Faith, Prayer/Fasting, and Rest

Sermon by Ps. Pooja

The preacher began with 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 that talks about comforting others with the comfort with which God has comforted us, and shared her journey of learning the very basics about faith, prayer and fasting, and rest. 

Faith

While waiting for a child, she sought answers from God. The first thing that God taught her was about faith. Hebrews 11:1 tells us that faith is being confident of the things that we hope for but do not see yet. While the preacher wondered about how to develop faith, God took her to verse 6 which states that it is impossible to please God without faith. God told her that the percentage doesn’t matter but she needed to have faith. Everyone who comes to God must believe that He exists and He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. 

People told her that she may have sinned and that is why God did not listen to her prayers but she realized that God is there/hears every prayer and listens to us every moment.

Prayer

The preacher began seeking God through His word and prayer. She asked God to teach her to pray and He took her to James 5:16 that says that the prayer of a righteous person is effective. This touched her powerfully and also Psalm 15:2 which tells us that only a righteous and blameless person can be in God’s presence. She began to examine her life asking God to shed light. We must allow God’s spirit to speak to us anew even though we know these scriptures. God guided her to an attitude change and to throw off things that were burdening her. He also lead the preacher to Luke 11:5-8 (man asking friend for loaves at midnight), and the parable of the wicked judge and most vulnerable person: a widow who was totally disenfranchised and had no men to fight for her. She persisted and the wicked man gave in. Similar, we need to persist in prayer. 

We must understand that unanswered prayers are God’s opportunities to work in our life. He answers our prayers but there is a waiting period and a process to go through. God’s time and His clock is different. Waiting is a time of walking closely with the Lord as He is near to the broken-hearted. The preacher then quoted several examples of couples in the Bible waiting for children (parents of Samson, Esau and Jacob, Samuel, and John the Baptist) who turned out to be “landmark babies”. This freed the preacher from the guilt of sin as she understood that God has a purpose for this period in her life. Meanwhile, God started giving other things that she had not asked for: Her own company with 40 employees, two cars, and several other blessings. It was like a waiting room with the door that God shut (in for Noah’s arc before the flood rains began) but where He opened the window; she enjoyed the sights in life while waiting. 

Before Jesus healed the man by the pool, He asked the man what he wanted. It was an obvious question but God questions our motives and everything that we are holding on to. He guides us to remove our burdens during this time of waiting. 

Fasting

The preacher referred to Isaiah 58:2-5 where God explains what fasting is and what it isn’t. She fasted and contended with God at the end of the day since what she asked Him for was not happening and then became bitter. There was a problem in her fasting. As the verses 6-7 in the same chapter explain, fasting must be done for noble purposes, and we must humble ourselves before God. When Israel proclaimed a day of fast, they wore sackcloth and applied ash to grieve for their sins; they read the word of God the whole day or for prolonged hours. They did not pray for marriage/job or other such things but for national crisis they faced. Fasting is telling God that we are setting aside our core need for food to feed on His word; that we recognise that we have sinned. We also must set aside your chores for the day to sit at God’s feet and examine our life and where we are going wrong. 

God has said: Be holy as I am holy; we belong to Him so we must be like Him. Regardless of what happened, we need to place all wounds, hurts, and our past before Him. The preacher did this and told God to teach her; took the Bible and pen and paper to note down what God taught her. Fasting is an intentional time of setting things right in our life. 

Rest

As we wait, the way is narrow and painful but we rejoice as we walk with the Lord. Although one door is closed, He opens many. Let us move from pleading and trust that God said those who trust Him will lack no things. Let us tell God that we believe His word is true and we will hold on. In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus tells all those who are weak and heavy laden to come to Him. The day the preacher stepped forward in her journey trusting in this verse, she got rest. 

Let us know that God, who has never failed, is in control of our life. He is enthroned above everything, hears all our prayers, and loves and cares for us more than anyone else ever can. He gave us His only son, will He not give us everything else?

When the preacher finally received the answer, the couple thanked God in church for walking all through the journey. Today, she is not afraid of another such phase of waiting/any other challenging path as she knows that the same God who sustained and guided her will be with her.