Building Big Together: The Transformative Power of Fasting and Prayer
When we hear about great movements in biblical history, they often begin with one person sitting in the presence of God, broken over the condition of their world. This is exactly where we find ourselves in the opening chapter of Nehemiah's story—a man who heard devastating news about his homeland and responded not with immediate action, but with tears, mourning, fasting, and prayer.
"So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven" (Nehemiah 1:4).
Nehemiah's response reveals a profound spiritual principle: before we can build anything significant for God's kingdom, we must first position ourselves in His presence through prayer and fasting.
Understanding the Spiritual Discipline of Fasting
Fasting appears throughout Scripture more than fifty times, spanning both the Old and New Testaments. Yet for many believers today, it remains a mysterious or intimidating practice. At its core, fasting is simply the act of giving up food for a designated period to focus more intently on God. During this time, believers typically engage in reading Scripture, prayer, and worship—replacing physical nourishment with spiritual sustenance.
The beauty of fasting lies in its simplicity and accessibility. It's not reserved for spiritual giants or religious professionals. It's a discipline available to every believer who desires to draw closer to God and experience His power in fresh ways.
God Himself speaks to the transformative potential of corporate fasting and prayer: "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place" (2 Chronicles 7:14-15).
Notice the conditions: humility, prayer, seeking God's face, and repentance. Notice the results: God hears, forgives, heals, and attends to our prayers. This is the promise available to those who diligently seek Him.
The writer of Hebrews reminds us: "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6). Fasting is an expression of diligent seeking—a tangible demonstration that we value God's presence above our physical comfort.
Crucifying the Flesh, Awakening the Spirit
Beyond its basic definition, fasting serves a deeper purpose: crucifying the flesh and initiating spiritual sensitivity. We live in a constant tension between the desires of our flesh and the leading of God's Spirit. Paul articulates this battle clearly in Galatians 5:16-17: "Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another."
The works of the flesh are evident and destructive: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, and revelries. These are the natural outcomes when we allow our flesh to dominate our choices.
But the fruit of the Spirit presents a radically different way of living: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These qualities don't emerge through human effort alone—they are cultivated as we walk in the Spirit and crucify the flesh with its passions and desires.
Fasting is a practical tool for this crucifixion. When we deny our body's most basic desire—food—we declare that our spirit takes precedence over our flesh. We train ourselves in the discipline of saying "no" to immediate gratification in favor of eternal rewards.
The Call to Self-Denial
Jesus made the cost of discipleship clear: "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it" (Matthew 16:24-25).
Self-denial isn't popular in our comfort-driven culture. We're surrounded by messages encouraging self-care, self-expression, and self-actualization. Yet Jesus calls us to something entirely different: self-denial. This doesn't mean we hate ourselves or neglect genuine needs. Rather, it means we subordinate our will to God's will, our desires to His desires, our plans to His plans.
The apostle Paul embodied this principle when he declared: "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).
Paul's identity was no longer rooted in his own accomplishments, preferences, or ambitions. He had been crucified with Christ, and now Christ lived through him. Fasting helps us experience this reality in tangible ways, reminding us that we are not our own—we were bought with a price.
Hungering for God Above All Else
Perhaps the most beautiful aspect of fasting is how it cultivates hunger for God Himself. Psalm 63 captures this holy hunger perfectly. Written by David while he was in the wilderness of Judah—a dry, desolate place—these words overflow with spiritual passion:
"O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory. Because Your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You."
Notice David's physical language: thirsting, longing, hungering. He was physically in a desert, but his spiritual thirst was even more intense. He declared that God's lovingkindness was better than life itself—a remarkable statement that reorients our entire value system.
David continues: "My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips. When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches."
This is the goal of fasting: to reach a place where our souls are satisfied with God alone, where we think about Him constantly, where His presence becomes more satisfying than the finest food. Fasting doesn't earn God's favor, but it does position us to experience His presence more fully.
Building Big Together
When we combine corporate fasting with united prayer, we position ourselves for God to do something extraordinary in our midst. Just as Nehemiah's personal prayer and fasting preceded the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls, our spiritual disciplines can prepare the way for God to build something significant in and through us.
The invitation stands before us: Will we hunger for God more than comfort? Will we crucify our flesh to walk in the Spirit? Will we deny ourselves to follow Christ more fully?
