The Resurgence of Worship and Prayer but Not Fasting (Fasting Edition #167)

Our fasting quote of encouragement today is from William Secker. He said: "By fasting, the body learns to obey the soul; by praying the soul learns to command the body."

Our fasting devotional today is titled "THE RESURGENCE OF WORSHIP AND PRAYER BUT NOT FASTING" from John Piper, author of the bestselling book "A Hunger for God: Desiring God through Fasting and Prayer".

There are three elements in Acts 13:1–3—worship, prayer, and fasting. In our day there has been a remarkable resurgence of worship and prayer. Tens of thousands of congregations around the world are experiencing more vibrant, freer, more engaging worship in the last 20 years. And the prayer movements around the world are unprecedented in number and scope. In my own state the Minnesota Prayer Coalition is unprecedented in pulling the body of Christ together to pray for the reviving of Christ's church and the advance of his kingdom.

But there is not yet a comparable resurgence of the practice of fasting as there has been with worship and prayer. Bill Bright suggested that God may will that all three be in place and that the church be humbled and hungry with fasting before he blesses us as fully as he means to. It is remarkable how neglected this spiritual practice is.