Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. Matt 9:14-16.
Jesus used this strong figure of speech, or rather phrase, because he was talking about his death, which is still a mystery to his disciples and the disciples of John, and they don't understand it yet; the word “taken away” means his death. What if death didn't occur or something tragic doesn't occur, they will not fast.
Now, they are not seeing it as something necessary, but as something inconvenient, or people who are doing it don't like to eat, or they want to watch their weight, or punish themselves. They never knew it was a thing that should be part of them.
But because they were with Jesus, who had already fasted for 40 days and 40 nights fasting before starting his ministry, his grace covered them, and they felt that they didn't need to go through those inconveniences. If you check Matt chapter 4, verse 23, Jesus started his miracles, healing people; the disciples then saw it as an easy task that didn't need fasting at all. They saw it as what our master can do, so they didn't need to do anything because, with the master, all things are possible and easy.
And it was true when sick people came; he healed them from every disease, vs 23: when the leper came and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean,” and Jesus reached out his hand and touched him and said, “I am willing; be clean”. Immediately he was cured of his leprosy. So the disciples saw all that as a non-herculean task; they never knew that Jesus paid dearly for that miracle to manifest. Same as Matt 8:1-4.
Then came the centurion asking Jesus for his help for his servant who lies at home paralysed and in terrible suffering. And Jesus said he would go and heal him, but the man said No! Just say a word, and my servant will be healed. Jesus was astonished by the man's faith, but he said the word, and the man was healed at that very hour. Another easy miracle was seen by the disciples. Vs 5:13.
When they went to Peter's house, and the mother-in-law was sick, Jesus touched her hand, and the fever left her. Even Peter's mother-in-law's miracle attracted many people who were practically sick and demon-possessed, and He healed all of them. Vs 14-16 are another miracle seen by the disciples as an effortless process.
When they were also confronted by the storm (Matt 8:23-27), they went to call Jesus and even woke him up from his sleep, saying Lord save us; we are perishing and he came, raised his hands to the storm, and it calmed down. All they were doing was just to wonder what manner of man he was. Another miracle was seen by the disciples: just by raising his hand, a great storm calmed down.
Another one is the deliverance of the two demon-possessed men coming from the tomb to meet him, and their case was really hard because the bible described them as violent men, and because of them, nobody could pass that way. Meaning, if that way is the way that leads to someone's breakthrough, and those two violent men are blocking the road because of the demons inside them that had made them very violent. That means no breakthrough for those who need to pass that road to breakthrough. All of these will remain stagnant and at a standstill till Jesus came, and thank God, he did come to liberate those men and make the road free and easy access for people to pass for their breakthroughs.
They saw how Jesus delivered those two men by commanding the demons to go into the pigs. Also, to them is a normal thing.
Another scenario was when a paralytic man was brought to Jesus for healing, lying on a mat, and Jesus said to him, " Your sins are forgiven; pick up your mat and walk. And the man got up and went home. Another effortless miracle was witnessed by them. To them, our master can do all things, and he can just do it without stress. They didn't know or remember that Jesus had already combated with the Devil himself before he could just be performing these miracles with ease.
Probably John's disciples have been observing them from (Matt chapter 4 to chapter 9 vs15) and couldn't bear it anymore, and they were forced to come to Jesus and question him about his disciples' nonchalant behaviour towards fasting. Jesus had to tell John's disciples that when the bridegroom is taken away, it is then they will fast. What Jesus meant by, " When the bridegroom is taken away, then the disciples will fast, is that until something precious has been taken away from them, until something happens, then His disciples will not fast.
And it was true: not until Jesus was brutally killed (Matt 27) before their eyes, and persecution started coming after them. That is when they started praying to the extent that they had to gather in the upper room, and the Holy Spirit then came to enable them.
This is how it is for most of us Christians now: when things are going too well and smoothly, we don't fast and pray; we feel that it is not necessary, that life is a bed of roses. We ignore signals until our bridegroom, bride, sister, brother, uncle, child/children, or something so dear to us is taken away from us, and by then we will be saying, “Had I known.”, Some people wait until something terrible has happened before they start praying when then can actually avert it by fasting and prayer. Some of us were burning with fire when we were in Africa, but when we came abroad and saw most of the things we add to our prayer points can easily be gotten without prayers and, we started dwindling in our prayer lives UNTIL SOMETHING HAPPENS; THEN WE STARTED FASTING AND PRAYING.
