FASTING AND PRAYER

Matthew 6:16-18 NIV

16 
“When you fast, do not look somber as the
hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to
show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you,
they have received their reward in full. 17 But
when you fast, put oil on your head and wash
your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to
others that you are fasting, but only to your
Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who
sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
United Pentecostal Church International – Kuwait Teaching Ministry
 INTRODUCTION:
 WHAT IS FASTING?
 Fasting is a spiritual discipline that is
taught in the Bible. Jesus expected His
followers to fast, and He said that God
rewards fasting. Fasting, according to
the Bible, means to voluntarily reduce
or eliminate your intake of food for a
specific time and purpose.

United Pentecostal Church International – Kuwait Teaching Ministry

 WHY FAST?
 1. Fasting gives you more time for
prayer. You can use the time you'd
normally spend eating as time in prayer.

 Acts 13:2-3 (NIV) "While they were

worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy
Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and
Saul for the work to which I have called
them.' So after they had fasted and prayed,
they placed their hands on them and sent
them off."
United Pentecostal Church International – Kuwait Teaching Ministry
 WHY FAST?
 2. Fasting demonstrates the depth of
your desire when praying for
something.
 Joel 1:14  Declare a holy fast; call a sacred
assembly. Summon the elders and all who
live in the land to the house of the LORD your
God, and cry out to the LORD.
Joel 2:12 “Even now,” declares the LORD,
    “return to me with all your heart,
    with fasting and weeping and mourning.”

United Pentecostal Church International – Kuwait Teaching Ministry

 WHY FAST?
 3. Fasting releases God's supernatural
power. It is a tool we can use when
there is opposition to God's will. Satan
would like nothing better than to
cause division, discouragement,
defeat, depression, and doubt among
us. United prayer and fasting has
always been used by God to deal a
decisive blow to the enemy!

United Pentecostal Church International – Kuwait Teaching Ministry

 WHY FAST?
 Isaiah 58:6 (NIV) "God says, "Is not
this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice and
untie the cords of the yoke, to set the
oppressed free and break every yoke?"

United Pentecostal Church International – Kuwait Teaching Ministry

 IMPORTANCE OF
FASTING(VICTORY)
 MOSES fasted before he received the
Ten Commandments.
 Exodus 34:28 (NIV) "Moses was there
with the Lord forty days and forty
nights without eating bread or
drinking water. And he wrote on the
tablets the words of the covenant--the
Ten Commandments."

United Pentecostal Church International – Kuwait Teaching Ministry

 IMPORTANCE OF
FASTING(VICTORY)
 THE ISRAELITES fasted before a
miraculous victory.
 2 Chronicles 20:2-3 (NIV) "Some men came
and told Jehoshaphat, "A vast army is coming
against you from Edom, from the other side
of the Sea. It is already in Hazazon Tamar"
(that is, En Gedi). Alarmed, Jehoshaphat
resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he
proclaimed a fast for all Judah."

United Pentecostal Church International – Kuwait Teaching Ministry

 IMPORTANCE OF
FASTING(VICTORY)
 Daniel fasted in order to receive
guidance from God.

 " Daniel 9:3 (NIV) "So I turned to the

Lord God and pleaded with him in
prayer and petition, in fasting, and in
sackcloth and ashes

United Pentecostal Church International – Kuwait Teaching Ministry

 IMPORTANCE OF
FASTING(VICTORY)
 Jesus fasted during His victory over
temptation.

 Luke 4:2 "For forty wilderness days

and nights he was tested by the Devil.
He ate nothing during those days, and
when the time was up he was hungry."

United Pentecostal Church International – Kuwait Teaching Ministry

 IMPORTANCE OF
FASTING(VICTORY)
 The first Christians fasted during-
decision making times.
 Acts 13:2-3 "While they were
worshiping the Lord and fasting, the
Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me
Barnabas and Saul for the work to
which I have called them.' So after
they had fasted and prayed, they
placed their hands on them and sent
them off."
United Pentecostal Church International – Kuwait Teaching Ministry
 TWO WARNINGS:

 1. Remember that fasting is not

"earning" an answer to prayer. God
cannot be blackmailed by human
effort. God wants to answer our
prayers and He answers out of grace.
Fasting simply prepares us for God's
answer.

United Pentecostal Church International – Kuwait Teaching Ministry

 TWO WARNINGS:

 2. Fast only if your health allows it at

this time. If you are able to do only a
partial fast - do it in faith and God
will honor your intentions.

