The power of praying and fasting

Prayer with fasting is the greatest spiritual discipline to keep us in agreement with God’s will. It is not designed to manipulate God so that we can receive what we ask but to ask what we should receive from God. It is not a tool to influence God but it is a tool to influence us to pray earnestly to let the kingdom of God come on earth as it is in heaven. It is a powerful tool to wean ourselves from the things of this world which is a strong force directly in opposite with the Holy Spirit.
In his audio sermon on fasting, Ron Gartner makes an important point. He says fasting is not giving up meals and making a sacrifice so that God can speak to us or bless us. It is not an exchange of a sacrifice in order to obtain blessings.
He says, it is moving into a spiritual realm of faith and power by putting down (denying) our fleshly desires. The Holy Spirit and the spirit part of us then take dominance in moving in an area of prayer (communion with God) that we cannot get into through any other way. It is moving into the spirit and walking in the spirit. This does not mean being foolish and turning our reasoning off. It is being wise with the mind of Christ while being submissive to the Holy Spirit.
We can see the power of prayer of fasting in the Garden of Getshemane and in the mountain of temptation. Jesus overcame self-will. Our Lord Jesus said fasting would be necessary for his disciples after he ascended. “The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast,” (Matthew 9:15) The early disciples remembered the words of their master and thus they made fasting vital. To be effective ambassadors of God in this world, we need to stay in tune with God through prayer and fasting.
Ps Ramon Morante

Prayer of agreement

Greetings AMPM,
As people in the marketplace, each of us is called to be salt and light in whatever domain we are in. It is not an easy job. But thanks be to God who has given us the Holy Spirit to remind us everything that Jesus had taught. While we are fasting and praying during this 21-day campaign of the Praying Ambassadors, ask God in agreement with your prayer partner to have the sensitivity to the voice of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will remind you if your thoughts and attitudes are in line with the thoughts and attitude of Christ (Philippians 2:5).
In our daily walk, we are to be the priests and kings wherever we are. In the Old Testament, only certain special people can become priests. The function of a priest in the Old Testament is to present animal sacrifices as atonement of sins; for his own sin and the sins of the people. But in the New Testament, we are all called to be priests. Our function is to offer a different form of sacrifices – i.e. praise and good deeds. God is pleased when we continually offer these sacrifices in our daily walk in our homes, offices, schools, and marketplace.
God promised us that He will give whatever we ask in agreement according to His will. This particular promise should make us all the more eager to keep our unity in the spirit with our prayer partners. We look forward to hearing your testimonies in the coming weeks. Remember, don’t grow weary in doing good for in the proper time, you will reap the harvest.
Blessings,
Barnabas

The Place of Submission, The Place of Power

Today’s Lord’s Supper reminds us of one thing: the submission of Jesus. He asked, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” The submission of Jesus is the most powerful thing that he did while here on earth.

The kingdom of this world will not be won by sheer military force or strength. It can only be won by one thing: submission to the Father’s will. It is a passion that can be ignited by prayer. Jesus prayed all night and he was able to conquer his self will. During the temptation on the mountain, Jesus rejected the offer of Satan of receiving the kingdoms of this world. He was able to do this because he knows to whom he must submit himself.

The disciples started to think and ask why Jesus was not using his power to defeat the existing.empire as the Messiah. Judas in his frustration betrayed Jesus. Peter denied Jesus three times for fear of being caught as one of the followers of Jesus. They deserted and walked away from a distance when Jesus was brought to the Roman authorities. Jesus remained submissive to the Father even though he can command billions of angels to serve and defend him.

Let us take time in our communion meditation to think about Christ.

He came not to be served but to serve.

He came to die and offer himself as a sacrifice.

He came to fulfill the Father’s will.

For our Kingdom community to be effective representatives of heaven on earth, we should adopt the mind and heart of Christ. We should imitate Jesus in his humility, submission and servanthood. The world’s culture is about domination, lording over and selfishness. Adopting the mind of Christ is adopting the values of the kingdom which is contrary to the values of this world.

Let us ignite our passion for submission in our 21 days of fasting and prayer and be Kingdom overcomers!

Ps. Ramon Morante

Kingdom Driven Community

Dear Marketplace Ministers,

Starting today, March 1st, 2009, we will begin our 21 days devotion campaign. What will we do during this coming 21 days?

1. Praying in agreement.

The only job that God loves to do is answering our prayer. Prayer accomplish a lot of thing. We will pray in enforcing things happened on this earth as it is in heaven according to His will. This time, we will develop a foundation of corporate prayer. God says “two are better than one because they have a good return for their.” We are alone is okay but it would be better if we are together with someone else. Therefore, we will pray two-by-two for 21 days along with our devotion. Who can be your prayer partner? If you are married then take your spouse as your partner. If you are single then take someone who is living nearby to ensure that you can pray together. If you hardly find someone who is nearby then find someone who can commit the prayer time together with you, he/she could be your flat-mate. So, pray for some points that you together agree to pray about and expect to see them fulfilled in faith and in full submission to our Lord Jesus Christ’s will.

2. Fast for at least one day of the week together.

Why do we need to fast? We hold fast to ask God’s mercy and grace upon our lives and prayer. We may live fully in His grace to see things happening as part of His plan. By fasting we will let our selves to be enlighten and discerning to His voice and will. Our spirit are strong yet our bodies are weak. Make a commitment with your prayer partner to fast on same day together. I am so sure to see many prayer will be answered according to His glory and riches during these 21 days.

Ps. Hoatta S