What to do while fasting and praying?

   Prayer is the only way of communication with God; that is why the Bible in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 instructs us to pray without ceasing.

    People mostly engage themselves in fasting and praying because they have supplications to make before God. They fast to subdue the activities or the desires of their flesh for their spirit to communicate to God during their time of prayer. But, the flesh desires so many things that might be a distraction at their place of prayer. So, to put the flesh under control is to engage in fasting. 

     Before starting praying and fasting, it is biblical to

Set-apart: 

   To fast and pray requires a lot of concentration, time, and consistency in supplications to God. It is very important to first separate from all forms of distraction to focus on knowing what God has to say at that moment.

   Most of the fathers in the Bible encountered God in most places; they set themselves apart to seek his face.

  Someone like:

  Moses had several encounters with God at his time of set apart. He heard and spoke with God, even spent 40 days and nights with God on the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments only because he denied his flesh and all forms of worldly pressure to seek God. Exodus 19; 20; 24; 32:30-35; 34:1-28.

  Daniel did not play with his daily set apart; he prayed three times daily, Daniel 6: 10. Also, he set himself apart, fasted, and prayed for twenty-one days in Daniel 10.

  What about John the Baptist? He spends most of his life in the wilderness, fasting and praying.

  And for Jesus to begin his earthly ministry, he had to go for 40 days and nights fasting and praying. Matthew 4:2. He received guidance and instructions regarding his ministerial calling through setting himself apart. Matthew 17:1-3; Mark 6:46; Luke 6:12; 22:42

  There is no difficult situation or prayer request presented to God at a place of fasting and praying without receiving answers from him(Matthew 17:21) unless the prayer was not from a genuine heart. Psalms 51:17

  That is why, during the period of praying and fasting, it is necessary for a person to make sure he is:

• Cleanse from sin: 

   Most people enter into God’s presence by fasting and praying in anticipation to meet God who can provide all their needs, but instead, they come out of his presence cursed because of their uncleanness. Psalms 24:3-4

   What everyone thinks to be a small sin was what led to the death of Ananias and Sapphire in Acts 5:1-11. They left their home to God's presence probably with the expectation of encountering God, but they never knew their secret sin would lead them to their untimely death.

   God is holy, and to go in his presence, thou must be holy(1 Peter 1:16) because sin irritates him.  

   And if a sinner is not remorseful and unwilling to change but rather hides his sin while entering into God's presence with the intention that God will not know, he will come out of the same presence with God's wrath because nothing is hidden before him. Proverbs 28:13

That is why many fasting and praying today do not end well. Exodus 19:10-12 

  Note: An immediate answer to prayer is possible through holiness. God pays attention to two things: 1. A prayer prayed in holiness and 2. A prayer of a wretched sinner who wants to be free from sin.

•    At peace with all men

 Hebrews 12:14; Matthew 5:23-24

   It is fruitless to pray and fast with grudges against someone. With that malice, hatred, and bitterness in the heart, while seeking, God will withhold the extension of God's mercy in the person’s life.

   There is this aunt of mine who can support and do anything for anyone regardless of who the person is. But her problem is that if she hates anyone, nothing on earth will make her forgive or forget. "

  Many so-called Christians are like her; at the slightest provocation, they will hate for life. They are good at playing the victim, holding on to the bad done to them; even the bad ones they did to others are always good. With that kind of life, a person will fast and pray and expect an answer from God.

 Note: The nature of a person’s life when fasting and praying determines whether God should answer his petition or not.

•  Strongly remain focused on God

  It is against the court's law to answer phone calls or talk without the judge's permission during court proceedings. But, Christians are fun of doing that when they are in a courtroom of God's presence. Luke 10:38-42

   Martha lacked focus in God's presence. She worried about so many things while her sister Mary sat at the feet of Christ to learn of him.

   A divided heart lacks a connection to spiritual things; he is present, but his lack of focus makes him absent. That is why he will be present during God's visitation but still miss out on the same visitation. 

Note: Praying is not just uttering words, but it is a heart-to-heart communication with God, in which prayer is the network that connects hearts to God.

•  Studying the word of God

Proverbs 30:5; 2 Timothy 2:15

  The strength of fasting and praying is the word of God. This means that the strength of your victory in the place of prayer lies in the word of God. Isaiah 55:11

   Hold God on his word. Remind him what he said through his word concerning that thing that brought you into his presence, and then watch him act towards fulfilling his word into your life 

Note: A person starts losing when he starts lacking the word of God.

• Worshipping and also listening to godly messages 

  While praying and fasting do not opt to worship, because worshipping God in the beauty of holiness hastens him to answer. David became a man after God's heart because he mostly entered his presence with praise and worship. Acts 13:22

   Most of the time, to command in Jesus Christ's name is good but it is best to enter his court with thanksgiving of praise and worship. Because some needs can be met during that time. Psalms 100;4; 103;1-5

Note: To pray is not to command God, but to appeal to him into looking your case. And to bring his attention to what brought you into his presence is through praise and worship.

   Also, listen to Christian recorded messages that lift one's spirit, because it will help to prepare the spirit into desiring and wanting more of God while in his presence. Proverbs 27:17 

• Be willing to hear from the Holy Spirit

   The evidence that God approves of one's devotion to fasting and praying is the ability of the person to hear and receive from the Holy Spirit. John 16:13; Romans 8:26-27

   People most time ask, how they should know when the Holy Spirit is speaking to them. Then my answer is that knowing the word of God is the same as knowing when the Holy Spirit is speaking.

Note: The Holy Spirit is a friend that you should have and also a friend that does not accept a sinner’s friendship. 

   Fasting and praying are needed at this point to survive on the earth, but should be guided for it to yield good results in the end. When it is not properly done it becomes starvation. 

    God is willing to hear from us and wants to answer us if we seek him genuinely. And may he

bless and answer all our prayers as we continually see him at the place of fasting and praying.