Fasting Focuses Our Prayers With Great Intensity

Judges 20:26 – 27 -Then all the Israelites, the whole army, went up to Bethel, and there they sat weeping before the Lord. They fasted that day until evening and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord. And the Israelites inquired of the Lord. (In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there.)

Things had gotten so serious…the evil in the midst of their brothers was so bad …. that the tribes gathered to ask God what to do about their brother Benjamites. They were told by God to go to battle…and in two separate days many of Benjamites who settled in Gibeah died. This verse was the response of the Israelites before they went to battle the third day.  They stepped up their petition to God with offerings and fasting.

My heart and mind stopped on the word ‘fasted’ when I read it.  It is a practice that allows our heart to become so humble that we give up something that we hold dear and good to let God know how serious we are.  Fasting can be as complete as going without food and water for a period of time…or as simple as giving up a favorite dessert… TV time…. technology time or any number of other things we enjoy on a regular basis. The time we would have spent in that activity is redirected in prayer to God for something we are deeply concerned about.

I needed the reminder that fasting is one of the greatest options to let God know our hearts are heavy with concern over a burden.  God knows what burden came to mind when he reminded me this morning…and he knows what thing I will pick to fast while I step up my prayer time to petition him about how to wait on his timing and move in the situation as I pray about it.

Father...Thank you for the reminder that fasting is a way to focus my prayers more intensely on a burden you have laid on my heart.  Forgive me for not thinking of it myself...and letting the burden consume me in negative ways instead. Help me to pick just the right thing to fast…so that every time I want that thing I choose to give up…my heart remembers to pray for my concern and burden. Amen.