As we embrace these spiritual disciplines, we discover they're not burdensome obligations but pathways to deeper intimacy with God. And in that intimacy, we find everything we've truly been hungering for all along.
"So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven" (Nehemiah 1:4).
Nehemiah's response reveals a profound spiritual principle: before we can build anything significant for God's kingdom, we must first position ourselves in His presence through prayer and fasting.
Understanding the Spiritual Discipline of Fasting
Fasting appears throughout Scripture more than fifty times, spanning both the Old and New Testaments. Yet for many believers today, it remains a mysterious or intimidating practice. At its core, fasting is simply the act of giving up food for a designated period to focus more intently on God. During this time, believers typically engage in reading Scripture, prayer, and worship—replacing physical nourishment with spiritual sustenance.
The beauty of fasting lies in its simplicity and accessibility. It's not reserved for spiritual giants or religious professionals. It's a discipline available to every believer who desires to draw closer to God and experience His power in fresh ways.
God Himself speaks to the transformative potential of corporate fasting and prayer: "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place" (2 Chronicles 7:14-15).
Notice the conditions: humility, prayer, seeking God's face, and repentance. Notice the results: God hears, forgives, heals, and attends to our prayers. This is the promise available to those who diligently seek Him.
The writer of Hebrews reminds us: "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6). Fasting is an expression of diligent seeking—a tangible demonstration that we value God's presence above our physical comfort.
Crucifying the Flesh, Awakening the Spirit
Beyond its basic definition, fasting serves a deeper purpose: crucifying the flesh and initiating spiritual sensitivity. We live in a constant tension between the desires of our flesh and the leading of God's Spirit. Paul articulates this battle clearly in Galatians 5:16-17: "Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another."
The works of the flesh are evident and destructive: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, and revelries. These are the natural outcomes when we allow our flesh to dominate our choices.
But the fruit of the Spirit presents a radically different way of living: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These qualities don't emerge through human effort alone—they are cultivated as we walk in the Spirit and crucify the flesh with its passions and desires.
Fasting is a practical tool for this crucifixion. When we deny our body's most basic desire—food—we declare that our spirit takes precedence over our flesh. We train ourselves in the discipline of saying "no" to immediate gratification in favor of eternal rewards.
The Call to Self-Denial
Jesus made the cost of discipleship clear: "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it" (Matthew 16:24-25).
Self-denial isn't popular in our comfort-driven culture. We're surrounded by messages encouraging self-care, self-expression, and self-actualization. Yet Jesus calls us to something entirely different: self-denial. This doesn't mean we hate ourselves or neglect genuine needs. Rather, it means we subordinate our will to God's will, our desires to His desires, our plans to His plans.
The apostle Paul embodied this principle when he declared: "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).
Paul's identity was no longer rooted in his own accomplishments, preferences, or ambitions. He had been crucified with Christ, and now Christ lived through him. Fasting helps us experience this reality in tangible ways, reminding us that we are not our own—we were bought with a price.
Hungering for God Above All Else
Perhaps the most beautiful aspect of fasting is how it cultivates hunger for God Himself. Psalm 63 captures this holy hunger perfectly. Written by David while he was in the wilderness of Judah—a dry, desolate place—these words overflow with spiritual passion:
"O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory. Because Your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You."
Notice David's physical language: thirsting, longing, hungering. He was physically in a desert, but his spiritual thirst was even more intense. He declared that God's lovingkindness was better than life itself—a remarkable statement that reorients our entire value system.
David continues: "My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips. When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches."
This is the goal of fasting: to reach a place where our souls are satisfied with God alone, where we think about Him constantly, where His presence becomes more satisfying than the finest food. Fasting doesn't earn God's favor, but it does position us to experience His presence more fully.
Building Big Together
When we combine corporate fasting with united prayer, we position ourselves for God to do something extraordinary in our midst. Just as Nehemiah's personal prayer and fasting preceded the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls, our spiritual disciplines can prepare the way for God to build something significant in and through us.
The invitation stands before us: Will we hunger for God more than comfort? Will we crucify our flesh to walk in the Spirit? Will we deny ourselves to follow Christ more fully?
As we embrace these spiritual disciplines, we discover they're not burdensome obligations but pathways to deeper intimacy with God. And in that intimacy, we find everything we've truly been hungering for all along.
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