe that God will hear us when we pray, or have we been duped by the devil into thinking that God doesn't care, or that the problems are to hard for God to change?