United Pentecostal Church International – Kuwait Teaching Ministry

 Types of Christian
fasting
 Partial Fasting
 A Partial Fasting is when you refrain from
eating sun rise to sunset. You can also do
this from a certain time of day, for
example, from 7:00 am to 4:00 pm.
 Before fasting, you need to decide what
time you will not be eating. After sunrise
or whatever time you have decided to
end fasting, you may eat.

United Pentecostal Church International – Kuwait Teaching Ministry

 Types of Christian
fasting
 Daniel Fasting

 Daniel 10:2-3 At that time I, Daniel,

mourned for three weeks. I ate no choice
food; no meat or wine touched my lips;
and I used no lotions at all until the three
weeks were over.

United Pentecostal Church International – Kuwait Teaching Ministry

 Types of Christian
fasting
 The purpose of this fast is to cleanse your
body while praying and pressing into God’s
presence. Before doing this fast, you would
need to decide how long you will do this
fast for. Some people do this fast for a
week whereas others may do it for three
weeks as Daniel did.
 Joel 2:12Now, therefore,” says the Lord,
“Turn to Me with all your heart, with
fasting, with weeping and with mourning”

United Pentecostal Church International – Kuwait Teaching Ministry

 Types of Christian
fasting
 What you can eat:
 Fruits, nuts,Vegetables&Water (in order to
flush out toxins)

 What you cannot eat:

 Meats,Pastries,Chips,Bread,Fried food
 Coffee & Tea
 Juice (optional: some people do choose to
drink juice during this fast)

United Pentecostal Church International – Kuwait Teaching Ministry

 Types of Christian
fasting
 Complete Fasting
 A complete fast is where you only
drink water. You would not eat any
solid foods. Some people choose to
drink water and juice to help
maintain some energy. It would be
up to you to decide if you wanted to
include juice or not.

United Pentecostal Church International – Kuwait Teaching Ministry

 Types of Christian
fasting
 You should decide how many days you
will do this fast before beginning. This
fast will humble you as you will no longer
have the satisfaction of chewing solid
food.
 Isaiah 58:6 Is not this the kind of fasting I
have chosen: to loose the chains of
injustice and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free and break every
yoke?

United Pentecostal Church International – Kuwait Teaching Ministry

 Types of Christian
fasting
 Absolute Fasting
 An absolute fast is based on both Paul
and Esther’s fasts in the Bible. You do not
eat or drink during this fast. No drinking
included water.
 After Saul was blinded on the road to
Damascus, the Bible says,
 Acts 9:9 For three days he was blind, and
did not eat or drink anything.
United Pentecostal Church International – Kuwait Teaching Ministry
 Types of Christian
fasting
 Before Esther was going to ask the
king to ask him to not follow the
plans Haman had to kill the Jews.
The king did not know that she was
a Jew. The problem was entering the
king’s chambers without permission
could end in death.

United Pentecostal Church International – Kuwait Teaching Ministry

 Types of Christian
fasting
 Esther 4:16
 Go and gather together all the Jews
of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat
or drink for three days, night or day.
My maids and I will do the same.
And then, though it is against the
law, I will go in to see the king. If I
must die, I must die

United Pentecostal Church International – Kuwait Teaching Ministry

 Types of Christian
fasting
 Corporate Fasting
 Corporate fasting can be done in a
variety of different ways. You could
do a corporate fast with your church,
a Bible study group, your spouse,
and so on. Your group can decide
what kind of fast you will be doing
and for how long.

United Pentecostal Church International – Kuwait Teaching Ministry

 Types of Christian
fasting
 Ezra and his company fasted to ask God to
protect them on their journey to Jerusalem.
 Ezra 8:21-23 Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the
river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before
our God, to seek from him a safe journey for
ourselves, our children, and all our goods. For I was
ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and
horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our
way, since we had told the king, “The hand of our
God is for good on all who seek him, and the power
of his wrath is against all who forsake him.” So we
fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened
to our entreaty.

United Pentecostal Church International – Kuwait Teaching Ministry

 Types of Christian
fasting
 Corporate fasting is powerful because
as it says in Matthew 18:20, “For where
two or three are gathered in my name, there
am I among them.” When we come
together and fast in a group, we know
God is among us. One important piece
to corporate fasting is to set-up times
before you begin fasting to pray
together.

United Pentecostal Church International – Kuwait Teaching Ministry

 CONCLUSION

 Each one of these fasts is different. In

the end, it is between you and God as
to what you feel lead to sacrifice.
Remember it is less about what type
of fasting you do and more about your
attitude and heart while fasting.

United Pentecostal Church International – Kuwait Teaching Ministry