Message #2 (of 20) from the PrayerPower radio series
"The Deeper Life of Prayer"

by Kaye Johns

Throughout Scripture, fasting is linked to prayer. When Jesus taught His disciples about prayer, in the same passage from Matthew 6, He linked prayer with instructions about motives for fasting--not to be obvious to men, but "only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." [Matthew 6:18]

The words "will reward you" made me think of the verse in Hebrews 11: "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." [Hebrews 11:6] Earnestly seeking God is at the heart of fasting.

Although there are different types of fasting represented in the Bible, from Moses’s supernatural fast from all food and water for forty days [Exodus 34:28] to Daniel’s partial fast for three weeks and Saul’s (later Paul) three day fast after he met the Lord on the road to Damascus [Acts 9:9]--the purpose was always to seek after God.

It is no different for us today. We fast to seek after God, to humble ourselves and spend more time with Him in prayer. We fast to seek a deeper level of prayer and spiritual intimacy. We fast to seek our reward: a greater understanding of the One Who promised that when we seek His face, He will be found [Jeremiah 29:13-14]; when we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us [James 4:8].

Pray with me now -- Father, give us an increased desire to seek Your face, to draw near to You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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