Ron Dunn Podcast - Fasting

Episode Date: November 6, 2024

The way to a mans heart many times is the heart. The physical appetite of a man must be mastered. You cannot teach on prayer and neglect the biblical truth of fasting.

When the children of Israel had been led out of Egypt and God had given them the law, the Bible tells us that they committed the sin of idolatry. To me it is significant that in 1 Corinthians 10 when Paul talks about the idolatry of the people of Israel, he doesn't say a thing about the golden calf. Now wouldn't you have? If I had been describing the idolatry of the people of Israel, I would have mentioned the golden calf. But Paul never mentions the golden calf.

He simply says the people sat down to eat and to drink, and they rose up to play. And as far as the apostle Paul was concerned, that was the substance of their idolatry. Jesus' first temptation from Satan was leveled at the point of physical appetite. If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be turned into bread. Paul says in Philippians 3 that there are a generation of people whose God is their belly, and that word indicates their physical appetites. And all throughout the word of God, you'll see a peculiar relationship

between the physical and the spiritual, and a relationship between the use or abuse of physical appetites and a person's spiritual temperature. Perhaps this is why the Bible has so much to say about fasting. Because God, along with Satan, recognizes that the way to a man's heart is many times through his stomach, and that there can really be no victory in the Christian life until, first of all, the physical appetite of man is mastered. And it just so happens that along with the abuse of the physical, there is a corresponding abuse of the spiritual. Now, when we come to a conference such as this,

and we're going into depth concerning the study of prayer, you just cannot study in depth what the Bible has to say about prayer and intercession and neglect the biblical truth of fasting. And so if you have never heard a sermon on fasting, you are getting ready to hear one tonight. I notice a hoarse cry of excitement go up when I announce that I am going to preach on fasting. Everybody is interested in fasting. How long has it been since you have heard somebody say, Man, I just wish I could get alone and fast?

It's just really something that you and I don't care much for, and it's something we don't talk much about. But I do not think that there is another subject in the Bible about which so much is said that we neglect so very much. As we go through the Word of God tonight, I think you will be startled to discover just how much there is in the Bible about this matter of fasting. What I want you to ask yourself tonight as we go through this message is, why is it that it has never occurred to me to consider fasting? Usually we relegate fasting to legalism. Some of the Eastern cults fast, and some of the false religions in our own country fast. So we kind of have that idea

that fasting belongs to fanatics, and belongs to extremists, and belongs to the Eastern meditation religions and really has no place in Christianity. But it very well has a place in Christianity. And I repeat, if you are going to get serious about this matter of praying, and especially if you are going to make yourself available to God as an intercessor and place yourself in the position of interceding for others, I think it is imperative that you understand and become experientially acquainted with the practice of fasting. The Bible tells us that on two different occasions Moses fasted. When he went to Mount Sinai to receive the law.

For 40 days and 40 nights he fasted. After the people had sinned and Moses went again to the mount to intercede for their deliverance, that intercession was accompanied by another period of 40 days fasting. Elijah, after his encounter with Jezebel, when he backslid and was in desperate need of personal revival, went to Mount Oreb and there for forty days he fasted. The Bible tells us that Esther, at a time of national crisis, fasted, and it was her fasting that had a part in the deliverance of the nation. David, when his baby was stricken with illness, fasted for the deliverance of that baby. Nehemiah and Ezra both practiced fasting.

Daniel fasted. In the book of Jeremiah, God commanded his people to fast regularly every year. But fasting is not confined simply to the New Testament. I want us to read an amazing passage of Scripture found in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 6. This is Jesus speaking, and the abuse of religious duties. He begins that sixth chapter by saying, Take heed, in other words, handle with care your Christian service, because it is very easy for you to enter into your Christian obligations such as helping others and praying and fasting, it is very easy for you to engage in these practices

with the wrong motive and with an impure heart. And so what Jesus is doing in Matthew 6 is taking the three primary religious duties and telling us how these religious duties are to be performed. He begins in that second verse by talking about doing alms, that means helping others, doing acts of kindness and acts of charity. Then he turns to the matter of prayer and tells us how to pray. Then beginning in verse 16, he turns to the matter of fasting. To me, the significance of this chapter is that Jesus here considers fasting as much a part of the disciples' spiritual exercises as helping others and praying.

