21 Days of Fasting and Prayer - Here as in HeavenSample

Fasting Brings Favor

One of the most encouraging aspects of fasting is inviting God’s favor into our life. We desperately need God’s favor because there are times when life’s circumstances are out of our control. The results can be tragic when we are hit with an unforeseen difficulty. Although we may not be able to control our situation, we can dictate our response to them.

A great example in the Bible of why we need favor is Nehemiah. Nehemiah was confronted with catastrophic news and was desperate for God to intervene.

“Things are not going well for those who returned. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.” (1:3)

This news was shocking, but Nehemiah’s righteous response would garner favor from God, which would bend the will of an enemy king and change the course of Israel’s history. What did he do? Nehemiah fasted and prayed, believing that God’s favor can turn around even the most hopeless situations!

“When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of Heaven.” (v.4)

His prayer was simple,

“Please grant me success today by making the king favorable to me. Put it into his heart to be kind to me.” (v.11),

but his faith was profound, and God went above and beyond all Nehemiah asked.

God gave Nehemiah supernatural favor with the king. God took a king opposing Israel and turned his heart to be gracious to them. A seemingly impossible situation was turned around by God’s favor through prayer and fasting.

Be encouraged today that no matter what situation you may be facing, God can turn it around by imparting His favor on your life. As we are fasting and praying, we can be confident that God is on the move in our lives and is more than able to do the impossible in our situation!