Once a week we all should take time for consecration, fasting and prayer.  We find in Isaiah 58:6-14 a description of how to properly fast in a way that is acceptable unto the Lord.  Just as our prayers should be specific, our fasting should have purpose also.  The children of Israel were fasting for the wrong reasons—they were seeking to pleasure themselves and they were not concerned about the will of the Lord.  We serve God by serving others.  God is concerned about every human soul and He has called for us (born again believers) to reach out to those who are yet in darkness. 

 

As we fast we should seek God’s wisdom to do the following:  

 

• Loose the bands of wickedness (invisible barriers) that hinders individuals from coming to God and receiving His Word.   

• Minister to those individuals who are heavily burdened because of situations and circumstances that have occurred in their lives.  (Matthew 11:28) 

• Minister and pray for individuals who are oppressed because of bad relationships, opposition from co-workers, troubled children, and relatives who oppose their faith in Jesus Christ. 

• Fast and pray to break the yokes (strongholds-curses) that keep individuals bound in sin. 

• Fast and pray for God to lead us to assist those who are in need—not only of natural food, but spiritual food which is able to feed their souls.  (John 4:34) 

 

There is a blessing in serving others, especially when we help those who are hurting and troubled.  Life does not consist of just material things, but we must also lead others to Jesus Christ by expressing the same love that He brought to the world.  Likewise, when you pray your motives should not be self-centered, but God-centered, to deliver those in bondage.  Mark 9:29 says, “he (Jesus) said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.”

 

Expect God to move in a mighty way as you fast unto the Lord! 

 

In God's Love, 

 

Pastor Samuel C. Watkins, Sr.