Fasting | Fasting & Prayer
Series: Simple. Quiet. Present. | Bible text: 2 Chronicles 20:1–30
Fasting and prayer have always been inseparable – especially when life begins to totter. The example of King Jehoshaphat shows how a man reacts to real fear and threat and consciously orientates himself towards God. His story shows how worries can be transformed into prayer and how genuine dependence on God opens up new perspectives. We are invited to combine fasting in a very practical way with a concrete life of prayer.
Fasting and prayer always go hand in hand. There are various biblical passages that explicitly show this. In the two previous sermons on fasting, I spoke mainly about the regular rhythm. But there is also fasting out of necessity. We find just such a fast in Jehoshaphat.
Fasting & prayer in challenge
King Jehoshaphat orientated himself towards God. He appointed incorruptible, God-fearing judges. He is described as a good and godly king. However, three nations later went to war against him. No reasons are given. It is the same with us. When things are going well in life, something is sure to come up again that causes us concern. We heard Jehoshaphat’s reaction in the text reading. I would like to look at his behaviour and consider what this could mean for us!
When Jehoshaphat hears the news about the upcoming battle, he is afraid. Fear and worry are part of it and are natural reactions. When a worrying diagnosis comes my way, that is exactly what is worrying. If I lose my job, I also lose part of what gives me stability in life. If my children don’t take the path I want, then my dream and my well-intentioned plans for the future will be shattered. Jehoshaphat was also afraid. But instead of spending a lot of energy worrying, he turned that energy into prayer energy! How about we turn the energy we normally spend worrying when difficulties come our way into energy in prayer and let the Leave your worries to God? Faithful to the Bible passage «Leave all your worries to God, for he cares about everything that concerns you!» (1 Peter 5:7 NLB).
What I like so much about Jehoshaphat is his honesty. He describes his hopeless situation. And gets to the point «[…] We can do nothing against this huge army that wants to attack us. […]» (2 Chronicles 20:12 NLB). But he is still hopeful. «Whenever we are threatened with a calamity such as war, judgement, illness or famine, we may come before this house in your presence, where your name is worshipped. We may beg you for salvation and you will hear us and help us» (2 Chronicles 20:9 NLB). We can always come to God in prayer!
Jehoshaphat makes himself and the whole nation dependent on God in this situation. We do not read that he had his army gathered. We do not read how he made preparations for the battle. I assume that he did this. But it was not decisive. Because «[…] We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are all on you» (2 Chronicles 20:12 NLB). But why fasting? Wouldn’t prayer alone be enough? Fasting means abstaining from food and sometimes even from drink. We don’t know how long they fasted here. But it means one thing above all: time! It gave them time for prayer and to seek God! It expresses: God, I’m serious! I am completely dependent on you.
The 5x5 finger prayer
Fasting and prayer go hand in hand. But this also raises the question of what I am praying for. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to a method that I have recently started using. I’m going to assume that prayers have an effect! If you see this differently, have questions etc., please feel free to contact me or leave a comment.
The fingers of my left hand represent who I am praying for:
- Thumbs: Family and friends
- Pointing finger: Teachers and leaders
- Middle finger: influencers, powerful people
- Ring finger: The weak
- Little finger: For me
The fingers of my right hand represent what I pray for:
- Thumb: Heart (Matthew 22:37 NLB).
- Index finger: Priorities (Matthew 6:33 NLB).
- Middle finger: influence and example (Matthew 5:16 NLB).
- Ring finger: Relationships (Colossians 3:13 NLB).
- Little finger: material blessing (James 4:2 NLB).
This prayer method can help you to structure your prayer requests and pray in a balanced way.
Fasting & prayer as an invitation
The 40-day fasting period before Easter starts on 18 February. This is a good opportunity to start fasting. I would like to invite you to do so. I have prepared a blog post about this, but I would also like to give you a few ideas here. There are various ways to organise this time of fasting, whereby fasting, as I said, refers to abstaining from food. If you are new to fasting, then take small steps and not 40 days straight away. Rather skip one meal a day and fast on one day a week. Rather just one day a week, but integrated into the rhythm of your life. But always replace the time you would have needed for eating with time with God.
However, you can also use the fasting period to combine it with abstinence: Abstaining from smartphones, special foods, social media, alcohol. Fasting focuses more on spending time with God and becoming dependent on him, while abstinence sometimes leads to more time with God, but is also more an expression of seriousness. God, you are more important to me than …! As I said, the focus is on prayer. So here are two offers to inspire your prayer life. Because you will probably have more time for it. These are the «Passion 40» campaign and «30 days of prayer for the Islamic world». Our monthly prayer calendar is of course also a good idea. One person from our church occasionally fasts for up to five days. You are welcome to contact her via the blog post and the attached form. Pray, our week of prayer, will also take place in the last week of Lent. More information will follow. I cordially invite you to take part in this campaign. The aim of this time of fasting and prayer is to spend more time with God.
Again to King Jehoshaphat. How did this turn out for him? God promised that he would intervene and fight for them. «After he had consulted with the people, the king appointed singers to go before the army in holy jewellery and to sing to the LORD and praise his glory. They sang: Give thanks to the LORD, for his favour endures forever!» (2 Chronicles 20:21 NLB). They fought and wrestled with God in prayer. He fought for them on the real battlefield.
God inflicted such a great defeat on the enemy that King Jehoshaphat’s men were busy collecting the spoils of war for three days. Afterwards, they gathered in the Valley of Praise and worshipped God. But do you know what it’s all about? «When the kings of the neighbouring kingdoms heard that the LORD himself had fought against the enemies of Israel, the terror of God came upon them. And so peace reigned in Jehoshaphat’s kingdom, for his God gave him rest all around him» (2 Chronicles 20:29–30 NLB). The fear of God spread all around, and God gave peace.
Fasting and prayer do not correspond to our time. It’s not my type either. I tend to fall into activism. In contrast, fasting and prayer is much more difficult. But it has to do with the right priority. The names in the Bible are often also the programme. Do you know what the name Jehoshaphat means? «God creates justice». God makes justice. I don’t have to do it, God does it! This does not mean accepting everything and not fighting back, but it does mean focussing on God and fighting in the right place!
Possible questions for the small group
Read the Bible text: 2 Chronicles 20:1–30
- Honesty before God: Jehoshaphat openly expresses his fear and helplessness. How easy or difficult is it for you to tell God your worries unfiltered?
- Dealing with worries: Transforming worries into «prayer energy» – what does this mean in practical terms for your everyday life?
- Dependence on God: «We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are all on you» (2 Chronicles 20:12 NLB). Where are you currently experiencing situations in which you could practise this attitude?
- Fasting out of necessity: Have you ever prayed or fasted more intensively during a specific crisis? What did you experience – inwardly or outwardly?
- Fasting & time with God: The idea is to consciously fill the time that is freed up with prayer. How realistic is that for you? What would help you to really use this time with God?
- Prayer structure (5‑finger prayer): Which of the prayer categories mentioned (persons or intentions) tends to be neglected in your prayer life?
- Priorities vs. activism: How do you recognise that you are falling into activism? What could help you to seek God’s perspective first?
