Rhapsody of realities July 26 2025

FASTING IS IMPORTANT
And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting… (Daniel 9:3).

The Bible talks about those who served the Lord with fasting and prayers night and day. We’re to emulate their faith, gain from their examples, and carry on the same practice in our walk with God. For example, in Luke 2:36-37, we read about Anna, a prophetess, who literally lived in the temple: “And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.”

Also, in Acts 13, Paul and Barnabas, along with other leaders, dedicated themselves to fasting and prayer: “Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers.... As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away” (Acts 13:1-3).

In Acts 14:23, Paul and Barnabas continued this same culture: “And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.” In fact, Paul, in 2 Corinthians 11, while enumerating several credentials of his ministry and apostleship, made specific reference to fasting: "In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness" (2 Corinthians 11:27).

Furthermore, the Lord Jesus Himself set the ultimate example of fasting as recorded in Matthew 4:2: "And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred." This was a time of intense spiritual preparation before He began His public ministry.

These and other examples in Scripture establish a precedence for us: we’re to serve the Lord in fasting as often as it’s required since we have the same ministry and operate by the same Spirit. It’s one of the ways to maintain inspiration and receive guidance to effectively carry out that which the Lord has committed to our hands. Glory to God!

Prayer / Confession
Dear Father, I thank you for the examples set before me in your Word. I walk in the same path of faith, discipline, and devotion, serving through prayer and fasting, and fulfilling my calling with diligence and power. Thank you for the divine culture of your Word that shapes my life and ensures my continual victory, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Further study
Nehemiah 1:4 NKJV; Acts 13:1-3 NIV; Luke 2:36-37 NKJV

1-year bible reading plan
Romans 1:18-32; Psalms 35-37