Prayer - wk5

"Enhancing Our Prayers"

Dr. Gary Singleton

Americans are obsessed with food. We have entire television networks dedicated to cooking and eating. Food is the central focus of nearly every social event. We even take pictures of our food and post them on Facebook and Instagram. There are very few things that are more American than food.
 
This week we’re going to wrap up our sermon series on prayer with a look at fasting, admittedly one of the least practiced and least understood spiritual disciplines. With all our attention focused on food, it’s easy to see why fasting is not all that high on our priority list.

But fasting dates back to the earliest followers of God. In Leviticus God commanded the Israelites to fast once a year on the Day of Atonement. In Nehemiah 9:1, we see that the Israelites fast as a part of their confession and worship. When talking about fasting in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says “When you fast …”  (Not “if” but “when.”) Clearly fasting is important.