Imagine yourself with a group of close friends at your favorite restaurant, sitting at a corner table with a spectacular view. The restaurant is a buzz of activity as animated patrons flock in and out of the seating area. In contrast, others huddle together in groups in the waiting area, eagerly anticipating their turn to be seated. There is constant chatter and loud laughter as folks catch up on the latest news and settle into their chosen seating location. A friendly-looking waiter comes up to your table and smilingly welcomes you, asking what beverages you would like to start with. When your friend begins to state what she would like, the waiter interrupts by rattling off some savory spotlight dishes on the menu and heartily encourages your group to try them. As another friend tries to ask a question, another simultaneously blurts out his desire for one of the delectable dishes mentioned, but the waiter picks up all the menus he just laid before you, pleasantly smiling as he tells you he will be back with your dinner selections shortly. Your group looks at one another in frustrated unbelief. Is this a joke? None of you have placed your orders, yet the waiter has jaunted away without a care in the world, fingers deftly securing the dishes he took away from the extra place setting while picking up dirty ones along the way. He must be deaf, clueless, or both!
Now imagine a busy courtroom brimming with people as a federal trial is about to begin. The plaintiff and defense attorney teams are appropriately positioned with their clients on their respective sides of the room, as are the judge, jury, and court clerks. The presiding judge bids all to rise and sets the court proceedings in motion. Without further preamble, he reads out the key points of the brief and invites the lead plaintiff’s attorney to begin his oral argument. The latter does so with much skill, flair, and persuasiveness, adroitly navigating clarifying questions from the judge and deflecting disparaging counterstatements by the defense attorney. He concludes his discourse with irrefutable facts backed by convincing evidence, leaving most in the courtroom in little doubt of the defendant’s culpability.
Satisfied with his stellar performance, the lead plaintiff’s attorney returns to his seat smiling confidently, packs up his papers and briefcase, and walks out the door, tweaking his immaculate tie to perfection as he does so – while the court is still in session. From the bench, the surprised judge asks where he is going as the courtroom guard tries to block his path. He smiles self-assuredly at the judge, telling him he’s off to attend to other things, having delivered his indisputable argument and displayed his superior oratory. He is confident the judge will rule in his and his client’s favor. With that, he merrily slips past the guard and exits the court, leaving the room in shocked silence. His client’s eyes are large as saucers, his mouth agape, expression aghast.
What do these bizarre scenarios have to do with today’s topic?
Most religions or faith practices typically engage in some form of prayer and abstinence from food for a period, and the Christian faith is no exception. Many followers of Jesus utilize the first few weeks of each new year to engage in the practice of prayer and fasting, the former consisting of heartfelt worship and presenting one’s needs before the bountiful Father and Creator of all things, the latter a spiritual discipline exercised for its synergistic advantages. These complementary practices are often performed corporately as part of a beginning-of-the-year organizational tradition, program, or spiritual jump-starter. Individuals engage as components of their private worship or as part of their spiritual culture. Either way, prayer, and fasting mark the inception of many individuals’ new years and are often incorporated into other spiritual exercises throughout the year.
