Prayer and Fasting as a weapon

Prayer and Fasting as a weapon Intro: Are you tired of being attacked? Are you tired of feeling like the harder you try the worse things get? You ever feel like for every step forward you end up taking two steps back? The Spirit would tell you today, rise up mighty warrior! I am with you! Today is the day we stop being on the defensive side of the attacks of the enemy and we take are rightful spot on the offensive side. How many of you are tired of hiding and running from the enemy? It’s time the enemy runs and hides from us! God has given a secret weapon to use to do battle with and they are called Prayer and fasting. Central truth: Our greatest victories are won on our knees and with empty stomachs. Points: 1. Prayer The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. One powerful resource is communion with God through prayer. The results are often greater than we thought possible. Some people see prayer as a last resort to be tried when all else fails. Q: What Is Prayer? Simply put, prayer is communicating with God. Real prayer is expressing our devotion to our heavenly Father, inviting Him to talk to us as we talk to Him. Prayer releases God's great power to change the course of nature, people, and nations. We are commanded to pray. Luke 18:1 says Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. God may delay answering, but His delays always have a good reason. So never give up. Ask, seek and Knock. P.U.S.H God's Word commands us to "Pray continually" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). We can be in prayer throughout the day, expressing and demonstrating our devotion to God as we go about our daily tasks. It is not always necessary to be on our knees, or even in a quiet room to pray. God wants us to be in touch with Him constantly wherever we are. We can pray in the car, while washing the dishes, or while walking down the street. 2. Fasting What is it? It is going without food all together or eliminating certain foods in order to spend time in prayer.. There are many types of fast I recommend you fallow the prompting of the Holy Spirit to determine which one you do. Why are you fasting? Is it for spiritual renewal, for guidance, for healing, for the resolution of problems, for special grace to handle a difficult situation? Ask the Holy Spirit to clarify His leading and objectives for your prayer fast. This will enable you to pray more specifically and strategically. Pray about the kind of fast you should undertake. Jesus implied that all of His followers should fast (Matthew 6:16-18; 16 “And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. 17 But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. 18 Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. For Him it was a matter of when believers would fast, not if they would do it. Before you fast, decide the following up front: •How long you will fast - one meal, one day, a week, several weeks, forty days (Beginners should start slowly, building up to longer fasts.) • •The type of fast God wants you to undertake (such as water only, or water and juices; what kinds of juices you will drink and how often) • •What physical or social activities you will restrict •How much time each day you will devote to prayer and God's Word If you sincerely humble yourself before the Lord, repent, pray, and seek God's face; if you consistently meditate on His Word, you will experience a heightened awareness of His presence (John 14:21). 21 Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.” The Lord will give you fresh, new spiritual insights. Your confidence and faith in God will be strengthened. You will feel mentally, spiritually, and physically refreshed. You will see answers to your prayers. 3. Double trouble (for the enemy) Prayer combined with fasting I believe the power of fasting as it relates to prayer is the spiritual atomic bomb that our Lord has given us to destroy the strongholds of evil and usher in a great revival and spiritual harvest around the world. Story of demon possessed boy Matthew 17:18-21: "And JESUS rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly. Then the disciples came to JESUS and asked privately, Why could we not drive it out? He said to them, Because of the littleness of your faith [that is, your lack of firmly relying trust]. For truly I say to you, if you have faith [that is living] like a grain of mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, Move from here to yonder place, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. But this kind does not go out except by PRAYER AND FASTING." The two combined show that you are serious, you are seeking God so intensely that you don’t even take out time to eat or drink, a total devotion to God. Denying the flesh for the Spirit is powerful. Fasting along with prayer seems to indicate the sincerity of the people praying and the critical nature of the situations in which they find themselves. Central truth: Our greatest victories are won on our knees and with empty stomachs.