Prayer and Fasting Catalysts

Call To Prayer

Title: Prayer and Fasting Catalysts

By: Wale Lasisi

Date: 28.11.2024

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Isaiah 58: 6

As the year draws gradually to an end, it is a good time to seek the face of God more for His plans and purposes over our life before this year is over and in the new year. Having a personal retreat is key to staying connected to the flow of God’s direction and instructions on how to go about things. Fasting and prayer therefore come into the equation to strengthen our spirit and align it with the Holy Spirit of God. However, in Isaiah 58:6-22, we see that there are hasteners prescribed in scriptures that guarantee answers to prayers.

In verse seven of Isaiah 58, the Lord spoke about giving our bread to the hungry. Giving to the needy is paramount and God expects that they be taken care of, especially by his own children. Just like the bird of the air that the Lord feeds, he is waiting for us to pick up the responsibility of feeding the poor. This is an eternal principle that even unbelievers practice through philanthropy and because the power of God is invested in His principles, it is bound to produce results just like the principle of seed time and harvest.

Continuing, he further mentioned that the time of fasting is the time to embrace empathy towards other men by clothing their nakedness and giving shelter. There are men and women in dire need of these things that we can reach out to contribute our own quota according to the blessing of God upon our lives. The Lord is particularly concerned about the dignity of the poor, the fatherless, the widow, and the stranger (Mal. 3:5). These are the categories of people that society looks down on and the Lord deeply cares for them.

In the following verses (Isaiah 58:8), the Lord said that by doing these things, our light shall break forth as the morning and when we call, he shall answer. This season therefore is an opportunity to go all out to be the extension of the hand of God to the needy in our communities, in orphanages, in our local assemblies, and in any other place that the Lord might be prompting us to go. In this obedience lies our guarantee to answered prayers.

Prayer point:

Let’s thank God for today. Let us pray for grace to give according to His instructions which will guarantee answers to our prayers.