FASTING & PRAYER

Fasting has been a part of Methodism from its early beginnings. John Wesley considered fasting an important part of a Christian's life and he fasted weekly. To Wesley, fasting was an important way to express sorrow for sin and penitence for overindulgence in eating and drinking. He believed it allowed more time for prayer and was more meaningful if combined with giving to the poor. Wesley did advise caution against extreme fasting and against fasting for those in fragile health.

Although fasting usually refers to any practice of restricting food, there is a distinction between fasting (limiting consumption of food and drink) and abstinence (abstaining from eating meat.) Abstinence from meat one day a week is a universal act of penitence. It is important that you check with your physician before attempting a total fast (no food, water only) for more than 24 hours.

Lent is a very personal time of self-reflection, so The United Methodist Church does not have official guidelines on how individuals should observe Lent. Some choose to give up a certain food, however a spirit of fasting can include restriction of activities such as television watching, shopping or social networking. Some choose to give away clothing or possessions, give time by volunteering or increase time spent in prayer. We fast to reorient ourselves away from the distraction of those things and back toward God

Prayer is supposed to be one of the most important activities in a Christian’s life. However, do we really know how to pray? What should we pray when we do pray? When should we pray for that matter? There are a few guidelines that the Bible gives us in regards to prayer and we can start with these as we pursue a life of prayer.

The following are some fundamental concepts of prayer that we could glean from the Bible.

1. Pray according to God’s will – See 1 John 5:14-15

2. Pray according to scripture – This is how we can know the will of God. There are situations that are not specifically dealt with in the Bible. These are personal situations that we all face each day. Here prayer will move us towards God so that we would walk according to His will and be led on the path that God has for us. It is important to realize that you may not hear a voice from heaven telling you what to do next. God’s guidance is like a pull in your soul that compels you to do a certain thing or go a certain way. We should also analyze opportunities that arise because these too may be the doorway to the path that God has for us.

3. Pray with a sincere heart – We said earlier that true prayer requires proper motives. Also when we pray we should have a sincere heart. We should be sincere about those things that we pray about and not just an act of going through the motions.

4. Pray to the Father – Jesus always prayed to the Father and that is what He taught us to do. We can ask the Father things in Jesus name, but the fact is that the Bible teaches us to pray to the Father.

5. Pray with confidence and faith – See 1 John 5:14-15 .