All of us, except the first two, believe that in good old 1972 a disciple of Jesus ought to practice almsgiving, helping others, meeting the physical and material needs of others. We also believe we ought to engage in prayer. But why is it that we have just kind of skimmed over that third thing that Jesus talks about? And Jesus here is saying that fasting is just as much a part of your spiritual exercise as is praying and almsgiving. Now notice in verse 16, Jesus says, moreover, when, he didn't say if, he said, when you fast, be not as the hypocrites of a sad countenance, for they disfigure their faces that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest,

unknot thine head and wash thy face, that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret. And thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. Notice Jesus expects us to fast. He says, when you fast. And in addition to that. He says, when you fast, and in addition to that, Jesus says there will be

a reward from our heavenly Father for fasting. Now again in Matthew chapter 9, verses 14 and 15, Jesus says, first one of the, there came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not? And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? Now notice this next phrase, But the days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast. Now the bridegroom has been taken from us, and we are awaiting the appearing of Jesus Christ, the bridegroom, to come in glory for his bride. And Jesus says, when the bridegroom is gone, that's now in this age, then shall they fast. In Luke chapter 2, Anna the prophetess served God day and night with prayers and fasting. John the Baptist fasted and even taught his disciples to do so. Paul the apostle fasted.

Listen to Acts chapter 9 and the ninth verse. This is immediately preceding the conversion of Saul who became the Apostle Paul. He is in Damascus. It says in the 9th verse, And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink. In Acts 10, Cornelius the centurion was in the midst of a four-day fast when God spoke to him. Acts 13, the church at Antioch practiced fasting. In 2 and 3, as they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate

me Barnabas and Saul for the on them, they sent them away. Now again in chapter 14, verse 23, speaking of Paul and Barnabas as they make their missionary journey. And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord on whom they believed. And so I think it's clear from these scriptures that fasting is not a practice that is confined to the Old Testament, but it is also something that is practiced in the New Testament, and Jesus expects you and me, expected us rather, to fast just as much as we would pray

and just as much as we would practice giving alms, meeting the needs of others. Well, what is fasting anyway? Somebody says, well, that's easy, it's going hungry. Well, it's really more than that. The Hebrew word for fasting means to cover the mouth. The Greek word simply means not to eat. But it's not translated not to eat, and it's not translated to cover the mouth.

You can go without eating, and many people do today. They fast for health reasons. They fast in order to lose weight for dieting reasons. Now, that may be a fast of one sort, but it is not a scriptural fast. It is not a Christian fast. Because to fast, as far as the scriptures is concerned, doesn't mean simply to go without food, but rather it means to go without food for religious reasons.

To go without eating for spiritual reasons. Now there are different kinds of fasts revealed in the Bible. There are public fasts when the king or the prophet would call the nation or the people of God to set aside a day of fasting. The king of Nineveh did that when Jonah went and preached repentance. It was that national call to fasting and seeking the Lord in repentance that delivered them from the wrath of God. Do you suppose we will ever have a president, a leader in our country who will ever be spiritually

sensitive enough to call the country to set aside a day of prayer and fasting. There are public fasts. In Joel, the people were called by the prophets of God to proclaim a solemn fast for God to send revival and to grant repentance. Then there are private fasts. This is where you fast individually, all by yourself. You don't let anybody know about it.

You don't particularly try to keep it a secret, but you do not broadcast it. Jesus said you are not to appear unto men to fast. So there is a private fast. Fasting has different lengths. You can fast for one day. In the Scriptures they fasted for three days, for seven days, for 21 days, for 40 days. There is no set length in the scriptures to fast. It all depends upon the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Because it says that Jesus was led of the Spirit in the wilderness to fast for 40 days. Fasting is something that must be led and impressed upon us by the Holy Spirit of God. Now, before we get into the purposes of fasting, I think it would be good for us to just say a word about the different kinds of fasts there are. There is, first of all, what we might call the extreme fast.