Such obvious displays of discipline and devotion naturally beg the question of proven success. Do they result in incontestable track records of successful outcomes, or are they devoid of the ability to perform? Do they represent another set of religious activities, tall in exacting requirements but short on tangible results? The fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah addresses these concerns and in my opinion, offers the most comprehensive insights into the operations and inner workings of the concept of fasting and prayer. Although a study of this chapter is beyond the scope of this discussion, each reader is strongly encouraged to study it on their own to grasp its finer points. My abridged version of the chapter would be as follows: Prayer with fasting is not intended as a religious ritual, outward display of deep piety, or showmanship of great spiritual devotion, it is a composite of selfless and heartfelt acts of worship and petitions to God with the sole aim of glorifying Him by enforcing His purposes on earth. This involves determining His will, spiritually liberating people from the untoward circumstances, injustices and captivity to which they are subjected, and practically providing the resources they need for successful living. When engaged with a pure heart, the right mode and motives, and defined by explicit goals, the effects are notable, empowering, far-reaching and in many instances, revolutionary.1,2
Prayer in God’s kingdom is an avenue to access His promises, and fasting facilitates the practice and its results. Beyond asking and receiving, prayer is a legal term that connotes presenting one’s case in the courtroom of heaven and awaiting one’s just edict from the Judge. An indispensable power engine to the practice of prayer and fasting is the concept of “waiting on the Lord.“3,4 The concept does not merely relate to the passage of time in anticipating God’s intervention; it carries the strong connotation (among other things) of waiting on a person with attention and expectation to serve them and receive their orders, just as a waiter would in a restaurant, or a servant would to his boss 5. Hence the ludicrousness of our two opening examples where the waiter was pleasant and prattling but inattentive and unproductive, and the attorney dashing and debonair, but derelict in completing his duties. Just as both scenarios would lead to frustrated people, unfulfilled expectations, and grossly wasted efforts, prayer and fasting without the heart attitude of waiting on the Lord can produce the same. Many people happily prattle away at God with their laundry lists of requests and promises, while others articulate their Scripturally backed arguments eloquently and incisively. In many instances, neither sets of people exert the time and attention necessary for God’s presence to permeate their hearts, hear His still, small voice, and receive strength and sustenance for the journey ahead.6 God is precise and efficient in all His activities and desires the same for us. He takes no pleasure in our failed attempts or misappropriated results.
As counterintuitive as it may sound to the concept of waiting on the Lord, the advantage of fasting is to facilitate and fast-track our prayers.7 Fast track 2025 by your 2025 Fast Track; i.e., use your 2025 inception fast to create spiritual expressways that sync with God’s perfect timing for your results, thus bypassing detours, delays, distractions, and subversive derailments. Prayer and fasting with the appropriate focus, attitude, attunement, and approach are guaranteed to accomplish this.
Dear friend, I pray you and I set the pace for an exhilarating and maximally productive season by properly engaging a 2025 Fast Track to Fast Track 2025!
**For questions on how to get to know God personally, grow in your relationship with Him, or other inquiries, please email: [email protected]**
Bibliography
- James 5:16-18 (see 13-18 for full context); Mark 11:22-25, etc. ↩︎
- Although the complete subject of prayer and fasting is not our primary concern in this discussion, I encourage the reader to search out the plethora of books and media material available on this powerful and life-changing subject matter. See the Suggested Reading section below for a few of my favorite references and the 2023 July/August “Know Retreats, No Surrender” series previously posted on this site. ↩︎
- https://thewordofhisgrace.com/know-retreats-know-surrender-part-3/ . ↩︎
- https://thewordofhisgrace.com/know-retreats-know-surrender-part-4/ ↩︎
- Psalm 123:1-2; 25:15; 130:5-6 ↩︎
- 1 Kings 19:11-13 ↩︎
- Isaiah 58:8-9; Psalm 27:14; 1 Kings 19:7 ↩︎
Suggested Reading
- Waiting on God – Andrew Murray
- A Hunger for God – John Piper
- God, Where Are You? (Formerly, Victory in The Wilderness) – John Bevere
- The Pursuit of God – A.W. Tozer
- God’s Chosen Fast – Arthur Wallis
For Your Fast Track & Listening Pleasure
Jesus, Lamb of God (Phil Thompson & Victor Thompson)
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=uZylanyHsEg&si=TvC3UnJqUrF17bbg
Firm Foundation Medley (MOG Music)
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=APX4eMxvoa8&si=SJjNBOSgnFzYYz08
More Than Able (Elevation Worship, Chandler Moore & Tiffany Hudson)
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=dQ1xxoP7NJk&si=f7JJdKGa_bLUE_Hb