The Road To Pentecost #11

We've gone through the identity of our 3 tools (fasting, prayer, and the Word) and 2 tactics (Godly planning and being still).  We've also looked at the complications that arise when we try to implement them on the Road To Pentecost.  This week we will look at the effective use of each and how they produce results along our journey.

Fasting produces mighty results when implemented the right way.  When we honor God with our sacrifice and humble ourselves before Him, we expose the true power of fasting: deliverance and direction. These two concepts ring true in both the Old and New Testament.

Old Testament

• Samuel called a fast and found deliverance for Israel from  sin and the Philistines (1 Samuel 7:6)
• Ezra called a fast that would direct Israel in the way they should go forward in God (Ezra 8:21)
• Isaiah wrote of fasting that helped others and gave direction (Isaiah 58:6-12)
• Esther and Israel fasted for their deliverance from the hand of Haman (Esther 4:16)
• Nineveh fasted and found deliverance from the wrath of God (Jonah 3:5)
  

New Testament

• Jesus fasted and was prepared to face the devil in the wilderness (Matthew 4:2)
• Jesus taught his disciples that deliverance only comes from prayer and fasting (Mark 9:21)
• Paul fasted for deliverance from sin and direction for what he was to do in God (Acts 9:9)
• Cornelius fasted and found direction in God for his own salvation (Acts 10:30)
• Paul proclaimed that fasting allows us to withstand the enemy and his temptations against us (1 Corinthians 7:5)

We see that fasting delivers and directs us in a lot of ways.  It directs us by allowing us to know exactly where we should go in God and what we can and should be doing in His Kingdom.  It delivers us by exposing sin in our lives and giving us the strength to overcome the enemy even when he stares us down face-to-face. 

Thought for the day:

There is no path unknown to us and no enemy to great for us when choose to sacrifice for God.

We can do a lot with fasting, especially when we supplement it with the other tools and tactics God has given us.  If you read in these stories and others, there is always prayer, there are sometimes utterances of the Word, fasting is planned out and there are even still moments where God speaks to those fasting.  Fasting, especially when done properly and unto God, is an effective and powerful tool that will guide us out of problems and into the light of God to find our way.  It's up to us to do it and to do it God's way, through humility and honor to Him.