Some of the things that propel us to pray might be tragedy or non-tragedy issues, but something had actually happened before we then remember and say Oh, I ought to pray about this before! But then, it has happened, and we are in pain or in loss. I encourage anyone reading the article to set aside time to fast and pray for yourself and your family; no matter how good you are, there are enemies around you, directly or indirectly. And some of them, if they don't see you in tears, will not have peace; they just want you to be in pain(s), agony, and in severe torture.
So, that is why you ought to fast and pray always; do not wait until your pastor or your bishop or your prophet gives you prayer and fasting before you start doing something for yourself or your family.
I have been fasting before, but ever since I discovered the deep importance of fasting, I started fasting 70 days every year since 2012 till present, even while pregnant, breast-feeding or even sick, at times my husband will be begging me to take it easy and at least break it while am sick and continue later, not that I enjoyed doing it, but I was busy enjoying Europe when my husband brought me in 2007, while the enemies were busy attacking my marriage. God has to open my eyes to see a mountain of fire book and I started reading it and, decided to do the prayers and fasting as instructed in that book, when I started, that night, I had a dream that a man was warning me in that dream if I do not stop reading that book and praying that kinds of prayers he will deal with me, I ignored that treat and continue to pray and today, am alive to see the goodness of the lord in my life.
At times, I go the extra mile to fast for 100 days, I could remember one day, someone gave me something to eat in church and I said “no thank you” and the person was kind of insisting, and I told her, am fasting and she said “fasting” ok, and she went further to ask me, how many days are you fasting “I said” 70 days and she went on saying how can you fast for 70 days, how many days did Jesus fasted even Jesus did not fast for 70 days. I ignored her and continued reading my bible. I was asked to say the closing prayers at that meeting that day. I prayed, and we went home.
The next week in church, she came to me, took me to a corner, and asked me to teach her how to pray. She said there was a way I prayed with the book of Ezekiel, chapter 9, that she wanted to pray like that. She lost somebody to the cold hand of death that week, and the person was a pastor. What was her story all about? Until something happens, then they will pray. In fact, that week everybody was anointed in the church, and that week things began to be different because the bridegroom had been taken away, and then they began to pray and fast.
When you fast and pray, you unlock your potential; when you fast and pray, you debunk certain havoc the enemies have planned against you. When you fast and pray, God will reveal to you things that will happen in the future. When you fast and pray, your dreams become revelations; although they will attack you, God will not allow them to overwhelm you. (For thus says the Lord, in the book of Isa 43: 2: When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned. Nor shall the flame scorch you.
Am not trying to exaggerate; a few years ago God told me, " Daughter, I will start blessing you because you have paid the price. Am not surprised when people just favoured me even without me asking for it, because I don't wait for something to happen to me again before I go on my knees and pray about it for God to answer.
Many years ago, I was fasting and looking for a strong man of God to close the fasting for me. I was still in Spain, so I called one pastor here in the UK and explained to him that I was about to finish my yearly 70-day fast, and that I would like him to close the fast for me. He asked me, " How many days? And I told him 70 days, and he was perplexed and asked if I am a pastor. I said no, that I am just doing it because of battles around me. He said even he can't do 70 days of fasting. But I am the one wearing the shoes, and I know where it pinches me. To cut the long story short, he agreed, and the day came for me to end the fasting, and I called him. As he was praying for me, he paused and asked me, are you the first child? “I said no,” he said, " I am seeing too many battles around you. Are you sure you are not the first child”? “I said no,” and he said God! am seeing too many battles around you; you need to pray hard, you need to pray hard. Are you seeing that he is the one advising me to pray hard while he was praying for me on the phone!
May God encourage you to fast and pray always, so that the enemies will not take away your bridegroom ( precious ones/things) from you untimely before you fast and pray.
Prayer Points:
- May tragedy not happen to me before I pray, in Jesus name
- Oh God, give me the grace to fast and pray always in Jesus' name.
- My bridegroom (precious things or one) will not be taken from me before I pray.
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