This means going without food and water. This is what Paul did for three days in Acts 9 and 9. He went without food and water. This is what Paul did for three days in Acts 9 and 9. He went without food and water. This is what Moses did on Mount Sinai. For 40 days he went without food and water. That is an extreme fast, very difficult to do. Then there is the partial fast. This is what Daniel did in Daniel 10,

in verse 3, where it says, He ate no pleasant bread, and he didn't drink any wine for twenty-one days. When it says he didn't eat any pleasant bread, that simply means he didn't have any cake. He didn't have any delicacies. He ate something, he ate a little bit, he ate only what was necessary to sustain him. That is a partial fast. Then there is the normal fast, which simply means going without food. You drink water, perhaps some juice, one day, three days, twenty-one days, forty days. The normal fast, and this is the fast that is normally pictured and expressed in the Word of God. Now let's move into this area.

Why should we fast? What is the purpose of fasting? Let me remind you that the purpose of fasting is always spiritual. When God has laid upon my heart, impressed me to fast for spiritual reasons, I have never had any difficulty whatsoever. But I have at different times tried to fast for health reasons, just to lose weight. It's just almost impossible for me to do that. And to me, it is uncanny the difference. When it's of God, when it is for spiritual reasons, there is absolutely no problem,

absolutely none. But when I do it just to lose weight, it is a battle every moment of the day. I went to the doctor several months ago to get a physical checkup, and I finally found a doctor that told me what I've been wanting to hear all these years. After he finished the physical, he said to the preacher, You're not overweight, you're just too short. He said, according to this chart, you ought to be seven feet five inches tall. So I've stopped trying to lose weight. I'm just trying to stretch now. I'm taking stretching exercises. But when the Spirit of God leads a person to do this, it is for spiritual reasons. Let me mention three. First of all, the purpose of fasting is for

discipline, spiritual discipline. Now let's read some verses. First of all, in Psalm 35 and verse 13. David says, But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth, I humbled my soul with fasting, and my prayer returned into mine own bosom. Now notice he humbled his soul with fasting. And it seems the Old Testament indicates that when God first instructed his people to fast, it was for the purpose of afflicting their souls. It was for the purpose of disciplining their lives, spiritual discipline. Another verse, Psalm 69, verse 10, David says, When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach. Then in Psalm 109 and verse 24, My knees are weak through fasting, and my flesh faileth

of fatness. Another verse that reveals the purpose of fasting is for spiritual discipline is Ezra 8.21. Ezra says, Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance. There the primary purpose of fasting was that we might afflict ourselves before the Lord.

Now the Bible over and over again commands us to humble ourselves before God. I've heard some people pray like this, Lord, make me humble. I don't think that's a scriptural prayer. I cannot find anywhere in the Bible where it is God's responsibility to humble us. If you will check it out, you will always find God is telling us to humble ourselves. I don't think we are to ask God to do something

that He expects us to do. You know, there are two mistakes that we make in Christian living. Number one, we try to do what God says he'll do, and then we try to get God to do what he wants us to do. And God has told us repeatedly to humble ourselves, and nowhere does the Bible say that we are to ask God to humble us. That is not his responsibility. We must humble ourselves. And discipline and humbling of ourselves is a very important part of following Jesus. He said, if any man will follow me, let him do what?

Deny himself, take up his cross cross and follow me. Fasting is the perfect expression and the perfect vehicle for humbling ourselves before God. It is the perfect expression of repentance and sorrow before God. Remember the relationship to the physical and the spiritual. Listen to what God says, when I fed them, talking about Israel, when I fed them to the full, then they committed adultery. And if you'll go back and read the chapters dealing with Sodom and Gomorrah, you'll find that a surfeit of food, an abundance of food, the abuse of eating was linked with the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah. And what the Bible is really teaching us here is this, that if you do not learn to master your physical appetite for food, that slavery to the appetite opens the door for Satan to come in and bring you to a slavery of spiritual abuse, of spiritual problems.

