Prayer & Fasting: A Beginner's GuideSample

Perseverance

I use a tactic to get me through the last leg of the fast: thinking back to any previous season of prayer and fasting. I recall how, after it was over, it quickly became just a memory. I tell myself, "You can do it! Pretty soon, this will all be in the past! You've done it before, and you can do it again."

The last leg of our prayer and fasting is likely the most exhausting! Maybe we've seen God move in our circumstances already, or we may have heard Him speak clearly. Maybe before the fast is over, we have seen a door open or experienced a victory we've long waited for. Yes! These things can and do happen during a time of prayer and fasting.

It can be both exhilarating and exhausting at the same time. Earlier on, we spoke about the seesaw of emotions we may experience. That seesaw can be so draining, especially when choosing to go without things that we usually turn to for comfort. The end may be in sight, but still, with some days left of praying and repeatedly asking God for the same things, we may find ourselves dragging.

Praying and fasting are spiritual warfare and are not easy. But we signed up for it when we committed to this time. So, we can praise God for having come through this far and for the fact that we are now on the final stretch. In the final days of the fast, there may be more dreams, direction, clarity, and words than in the previous days.

An advantage to doing a corporate fast is that when we are exhausted, we can know we are not alone; others also feel like they can't pray or go without anymore, as no one finds prayer and fasting easy. If we are doing it on our own, we can call to mind what it was that made us decide to do it, and that will motivate us to see it through to the end.

In praying and fasting, we are not just asking God for big things but also putting ourselves on the line to let Him know we are serious in our requests. We are doing the small part we can, and God will surely do His large, supernatural part according to His will!