And if God, through fasting, can enable a person to have victory over his physical appetite, then God can give him victory over his spiritual appetite. I've known people who for years have tried to quit smoking, and they were never able to stop smoking until, first of all, they learned to fast, and they disciplined their appetite for food. You see, the basic appetite of man is God-given. It's a good appetite, but we abuse it. And if a man can curb and conquer through fasting and through the indwelling Spirit the appetite for food, then he is able to conquer and curb other appetites. I've had testimonies from others who have been bothered all their Christian lives by sins of impurity

and immorality. And they have tried and tried and tried to get victory in that area of their life, but until they learned the practice of fasting, of humbling themselves before God, of mastering through the power of God in fasting the appetite for food, only until then were they able to conquer the habit of impurity and immorality. Now, I'm not saying that that's the only way a person can conquer spiritual problems, but the Bible does teach there is a very real relationship between the two. So the first purpose of fasting is for discipline. Some of the greatest testimonies I have heard

from Christians are those who have said, Preacher, I had a spiritual problem. My life was undisciplined. My Christian life had no discipline. I was not really following Jesus. I was not really living the crucified life. And when I began to practice fasting, somehow God used that means to help me discipline my life, and I gained a victory over personal habits and problems that I had never before been able to have in my Christian experience. The second purpose of fasting is for spiritual devotion. Devotion, times of devotion, when a person wants to get closer with God, when he wants

to go deeper into the Word of God. As I have studied fasting, I have learned that nowhere in the Bible are we commanded simply to fast. And as you read through it, you'll find that fasting is always linked with something else. It's never just fasting all by itself. It is prayer and fasting. It is watching and fasting. It is seeking the Lord and fasting. Listen to what Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 6. He's describing his own ministry. He says in verses 4 and 5, But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes,

in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in watchings, in fastings. Again, in chapter 11, verse 27, Paul describing his ministry in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often. Now, notice how he makes a difference between hungering and thirsting and fasting. They're not the same. In fastings often in cold and nakedness and always fasting is linked with something else. Now why do you suppose that is so? You'll fail if you try to fast and that's all, just fast. Fasting is always linked with prayer, with seeking the Lord, with repentance.

And the reason is that fasting provides the perfect atmosphere in which these other spiritual exercises can flourish. If you've never discovered it, you will, a man can pray better when he's fasting. A man can seek the Lord better when he's fasting. A man can study the Word of God and learn the Word of God and memorize the Word of God, hide it in his heart, easier when he is fasting. And the reason that God couples fasting with these other things is that fasting provides an atmosphere, the perfect environment for these other things to flourish in.

In fasting we detach ourselves from the earth, in prayer we attach ourselves to God. And we turn aside from the things of this world and we look to God as our very life. He sustains us and we seek the Lord. There are many scriptures that we could give tonight in which this was true. For instance, Jesus fasted in preparation for his encounter with Satan. If you will read Daniel 9, you will see that it is Daniel as he was praying and fasting that God spoke to him and gave him revelations. It was in Acts 13 and 14 that we read a moment ago that the church at Antioch was led of the Holy Spirit to set aside certain men while they were praying and fasting.

I had a member of my church come to me just Sunday morning, and she pulled me aside as I was standing at the foyer after the service. She said, I just have to tell you about the greatest spiritual experience I've ever had. I've known this lady for several years. My opinion is she is one of the most spiritual members in our church. She is a real saint of God. She said, When you preached about fasting, I just didn't see how fasting could add anything to my devotional life. I just really didn't believe that it was everything you said it was. But she said, last Friday, God laid on my heart just to fast that day, to fast and pray and to study the Word

of God. And tears came to her eyes. She said, I cannot describe it. I can't tell you. She said, I saw things that I've never seen before. I felt the presence of God that I've never felt before. It was just as though God came upon me. She said, the greatest spiritual experience I've ever had is last Friday when I got alone with God in my house and prayed and read the Word of God and fasted. I said, I'm not surprised. I told you that God would use it in your devotional life.

And so one of the purposes of fasting is for devotional purposes. All right, now the last purpose, and probably the most important purpose as far as we're concerned in this matter of intercessory praying, for the purpose of spiritual deliverance. Spiritual deliverance. For our own spiritual deliverance. Spiritual deliverance. For our own personal deliverance. If you need deliverance,

it may be that God will want to use fasting as a part of your spiritual deliverance. Now we're going to read a few verses of Scripture. First of all, in Ezra 8, verse 21. We read that a moment ago. We want to read on a little bit farther. He says in Ezra 8, verse 21. We read that a moment ago. We want to read on a little bit farther. He says in Ezra 8, verse 21, Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava,

that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance. Now notice the next verse. For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way. Because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon us, as upon all them, for good that seek him.

But his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him. That's a tremendous verse. Ezra said that when they were making their trek out of the captivity, that the enemies were waiting for them, and they were in danger of being destroyed. Ezra said, I was ashamed to go back to the king and say, hey king, help us, we're in trouble. Because when they got ready to leave, the king offered to send some chariots and some soldiers with them. And Ezra stuck out his neck and bragged, and he said, don't need anything that you've got. Our God is with us, and his power is upon all them that fear him, and he will deliver us. And so now here they are up against the enemy, and they're scared to death. And Ezra says, I'm ashamed to go back to that king and say,

hey, will you help us? And so you know what he did? In order to gain the deliverance for the people, he proclaimed a fast. And it says in verse 23, So we fasted and besought our God for this, and he was entreated of us. The same thing is true in the book of Esther.

You remember the occasion was the Jewish nation was about to be totally annihilated and Mordecai came to Esther and said, you need to go to the king and plead for the life of our nation. And Esther was afraid, but she decided she would try something. And so in verse 16 of Esther 4, she says, Go gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan,

and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days night and day. I also and my maidens will fast likewise, and so will I go in unto the king which is not according to the law, and if I perish, I perish. And it was after that period of fasting that Esther went in and made the plea that delivered the nation of Israel. Now, notice there, you can fast for other people. She said, you gather all the Jews that are around, and you have them to fast for me, and I'll fast, and all my maidens will fast, and then we'll do that thing which may cost me my life, but if I perish, I perish. Fasting for the purpose of deliverance. We referred a moment ago to the instance of Nineveh, when Jonah went to that city and preached repentance and told them that God was

going to destroy them. And the Bible says the king proclaimed a fast. And the Bible says that when God saw their works, he repented of the evil he had intended to do. You read Joel chapter 1, Joel chapter 2. And you'll find there that the people fasted that God might send revival. Now, I want to tell you that when you get real serious about this matter of seeing revival in your life and in the lives of others and in the life of your nation, God is going to

call people to turn aside for fasting. Revival in the Bible is inevitably linked with prayer and fasting. Now one other thing before we close. You can fast for the deliverance of others. I have come to believe from the teaching of the Word of God and from my own experience that there are some people and there are some situations in which deliverance cannot be gained apart from prayer and fasting. I can't explain it, I don't try to explain it, but I just know that there are and have always existed those spiritual problems and situations in which deliverance cannot be effected apart from prayer and fasting.

Fasting for the deliverance of others. We are going to read just two or three verses. First of all, in Deuteronomy 9, verse 18, notice what Moses said, This is after the people have committed their sin of idolatry. And I fell down before the Lord as at the first forty days and forty nights I did neither eat bread nor drink water because of all your sins which ye sinned, and in doing wickedly in the sight of the Lord to provoke him to anger. Moses said, I went to God and for 40 days and 40 nights I fasted. Why? Because of your sins that I might intercede for you. And all of us know the result of that intercession coupled with fasting, God heard the people were delivered.

Let me read just one other verse regarding this fasting for the deliverance of others. In Nehemiah chapter 1, And it came to pass when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept and mourned certain days, and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. And here's what he prayed. Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel, thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against

thee, both I and my Father's house have sinned. The old preachers have always said, You ought not to confess the sins of other people. But here is an instance where a man did confess the sins of others to God as he interceded for them with fasting. He went before God in intercession and fasting to effect the deliverance of his people. And when we come to this matter of interceding for the salvation and the deliverance of other people, it's probable that God is going to lead those who are in tune and who are familiar

and who are willing, God is going to lead some to pray, to intercede, and to fast. Now let me just close with two or three suggestions about this matter of fasting. It must be of God. I know what some of you may be thinking. Well, fasting is so legalistic. And you're talking about something that it would be very easy to become just a ritual and just something legalistic. Friends, that's true about everything we do in Christian Christianity. Prayer can become just a ritual, but you don't stop praying because of that.

Coming to church can be just a ritual, but you don't stop coming because of that. Let me ask you a question and you answer it honestly in your heart. Some of you reject the idea of fasting. Do you reject it tonight in your heart because you do not believe the Bible teaches it, or because you just don't want to do it? Is it because you and I are not willing to make that small sacrifice? Is that really the determining factor in our closing our minds to this matter of fasting?

I never preach on fasting or teach on fasting, but I do not sense that a great many people in the congregation close their minds to it the very moment I start. In personal conversation with some of these, I can discern that the reasons are not biblical, but spiritual. Are you closing your mind tonight to fasting for biblical reasons because you are not convinced out of the Word of God that it really is taught there, or because you just don't want to get that involved? Fasting, if you are going to fast, must be led of the Spirit of God. The Bible doesn't lay down in the New Testament any certain day, any certain time, any certain

length. Let me suggest you do this. Number one, you pray about it. You ask the Lord to talk to you about fasting. You ask the Lord just to impress upon you if he ever wants you to fast. And you just commit to the Lord, I am willing to fast if you want me to. And it may be that God will come to you one day and all of a sudden there will come to you an awareness that you ought to fast.

It may be a problem in the home. It may be a spiritual problem in your own personal life. And suddenly there is just placed upon you a need to pray and fast about this matter. All right, when that comes, then you set aside a day to fast. Start with just one day. It's good to begin at 6 p.m. in the evening

and go to 6 p.m. the next day. Or you can start early in the morning and go to the next morning. But the Hebrews, their day started at 6 pm in the evening and went to 6 pm the next evening. That's a good time to start. Don't eat any food, just drink water. Just drink water for one day. Go about your normal business. Some people think, I can't fast because I have to go to work, I have to go to school. No, Jesus said when you fast, don't appear unto men to fast. You don't have to go off to the mountains somewhere to fast.

You go to work, get up, Jesus said you comb your hair, brush your teeth, put on your tie, wash your face. Do not appear unto men to fast. You go about your daily business, your daily routine. Next suggestion is, be careful that you don't just fast. You pray and fast. You read the Word of God and fast. Take a passage of Scripture that you've been wanting to memorize.

Fill your mind with the Word of God. What about when I start getting hungry? The great thing about fasting is every hunger pain is a call to prayer. Every time you begin to feel hungry, you begin to pray whatever God lays upon your heart, and you begin to read the Word of God. And by the way, let me just mention that the first day, the first two or three days, you'll feel real hunger, but you're not really hungry. You say, oh, I feel hunger pains in my stomach. Those are not hunger pains. That is your stomach shrinking.

Real hunger does not set in until 38 or 40 days after you've had nothing to eat. This is why the Bible says that Jesus fasted for 40 days and afterward he was hungry. You see, the body can live off its stored up energy for 38 to 40 days. And what you feel the first two or three days is not real hunger. It's just your stomach shrinking. Your stomach is in the habit of being fed at a certain time, and it's just complaining, that's all. It's not real hunger.

And after about two or three days, after the third day, you are more than likely not feel any hunger whatsoever. Most people, if they go three days, they could go seven days, ten days, fifteen days. But start with a day, and then go three days. Do your business, your daily business, but remember to pray and fast. To pray. Every time that you feel hungry, realize that your whole body is interceding. Whatever problem you are praying about, whatever spiritual need there is, your whole life becomes a symphony of prayer, an

intercession to the Lord Jesus Christ. When you feel hungry, you just pray. You say, How will I know when to end the fast? You will know. That's all I can tell you. You'll know when it's time to end the fast. You know how I always know, and I'm not saying this the way everybody knows, you know how I always know? I get hungry. Up until that time, I've not been hungry. But suddenly I get hungry and I say, all right, it's time to eat. But God will let you know if you're sensitive, and I think you will be. And when you feel the burden gone, you feel the burden lifted, then you can eat. And Jesus said, when you pray, My Father which seeth in heaven shall reward thee openly.

There is a reward for fasting. There is a reward for fasting. Now let's pray together. Heavenly Father, I pray tonight that your Holy Spirit will take the Word of God and bring it to fruition in our hearts. And Lord, I pray that you will teach us tonight and in the coming days more and more about what it really means to seek the Lord.